Completion of the Honors Portfolio in LCPS is a mandatory fragment of an Honors English course that justifies the .5 GPA “bump” and the title of “Honors.” These assignments aim to truly pushed student limits as critical readers, analytical writers, and rigorous thinkers. To substantiate the completion of these goals, there are two pieces of engaging and summative works that must be completed:
1.
The Big Question Essay – due in May a.
The Big Question Essay is an assignment that should serve the longitude of the school year and have students focus on obtaining and using IN-CLASS and OUT OF CLASS sources to answer an overarching question (BIG QUESTION). b.
The overarching question (big question) will be chosen at the beginning of the year and answered slowly but also deeply throughout the year. c.
Students will need to obtain and use 6-9 “artifacts” that can successfully support a cohesive answer to their chosen question. d.
Types of texts: 3 Major, in-class texts; and 6 other sources that are explained in the chart titled
“Types of Artifacts and Sources” e.
There will be assigned checkpoints for students to have found and prepared support for their own artifacts throughout the year. i.
These pieces SHOULD WORK TOGETHER to answer the BQ – the essay SHOULD NOT sound like several paragraphs that answer the BQ in a random assortment of ways. ii.
This is an assignment that requires deeper thinking and clear synthesizing.
2.
The Honors Portfolio Reflection – due at the end of the 3 rd quarter a.
The Honors Portfolio Reflection project is another cumulative assignment that should prove to be rigorous and involving. This assignment requires students to reflect and see their writing, reading, and thinking skills progress throughout the year and create a cognizance, or awareness, in a work that achieves these goals. STUDENTS SHOULD KEEP MAJOR, MINOR, and
REFLECTIVE assignments that can help focus this project. b.
A minimum of 6 reflective citations of student work are required to be used. c.
Analytical writing skills will be groomed and practiced throughout the year. Students MUST keep all of their writing assignments to be able to look in retrospect at the growth. d.
Critical reading skills will also be developed this year and should be reflected upon by habitual reflections on homework assignments, in-class reading tasks, and outside of class practices as well. e.
Deeper thought processes will have to be used while accomplishing work throughout English
11. Students should be able to pull work from an earlier segment of the year and compare the thought process to the level they have been able to reach. i.
This can be achieved by explaining thoughts on a past assignment and how they could have handled it better. ii.
OR, a past assignment can be compared to a more recent one to display growth in their mental capacity.

1) Artifacts should be found by the given dates.
2) An explanation of the source is required.
3) A thorough connection to the BQ answer AND the previous artifacts should also be completed by the given dates.
4) The citation for each artifact should be done and kept throughout this project’s process.
5) You do not need to use every artifact that is found, but every due date requires an artifact to be found and completed. The more quality options there are, the easier this project is, and the better it will turn out.
Big Question Selection
October 15/16
BQ: 10 minute free write about the topic.
Art 1:
November 13/14
December 10/11
December 18/19
January 11/12
Artifact #1 with explanation, connection, and citation
Artifact #2 with explanation, connection, and citation
Artifact #3 with explanation, connection, and citation
Artifact #4 with explanation, connection, and citation
Art 2:
Art 3:
Art 4:
25 minute synthesizing write about the BQ using the arts.
Art 5:
January 30/31
February 17/18
March 16/17
April 9/10
Artifact #5 with explanation, connection, and citation
Artifact #6 with explanation, connection, and citation
Artifact #7 with explanation, connection, and citation
Artifact #8 with explanation, connection, and citation
Art 6:
Art 7:
Art 8:
25 minute synthesizing write about the BQ using the arts.
Art 9:
May 5/6
Artifact #9 with explanation, connection, and citation
Artifact #9 with explanation, connection, and citation
Art 10:
Make final selections to answer your BQ, and create an outline/rough draft

The Reflection portion of the portfolio focuses on skills that are built throughout the year. Work must be kept, and you must reflect periodically to accomplish this with thorough and honors-level productivity. This project is more hands-on for you as a student, and less teacher-involved. Reflection is a retrospective practice and requires autonomy.
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
 File all relevant writing artifacts (timed writing assignments,
Socratic seminars, annotations, journal response, etc.)

Identify strengths, weakness, and tendencies.

Complete one writing reflection

File all relevant writing artifacts (timed writing assignments,
Socratic seminars, annotations, journal response, etc.)
 Identify strengths, weakness, and tendencies.
 Explain how your strengths and weaknesses have progresses since your previous reflective write
 Complete one writing reflection

Identify supporting documents

Find supporting quotes from your own work

All supporting documents should be attached to the final product

Draft and Revive Reflection Essay

Turn in Reflective Essay
Done with the reflection

Name ______________________________________ Block _____________
Honors Assessment Project
One expectation of Honors English in Loudoun County is that students are capable of independent inquiry. As an LCPS student, you will gather materials outside of class that deal with your Big Question. This material should be chosen from the larger world of ideas and should reflect inquisitive spirit.
Below is a list of possible materials you could gather for your portfolio project. Please note:
This list is NOT exhaustive. Work with your teacher to decide whether material not listed here is appropriate.
No MORE than one:
Scholarly Literary References works like encyclopedias and dictionaries
Major periodicals
(newspapers, magazine, journals)
Reliable websites (.edu, .gov, some .org sites)
No MORE than one:
Television shows
Movies
Songs
At LEAST three major texts:
Novels
Plays
AT LEAST 2 minor texts:
Short Stories
Poems
No MORE than one:
Journal entries
Conversations/interviews

You are encouraged to think broadly as you decide what to include in your portfolio, but your material must be up to a certain standard. The material you choose should be thought-provoking, and you should strive to find ideas expand and challenge your thinking, not simply reinforce it.
Your material should:
1. Cause you to think and reflect long after you have read/viewed/experienced the material. Why did the author write this? What did my mother mean when she said this? Why is the subject of that particular picture posed this way?
2. Deal with the subject of your Big Question in an interesting and unique way. In your material, you should notice something that you have not seen said or expressed so well about your Big Question. The piece should make you say, “That’s an interesting way of looking at the issue.”
3. Lead you to change, modify, even in a small way, you’re thinking about the subject. The material should lead you to say, “You know, I think I understand my Big Question a little better now.”
Please realize that this does not mean you have to agree with the material. Sometimes the things that make us form the strongest opinion about something are the things with which we most disagree.
As the teacher, I will make the final decision on material appropriateness. I will also work with you to figure out a way to include material that will not fit the standard folder. For example, video clips, sculptures, or entire books.
Remember the main idea of this individual inquiry project. You are making connections outside of the classroom curriculum to the larger world of ideas.

The Big Question Essay – 50% of final exam grade! Name: _________________________
Directions: All year you have been contemplating one central “big question” as we have studied various pieces of literature, and looked at some self-selected artifacts from your life/world outside of English class. Now the time has come for you to answer the question. Since solid reasoning, and finding support for arguments and opinions is also something that we have been working on this year you need to make sure that as you work on developing your final answer to your big question that you do these things well. Since we have been preparing for this essay for a while now, and you have a lot of different types of evidence to use as support, the chances are very high that your essay will need to be longer than our typical “5 paragraph” essay.
OPTIONS (choose you):
1.
Can morals “survive” catastrophe?
2.
Is the American Dream still obtainable?
3.
Which is more important, the journey or the destination?
1.
A well-organized structure that includes

Introductory paragraph

Strong hook

Introduce your big question as an arguable assertion

State the answer you have decided on for your big question (be clear – this should not be a mystery for your reader)

Statement of counterpoint
 thesis statement

Body paragraphs (the number you have will be dictated by how you use your evidence, and how you break down the answer to your question)
 FOR EVERY MAIN POINT YOU HAVE IN YOUR ESSAY YOU MUST ADDRESS THE
COUNTERPOINT TO YOUR ARUMENT! (concession/rebuttal)

Topic sentences

solid support
 good quote integration

Clear explanation of how evidence helps to support your ultimate answer

Transition sentences

2.
Support from 3-6 of the artifacts you collected this year.
Conclusion paragraph

Restatement of major points and evidence

Discuss universality of your Big Question

You may include a personal reflection

Good clincher
3.
Support from at least 3 of the major literary works we studied this year.

Pre-writing:
Big Question:
Answer:
Counterpoint:
Support: (minimum of 3 artifacts that are not major literary works. Add more boxes if necessary)
Artifact #1:
How Artifact 1 helped shape my view of my big question:
Artifact #2:
How Artifact 2 helped shape my view of my big question:
How Artifact 3 helped shape my view of my big question:

Literary Work #1:
How Literary Work 1 helped shape my view of my big question:
Literary Work #2
How Literary Work 2 helped shape my view of my big question:
Literary Work #3
How Literary Work 3 helped shape my view of my big question:
Connections between artifacts / texts (use the space below to keep track of connections you find useful.
REMEMBER, your artifacts need to work together and sound like they connect, not just all answer the question in a random assortment of ways):