Our Grade 2 students are using VoiceThread to build Reading Portfolio and a Writing Portfolio to document their progress throughout the year. Students used the iPad to create and add to their Voicethread Portfolios. However, they could also use the laptops.
Writing Portolio
At the end of each writing unit the students prepare a final writing piece and draw a picture to represent the piece. Students then add a slide to the writing portfolio voicethread, take a picture of their drawing then add a voice comment to the slide where they narrate their writing piece. At the end of the year each student will have a nice portfolio of all their final writing pieces. The teachers have also embedded each student writing portfolio into their blog/weebly so parents can then view and listen to each of the writing pieces created by their child.
Reading Portfolio
At the beginning of the year each student picked a book for the reading level at that time. They took a picture of the cover of the book and added it as a slide to their reading portfolio voicethread. The students then record a voice comment on the slide where they read the book or a sample from the book, usually about two minutes of reading. Whenever a student moves up a reading level they choose a book from the level they are leaving and creates a new slide on the reading portfolio once again taking a picture of the cover and recording a 2 min reading sample from the book. This is an excellent way to document the students reading progress and can be continued from one year to the next. The teachers have also embedded each student reading portfolio into their blog/weebly so parents can then listen to the progress their child has made from one reading level to the next and so on.
Below are samples of a writing and a reading portfolio.
Writing Portolio
At the end of each writing unit the students prepare a final writing piece and draw a picture to represent the piece. Students then add a slide to the writing portfolio voicethread, take a picture of their drawing then add a voice comment to the slide where they narrate their writing piece. At the end of the year each student will have a nice portfolio of all their final writing pieces. The teachers have also embedded each student writing portfolio into their blog/weebly so parents can then view and listen to each of the writing pieces created by their child.
Reading Portfolio
At the beginning of the year each student picked a book for the reading level at that time. They took a picture of the cover of the book and added it as a slide to their reading portfolio voicethread. The students then record a voice comment on the slide where they read the book or a sample from the book, usually about two minutes of reading. Whenever a student moves up a reading level they choose a book from the level they are leaving and creates a new slide on the reading portfolio once again taking a picture of the cover and recording a 2 min reading sample from the book. This is an excellent way to document the students reading progress and can be continued from one year to the next. The teachers have also embedded each student reading portfolio into their blog/weebly so parents can then listen to the progress their child has made from one reading level to the next and so on.
Below are samples of a writing and a reading portfolio.