The writing portfolio is one of the first portfolios introduced in elementary school. Students are instructed to write the first draft, edit and revise the final copy of written work. Many teachers choose the best writing samples from the student's work each quarter, and place them in their individual writing portfolio folders to keep all year to follow a student's progress. The writing portfolio goes with a student's files into the fifth grade or when a student moves to help teachers assess the student's written ability and to follow his success.
Another portion of the overall fourth grade portfolio is the art portfolio. It is kept yearly by the art teacher as she keeps samples of the student's work throughout the year to follow the student's progress. Art often determines if a student is getting the well-rounded education and attention that she needs and will often indicate if there is a problem with the student. A student's work in art class, for example, can indicate that a student needs glasses before it shows up in the classroom. Artwork can often indicate a happy child or a troubled child. Changes in artwork can indicate changes in a child's life and are important to the child's overall development at home and school.
Math portfolios in fourth grade are important, especially in situations where a child moves in the summer between fourth and fifth grades to a different school district. If a student begins having difficulty in math, for example, teachers look back into fourth grade portfolios and read exactly what was studied in the fourth grade math class prior to transferring to that district. The portfolio will begin similarly to the following two sentences: "Ethan completed all of his work in the Oak Grove Fourth Grade Curriculum Syllabus. It included skip counting, addition, subtraction, division, multiplication and Roman numerals." In reality, the statements will continue for about two paragraphs, but the first sentence already informed the new teacher that Ethan did complete fourth grade math.
If a child is hoping to attain advanced placement in the fifth or sixth grade, having a fourth grade portfolio could help her greatly. The portfolio will follow her through her middle school years and help her not lose the credit she earned as a fourth grader. Every field trip she took, bowling trip, science experiment and special assignment she experienced will be notated in the portfolio. Turn the portfolio in with the application for advanced placement to offer valuable insight into the student's abilities as a successful student.