Bondurant-Farrar Community Schools

Artifact
Artifact Title: Student Journal Entry and Reply
Portfolio Author: Christina Cornia
Date: October 27, 2015
Iowa Teaching Standard 4 Uses strategies to deliver instruction that meets the multiple learning needs of
students.

a. Aligns classroom instruction with local standards and district curriculum.

b. Uses research based instructional strategies that address the full range of
cognitive levels.
c. Demonstrates flexibility and responsiveness in adjusting instruction to meet student needs.
d. Engages students in varied experiences that meet diverse needs and promote social,
emotional, and academic growth.
e. Connects students prior knowledge, life experiences, and interests in the instructional
process.
f. Uses available resources, including technologies, in the delivery of instruction.

I chose this artifact to show:

X strength and competency in this standard
Evidence to of
support
of artifact
this standard:
Description
artifactattainment
and how the
meets the standard:
One strategy I implement to informally assess comprehension is a journal entry. Students are required to
write one journal entry per week. These journal entries are about a book they are currently reading or just
finished reading. Students are expected to write a few sentences in each entry and include information about
characters, setting, plot, and their thoughts on the book to that point. The journal entries I receive vary greatly
from student to student. This example is from a student who is in the Talented and Gifted program. She does
an excellent job of sharing what shes reading and being creative in her delivery of the information. I have six
students in this program and I also have four students who have a reading goal. These students entries are
quite different, but they still share what they are reading and details about the book. While the entries I
receive have a wide range, I am able to informally check for comprehension with all students.
Reflection on artifact:
As I mentioned above, I have four students who have a reading goal. In most cases the students also have a
writing goal. It is a struggle for these students to write even two to three sentences. For these students I ask
for one entry per month as opposed to each week. I do not want the students to stress about this activity or
feel that it is a great struggle for them; asking these students to only complete one entry per month seems to
be a good compromise.
My goal is to use the entries as an assessment tool, but I also want students to enjoy the writing. I always
respond and I have several students who look forward to my response. Kacis entry is a great demonstration of
this. I have another student who will immediately respond to any question I pose in his journal. This has
proved to an activity my students and I both enjoy.
In the future I want to provide students with more ideas of how to write an entry. During the first week of
school I show the students what I am looking for by writing an example. I would like to add to this idea. In
addition to an example entry, I think it would be beneficial to also write a list of information students can
include so students are less likely to have difficulty writing an entry.