Elementary Education

Task 1: Planning Commentary

TASK 1: PLANNING COMMENTARY

Respond to the prompts below (no more than 9 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within the
brackets. Do not delete or alter the prompts. Pages exceeding the maximum will not be scored.

1. Central Focus
a. Describe the central focus and the essential literacy strategy for comprehending OR
composing text you will teach in the learning segment.
[The central focus of my learning segments was that students will be able to demonstrate
understanding of informational texts through referring back to the text and providing textual
evidence.]
b. Given the central focus, describe how the standards and learning objectives within
your learning segment address

the essential literacy strategy

related skills that support use of the strategy

reading/writing connections

[Standard ELAGSE3RI1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text,

referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers support my central focus by
requiring students to refer to the informational text to pose and answer comprehension
questions.]
c. Explain how your plans build on each other to help students make connections
between the essential literacy strategy to comprehend OR compose text and related
skills that support use of the strategy in meaningful contexts.
[Each lesson is structured so that students will complete a different portion of the Informational
Text Breakdown guide in a specific reading group. Each section of the Informational Text
Breakdown involves a specific skill students need to demonstrate a through understanding of
an informational text (For example, determining the authors purpose, understanding the main
idea and supporting details).]
2. Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching
For each of the prompts below (2ab), describe what you know about your students with
respect to the central focus of the learning segment.
Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/support
(e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners, struggling readers,
underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted
students).
a. Prior academic learning and prerequisite skills related to the central focusCite
evidence of what students know, what they can do, and what they are still learning
to do.
[The large majority of these students are able to answer comprehension questions from
informational texts that are explicitly stated within the text. This is evident by examining the
scores on previous reading comprehension assessments wherein answers were found explicitly.
Students are still learning how to answer higher-order comprehension questions on
informational texts such as What is the main idea of paragraph 2?.]

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Elementary Education
Task 1: Planning Commentary

b. Personal, cultural, and community assets related to the central focusWhat do you
know about your students everyday experiences, cultural and language
backgrounds and practices, and interests?
[I know that the large majority of my students are from middle class/upper middle class families
where reading is valued and done daily. I know that I have one student who struggles with
unfamiliar vocabulary/overall reading comprehension as she is an English Language Learner. I
know that I have one student who struggles with overall reading comprehension due to her
medical history. I also know I have one student who struggles with reading comprehension due
to his lower socioeconomic status and overall cognitive ability level.]
3. Supporting Students Literacy Learning
Respond to prompts 3ac below. To support your justifications, refer to the instructional
materials and lesson plans you have included as part of Literacy Planning Task 1. In
addition, use principles from research and/or theory to support your justifications.
a. Justify how your understanding of your students prior academic learning and personal,
cultural, and community assets (from prompts 2ab above) guided your choice or
adaptation of learning tasks and materials. Be explicit about the connections between
the learning tasks and students prior academic learning, their assets, and
research/theory.
[Knowing that answering higher-order comprehension questions was a weakness of the majority
of my students, I wanted to provide them with a resource to examine and break down lengthy
informational texts.]
b. Describe and justify why your instructional strategies and planned supports are
appropriate for the whole class, individuals, and/or groups of students with specific
learning needs.
Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different
strategies/support (e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners,
struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic
knowledge, and/or gifted students).
[I determined that the Preview section of the Informational Text Breakdown guide needed to
be conducted in a whole group setting so that I could introduce the Informational Text
Breakdown Guide, the informational text Memorials in Washington D.C., as well as the
procedure for completing the remainder of the sections of the Informational Text Breakdown
guide. I determined that the Authors Purpose/Vocabulary, So Whats the Big Idea, and Text
Feature Scavenger Hunt sections should be completed in a small group setting so that I could
make myself available for differentiated instruction and questions. Additionally, my students are
familiar with the structure of instruction through reading groups and frequently request to be
instructed in that format due to its kinesthetic and interpersonal nature.]
c. Describe common developmental approximations or common misconceptions within
your literacy central focus and how you will address them.
[I will address misconceptions about main idea and supporting details by providing additional
one-on-one support to this group through posing higher order questions and prompting students
to refer to specific places within the text to support their opinions.]
4. Supporting Literacy Development Through Language

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Elementary Education
Task 1: Planning Commentary

As you respond to prompts 4ad, consider the range of students language assets and
needswhat do students already know, what are they struggling with, and/or what is new to
them?
a. Language Function. Using information about your students language assets and
needs, identify one language function essential for students to develop and practice the
literacy strategy within your central focus. Listed below are some sample language
functions. You may choose one of these or another more appropriate for your learning
segment.
Analyze

Argue

Categorize

Compare/contrast

Describe

Interpret

Predict

Question

Retell

Summarize

Explain

[Students will demonstrate understanding of informational texts through referring back to their
text for concrete, specific evidence and support.]
b. Identify a key learning task from your plans that provides students with opportunities to
practice using the language function in ways that support the essential literacy strategy.
Identify the lesson in which the learning task occurs. (Give lesson day/number.)
[The So, Whats the Big Idea section of the Informational Text Breakdown guide prompts
students to not only determine the main idea of the text, but also to provide three specific
supporting details using textual evidence.]
c. Additional Language Demands. Given the language function and learning task
identified above, describe the following associated language demands (written or oral)
students need to understand and/or use:

Vocabulary or key phrases

Plus at least one of the following:

Syntax

Discourse

[Students will demonstrate understanding of an informational text by referring back to the

Memorials in Washington D.C. informational text to provide written responses to each of
the sections within the Informational Text Breakdown guide. For any unfamiliar vocabulary
found within the Text Feature Scavenger Hunt lesson, students will reference the
Nonfiction Text Features Chart for clarification and understanding, which strengthens both
independent learning as well as reference skills. Additionally, students will raise their hands
quietly to request any further clarification on directions/procedure or unfamiliar vocabulary
within the informational text.]
d. Language Supports. Refer to your lesson plans and instructional materials as needed
in your response to the prompt.

Identify and describe the planned instructional supports (during and/or prior to the
learning task) to help students understand, develop, and use the identified language
demands (function, vocabulary or key phrases, discourse, or syntax).

[I lead the completion of the Preview section and gave very detailed instructions for completion
of the Informational Text Breakdown guide. I was available for any specific questions
throughout the completion of the other three sections of the Informational Text Breakdown
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Elementary Education
Task 1: Planning Commentary

Guide (Authors Purpose/Vocabulary, So, Whats the Big Idea, and the Text Feature
Scavenger Hunt). Additionally, I provided an Informational Text Features Chart in the Text
Feature Scavenger Hunt group so that students could use it as a reference for any text features
that were unfamiliar.]
5. Monitoring Student Learning
In response to the prompts below, refer to the assessments you will submit as part of the
materials for Literacy Planning Task 1.
a. Describe how your planned formal and informal assessments will provide direct
evidence that students can use the essential literacy strategy to comprehend OR
compose text AND related skills throughout the learning segment.
[Each section o the Informational Text Breakdown guide provides evidence of a specific
component of comprehending informational texts as it prompts students to determine the
authors purpose, unfamiliar vocabulary, and the main idea of the text as wel as examining text
features.]
b. Explain how the design or adaptation of your planned assessments allows students with
specific needs to demonstrate their learning.
Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different
strategies/support (e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners,
struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic
knowledge, and/or gifted students).
[By presenting the Informational Text Breakdown in a jigsaw format, I was able to provide my
group of lower-level learners with additional support. Additionally, I was able to pose more indepth questions to my higher-level learners and prompt them to answer more creatively. For
example, in the So Whats the big Idea Section, I challenged them to write a sentence using all
three of their words they chose that supported the main idea.]

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The edTPA trademarks are owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edTPA trademarks is
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