Elementary Education

Task 2: Instruction Commentary

TASK 2: INSTRUCTION COMMENTARY

Respond to the prompts below (no more than 6 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within the
brackets following each prompt. Do not delete or alter the prompts. Commentary pages exceeding the maximum will not be
scored. You may insert no more than 2 additional pages of supporting documentation at the end of this file. These pages
may include graphics, texts, or images that are not clearly visible in the video or a transcript for occasionally inaudible portions.
These pages do not count toward your page total.

1. Which lesson or lessons are shown in the video clip(s)? Identify the lesson(s) by lesson plan
number.
[ The featured lessons are:
Lesson 2- Can you compare and contrast it? Clip 1 is seven minutes and four seconds long.
Lesson 3- Can you organize it? Clip 2 is six minutes and twenty seconds long. ]
2. Promoting a Positive Learning Environment
Refer to scenes in the video clip(s) where you provided a positive learning environment.

a. How did you demonstrate mutual respect for, rapport with, and responsiveness to
students with varied needs and backgrounds, and challenge students to engage in
learning?
[In Clip 2, I am very respectful when it comes to my students. I listen to what they have to say. I
remind them when they get too loud that I cannot hear all of their great ideas if everyone is
shouting out at once, seen during 6:00-6:10 mins. I believe that I have a great rapport with
them. I joke with them, tease them, laugh with them, and congratulate all of their small
accomplishments. At the very beginning of Clip 2, I had a student, who suffers from anxiety and
needs extra reassurance, ask whether or not she would need to write one or two papers since
there were two topics. I had students answer, and used this to introduce my lesson. When a
student shouted out at 4:41-4:51 mins, and continued to play (off camera), I responded by
thanking him for his excitement, but I reminded him of the expectation. I challenged students to
engage by having them walk through the layout of a paper with me. We then held a class
discussion, about whether or not you could start a paper with a question. This led into a brief
discussion about what students would actually do if they saw a tornado. Because of this, many
were very engaged and wanted to share. In Clip 1, 0:23-0:54 mins, I challenged my students to
think about possible similarities between hurricanes and tornadoes, to further their writing.]
3. Engaging Students in Learning
Refer to examples from the video clip(s) in your responses to the prompts.

a. Explain how your instruction engaged students in developing an essential literacy

strategy and requisite skills.
[Clip 2, 1:26-4:10 mins. I engaged students in a lesson on paper writing/organization. We
discussed how we would want to write a paper, using introductions, body paragraphs, and
conclusions. These are just the requisite skills. Students were then informed on how a compare
and contrast paper should be organized. As I have mentioned, I had one student who asked
whether she had to write two papers. I was able to teach them that one paper can be about
more than just one topic; it is all about the organization of the paper.]
b. Describe how your instruction linked students prior academic learning and personal,
cultural, and community assets with new learning.

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Elementary Education
Task 2: Instruction Commentary

[In Clip 1, 0:05-1:45 mins, students have all of their facts organized into two categories. It is in
this lesson that I challenge them to use the facts from the previous day to think of any
similarities that there might be between hurricanes and tornadoes. I focused on linking a
personal asset during in Clip 1, 1:03-1:18. This student is particularly quiet. As you can see, she
does not just share her findings because she is shy. She has confided in me that she wishes
she were more outgoing. In order to build her confidence, I always try to praise her or share
something that she has found. Hopefully, she will become more confident and feel like her
answers are important to share.
Clip 2, 1:26-4:10 mins, this lesson also built on their prior learning by requiring them to refer to
skills that they already have. They know that papers have to have titles, introductions, and
conclusions. They know that they have to have facts. What they did not know was how to talk
about more than one topic, in a compare and contrast format.]
4. Deepening Student Learning during Instruction
Refer to examples from the video clip(s) in your explanations.
a. Explain how you elicited and built on student responses to promote thinking and
apply the essential literacy strategy using requisite skills to comprehend OR compose
text.
[In Clip 2, at 0:10, one student asked whether or not she would need to write one or two papers
since there were two topics. I asked the class what they thought. When I heard one, I
congratulated her and used this to begin my lesson. From her question, I was able to show
students that they did not have to write two papers. In a compare and contrast format, only one
paper is required, but it should be organized in a certain way. I go on to describe the
organization of the paper. ]
b. Explain how you modeled the essential literacy strategy and supported students as they
practiced and applied the strategy in a meaning-based context.
[In Clip 1, 5:36-6:20 mins, I am supporting a student while he is trying to create his organizer. I
ask him how he wants to organize his facts, and he informs that it will be, from left to right,
hurricanes, both, and tornadoes. He is a struggling student when it comes to literacy. I want to
make sure that he is on the correct path. I support him by reminding him that he should already
have some notes. He was still researching, but I encouraged him to go ahead and transfer
those notes to his organizer.
Clip 2, 1:26-4:10 mins, shows where I have broken down the organization of their informational
papers. I model by talking about I how would introduce my topic. I would have to hook the
reader in some way. I would also have to tell my audience what I am talking about. Then, like
most papers, we have to have our body paragraphs. I could first start with either hurricanes or
tornadoes, does not matter, but I want to follow the order that I introduced them in in my
introduction. But what goes in this paragraph? I would have to introduce this topic, include
details, and finish with a closing statement. The same goes for the second paragraph. I then
inform the students that the third body paragraph is where I list my similarities. I do not have to
list my differences, because I have done that in my other paragraphs. Finally, I have to wrap
everything up in a conclusion.]
5. Analyzing Teaching
Refer to examples from the video clip(s) in your responses to the prompts.

a. What changes would you make to your instructionfor the whole class and/or for
students who need greater support or challengeto better support student learning of
the central focus (e.g., missed opportunities)?
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Elementary Education
Task 2: Instruction Commentary

Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/support,
such as students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners, struggling readers,
underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students.

[My biggest concern is classroom management. If I could work on that, I would be able to use
time so much more wisely. In Clip 1, 1:55-2:25 mins, I took a while to get the students back
under control.
While I believe that the discussion at the end of Clip 2 (5:48-7:00 mins) was fine, and shows my
rapport with the students, it did take a lot of time. I wanted students to begin thinking about
possible hooks. I always enjoy hearing what they have to say, and get caught up in the chatter.
This extra time could have been used to work with one of my students who needs a little more
guidance. There were also countless opportunities were I could have called on someone to
check for understanding. There were many students who did not share anything within the
discussion, and I should have taken a moment to make sure they were engaged.]
b. Why do you think these changes would improve student learning? Support your
explanation with evidence of student learning AND principles from theory and/or
research.
[These changes would improve student learning because they would have had more time to
actually practice the strategy. I am very much a progressivist and believe that students learn by
doing. We did not complete so much doing as we did sharing during this lesson. I believe that I
could have built off of student ideas and questions, but had so many shouted out, that I am sure
I missed quite a few. While I believe that these conversations are important, I also believe that
they can distract from our main objective of the lesson. ]

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All rights reserved.
V3_0914
The edTPA trademarks are owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edTPA trademarks is
permitted only pursuant to the terms of a written license agreement.