Notebooks, Portfolios, Time Line Books

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Scrapbooking to Learn

Scrapbooking to Learn is a phrase from Heart of Wisdom Unit Studies. They suggests using Scrapbooking methods as a creative outlet for school work. Students combine Scrapbooking techniques with Charlotte Mason's copy methods for a great display or addition to your unit study portfolio! Scrapbooking is incredibly rewarding, Students show enthusiasm about almost any subject if there are able to scrapbook. The pages below were made using from images on the Internet and Scrapbooking methods. See larger images by clicking the image.

Time Line Book

The page below is a sample from a Time Line Book from Heart of Wisdom Unit Studies.  For instructions read Creating a Time Line Book from HomeschoolUnitStudies.com

Collecting Portfolio items on multiple occasions allows the Portfolio to become a tool for documenting, analyzing, and summarizing the child's growth and development through the entire school year. Portfolios integrate instruction and assessment. Documentation of students and their work should include examples of the child's work (such as drawings or photos), the child's journal, the child's notebook or written work, the teacher's weekly records and assessment of the child's work. Extensive descriptions of the child's total involvement in the learning process should be included. Analysis of such documentation can provide meaningful evaluation of children's learning. Portfolios include anything demonstrating what you have learned from a study. Items included in the portfolio include:

Unit Study Portfolios

A Unit Study Portfolio is a record demonstrating what you have learned from a thematic unit study. A notebook (or files) is divided according to the topic studied. This division is similar to a research paper. 

This is not a notebook full of reports. The Clouds section could include: photos of clouds, sketches of clouds, cloud classifications, an illustration of the water cycle, poetry, a book list, summary writing, etc. Sections can be subdivided further such as: Weather Forecasting: Equipment, Organizations, Observations, Weather Stations, etc.

A portfolio is a collection of two types of work:

1. Core Items--representations of a particular area of learning within a domain that are selected three times a year
2. Individualized Items--unique examples of a child's work that capture the child's interests and experiences and reflect integrated learning across domains.

 Portfolio Containers

The size of a portfolio container will depend on the size of the work. A three-ring notebook with the clear plastic pocket cover works well for a thematic study. Include a variety of paper, cardstock and top loading sheet protectors for artwork, small collections, letters, photos, brochures, maps, etc. Children can create and decorate a cover to slid into the pocket with markers, a collage, or enlarged a color photo at a local copy center. For Oversized art work is easily stored by folding poster board in half and stapling the sides.

To contain work for the year or semester, use storage cube or crate with hanging files. You may also need also need file folders, index cards (evaluations and comments), chart paper, construction paper, etc. If you plan on making a portfolio for the entire year, consider color coding the folders by quarter or semester. Possible file divisions are listed below. There are different types of portfolios Student Portfolios and Project Portfolios. A project portfolio can represent a person or theme subject.

Find out more about portfolios  at the Heart of Wisdom Unit Study site. See Unit Study Portfolios, Graphic Organizers,  and Worksheets (includes worksheets for Book, Events, Character, Cause and Effect and more.)

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