Portfolios are projects ILS students complete to showcase their learning. Students in the 7th and 8th grades complete one portfolio project each year. Beginning in the fall and extending through the academic year, students work through a nine-step process to reach their final result. Working individually with a single faculty member, students first must have their proposals approved, then develop a thesis statement and source list. Students spend much of the year in reading, studying, experimenting, and taking robust notes on their given topic. Faculty review and approve initial outlines, then students begin writing the first of three drafts. Their final products are diverse reflections of student personalities, interests, family backgrounds, and aptitudes.
Immanuel's faculty note that not all learning is best represented or imagined via written papers. However, the rigorous and creative process of working on a major project to completion guides students to value excellence and produce their best academic work. This honors the intellect and abilities of the individual student, pushing all to learn and grow, believing all are capable of such in depth work. While no student projects are ever perfect in the end, we celebrate each student's sense of wonder and delight, demonstrated through their dedicated efforts throughout the course of the year.
Literature Portfolio Project: Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison (Rory, 7th grade)
In Indian Captive: the Story of Mary Jemison, Molly is taken from her family by the Indians. Molly makes friends and she picks up the language and the culture. At the end of the book she is given the choice to go back with the Englishmen or stay with the Indians. In the end, Molly chooses to stay with the Indians. The unique relationship Molly has with the Indians, and the growing relationship she has with the culture, is the reason why she stayed with them. This paper is going to talk specifically about the crucial relationships that influence Molly to stay with them. This paper will summarize the book in more detail and it will talk about Lois Lenski, the author.