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Portfolio for a unit of William Golding's Lord of the Flies.
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Lord of the Flies Unit Portfolio
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Lord of the Flies Unit Portfolio Contents
1. New to the Island
Here students choose a piece of work that represents their initial feelings on the unit. Most
will choose either their cover illustration or a response to the first chapter. Both require
students to reflect and answer the statement:
“After crash-landing on the island I did not realize... but now I see that...”
2. Straddling Civilization and Island Life
Here students choose a piece of work that represents a job well done, or something they
would be proud to send back home from the island; something that would demonstrate to a
parent that they are ok on the island. Some choices for this section could include their text
message assignment, a map of the island, or a script of their campaign speech. Students will
write a short reflection to the questions: “As a new resident of the island, what piece of work
would you send back home to show your parents that you are doing just fine? What does this
piece of work demonstrate to outsiders?”
3. Fully Transformed into an Islander
Here students choose a piece of work that they are completely happy with, perhaps their best
work. This piece shows their depth of understanding of the novel and the English language.
This section requires students to respond to the question: “This assignment demonstrated my
full transformation into a true ‘savage’ islander, or represented my best work, because...
What did I learn about myself and my character after completing it?”
4. An Uncivilized Moment
Here students will select a piece of work that was not one of their finer moments, something
they regret or wish they could redo. This piece of work is included to demonstrate growth
and reflection for future pieces of work. Students will answer the statement: “Some of the
boys did things on the island that they regretted. What was an uncivilized moment for you in
this unit? What piece of work did you create that was not your best? How could you improve
it for the future?”
5. Under Pressure
Here students will select a well done piece of work that they had to do that was timed or was
submitted for summative assessment. This piece of work may be an essay, a chapter quiz, a
unit test, or a timed writing assignment. Students will reflect on their ability during this
period and identify if they succeeded and what tools would be more helpful in the future.
Students will answer the response question: “Despite the pressure situation on the island I
succeeded... Next time it may be better if...”
6. Connection to the Outside World
Here students will have a family member or adult review their portfolio and examine the
selections that the student made. The reviewer will respond to the statement: “This
individual’s time on the island demonstrates...” and “The piece that shows the most growth
is...” This will give students’ the chance to be recognized outside of the classroom.
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New to the Island!
This section of the portfolio is designed for the first impressions of the novel. The
students are given the choice to fill this “first impressions” section of the portfolio
with either a journal reflection entry or a cover illustration they completed shortly
after reading the first chapter of the novel, Lord of the Flies.
This portfolio entry was a formative assessment and was not marked by the
teacher. Either, or both if the students had time, was only read and observed by the
teacher.
In order to give the students ideas for their covers I showed them the website
“lordofthefliescover.com.” This website was created as a cover contest for students
in the United Kingdom. After demonstrating to them the different types, some
colourful and busy or some black and white and sparse, I handed out 8 ½ by 11
card stock paper and colouring materials. For one class the students illustrated their
first impressions of the novel in the form of pictures, colours, and illustrations. If
students include the illustrated cover in their portfolio they are required to submit a
few short sentences reflecting to why they drew what they drew and what they felt
after reading the first chapter.
In order to differentiate instruction, I also gave the students the choice to write a
journal entry in response to the first chapter. Although I provided the students with
the prompt, “Describe your initial feelings of the novel and produce some
questions that you think need to be answered,” it was not required that they answer
this question. I would provide the following exemplar of my opinion.
For this section of the portfolio every student had to write a reflection to answer
the question:
After crash-landing on the island I did not realize... But now I see that...
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“New to the Island” Exemplars
Dear Ms. Goes,
After reading the first chapter of Lord of the Flies, I feel more confused about life than when I
started. The book places its characters in a weird location that does not sound familiar to this island
home that I live on. Although the setting currently sounds magical, tropical, and exotic, I can’t help
but feel that something terrible is looming in the distance of this novel. That so far this setting is too
good to be true.
Immediately we are introduced to Ralph and Piggy, two of the main characters. I like Piggy.
His honesty and naivety is refreshing. I’m usually a very empathetic person and when I heard that he
was called Piggy in school, I immediately brought to mind that kid in school who everyone decides to
pick on for pretty much no reason. I’m not saying it’s right, but it happens. Piggy discloses to Ralph
that his name is only a nickname and does not wish for it to be carried on from his previous life in
England. But, when Ralph meets some of the other kids from the crash he proceeds to tell them that
Piggy’s name is Piggy. Piggy gets mad at Ralph. Another important point that arises in the first
chapter is the finding of the conch shell. This shell gives the holder the power to have their voice heard.
Initially Ralph uses it to call other kids to the meeting area to discuss their ideas for getting off the
island and surviving in the meantime. Soon though, it is discovered that the conch only gives power
and respect to those people who the listeners want. For example, when Piggy tries to use the conch to
talk he is not respected by the other kids. The boys elect a leader and must decide between Ralph and
Jack, the leader of the choir boys. The boys choose Ralph and Jack immediately feels threatened and at
a loss of power in the situation.
Some questions that arose for me while reading chapter 1 include: why are there no adults
with the kids? , why did they not really know each other before crashing if they flew in the plane
together?, and what are the “creepers”?
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Still Settling In – Straddling Civilization and Island Life
For this portion of the portfolio students were asked to submit a formative
assignment that best depicted their journey further into the novel, and further into
becoming an uncivilized citizen of the deserted island.
Students were required to fill this space in their portfolio with an assignment or
piece of work that answered the prompt:
As a new resident of the island, what piece of work would you send back home to
show your parents that you are doing just fine? What does this piece of work
demonstrate to outsiders?
For this portfolio entry students had the ability to choose from several assignments.
The assignments that would fit into this portfolio category could have been the
following:
- Text Messaging Assignment: students were asked to choose one character
from Lord of the Flies and write a minimum of five text messages describing
events throughout the book as if communicating with the outside world. It
was important to provide information on the situation, the speaker, and the
audience.
- Map of the Island: students were asked to create a map of the island using
information and quotations directly from the novel. The map was supposed
to labels with quotations connected to show the importance of setting in the
novel.
- Campaign Speech: students were asked to write a short campaign speech,
directed to the boys on the island, to demonstrate why they would make the
best leader, or chief, for the group of stranded boys. The speech was
delivered in class, but marks were given for written completion.
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“Straddling Civilization and Island Life” Exemplar
Hi Aunty! Life on this
deserted island is going
ok. We’ve had some
run-ins with “creepers”
and “beasts,” but our
leader Ralph is doing a
good job of keeping the
fire going, which may
get us rescued. Don’t
worry! - Piggy
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Fully Transformed into an Islander
This section of the portfolio asks for students to include a reflection on an
assignment they were most pleased with. I call it being transformed into an
islander because they have shifted from an outsider, not understanding the rules
and ideas of English, to an Islander, where they understand and feel confident with
their abilities. Essentially, this section of the portfolio will include a piece of work
that demonstrates that they really “got” the ideas of the novel, just as the natives to
a certain area “get” the social norms and ideas in their setting.
The prompt for this section is:
This assignment demonstrated my full transformation into a true savage
islander, or represented my best work, because... What did I learn about myself
and my character after completing it?
For this portion students would include their short reflection and a representation of their best work,
which could include the following:
- Lord of the Flies Interview Podcast: students were asked to assume the role of a character or
interviewer in a partnership. One person would interview the character, while the other would
answer questions with information and context from the novel.
- An essay on the themes and motifs of the novel
- A “Glogster” that demonstrated the theme of the novel through pictures, videos, images, or links
- A “fakebook” profile for a character that demonstrates an analysis of their identity rather than just
surface information
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“Fully Transformed into an Islander” Interview Podcast Handout Lord of the Flies Podcast Interview
48 Marks (15% of Course Grade)
Due: May 25, 2012
This project intends to span the entire length of the novel study on William Golding’s Lord of the
Flies. You will be required to work with a partner, of my assigning, to write, record, and edit, a
digital audio file called a “podcast.” Podcasts are derived from the word “broadcast,” which suggests
a sharing of information to a large amount of people. It is similar to a radio show, but is recorded and
shared over the internet.
After listening to a few podcasts (such as CBC’s Jian Gohmeshi), you will assume the personality of
either a character from the novel, the author of the novel, or the interviewer. I will conduct a
“character lottery” in the next few days to determine partners and characters. While reading the novel
over the next few weeks, be sure to highlight information that will be important to you and your
partner when writing and representing your information in the podcast. Although I will not be
marking written scripts, it may be helpful to write and memorize a script in order to achieve all of the
goals outlined in the attached rubric.
In the coming weeks you will have time in class to meet with your partner and compare notes on
information that may be useful to your podcast. In addition, I will provide three sessions in the
computer lab for you to record your podcast. If you require more time to record your podcast you are
encouraged to complete it for homework. In certain circumstances, I will be able to supervise the
computer lab during lunch hours if you are unable to use this technology at home.
If adding music or other sound effects to your podcast please ensure that they are open copyright.
Free music that is open can be found at creativecommons.com.
You will be graded overall on:
- Connection to the text (use of direct quotes, passages, information, or themes)
- Oral language skills (rapport with partner/character, transitions, and responses to
information and language)
- Ability to represent material effectively with few errors in podcasting
- Creativity and use of engaging material
Please see attached rubric for more information on each grading category.
Have fun and be creative!
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An Uncivilized Moment
This section of the portfolio is designed for the student to include a piece of work
that was uncivilized, or could have used more time, effort, or research. In
portfolios there has to be room for students to reflect on pieces that were not their
best. Including pieces of work that are not as good as others helps students to
understand why they did not do well or what they could improve on for the future.
I would prompt the students by asking them:
Some of the boys did things on the island that they regretted.
What was an uncivilized moment for you in this unit? What piece of work did
you create that was not your best? How could you improve it for the future?
The exemplar on the following page demonstrates a character analysis using the
comic creator website Pixton. Although the student in the exemplar put a lot of
effort into the comic, the information being graded, in the attached rubric, is not
very well done. This student could have done a better job by including more direct
information and things more specific to the novel, including quotations.
With this portfolio entry students can choose any work, formative or summative,
they have done in the unit as long as they justify why in their reflection.
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Lord of the Flies Character Analysis
Rubric
Criteria 1 2 3 4 5 6 Creativity and Objectives Evidence of thought, planning, and attention to detail in your final project
NO planning and attention is evident in comic, comic is random and confusing.
LITTLE planning and attention is evident in comic. Objective wasn't met
Average work. Objective wasn't quite met
SOME planning and attention is evident in comic. The objective is mostly met
A good DEAL of planning and attention is evident in comic. The comic clearly meets the objective
The comic clearly describes the concepts you selected to illustrate in your comic. Work goes above and beyond expectations!
Captions and Dialogue Are bubbles and captions used appropriately to communicate the plot and characterization? Do we know what's going on, who is involved and what their relationship is?
The scene is difficult to follow, and there is no sense of the characters.
The scene is somewhat difficult to follow, and there is little sense of the characters.
The scene is somewhat easy to follow and there is a sense of the characters.
The scene is easy to follow in most places, and the characters are clear.
The scene is easy to follow throughout and characterization is well-developed.
The scene is enjoyable to read, easy to follow, enhancing ones’ understanding of the plot and characterization.
Mechanics Five or more misspellings, grammatical errors
Four misspellings, grammatical errors
Three misspellings, grammatical errors
Two or fewer misspellings or grammatical errors
One misspelling or grammatical error
No misspellings or grammatical errors
Character Accuracy Are your characters accurate (both character design and use of physicality and expression)?
Neither the characters expressions nor their physical features align with the story.
Either the character's expressions or physical features align with story in at least 25% of the frames.
Either the character's expressions or physical features align with story in at least 50% of the frames.
Either the character's expressions or physical features align with story in at least 75% of the frames.
The character's expressions and physical features align with story in at least 75% of the frames.
The character's physical features and expressions align with the story in all frames.
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Under Pressure
In Lord of the Flies the boys are exposed to a lot of pressure from their peers to do
things that they may not normally do. The society that arises on the island puts all
of them under a lot of pressure. For this section of the portfolio students will select
a piece of work that they completed under pressure. Most often, this piece will be
done in a timed scenario such as a test or in-class essay.
I aim to have students reflect on this in the same way that they might complete a
test evaluation. For this portion, they could include a test evaluation and write a
few sentences on it explaining:
“Despite the pressure situation on the island I succeeded... Next time it
may be better if...”
Answering these questions may help generate new ideas for studying or how to
prepare better for exams in the future. Often students do the tests, get the mark, and
forget about the material, but this practice of reflecting on high pressure situations
may help them to think about how to approach testing in the future. Also reflection
on tests helps to examine one’s study strategies and approaches to test-taking.
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Test Evaluation for Lord of the Flies Chapter Four Test
Name: Sydney
How much time did you spend preparing for this test?
I spent one hour each night reviewing material in the three days leading up to the test
Did you feel prepared for the test when you sat down to write?
Yes, I felt very confident
What studying techniques did you use?
I re-read the chapter and highlighted important ideas and quotations, I created a mind-map
and a sequence of events chain, I had flashcards that I created for questions that I thought
you would ask, and I did online quizzes off of Sparknotes on the chapter
What did you think should have been included?
I would have really liked some multiple choice questions because I used multiple choice
questions to study and quiz myself with.
What do you want me to know for the next test?
Nothing really, but that I intend to use the same techniques as before to study
Please reflect on what you could have done better on:
I could have done better on my essay or short answer questions. Although I did well on the
test it showed me that I need a lot more time to write than I thought. Doing more tests will be
helpful because practice makes perfect! I need to study less memorization and look more at
the big picture in order to make connections between the chapters and text. For next time, I
would like if you gave us a few practice essay questions to do in class so we can see how long
it takes us to write an outline and then write the essay.
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Connection to the Outside World
In Lord of the Flies the boys are finally rescued and brought back into the world.
Like them, this section of the portfolio will be looked at by the outside world.
In this section students will receive a mark if they have an adult, or guardian,
review their portfolio. The reviewer will be required to fill in a few sentences about
their student’s portfolio.
Having another adult review and validate the student’s work can be extremely
beneficial to that student’s self-efficacy and progress. It shows the student that
what they do in school matters. It also makes the portfolio more important because
it will not only be seen by the teacher and the student, but by another source.
The reviewer will answer the statements:
“This individual’s time on the island (or Lord of the Flies Unit) demonstrates...”
and “The piece that shows the most growth is...(why?)”
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Student Name: _______________________
Reviewer Name: _______________________
Relationship: _______________________
Date: _______________________
Lord of the Flies Portfolio Review
This individual’s “time on the island” (ability in the unit) demonstrates:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
The piece that shows the most growth is... and why?:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Signed (Student): _______________________
Signed (Reviewer):_______________________
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Courtney Goes
ED-D 337B Assessment
Kindra Harte
April 5, 2012
O’Connor’s Response to Lord of the Flies Unit Portfolio
Overall I think that O’Connor would be fairly pleased with the unit portfolio that I
created. I aimed to include many different types of pieces of work that examined and used
different sections of the ELA BC IRP. For example, pieces that required oral comprehension,
written comprehension, and reading comprehension. In addition, O’Connor would like the fact
that self-evaluation was incorporated into the portfolio and that the students were responsible for
choosing and justifying why they chose certain items in their portfolios through the short written
reflections. Also, O’Connor would approve of the third type of assessment that I included in my
portfolio assessment, parent or guardian assessment. It is important to incorporate and bring
parents into the classroom as much as possible to support their students, having them validate
and look at their child’s accomplishment can have a positive effect on that student. O’Connor
would have also approved of the reflections that I created for the students that stress learning and
progress rather than initial successes. My prompts ask students to look at what they’ve done and
how they can improve in the future on their assignments next time. O’Connor believes that
portfolios provide more of a realistic view of student ability than grades alone do. I agree with
this because it demonstrates the student’s learning from the beginning to the end of a unit,
semester, or course. Finally, O’Connor would also likely support the fact that I included room for
an item that demonstrative of the student’s lack of ability or unsuccessfulness at a particular
thing. This demonstrates to students that it is ok to fail, as long as we reflect and learn from that
failure.
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O’Connor probably would have liked to see a portfolio for a whole course, or a larger
portion of time than just a unit. But since this unit could cover six to eight weeks I felt that a
portfolio would be a good way to show the changes in learning and the ability of the student. I
think O’Connor may have also liked some peer assessment included in the portfolio, but since I
did not include any group work, where a peer reflection or assessment would have been
appropriate, I did not include any peer reflections on the portfolio. Portfolios are a good way to
introduce students to self-reflection and a deeper kind of education.
Prescribed Learning Outcomes Covered in the Portfolio
The following PLOs are represented in the assignments outlined in the portfolio or in the
reflections written to go along with the assignments from the portfolio. These PLOs are taken
from the BC IRP (2007).
Select, adapt, and apply a range of strategies to prepare oral communications, including
– interpreting a task and setting a purpose
– generating ideas
– considering multiple perspectives
– synthesizing relevant knowledge and experiences
– planning and rehearsing presentations
Use listening strategies to understand, recall, and analyse a variety of texts, including
– extending understanding by accessing prior knowledge
– making plausible predictions
– synthesizing main points
– generating critical questions
– clarifying and confirming meaning
After reading and viewing, select, adapt, and apply a range of strategies to extend and confirm
meaning, and to consider author’s craft, including
– reflecting on predictions, questions, images, and connections made during reading
– reviewing text and purpose for reading
– making inferences and drawing conclusions
– summarizing, synthesizing, and applying ideas
Explain and support personal responses to texts, by
– making comparisons to other ideas and concepts
– relating reactions and emotions to understanding of the text
– developing opinions using reasons and evidence
– suggesting contextual influences and relationships
use metacognitive strategies to reflect on and assess their reading and viewing, by
– referring to criteria
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– setting goals for improvement
– creating a plan for achieving goals
– evaluating progress and setting new goals
Write and represent to synthesize and extend thinking, by
– personalizing ideas and information
– explaining relationships among ideas and information
– applying new ideas and information
– transforming existing ideas and information
– contextualizing ideas and information
Assessment Tool Kit
In the portfolio I aimed to employ the following items from the assessment tool kit:
- Questioning (in their responses to the first chapter)
- Observation (what did they observe when they read certain things, what did they
observe with themselves)
- Homework (some of the items included in the portfolio could have been homework
assignment if they had chosen those to fill one of the six sections)
- Oral work (through their campaign speech or podcast interview)
- Reading comprehension (through unit tests or written responses to chapters)
- Written work (through anything they’ve included that is written)
- Role-Playing (unsent letters, RAFT, or interview podcast)
- Rubrics (in the rubric for the portfolio)
- Reflective journals
- Self-assessment
- Parent-student-teacher conferencing (sort of through the final section of the portfolio
where an adult has to respond to the portfolio)
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Conclusion
The purpose of this portfolio is to demonstrate student work following a novel study unit
on William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. It aims to give students choice on what they want to
include. For example, I tried not to structure the portfolio to have certain assignments be required
to be included in certain sections. When I have given ideas of what may be included in certain
sections they are only ideas and examples of the types of assignments or assessments that
students would choose to include in those sections. I have tailored the portfolio to demonstrate
growth. In addition, I have a progression from items that were done at the beginning of the novel,
to items that were likely done closer to the end of the novel. Finally, I aimed to include an
outsider’s reflection at the end so that the student could see what a source, who may not have
read the novel, thought of their work.
This portfolio is designed for a grade 11 English class. I believe that portfolios for the
high school grades can be very effective. They demonstrate growth and yet, still allow the
student to achieve. It also goes beyond a letter grade and shows students what type of work they
produce in order to achieve a holistic grade that may be more reflective of their actual ability.
In order to assess this portfolio I have created the following rubric. There will be a mark
for the reflection and choice of assignment to best fit the section out of 4.
4 = reflection demonstrates deep self-reflection with reasoning and goals for the future;
assignment included fits section well
3 = reflection demonstrates some self-reflection with some reasoning and goals; assignment
included fits section
2 = reflection does not demonstrate self-reflection well and reasoning and goals are not well
supported; assignment may fit section
1 = reflection is not included or does not demonstrate self-reflection, goals or reasoning;
assignment is either not included or does not fit the section
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Criteria Self-Assessment
/4
Teacher-Assessment
/4
Overall
/8
New to the Island
Reflection
Straddling
Civilization and
Island Life
Fully Transformed
into an Islander
An Uncivilized
Moment
Under Pressure
Connection to the
Outside World
/48
This portfolio would likely account for a large portion of the student’s course grade. I would
weight this portfolio at approximately 20-30% of the course grade.
