• Students become more familiar with the criteria they helped establish as they begin applying the criteria to their work.
• Students may begin to select pieces that they will revise, edit and peer edit.
• Students should be reminded to include all drafts of their work, as you will be looking for the process and progress they have used/made during the term.
• As submissions are placed in the portfolio, a table of contents sheet can be placed at the front, with the titles and page numbers of the selections which follow.

Role of Teacher:

• Take a class period to establish what will go in the portfolio for this term, write this out on a poster board and post in the portfolio section of the class;
• Review steps of revision and peer editing or other skills the students need to further work on their selections;
• Determine class periods that will be used for this process;
• Class periods will be needed to select from all the collected work;
• Develop evaluation sheet with detailed criteria being looked for this term;
• Explain to students that learning is a process, that you expect to see change in the content of the pieces that are being worked on for their portfolio, this change should reflect their growth as learners;
• Read samples of previous students work, this takes time but is well worth it.

Tips:

• asking students to work on their portfolios throughout the term alleviates student, and especially teacher anxiety of deadlines;
• handing out and reviewing the evaluation criteria before the portfolio is submitted guides the students to better edit their work;
• leaving portfolios to the last week, like an assignment, does not generate quality work from the students.