A portfolio is maintained by each student for the purpose of collecting samples of individual work, summarizing the content of the units and focusing on what the student has learned during each of the units. The portfolio is graded and given one-third weight in the unit grade. There are group projects for each unit, which involve a collective effort and a class presentation. The projects are drawn from a pool of possible activities that highlight specific aspects of the unit's general concepts. The projects are graded and account for the final one-third of the unit grade.
Attention is given to providing models for students to become successful learners.
Accumulative grades are posted weekly and attention is drawn to missing work. Students are given opportunities to research and collect information and to organize it for presentation. They reflect on what they have learned and apply it, not only to new situations, but to what they believe. Students are asked to use what they have learned to support a position they might take as well as recognize that someone else might take a different position based on what they have learned. The outlines of the units are presented here.