Latimer Task1 PC

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.
[In this learning segment, the central focus is on the essential skill of determining the main idea
and summarizing, specifically of nonfiction texts. Though students will be reading texts for
comprehension, the essential literacy strategy asks students to be able to compose the main
idea statement independently. Students’ performance on their progress monitoring tests (given
prior to the learning segment) demonstrated a need for further instruction on this Common Core
main idea/summarization standard, so it was chosen for this learning segment. This primary
standard (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.2) reads as follows: Determine the main idea of a text
and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text. Students will also be
learning to integrate other literacy strategies in order to strengthen their understanding of and
performance on this central focus. These strategies are drawn from the following standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1, Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the
text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text., and
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.8, Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support
particular points in a text. These standards relate to the Central Focus in that they contribute to
student understandings about how to compose a solid main idea statement from the nonfiction
text that they read and comprehend. For instance, in the first lesson, students will identify topic
sentences and supporting details from the text, thereby explaining how an author uses reasons
and evidence (supporting details) to support particular points (topic sentences) in a text. In the
second lesson, students will refer to details and examples from the text when they identify
topics, subcategories, and begin to compose main idea statements. These skills come directly
from the selected supporting standards.]
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
[The essential literacy strategy involves student composition of main idea statements for
paragraphs within texts, as well as summarization of longer text utilizing those main idea
statements from the paragraphs. The main idea and summarization skill comes directly from
standard CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.2, which reads as follows: Determine the main idea of a
text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text. Though the standard
says determine the main idea, I am building my students’ composition skills by requiring them to
compose the main idea statement in their own words. Students will learn this process in a step
by step fashion. As they learn about topic sentences and supporting details in Lesson #1, they
will be learning about how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points
(standard 4.8). They will make a connection between reading and writing in that they will read
what the author has written, and then write the author’s topic sentence and their supporting
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details. Thus, they demonstrate knowledge of how the author uses evidence (details) to support
particular points in a text (topic sentences). In Lesson #2, students’ investigations of the main
idea promote their returning to the text to find the information that they need to compose the
main idea. In doing so, students are making an inference, using reasoning and evidence to
support their main idea statements. Not only is this another connection between reading and
writing, but it is also a requisite skill that students need in order to compose main idea
statements. Furthermore, these supporting skill standards will be built on throughout the lesson
segment: students must always be able to defend their main idea statement by providing
specific details in the text that support that main idea. In addition to these standards, students
will also be strengthening their ability to paraphrase: it is not enough for students to copy the
detail straight from the text: they must put it in their own words. Furthermore, the main idea
statement will always be in students’ original written and spoken language.]
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.
[The essential literacy strategy, composing main idea statements, will be taught in steps that
build on each other. During Lesson #1, students will learn how to find topic sentences,
supporting details, and topics. While this does not broach the subject of main idea, it gives them
the foundational skills that they will need to be able to compose the main idea statement in
Lesson #2. This lesson also supports development of students’ related skills by asking them to
refer to details in the text, and explain how those details relate to particular points that the
author is making. During Lesson #2, they will learn how to group supporting details into a
subcategory, and combine the topic and subcategory into a central idea that the author wants
the reader to understand after reading the passage. They will then combine what they know
about this idea, topic, and subcategory to compose an original main idea statement. They must
support this main idea statement with details from the text. This directly connects back to the
supporting skills of explaining how an author uses evidence to support particular points in the
text, as well as referring to details and examples in the text when making inferences based on
the text. To further their understanding about main idea, in Lesson #3, students will formulate a
summary of a longer passage by finding the main idea of each individual paragraph. Students
will work on the related skills from the standards (referring to specific evidence in the text) as
they identify supporting details and use details from the text to support their main idea
statements. With regards to other requisite skills, students will be paraphrasing supporting
details, subcategories, and author’s ideas from the text. Furthermore, the lessons will also build
on each other in that the passage length and complexity will increase as students learn how to
determine the main idea statement. At the end of this learning segment, students will be able to
determine main idea and supporting details, and compose their own main idea statements and
summaries. The learning segment is designed to teach students the literacy strategy and
related skills, as well as promote the use of these skills independently. Students will not only
learn the processes of and reasons for the processes, but they will also be asked to produce
their own explanations (with teacher prompting as needed) for when and why they will use the
skills independently in the future.]
2. Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching
For each of the prompts below (2a–b), 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 focus—Cite evidence
of what students know, what they can do, and what they are still learning to do.
[Based on the students’ pre-assessment results, they demonstrated a range of skills that they
are in progress of learning with regards to determining the main idea, supporting details, and
summarization. The students in this group were assessed on their ability to determine the main
idea, determine support for the main idea, determine important details from the passage, and
summarize the passage. They were given three nonfiction passages in the areas of science and
social studies. Students were able to determine the main idea of the passage 58% of the time,
and determine appropriate evidence 58% of the time. However, only two students were able to
determine both the main idea and evidence for that particular main idea on the same passage.
Therefore, most of the students can either determine the main idea statement or the evidence
for it, but not both. With regards to supporting details, students were able to accurately choose
supporting details for a passage’s main idea 28% of the time. For each question asking about
details, only one or two students answered the question correctly. Finally, with regards to
summarization, students were able to accurately summarize 42% of the time: only two students
were able to summarize well 100% of the time, while one additional student was able to
summarize well 50% of the time. Therefore, students are on their way to mastery of determining
the main idea, while they are still learning to support that main idea with evidence/details, as
well as composing summaries.]
b. Personal, cultural, and community assets related to the central focus—What do you know
about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural and language backgrounds and
practices, and interests?
[The students in this small group are primarily African American, with the exception of one
Asian. Most of them come from low-income homes in an urban setting. Therefore, their
everyday experiences will be different from those with higher socioeconomic statuses. From my
conversations with students and observations of student book choices, I have noticed key
details about my students’ interests. From past experiences observing and teaching these
students, I have observed that there are also students who have demonstrated interest in
sports, especially basketball and football. As evidenced by their heart mapping activity that I
implemented (students created hearts with words and pictures of things that are important to
them) and conversations, I noticed that many of these students have pets, especially dogs.
Furthermore, in previous ELA lesson segments about service animals and stagecoach driving
with horses, students have expressed interest in these animals, as well as others in nature.
Their interest in service animals has been driven by the fact that they have another teacher in
their school building who is blind and needs a guide dog. So, they have also demonstrated
interest in blindness and how people deal with it. In addition to regular classroom reading, these
students consistently read fiction books for fun, especially realistic fiction journal-type books like
Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Though their preference is fiction, if they choose to read nonfiction books,
these books are in their niche areas of interest, such as sports players and animals.]
3. Supporting Students’ Literacy Learning
Respond to prompts 3a–c 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 2a–b 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.
[According to the pre-assessment results, students are still learning how to determine main
idea, and still need support in selecting appropriate supporting details and the composition of
summaries. Therefore, this learning segment incorporates elements (explained more explicitly in
prompt 3b) that teach the students these skills. The Madeline Hunter Lesson Model emphasizes
the importance of teacher modeling, guided practice, and independent practice to ensure that
students learn the skill correctly the first time and learn to apply it independently through
repetition. I chose to follow this model of instruction that incorporates teacher modeling, guided
practice, and independent practice, so that my students will not only learn the skill well, but also
be able to apply it independently. Furthermore, I also want my students actively participating in
metacognition, which is the process of thinking about your thinking (Flavell). Therefore, not only
am I modeling and guiding the students in the strategy and skills, but I am also asking them for
their thoughts on how they reached certain conclusions about supporting details, main ideas, or
summaries. This metacognition will also aid them in recognizing how they are going about
answering questions or explaining things, which will help them to refine their thinking processes
to be able to perform the skills in better ways. Furthermore, I chose to adapt these lessons to
students’ personal assets by selecting passages that are of interest to them. More specifically,
each and every passage that we read, whether it’s for modeling, guided practice, or
independent practice, 100% of the nonfiction texts that students read will in some way be
related to their interests.]
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,
students).
[Throughout the process of getting to know my students, I have paid close attention to Howard
Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory and how it impacts my students as learners. His theory
states that people have many different ways of processing information: we all have various
levels of the same intelligences (ways of learning). I implemented a multiple intelligences
inventory with my students, and, through its implementation, I have learned some ways in which
my students learn best. In this particular small group, the students have demonstrated that they
learn best visually and verbally. Therefore, through the planning of this learning segment, I paid
special attention to creating both visual and verbal ways to learn. The key learning task that
students are asked to do specifically relates to both verbal and visual ways to learn. Based on
an idea called Give Me Five, created by Kim Miller, students will fill in a graphic organizer that is
in the shape of a hand: the topic sentence goes on the thumb, the supporting details on the
fingers, and the main idea on the palm. Though I am modifying this idea for my students (as
explained in prompt 4b), I chose this graphic organizer because not only does it ask students to
organize topic sentence, supporting details, and main idea in a verbal format, but it also does so
in a visual format. Students will also be able to use their own hand when explaining their ideas
orally. This graphic organizer and learning task supports students in developing their expertise
in the central focus of determining the main idea, as well as in the related skills of referring to
details in the text, as well as explaining how the author uses evidence to support particular
points (by requiring all of the evidence before constructing a main idea statement). Furthermore,
students will also be able to consolidate their knowledge about the process of determining the
main idea using another graphic organizer, again relating to students’ visual intelligence.
The instructional strategies selected will be scaffolded to meet students’ needs (Vygotsky).
Throughout the modeling and guided practice, I will scaffold for student success by explaining
processes explicitly and encouraging students to ask questions as they experience confusions.
Students will receive as much support as they need: as more advanced readers move on to
independent practice, struggling readers may need more guided practice. Furthermore,
passages were selected to be geared toward students’ Lexile levels, while still maintaining a
level of challenge. For example, the passages selected for student success on the assessment
in Lesson #3 all relate to the same topic, while being differentiated for struggling readers, on
level readers, and advanced readers. This makes the skill work accessible for all students. ]
c. Describe common developmental approximations or common misconceptions within your
literacy central focus and how you will address them.
[According to various works cited by Wang’s 2009 study entitled Factors Affecting the
Comprehension of Global and Local Main Idea, the term main idea has been found to be
synonymous with the text’s topic sentence, the central idea of the expository text itself, and
even the theme of a narrative story (pp. 35-36). This unclear definition of main idea comes from
teachers and professors teaching main idea in a myriad of ways. This leaves students with a
feeling of confusion about what main idea really means, considering that they experience many
classrooms with many teachers throughout the course of their academic career. Therefore, I
must clearly define what the main idea is for my students: a statement that takes into
consideration the topic, supporting details, and the subcategory that those details fall under in
order to determine the central idea that the author is trying to convey. If they learn how to
compose the main idea from these details, then not only will they gain a better understanding of
what the passage is about, but they will also be able to select the main idea from choices given
on standardized tests, like the Georgia Milestones. Furthermore, students also have learned
how to find theme of narrative stories, so I will have to explicitly differentiate between the two. A
theme is a life lesson learned from a narrative story, while the main idea is the central point of a
nonfiction text. The main idea includes the explanations/descriptions of the topic (i.e. If the text
is about basketball, the main idea will be about basketball), while the theme generally does not
include the topic (it is a general lesson about life; for example, “Never give up on your
dreams.”). In addition, some students, without going through the process of finding the main
idea, might choose a random detail or the topic sentence from the text to put as their main idea.
It is important that the students understand that the main idea statement must always be
paraphrased and composed from the text at large, rather than chosen at random or selected
because it is the topic sentence. Therefore, I will need to make the process step by step and
explicit. Students must comprehend the text as a whole, and consolidate the key details into a
subcategory, and then determine a main idea statement using all of this information.]
4. Supporting Literacy Development Through Language
As you respond to prompts 4a–d, consider the range of students’ language assets and
needs—what 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 Explain
Interpret Predict Question Retell Summarize
[The language function that students will be utilizing throughout the unit to compose text is to
determine. This language function was established directly from the associated standard.
According to the Webster’s Dictionary, determine means to find out or come to a decision by
investigation, reasoning, or calculation. The students will be investigating nonfiction passages in
order to find out what the main idea statement should be. This language function was chosen
because students must take into consideration a text’s topic, subcategory, and author’s primary
point in order to compose a well written main idea statement. After they have learned to write
main idea statements, they will be compiling one main idea statement per paragraph in order to
determine a summary for a longer passage. Though the Bloom’s taxonomy places this language
function on level 2 because it asks students to explain ideas or concepts, it is academically
challenging for this group of students because they are being asked to compose a main idea
statement on their own. This will provide them with an essential skill that will help them to
comprehend other nonfiction texts, prepare them for state standardized tests, and ensure their
success for promotion to the next grade level.]
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.)
[Students are asked to determine some aspect of the main idea throughout all three lessons.
Lesson Plan #1 lays the groundwork by asking students to determine the topic, topic sentence
and supporting details. However, the key learning task that asks students to practice
determining the main idea statement occurs in Lesson Plan #2. Students will be asked to fill in a
graphic organizer that guides them through determining the topic sentence, topic, supporting
details, subcategory, to ultimately determine a main idea statement from all this information. The
supporting details and topic sentence of the original paragraph should all be supported by this
main idea statement. Lesson Plan #3 asks students to read longer passages and determine
main idea statements for each paragraph, with the ultimate goal being to determine a
well-written summary based on those main idea statements.]
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
[Vocabulary: In order to be successful in this lesson segment, students must be able to
understand and use some academic language vocabulary, as well as vocabulary related to the
subject at hand (elementary literacy). In Lesson Plan #1, students will be asked to explain, orally
and in writing, the following : the topic, topic sentence, and the supporting details. At the
beginning, students should have some idea of these terms, so they will be asked to brainstorm
what it is they know about these terms. The teacher will clarify the meanings of these terms.
Then, throughout the guided lesson, the meanings of these terms will deepen as students learn
what they mean, see examples modeled, and learn with their own examples during independent
practice. In Lesson Plan #2, students will be asked to explain the following vocabulary: topic,
subcategory, and main idea (orally and in writing). Like in Lesson Plan #1, students will be
asked to initially brainstorm what they know, clarify their understanding through teacher
explanations and modeling, and deepen their understanding through guided practice and
independent practice examples. In Lesson Plan #3, they will learn the meaning of the word
summary through a similar brainstorming, clarifying, and deepening process of meaning
making. In order to demonstrate full understanding of these vocabulary words, they will be
asked to connect them to examples. For instance, when students are explaining what main idea
statements are, they should explain that they are sentences that include the topic of the
passage and its subcategory, and then include an example, referring to that main idea’s topic
and subcategory. Thus, they are demonstrating knowledge of the target vocabulary through
definitions as well as in context. Furthermore, they will also be asked to interact with the
language function itself by answering the question: What does it mean to determine something?
One of the language demands for students is syntax: this will be accomplished through graphic
organizers. Throughout the lessons, students will be working with graphic organizers to help
them organize their thinking. Not only does this provide for students’ visual intelligence, but it
also helps struggling readers think through the process in a different way. In the center of the
graphic organizer is a drawing of a hand. During Lesson Plan #1, students will write the topic
sentence is on the thumb, and the supporting details on each finger. In Lesson Plan #2,
students will expand their understanding with an extension of the original graphic organizer: the
fingers will all point to a singular subcategory, which students will define after noting the
supporting details. The thumb will point to the topic. Then, the topic and subcategory will point
back to the palm of the hand, where the main idea statement will be written. During Lesson Plan
#3, a modified version of the graphic organizer will be used, where the students will complete a
hand graphic organizer for every paragraph. They will then be asked to add each main idea
statement to a final summary space, where they will write their main idea statements to form a
summary of the passage. Furthermore, also to help support struggling readers, there will also
be a graphic organizer, filled in with the help of the teacher, to help students explain the process
of determining the main idea and writing a summary.
Students will also be utilizing discourse throughout the lessons. Students will be discussing the
vocabulary terms throughout the process of composing a main idea statement. They will be
talking about the process of finding the main idea statement as they are learning and practicing
it. The teacher will present questions for students to answer one by one, giving all students an
opportunity to articulate their thinking. During guided and independent practice, students will
have the opportunity to work in teams to discuss the process. After working in teams, they will
share what they discussed with the rest of the group. In addition to discussing the academic
language, students will also be asked to explain what the language function means (what does
it mean to determine the main idea?). When students experience learning in a variety of
formats (visual: graphic organizer, verbal: words on the page, auditory: listening and speaking),
they are more likely to remember the strategies and content knowledge that they learned.]
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).
[After the initial brainstorming pieces in the introductory parts of the lesson, students will be
provided with the definitions for the academic language vocabulary. Through teacher
questioning strategies and modeling, students will be deepening their understanding of this
vocabulary. They will be utilizing this vocabulary in their syntax by filling out graphic organizers
for every piece they read. This language support is specifically in place to help struggling
readers by providing them with two methods of articulating the strategy and its processes.
Teacher will model the use of these graphic organizers so that students understand how to use
them to support their learning. In order to aid their discussion, the teacher will provide sentence
stems for them to articulate what it is they are trying to say. For example, a student might say.
“This is my main idea statement: ________________. I chose to write this because the topic is
___________ and the subcategory is ____________.” In this way, not only are students
practicing the key content vocabulary, but they are also learning how to articulate their thoughts
in a more complex manner as well as when and how to apply the skills independently.]
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.
[The planned informal assessments will demonstrate students’ understanding of the vocabulary
as well as their ability to articulate their thoughts about the vocabulary in context with some
examples. Students will be assessed informally through their discussions. At first, they will be
developing understandings of the vocabulary and observing teacher modeling. Their thought
processes will be monitored for their use of vocabulary throughout their discourse. During
Lesson #1, students will be informally assessed on their ability to articulate the topic sentence
and supporting details in sentence form during their discourse. Formally, they will complete
graphic organizers and paragraphs explaining their thoughts on topic sentence and supporting
details. In Lesson #2, they will be assessed in a similar way; however, the ideas they are being
asked to express are becoming more complex. They will be explaining topic and subcategory in
order to form main idea statements. During Lesson #3, students will still be practicing their use
of the graphic organizer; however, they will be asked to summarize passages utilizing the main
idea statements they created. They will articulate their summaries orally (informal assessment)
and in writing (formal assessment). Whether they are articulating their statements or thoughts
aloud or in writing, they are demonstrating that they can compose text: main idea statements
that are paraphrased with information from the text itself. They support their reasoning by
referring to details and examples in the text and explaining how authors make a certain point
with specific evidence. Thus, they are demonstrating abilities with the essential literacy strategy
of composing text, as well as the related skills, throughout the learning segment.]
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,
students).
[All students will be assessed with the same rubric: they must demonstrate mastery of topic
sentences, supporting details, topics, subcategories, main ideas, and summaries. They must
also demonstrate knowledge of academic vocabulary and refer to details from the text in their
explanations. However, due to the varying Lexile levels of the students in this group, the
assessment has been modified to fit their needs. All students will be asked the same questions
on the assessments and are expected to write answers in sentence form, but scaffolding is
provided as needed to students with varying reading levels. Students who are at the lower end
of the Lexile range will be provided with more scaffolding by way of sentence stems to guide
their thinking. Students at the middle range of the spectrum (those closer to proficiency in 4th
grade reading) will be provided with guiding questions, but no sentence stems. The gifted
learner in this group will be provided with one overarching question with which to explain her
thoughts in a way that gives her more freedom to express her thoughts in her own way. She will
also be provided with a challenge question that asks her to find the main idea for the passage at
large on the assessment for Lesson #3, something the rest of the students have not been asked
to do. The teacher will explain the rubric to all students ahead of time so that students know
exactly what they need to do to demonstrate mastery of the objectives.]

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Elementary Education

Task 1: Planning Commentary

TASK 1: PLANNING COMMENTARY

4. Supporting Literacy Development Through Language

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