When writing an evaluation, whether it is a report or portfolio format, many teachers wonder if the text is too long or if important information is missing.
So, what elements are essential for a good report or portfolio in bilingual education?
The first consideration is that, in a bilingual context, we must focus on language acquisition. If you work in an immersion school, you also need to address all other aspects, but remember that language should always be a key focus.
With that in mind, the four essential elements that should be included in any evaluative writing are:
#1 Brief Contextualization of the Class Journey – Projects, Themes, or Main Events
This element helps families understand what happened generally during the evaluation period. It also gives meaning to the writing by situating the reader in the educational context. A long description is not necessary, as in this example:
“This semester, we worked on two thematic units. We started the year exploring the theme My Family and Families of the World and then moved on to Garden Animals.”
#2 What is Expected for the Age Group and How the Child Showed This, Plus Actions Taken by the Team When Relevant
This element aligns expectations with observed results, providing a detailed analysis of individual development within the collective context. Not all families know what is expected at each age, so this information helps them understand the context of the writing.
“It is expected that five-year-old children develop basic counting skills and number recognition. (Child’s name) actively participated in counting activities during lessons, although they occasionally needed additional support to consolidate their intuitive summing strategies. To support them, we used concrete materials as representation strategies.”
#3 Learning Objectives, Which Ones the Child Achieved Independently and How Often, and Which Ones Needed Teacher Support and What Kind of Support.
This element explains to families the objectives that guided the work with the children. This helps them understand that all activities are intentional.
“When we worked on the family theme, one of the objectives was to teach vocabulary about family members. (Child’s name) quickly associated the vocabulary with the photos they brought from home, pointing to each person when the teacher said ‘mother,’ ‘father,’ and ‘brother.’ To help them with oral expression, the teacher modeled sentences like ‘He is my father,’ ‘She is my mother,’ and ‘He is my brother,’ both collectively and individually. After a few weeks, (Child’s name) was able to produce these sentences correctly and in context.”
#4 Development, Language Acquisition Process, and Connection to the Language
Here, the goal is to communicate specifically about language learning to families. You can include both achievements and challenges, along with the emotional aspects of this learning process.
“Throughout this semester, (Child’s name) expanded their oral production from single words to complete sentences. At the beginning of the year, they would say ‘water,’ ‘my,’ ‘doll,’ for example. In recent weeks, they have been able to say ‘I want water,’ ‘it’s mine,’ and ‘I like the doll.’ They also started participating more frequently and spontaneously in circle time, even helping their classmates remember words on some occasions. A possible hypothesis is that they became more confident using the language as their expressive capacity increased, so we will continue to monitor their development in this aspect next semester.”
Each of these elements is designed to create a report or portfolio that is informative, engaging, and extremely useful for both educators (who may receive the group next year) and the families of the children. This demonstrates your commitment to careful and responsible evaluation and high-quality bilingual education.
