Science Paper Tpa

Kindergarten Science—Paper Samantha Schwab 1
TPA: Kindergarten Science

Samantha Schwab
Table of Contents:
TASK 1: CONTEXT FOR LEARNING INFORMATION
Lesson Plan: Paper Day 1
Central Focus of Lesson: Science—Properties of Paper
State Academic Standards:
Learning Objectives:
Assessment Tools in multiple modalities to monitor student learning (type of assessment
and what is assessed, how children will get feedback):
Previous Learning Related to the Objectives (Prior knowledge, key skills, academic
language, vocabulary, interdisciplinary connections, etc.):

Task 1 Planning Commentary
Task 2 Instruction Commentary
Task 3 Assessment Commentary
Common Assessment: Science Notebook Final Page
Common Assessment: Rubric
TASK 1: CONTEXT FOR LEARNING INFORMATION

Respond to the prompts below (no more than 4 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your
responses within the brackets following each prompt. Do not delete or alter the prompts. Pages exceeding the
maximum will not be scored.
About the School Where You Are Teaching

1. In what type of school do you teach? (Type an “X” next to the appropriate description; if “other”
applies, provide a brief description.)
Preschool: _____
Elementary school: _____
Other (please describe): X (K-8)
2. Where is the school where you are teaching located? (Type an “X” next to the appropriate description.)
City: X
Suburb: _____
Town: _____
Rural: _____
3. List any special features of your school or classroom setting (e.g., charter, co-teaching, themed magnet,
classroom aide, bilingual, team taught with a special education teacher) that will affect your teaching in
this learning segment.
[ Open School, which means it meets the following precepts:
1. Classrooms utilize thematic, interdisciplinary teaching and learning

2. Child decision-making and self-directed learning that is individual and personalized
3. Flexible student groupings that are responsive to the ongoing needs and interests of the
children
4. Peer interactions and cooperative learning are prioritized
5. The community featured as a resource and opportunity for service learning
6. Family partnerships and parent involvement are prioritized
7. Assessments are student-centered and incorporate self-evaluation
8. Learning is experiential and process-centered
9. The learning environment incorporates social emotional wellness
10. Learning environments are culturally responsive and incorporate international perspectives
11. The school emphasizes peace education and democracy ]
4. Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations that might affect
your planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula, pacing plan, use of specific
instructional strategies, or standardized tests.
[ The school utilizes Responsive Classroom as a required approach to teaching and to discipline.
Responsive Classroom involves interactive modeling, a form of modeling where students are shown
the target skill and asked to discuss what they noticed, and practice the skill themselves. Responsive
Classroom also utilizes signals (such as the use of a chime) to gain student attention, and practiced
routines. Responsive Classroom also emphasizes a positive learning community, so students have
practiced learning from and cooperating with peers.
The school district mandates certain standardized tests: FAST earlyReading for literacy, and
Kindergarten Concepts of Math for math. They also utilize certain curricula for various content
areas: Benchmark Advance for literacy, Lucy Calkins Writing, Pearson Investigations 3 Common
Core Math Program, and FOSS Science.
About the Class Featured in this Learning Segment
1. How much time is devoted each day to language and literacy instruction in your classroom?
[ 2 hours—75 minutes of reading in the morning, and 45 minutes of writing in the afternoon. ]
2. Is there any ability grouping or tracking in language and literacy? If so, please describe how it affects
your class.
[ Students are placed in learning groups based on literacy ability. Groups generally rotate through
stations, for part of the literacy block, which are differentiated based on group level. ]
3. Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for language and literacy instruction.
If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication.
[ Benchmark Advanced
Lucy Calkins Writing ]
4. List other resources (e.g., electronic whiteboard, hands-on materials, online resources) you use for
language and literacy instruction in this class.
[ Promethean Board
Classroom library—leveled and unleveled books
Document camera
Active Inspire App
Writing Journals
Poetry Journals
Words Their Way Sorts
Educational Aid
Special Education Aid
Speech Language Pathologist
Speech Language Pathologist Practicum Student
Occupational Therapist
Occupational Therapist Practicum Student
Parent Volunteers
Community Volunteers]
About the Children in the Class Featured in this Learning Segment

1. Grade level(s):
[K]
2. Age range: 5-6
3. Number of children in the class: 26

males: 14 females: 12
4. Complete the 3 charts below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or
modifications for your children that will affect your instruction in this learning segment. As needed,
consult with your cooperating teacher to complete the charts. Some rows have been completed in italics
as examples. Use as many rows as you need.
Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/supports or
accommodations/modifications to instruction or assessment (e.g., children with Individualized Education
Programs [IEPs] or 504 plans, children with specific language needs, children needing greater challenge or
support, children who struggle with reading, children who are underperforming or those with gaps in academic
knowledge, children who are at different points along the developmental continuum).
NOTE: In Assessment Task 3, you will need to submit work samples and video evidence from 2 children—these
will be your focus children. At least one child must have specific learning needs, for example, a child with an
IEP (Individualized Education Program) or 504 plan, an English language learner, a struggling reader, or a child
at a different point in the developmental continuum in relation to the other children in the class. If possible,
identify the 2 focus children before completing Planning Task 1.
Children with IEPs/504 Plans
IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations,

Classifications/Needs Children Modifications, Pertinent IEP Goals
Language Disorder/ 1 No supports, accommodations, or

Developmental Delay modifications in the classroom.
Student receives 30 pullout minutes
each day for reading and 30 minutes
in the classroom for math from a
Special Education teacher.
30 minutes speech push-in a week.
Developmental Delay 1 Sensory tool, fine motor support for

writing (pencil grip). 30 minutes
speech push-in per week. 30 minutes
of pullout for reading and 30 minutes
for math from a Special Education
teacher, 30 minutes of push-in
support from an Educational Aide.
Speech Articulation 3 30 minutes of pullout for speech

articulation practice; no
accommodations in the classroom
Children with Specific Language Needs
Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations,

Children Modifications
English Language 6 Explicitly teach vocabulary, provide

Learners opportunities and scaffolding for oral
language practice (especially in
conversation with peers), exposure to
rich language,
Children with Other Learning Needs

Other Learning Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations,

Children Modifications
Advanced reader: reading 1 Leveled texts, differentiated reading

at a 2nd grade level instruction

Central Focus of Lesson: Science—Properties of Paper

0.1.1.2.1. Use observations to develop an accurate description of a natural phenomenon and
compare one’s observations and descriptions with those of others.
0.2.1.1.1. Sort objects in terms of color, size, shape, and texture, and communicate reasoning for
the sorting system.
W.0.6.7.7. Participate in shared research and writing projects.
A. Content: I can identify properties of different types of paper using my senses: color,
thickness, texture, and absorbance. I can record my observations in a data sheet.
B. Language/Vocabulary Objective:
a. Types of paper: Paper, construction paper, chipboard, corrugated, cardboard,
Kleenex, tissue, newsprint, sandpaper, kraft paper, tagboard, wax paper, sheet,
material
b. Science terms: data, observe, record, properties, absorbs, not absorbs, soaks in,
stays on top, texture, thickness, color
c. Science tools: data sheet, chart, water dropper, drop
C. Social/Emotional: I can use materials appropriately. I can follow directions.
Assessment Tools in multiple modalities to monitor student learning (type of assessment and
what is assessed, how children will get feedback):
● Properties of Paper Data Recording Sheet: Students will record their observations of the
properties of 10 different kinds of paper on a recording sheet. The properties are: color,
texture, thickness, and absorbency. The students will individually determine what
properties each piece of paper has, and will record their observations by either writing or
circling their data.
● Student Conversations: Students will discuss their findings with peers at their tables, and
with teachers as they circulate around the classroom. Students will compare and contrast
their observations and descriptions with their peers’ findings, working to reach an
agreement about their paper’s properties.
● Student Responses: Teachers will ask prompting questions throughout the activity, such
as, “What properties does this paper have? Do they people at your table agree or
disagree? How is this paper the same or different from other types of paper we have
explored? How would you sort these paper types? Why did you choose to sort them that
way? What do you think this type of paper could be used for? What properties would
make it useful for that purpose?”
● Teacher observations: The teacher will observe students throughout the lesson, noting
their strategies for gathering data on the paper properties and strategies for recording their
findings (ie—sounding out the words, asking peers for help, checking the classroom word
wall, etc).
Previous Learning Related to the Objectives (Prior knowledge, key skills, academic language,
vocabulary, interdisciplinary connections, etc.):
The students have had two previous learning experiences with science: a science unit on trees in
the fall and one on wood in the winter. In the wood unit, the students exposed different types of
wood, noting their properties (texture, weight, strength, whether they sunk or floated in water,
etc), learning about their uses, and creating their own pieces of plywood. The students verbally
discussed their observations of the different properties of types of wood, but did not record them
in writing. They had the opportunity to use sandpaper on a piece of wood, noting that the
particles of sand on the sandpaper are what made the wood more smooth. They have since
expressed interest several times in using sandpaper again, so we will include it in this activity
even though it is technically part of the wood FOSS kit instead of the paper kit. The students
have also had opportunities to explore and use some kinds of paper in the classroom, specifically
notebook paper, printer paper, construction paper, and tagboard (card stock). We have not had
specific discussions about the properties of those paper types, or what makes them the same or
different.
The students have had extensive experience writing their thoughts, observations, and ideas
throughout the year. The students have all had practice sounding out unfamiliar words, and know
where to go to find words that they do not know how to spell (the word wall, charts throughout
the room, asking for help from peers, etc). They have also had experience sorting objects based
on different attributes (color, size, shapes, use, etc) in math.
Provisions for Individual Differences (children with IEP, ELL, various learning needs):
For this lesson, students will each have their own pieces of each type of paper, allowing them to
form their own observations and record their own findings based on their individual sensory
input, vocabulary level, and writing ability. There are two versions of the data recording sheet to
differentiate based on writing skill level. One version has empty data cells for students to record
each property in writing, allowing for more independence and creativity in their answers. For
students who need more challenge during this activity, teachers can prompt them to increase the
complexity of their observations: more specific wording for properties (tan instead of brown, soft
or scratchy for texture, etc) how long it took for the water to absorb (fast, 5 seconds, etc), or
could record other observations in the margins. The second version of the data recording sheet
has options in each cell for the students to circle (rough/smooth for texture, thick/thin for
thickness, yes/no for absorbency) and the name of the paper type. This second version is for the
students who struggle with writing, and for whom writing in each cell would be too difficult and
take too much time, hampering their ability to fully engage in the activity. This version of the
data recording sheet has blank cells for color, since color words are a type of writing that the
class has had practice with since the fall. For students who still find this piece of writing too
challenging, they may find a drawing utensil that matches their paper (or mix several), and write
the first sound of the color word (such as “b” for brown). For students with fine motor
difficulties, teachers may write challenging letters or words in yellow marker for those students
to trace. Pencil grips are also available for these students. During this activity, seven adults will
be present to support students as needed.
For English Language Learners (ELL) and for our student who has a language disorder, the
teachers will explicitly teach the different properties and what they mean, using visuals and hand
gestures to fully illustrate (for example, the concept of thick and thin can be shown by showing a
thick piece of wood next to a think piece of wood, or holding two hands far apart for thick versus
close together for thin). These can be repeatedly shown and referred to throughout the activity to
help students integrate the vocabulary and clarify their own observations and thinking.
Instructional Resources and Materials Needed:

● FOSS Paper Kit
○ Corrugated paper, cardboard, tagboard, wax paper, newsprint, sandpaper, kraft
paper, chipboard
○ Water droppers
○ Plastic containers (to hold water)
● Classroom materials:
○ Tissues, construction paper
○ Pencils & drawing utensils
○ Pencil grips (for select students with identified fine motor needs)
● Properties of Paper Data Recording Sheets:
● Promethean Board
● Flipchart of Data Recording Sheet (for modeling)
● Chime
● Document Camera
Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks (What you and the students will be doing, HOTQ,
how language will be taught, etc.):
Introduction:
● Students will be seated around the rug in a circle. Show the students a piece of paper
(regular printer paper), ask students, “What is this? How do you know it is paper? What
do you notice about this paper?” While students are sharing, pass paper around in a circle
for students to individually explore.
● Show students another kind of paper (a piece of construction paper). Ask, “what is this?
Is this the same as our other kind of paper? How are they different? If it is paper, how can
it be different from our piece of printer paper?” Pass paper around the circle for students
to explore as they share their ideas.
● Hold up a piece of cardboard, pass around the circle. Ask students, “is this paper?” Have
students think about their answer, and then turn and talk to the student next to them and
discuss whether cardboard is paper. Emphasize students should explain why they think it
is paper or not. Ring the chime to signal the end of the turn and talk. Ask a few students
to share out their ideas, and discuss with the whole class why they think cardboard is or is
not paper.
● Explain how paper is made. Paper is a material that is made out of wood. Wood is ground
up into tiny pieces, mixed with water, and pressed into a sheet. If people press it in
different ways, or mix up the wood pieces in different ways, they can make different
kinds of paper.
Body:
● Tell students, “Today we will be exploring lots of different kinds of paper. Each type of
paper is a little different from the other types. We will be exploring the properties of the
paper, which means something the paper has or does. Property is another word for
attribute, which is a word we hear in math when we sort. You might hear someone use
the word “property” in a different way, meaning something that they own. But we will be
using it as a science word today. One property of you is that you have hair on your head,
or that you can run. You might have brown hair, or curly hair, or you might run fast or
slow. The properties that paper have are that it has texture, which is how it feels. Feel the
carpet, what texture does it have, how does it feel? It might feel rough, or bumpy, or
smooth. Another property is thickness, does anyone know what thickness is? How big
something is from top to bottom. It can be thick or thin. Paper can also have color, that is
another property it can have. All of the paper s have a color, but the color might be
different. The last property we will look at is if the paper absorbs water, which means that
it either sucks up the water like a sponge, or the water just sits on top. We will do that
part at the end.”
● Model observing and finding three of the properties (color, texture, and thickness) of
printer paper (the students will not be using that kind of paper in this activity). Model
filling out the findings on the data sheet projected onto the Promethean Board.
● Students will explore ten types of paper (newsprint, tissue, sandpaper, kraft paper,
tagboard, construction paper, chipboard, cardboard, wax paper, corrugated) at their
tables. The teacher will hand each student one piece of paper at a time. Students will
observe the properties of the paper, discuss their observations with their tablemates, and
then record their findings on their data sheet. This will continue with all types of paper.
● The teacher will call the class’ attention with the chime. The teacher will model using a
water dropper to put one drop of water onto a piece of paper under the document camera,
waiting to see if the water is absorbed or not. The teacher will model recording this on the
data sheet.
● The students will drop water onto each of the pieces of paper, recording whether it
absorbed or did not absorb on their data sheets.
Closure:
● Students will sit around the carpet. Teacher will lay out one example for each of the types
of paper. The teacher will ask, “how can we sort these papers? What kinds of properties
can we sort these by?” Students will share ideas for sorting the types of paper.
● Ask students, “Why are there so many different kinds of paper?” Students will turn and
talk with the person next to them, and share out ideas.

Central Focus of Lesson: Science—Experimenting with Paper

W.0.6.8.8. With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather
information from provided sources to answer a question.
A. Content: I can predict what kind of paper will hold water and a weighted object when
folded. I can record the results of an experiment in writing.
B. Language/Vocabulary Objective:
a. Types of paper: wax paper, newsprint, tagboard
b. Origami, fold, cup, pocket, pour, hold
C. Social/Emotional: I can follow directions. I can wait my turn.
● Experiment Recording Sheet: Students will record what type of paper they chose to make
a cup and a pocket. The students will record their observations during the experiment in
both writing and by drawing for both their pocket and their cup.
● Student Conversations: Students will discuss their paper choice and their results of the
experiment with peers at their tables, and with teachers as they circulate around the
classroom. Students will compare and contrast their choices, observations, and results
with peers.
● Student Responses: Teachers will ask prompting questions throughout the activity, such
as, “Why did you choose that paper type for your cup and pocket? What property does
that paper have that made you think it would work well? What was the result of your
experiment? Why do you think that happened?”
● Teacher observations: The teacher will observe students throughout the lesson, noting
strategies for recording their findings (ie—sounding out the words, asking peers for help,
checking the classroom word wall, etc).
During the previous lesson, students had had the opportunity to explore the properties of ten
different kinds of paper. The students recorded and discussed their findings. The students have
performed experiments in the previous science unit with wood: the students predicted which
types of wood would float in water, basing their prediction on the properties of the wood.
the room, asking for help from peers, etc). They have recorded and illustrated their scientific
observations of different types of leaves and seeds during the tree unit in the fall.
Students will be able to show their thinking in many different ways. They will use verbal
language to discuss their choices and experimental results, write their observations, and draw
what happened. Students will be provided with sentence stems to help support their writing (“My
cup worked because….”, “My cup did not work because….”, “My pocket worked because….”,
“My pocket did not work because….”). This will benefit all students, but especially those who
are ELLs and who have IEPs. A word bank will be projected onto the Promethean Board with
the sentence stems and important vocabulary words (such as the types of paper). Student
responses can be simple or complex, depending on their writing ability and vocabulary. For
students with fine motor needs, pencil grips will be provided. Teachers can also write a students’
dictated response in yellow marker for the student to trace over to help students with language
disorders or those who find writing to be challenging. For students who need more of a challenge
in this activity, there is a second version of the experimental recording sheet. This version has
students record not just their observations of the results of the experiment, but also their initial
prediction (why it would or would not work). All of the students will make a prediction, but
some will do it verbally with their peers, and some will have the added challenge of writing it
down.

● 42 squares each of wax paper, tagboard, newsprint
● Pencils
● Pencil grips (as needed, based on identified fine motor needs)
● Drawing utensils
● Experimental recording sheet (2 versions)
● Document Camera
● Flipchart with example experimental recording sheet (for modeling)
● Chime
Introduction:
● Students will sit around the circle on the rug. The teacher will say, “Today we will learn
more about paper. What do we use paper for?” Students will share ideas with the whole
class.
● The teacher will show three types of paper: wax paper, tagboard, and newsprint. The
teacher will say, “Yesterday we explored lots of different kinds of paper. We looked at
their properties, or their attributes. Who remembers what kinds of paper these are? What
properties do they have?”
● Ask students, “What do you think these kinds of paper are used for? Are they used for the
same things? Why do you think that?”
Body:
● Tell students, “Today we will be using one of these kinds of paper—wax paper,
newsprint, or tagboard—to make two different things: a cup and a pocket. If I tried to use
this piece of paper as a cup or a pocket, would it work right now? Why not? We need to
fold it into the shape we want. Does anyone know that that is called, when we fold paper
into another shape? It’s called origami. We will be using origami to make our cup and
our pocket, and then we will see if they really work!”
● Show students the three kinds of paper. “You can choose one of these types of paper to
make your cup and your pocket. Think about the different properties that we learned
about yesterday. A thick kind of paper might hold something, but it might also be hard to
fold. What kinds of properties would make a good cup? (Does not absorb water, easy to
fold, etc). What kinds of properties would make a good pocket? (Thick, easy to hold,
etc).” Students will turn and talk to the peer next to them about what kind of paper
(newsprint, tagboard, or wax paper) that they will choose for their cup and pocket.
● Students will go sit at their table. Teachers will pass out two pieces of the type of paper
each student chose for their pocket and for their cup. The students will record the type of
paper they chose on their experimental recording sheet (the teacher will project names of
each type of paper on the Promethean Board).
● The teacher will model each step of folding the square of paper into a cup/pocket (the
method is the same for both). Students will follow along, folding their own pocket/cup.
The students will make one pocket and one cup. Students will discuss their choices and
their predictions with their tablemates (students with the more challenging version of the
recording sheet will write their prediction).
● The students will test their cups and pockets. The teacher will model using the cup by
filling it up halfway with water from the sink, and using the cup by putting one, two, or 3
marbles inside of it, one at a time. Model recording observations and results on the data
sheet on the Promethean Board. Students will test their cups and pockets, recording their
observations and results on their experimental recording sheet.
Closure:
● Students will sit around the carpet. Teacher will record student results on a chart on the
Promethean Board. Ask, “which type of paper was best for making a cup? Which was
best for making a pocket? Are they the same? Why do you think they worked the best?”
Students will discuss with the person sitting next to them, and as a whole group.

Central Focus of Lesson: Science—Recycling Paper

W.0.6.2.2. Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose
informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some
information about the topic.
A. Content: I can describe how people recycle paper through writing and drawing.
B. Language/Vocabulary Objective: Recycle, recycling, paper, pulp, screen, tissue, collage,
press
C. Social/Emotional: I can wait my turn. I can use materials appropriately and follow
directions.
● Recycle journaling sheet: Students will record in writing and by drawing how I recycled
paper.
● Student responses: Students will respond to questions such as “why is recycling
important? How can we help recycle? Can every kind of paper be recycled? What do you
think paper I recycled turn into?”
● Student observations: The teacher will observe student strategies for recording their ideas
and listen to discussions they have with peers.
This will be the final lesson for the science unit on paper. By this point, the students have
explored the properties of various kinds of paper, and will have performed an experiment on the
paper by predicting what kind of paper would be best to make a cup and a pocket. Since the
beginning of the year, the students have been taught to dispose of paper in the recycle bin rather
than the trash. The class briefly discussed why I recycled paper during the first six weeks of
school (because it gets turned into brand new paper), but the discussion and learning about
recycling was not extensive.
the room, asking for help from peers, etc).
Students will be recording their experience recycling paper and why recycling is important. They
can express their ideas about this through verbal communication, by writing, and by drawing.
Student answers can vary in complexity based on writing ability and vocabulary. For students
who find writing to be challenging, teachers can write their dictated answers in yellow marker
for them to trace. Students with fine motor challenges will be provided with pencil grips. For
ELL students, sentence stems will be provided on the Promethean Board (“I recycled by….”).
Students who need more of a challenge add more written sentences to their paper, and can label
their illustrations. One teacher will be helping students with recycling paper, and one will be
circling the room assisting with writing as necessary.

● Mr. Rogers video about recycling
● Toilet Paper
● Plastic bin
● Water
● Paper presses
● Recycling Journaling Sheet
● Pencils
● Drawing Utensils
● Construction Paper Sheets
● Stapler
Introduction:
● Students will sit in their carpet spots. Teacher will show students the blue recycling bin,
asking “What is this called? What do we use this for?” (Recycling paper). “What does
‘recycling’ mean? How do you think paper gets recycled?” Students will turn and talk
with their rooftop partner on the carpet, discussing what they know about recycling.
● Show students the Mr. Rogers clip about recycling. In this clip, paper gets recycled into
construction paper in a factory. The teacher will highlight certain steps in the process
(adding water, getting pressed by a machine, etc).
● Have students share with the whole class what they noticed from the clip and how paper
is recycled.
● Tell students, “That paper was recycled in a factory. But, we can recycle our own paper
right here in the classroom. What do you think we need to do that? How can we do that?”
Students will share ideas.
Body:
● Students will move to sitting around the circle on the carpet. Introduce students to tools
needed to recycle paper (paper press, bucket of torn up paper and water). Explain the
purpose for each tool. “We can recycle any paper, but it is easier and faster to use paper
that is really light and thin. Today, we will use toilet paper, because it is thin and light,
and we have a lot of it. We could also use tissues, but we do not have as many of those,
so we will use toilet paper.” Model shredding the toilet paper, mixing it with water in the
bucket, pressing it on the paper press, and then putting it on a paper towel to dry. “Since
all of us will be recycling, we will need a lot of paper pieces to create our paper, so we
will all need to help shred it.”
● Students will each help shred several yards of toilet paper into small pieces, putting the
pieces in the bucket. The teacher will add enough water to the bucket to make a pulp.
● Students will take turns recycling their own paper. The teacher will call up groups of 4-6
students to the teacher’s table to complete their paper.
● The students not taking a turn recycling paper will complete the Recycling Journal sheet.
The students will write their observations and/or procedure of their recycling experience,
recording how they recycle paper.
● Students who complete their journal page and recycling their paper before the time is
finished will complete their Paper Science Notebook.
○ A teacher will staple their recording sheets from the past three lessons inside a
folded piece of construction paper.
○ Students will write “All About Paper” (projected on the Promethean Board) on
the cover, and their name, and will decorate the cover.
Closure:
● Students will sit back on the carpet. Teacher will say, “Today I recycledd a certain kind
of paper—toilet paper—and we saw a Mr. Rogers clip where construction paper was
recycled at a factory. Do you think we could recycle all of the different kinds of paper we
have used this week?” The teacher will remind students of the different types of paper
(wax paper, tagboard, newsprint, sandpaper, etc). “Which ones do you think we cannot
recycle? Why or why not?”
● The teacher can project Google onto the Promethean Board, and can google the students’
predictions (ie—“Tagboard can be recycled”) to find the answer. Explain that it is
important to know what kinds of materials can be recycled, because not every material
can. “Today when you go home, see what your family recycles, and what they do not
recycle.”
Task 1 Planning Commentary

1. Central Focus
a. Describe the central focus and purpose of the content you will teach in the learning
segment.
[The central focus of this learning segment is scientific exploration of paper: observing and
comparing the properties of different types, performing experiments, and recycling. The purpose
of the content in the learning segment is to not only enhance student awareness and knowledge
of paper as a material, but also develop and practice important scientific skills such as describing
observations, making predictions, recording results, and utilizing research to solve problems.]
b. Describe how the standards and learning objectives for your learning segment support:
■ active and multimodal learning
■ language and literacy development in an interdisciplinary context
[The state standards and learning objectives I chose for this learning segment support children’s
active and multimodal learning by directing the children to engage with the content using their
senses and to show their learning in many different ways. The children will be exploring paper in
a variety of ways: the tactical experience of touching their own pieces of each type of paper,
looking at them closely, dropping water onto the paper to see if it absorbs, folding it themselves
into an origami shape while dropping a weighted object and water into it to see if their folded
paper holds, recycling their own paper, feeling the recycled paper compared to other types of
paper, etc. The learning objectives and state standards directly support this active and sensory
work, directing the students to “develop accurate descriptions” of phenomena through
“observations,” to “identify properties of paper using my senses,” to experiment, to “sort objects
in terms of color, shape, size, and texture,” all necessitating that the children play active roles in
acquiring this information through direct sensory experiences. The state standards and learning
objectives also promote multimodal learning by directing that the children’s learning be shown
in a variety of different ways: “communicate reasoning,” “compare one’s observations and
descriptions with those of others,” “participate in shared research and writing projects,” and “use
a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing.” The students will form their own observations
and ideas, and discuss them with peers, both in a large group (on the carpet) and in small group
(at their table) settings. The standards and learning objectives also promote language and literacy
development in an interdisciplinary context. This particular science learning segment lent itself
well to the integration of literacy content, specifically writing. I chose state standards that focus
on both science and writing, and the learning targets I created incorporate them both. A science
unit that focused on the properties and uses of paper meant that it was a natural fit to incorporate
the ultimate use of paper: recording one’s ideas and observations through writing. By learning
and practicing the rich content and science vocabulary related to the scientific exploration of
paper, building a science notebook allows the students to both contextualize and apply the
language that they are acquiring in both a scientific and a literacy context.]
c. Explain how your plans build on each other to support children’s language and literacy
development through active and multimodal learning.
[During the first lesson, the children will actively explore ten different types of paper and their
properties—color, thickness, texture, and absorbency—and record their observations. This initial
lesson helps students develop content language surrounding paper (thick, thin, absorbs, rough,
smooth, etc) and also helps them practice ways of describing these observations (“I notice,” “It
feels like,” “I observed,” etc). They are able to practice this language verbally by communicating
and comparing their observations with peers at their table and with teachers in the room. The
students will also record their observations of the properties of the paper on a data sheet,
allowing them to practice writing the language as well as speaking it. The use of the data sheet
allows them to practice key science language: record, observations, describe, etc. This language
provides a solid foundation for further language and literacy development in the subsequent
lessons in the learning segment. Using both the content and the scientific language they practiced
speaking and writing the day before, on day 2 of the learning segment the students will choose
one type of paper they predict will best hold both a weighted object and water. They will
describe their choice and their prediction using the language they acquired the lesson previous,
basing their prediction on the properties they observed and recorded the day before. The lesson
builds on this language and literacy development by prompting the children to not just observe
and utilize the properties and content language they learned, but to contextualize it in a sentence.
They will actively perform the experiment, then discuss, draw, and write their observations.
These writings will be more complex than filling out a data sheet, but will utilize similar
language (both content and scientific-specific), thus building on their learning. For the third
lesson of the learning segment, the students will learn about recycling paper, discussing and
journaling about why it is important to recycle paper while also actively recycling some paper
themselves. This lesson builds on previous learning by utilizing the language they have gained in
the lessons before, discussing why some papers can be recycled while some cannot (based on
their properties), and engaging in writing that is more complex than the writing they did in the
previous lessons. By the third lesson, the students will have built a bank of content and scientific
language that they are able to apply in increasingly complex literacy tasks, while also
progressing in their ability to express their predictions, observations, explanations, and ideas.]
d. Describe how the physical environment in which you are teaching supports the active
and multimodal nature of children’s learning.
[The classroom consists of two main areas: the carpet, and the students’ tables. On the carpet, the
students can sit either around in a circle or in assigned row seats. Sitting around the carpet in the
circle allows the students to all have equal sightlines to the teacher as well as to each other,
encouraging discussion between all of the students. It also allows for students to easily pass
around an object of interest in a learning segment. Sitting in rows on the carpet promotes the
focus of students on instruction, and allows for deeper discussion with a peer, who is assigned as
their turn and talk partner. The table area also supports the active and multimodal nature of
children’s learning by promoting both independence and collaboration with peers. Students sit at
tables with 3-5 other students, and all students face each other, encouraging discussion. In the
center of each table is a caddy filled with writing and drawing utensils, allowing each student
easy access to the tools they need to create and record their ideas and learning. There is enough
space in between each table for easy movement throughout the classroom. On low shelves next
to the tables are more materials for student use—glue, scissors, paper, etc—that are kept in bins
with picture labels. Materials that are unique to a lesson are kept at a kidney-shaped table in a
centralized location. This designated spot allows the children to acquire the materials
independently. An organized classroom library and an iPad cart means students can research new
knowledge at their own level. Promoting this independence allows the children to be active
learners who can easily access a variety of materials and work at their own pace. The classroom
also promotes multimodal learning by allowing the children to express their learning in many
different ways: writing on paper, recording themselves on an iPad, drawing a picture, conversing
with a teacher and/or peers, etc. The classroom environment is one that encourages each student
to actively participate in their learning, and to show that learning in multiple modalities.]
2. Knowledge of Children to Inform Teaching
a. Children’s Development—What do you know about their:
i. Social and emotional development
ii. Cognitive and physical development
iii. Language development for communication
[In my placement classroom, social and emotional development is something that is emphasized
and incorporated into lessons throughout the school day. The children engage in weekly
social-emotional lessons through the Second Step curriculum, where they learn to recognize and
manage their own emotions while navigating the emotions of others in prosocial ways. Our use
of Responsive Classroom also informs our social emotional teaching. We utilize community
building activities daily during Morning Meeting (students sharing stories and objects from their
homes, playing games together, etc). Our class has been together since September 2019, and we
have worked to build a classroom community where every students’ voices and ideas are valued,
and where the children work together to support each other and complete goals. When individual
conflicts arise, we facilitate conversations between the children, making sure each child’s point
of view is heard and understood by the other student. There are students in the class with
particular social-emotional needs. One student is part of a family where the parents are going
through a divorce, which has impacted her greatly. She demonstrates behaviors that imply a wish
for control and agency in a life that must feel greatly uncertain: leaving group time, refusing to
participate in activities, and engaging in antisocial behavior with other students (pushing, mean
words, instigating conflicts, etc). A second student in our classroom has delays in academic
ability. While his IEP is not in the social-emotional domain, he finds many academic tasks
incredibly challenging, and engages in behaviors that express frustration (work refusal, throwing
materials, etc). Both of these students necessitate individualized social emotional teaching and
supports. Cognitively, the students in the classroom range in ability. The majority of the students
are at an appropriate developmental level for their age. However, there are students who are
outliers on either end of the norm. We have students who have been identified as Gifted and
Talented, and others who are engaging with academic content at a higher level than the rest of
their peers. One student is reading at a 2nd grade level, and five students are at a 1st grade level
in math. We also have several students who are at levels lower than their developmental targets.
2 of our students have identified special education needs in academic and cognitive areas, and 2
more are being identified and screened. Five more students are showing academic delays
necessitating individual interventions. In terms of physical development, the majority of my
students are developmentally on target. There are a couple of students who need physical fine
motor support, especially when using writing utensils. We utilize pencil grips and continue to
demonstrate proper pencil holds for these students to encourage development and support
students during writing tasks. The gross motor of these students is on target. The language
development of the students is widely varied. Our classroom has 6 students who are English
Language Learners (ELL), and they came to the classroom with a range of English skills and
needs. They receive pull-out ELL support and instruction daily, but also require additional
language supports in the classroom, such as visuals and targeted language instruction. 3 of our
students have been identified as having Speech/Articulation Disorders, and receive both pull-out
and push-in support on a weekly basis. One student has an IEP for a Language Disorder,
meaning that he finds it difficult to understand receptive language and to produce expressive
language in all literacy tasks (verbal communication, reading, and writing). We support all of
these students through explicit and targeted vocabulary instruction, use of visuals, differentiated
activities and assessments, and individualized supports.]
b. Personal, cultural, and community assets—What do you know about your children’s
everyday experiences, cultural and language backgrounds and practices, and interests?
[The cultures and home lives of my students are varied. My students are from a wide range of
cultural backgrounds: African American, Somali American, Latino, Middle Eastern, Moroccan,
Nigerian, and white. All of the students speak English, though for six of my students it is their
second language (our ELL learners speak either Spanish, Somalian, or Arabic). Most of the
children come from households with two parents and siblings. Some have families that consist of
divorced parents, single mothers, and two children live with their grandparents. One student is
from a family that is Homeless/Highly Mobile (HHM). As a group, this class is interested in and
motivated by activities that incorporate levels of independence, investigation, and creativity. I
therefore designed this learning segment as one where students can make their own predictions,
choose their own materials, and form their own opinions based on their observations. I also
incorporated opportunities for the students to express their learning through the creative modality
of drawing in addition to verbal and written language. During a previous science unit about
wood, the children were particularly engaged by making their own plywood and by using
sandpaper to smooth a piece of wood. I therefore made sure to plan to include sandpaper as one
of the paper types explored in this learning segment, and incorporated a lesson where the
students get to create their own paper through recycling, just as they created the piece of
plywood in the earlier unit. One of our students who has an IEP for Developmental Delay finds
academic tasks challenging and difficult to engage with, so I try to incorporate his interests into
lessons in order to engage him. A particular interest for him is pokemon, and he always brings
pokemon cards in his backpack to school. For this lesson on paper, I plan to ask him to share a
pokemon card with the class, and the class can determine the properties of that pokemon card.
Many students in the class are interested in superheroes, and engage in that type of play during
free play. I intend to incorporate language about superheroes into the learning segment,
especially when explaining the different properties of paper (ie—“you can use your laser vision
to look closely to see if the paper is thick or thin”) to engage the children in this way.]
c. Prior learning and prerequisite skills related to language and literacy development—What
can they do and what are they learning to do related to language and literacy
development? Cite evidence from your knowledge of this class/group of children.
[The language and literacy skills and development of this group of students is also varied. They
are at a wide range of reading levels, from those still learning their letter names and sounds, to
those reading short chapter books. The majority of the class’ verbal language is at the target
developmental level for their age. Each student has many daily opportunities to speak verbally
with a partner, in a small group, or in front of the large group. 3 students in this class have
identified Speech/Articulation Disorders. One student has an identified Language Disorder that
affects his receptive and expressive language. In reading, the class as a whole is working on
retelling key events, describing characters and setting of stories, identifying the central message
of a text, and determining the author’s purpose. The students practice these skills and read both
independently and in a guided reading group daily. The students also have daily writing practice.
They keep daily journals where they record happenings in their lives, their opinions on questions,
and descriptions of favorite activities. They are practicing sounding out unknown words, writing
complete sentences, using punctuation and capitalization correctly, and writing sight words. Each
week, the students learn a new sight word, and practice incorporating it into their writing.]
3. Supporting Children’s Developing and Learning
a. Justify how your planned learning experiences and materials align with your
understanding of the children’s development, prior learning, and personal, cultural, and
community assets (from prompts 2a-c above). Be explicit about these connections and
support your justification with research/ developmental theory.
[According to Erikson, the children are at the Industry vs Inferiority stage of psychosocial
development. In this stage it is important for the children to feel competent in their abilities,
especially at school when comparing themselves to other children. I therefore designed this
learning segment to have many opportunities for differentiation, allowing each student to feel
successful while still accomplishing the same goals as their peers. This also correlates with
Vygotsky’s concept of the Zone of Proximal Development, where each child is operating at a
level of appropriate challenge during the activities. By offering many means of differentiation, I
can create a learning segment that is both engaging and developmentally appropriate for each
student. Each lesson I created for this learning segment builds together, so that by the end of the
segment the students have created a science notebook about their learning and exploration of
paper. Research has shown that science notebooks are useful and effective ways of incorporating
science and writing, improving student writing while implementing scientific practice in the
classroom. Science notebooks increase student writing ability, especially in regards to its length
and coherence (Miller & Calfee, 2004). Science notebooks are also motivating to students:
utilizing writing in a practical way to document engaging science learning encourages students to
practice and improve their literacy skills, while also leading to deeper and more meaningful
interactions with the topic (Mintz & Calhoun, 2004; Golbert & Kotelman, 2005). Science
notebooks become not just an activity for students to complete, but a tool they can use, referring
back to past learning and modifying their thinking as they accrue new knowledge (Miller &
Calfee, 2004). Science notebooks can also be very easily differentiated. Students are able to
record their thinking in various ways: through writing, drawing, or even speaking their ideas
which the teacher writes down. This allows students of different writing ability to utilize the
science notebook in a way that furthers their understanding of science. Incorporating writing and
drawing together also helps the language development of all students: drawing, or “graphic
speech,” allows children to communicate where verbal or written language might be difficult to
access (Vygotsky, 1978). Teachers can use the notebooks to provide individualized feedback for
students and encourage further development of their thinking, which is helpful for all students
regardless of their ability level. They are also effective formative assessments, allowing teachers
to monitor and reflect on student learning (Mintz & Calhoun, 2004). This model of science
notebook is also helpful for ELL students, who can record their observations and predictions
through drawing, and/or writing in whichever language they are more comfortable with,
increasing their English as their proficiency grows (Gilbert & Kotelman, 2005). Science
notebooks are authentic science work, allowing students to record data and observations, make
predictions, and reflect on experimental results, just as professional scientists do (Young, 2003).
Research suggests that one best practice in regards to the implementation of science notebooks in
the classroom is the use of teacher-designed graphic organizers. Graphic organizers that are
customized to the scientific activity help students to organize, clarify, and deepen their scientific
thinking (Miller & Calfee, 2004). I therefore created graphic organizers for each lesson in the
learning segment, rather than having the students complete their own or work from a blank page.
The students have utilized similar graphic organizers in past science lessons, but have not yet
compiled them into a science notebook.]
b. Describe and justify how you plan to support the varied learning needs of all the children
in your class/group, including individuals with specific learning needs.
[The most important way I plan to support the varied learning needs of all of the children in my
class is through differentiation. I designed lessons in this learning segment that are accessible to
all of the students in my classroom, regardless of their academic ability. The writing portions of
each lesson can be easily differentiated. I created different versions of each graphic organizer for
lessons 1 and 2 to customize the learning experience for students of different levels. The writing
graphic organizer for day 3 is the same for each student, but that can be easily differentiated as
well, where each student can write responses of varying complexity and challenge. The students
can also show their learning and their thinking in many different ways: through verbal
communication with teachers and peers, writing, and drawing. I will also provide sentence stems,
which will support the students as they both discuss and write their observations. Key vocabulary
terms will be written on the Promethean Board at the front of the room for students to refer to. I
plan to support our ELL students by providing explicit instruction of key vocabulary terms, and
utilizing visuals to support this instruction. For students with fine motor needs, we provide pencil
grips and model for them what proper pencil grips look like to aid in their writing. For students
who struggle with writing and do not know enough letter sounds to sound out challenging words,
I will write their dictated responses in yellow marker for them to trace with their pencils. For our
students who are identified as being Gifted and Talented, I will prompt them to deepen their
thinking and write more complexly. For example, I may ask them to notice different properties
of paper, use more complex vocabulary, write longer sentences, make another prediction, etc.
Teachers will be circling throughout the classroom during the course of the lessons to support
students and deepen their thinking, and to clarify their communications with peers (this is
especially helpful for our students with speech and articulation disorders). I will also help
students sound out complex words, prompting them to seek out help from their peers as well.
During large group discussions, I plan to include each student in the class at least once
throughout the course of the learning segment, making sure each voice is valued and heard.]
c. Describe common developmental approximations/misunderstandings that pertain to the
learning experiences you are planning for the children and how you plan to address them.
[I expect the largest amount of misunderstandings will revolve around recycling. The students
know that I recycled paper, but I do not believe that they know how it works, or what the end
product of recycling looks like. I have heard them discuss recycling, with some students alleging
that they “erase what you drew on the paper” or “just make it brand new again.” I plan to address
this by showing them a video clip of paper being recycled into construction paper, and both
showing them and have them engage in a recycling activity of their own. Another misconception
could be that the only types of paper are the ones that they are most familiar with: namely,
printer paper, notebook paper, and construction paper. However, I expect that they might think
that other types of paper—tissues, cardboard, chipboard, etc—are not paper at all. I plan to
address this by helping them discover what paper is through discussion, and by explaining to
them what paper is made out of and how it is made. The graphic organizers for lessons 2 and 3 of
the learning segment have open lines for writing, allowing for writing of one or more sentences.
This is beyond the capability of some of my students who struggle with writing letters (either
because of fine motor difficulties or a lack of knowledge of letter names and sounds). I will
provide students with fine motor needs with pencil grips. For students who struggle with writing
words because of a lack of knowledge, I will prompt those students to write what they are able,
and then I will support them either by assisting them with identifying the target letter/sight
word/etc, or by writing their dictation in yellow marker that they can trace with their pencil.]
4. Supporting Children’s Vocabulary Development
a. Identify the key vocabulary (i.e., developmentally appropriate sounds, words, phrases,
sentences, and paragraphs) essential for children to use during the learning segment.
[There are three categories of vocabulary necessary for the children to use during this learning
segment: vocabulary about paper, scientific vocabulary, and writing vocabulary. The writing
vocabulary is the vocabulary that I anticipate them being the most familiar with, as it is
vocabulary we use generally every day during our writing time. Examples of writing vocabulary
are write, record, sound out, sentence, ending mark, capital, uppercase, period, etc. Scientific
vocabulary for these lessons includes words that they have had some practice with but have not
become fully competent with (observe, record, predict, result, experiment) and some new words
(data, texture, absorbs, thickness, water dropper). The students may have familiarity with some
of the terms about paper (construction paper, tissues, sandpaper, cardboard), while I expect other
paper vocabulary words may be unfamiliar (kraft paper, chipboard, tagboard, etc). There is other
vocabulary from certain lessons that I expect the students to recognize, namely recycle and
folding, but origami may be unfamiliar to many students.]
b. Identify the learning experience that provides children with opportunities to develop,
practice, and/or use the key vocabulary identified in prompt 4a.
[The writing vocabulary will be incorporated into each of the three lessons, as each lesson will
include writing opportunities. Lesson 1, which focuses on identifying properties of ten types of
paper, will introduce the students to the paper vocabulary. Lesson 1 will also introduce some of
the science terms, namely the paper properties (absorbs, thickness, texture, and color), scientific
materials (water dropper, bucket), as well as the key science vocabulary word “observe.” The
students will utilize “observe” in all three of the lessons, especially in Lesson 2 when they will
observe the results of an experiment. Some of the students who require more of a challenge will
also begin to utilize the vocabulary terms “prediction/predict” and “result,” as they will both
predict and record the results of their experiment rather than just their observations. Lesson 2
also utilizes the vocabulary terms “fold” and “origami.” Lesson 3 incorporates vocabulary words
about recycling along with the vocabulary terms learned in previous lessons. In all three lessons,
these vocabulary words will be explicitly taught, and the children will have ample opportunities
to practice using them in both verbal communication with peers and in writing.]
c. Describe how you plan to support the children (during and/or prior to the learning
experience) to develop and use the key vocabulary identified in prompt 4a.
[For vocabulary words that are unfamiliar to students, I will use clear, developmentally
appropriate definitions that they can understand, and incorporate visuals (hand signals,
illustrations, videos, etc) to help students understand the vocabulary. Whenever possible, I will
also ask students to share their definitions of vocabulary words, so that the students can learn
from each other rather than just from the teacher. I will reinforce the vocabulary by rewording
student responses to include the key terms (“You are noticing the texture of the paper.”) to help
them practice and develop context for the vocabulary. I will also make connections to other
familiar terms and/or previous learning whenever possible to build on student prior knowledge.
One particular student in my classroom who would need vocabulary support is my student who
has an identified Language Disorder, which affects his ability to process receptive language and
produce expressive language. An example of a vocabulary support for this student could be
visuals of key vocabulary terms printed out with the written vocabulary word printed beneath
them. This student could refer to these visuals at his table, pointing to the desired vocabulary
word (such as “smooth” or “rough”) to indicate which term he wants to communicate. The
printed vocabulary word could support him in his writing, as he could copy the word, and a
teacher or peer could name the vocabulary word for him (he could then repeat the word back,
helping him to practice and integrate the word with the visual). This would also be useful for the
ELL learners in my classroom, as well as the students whose writing abilities are lower. Creating
a chart (either on the Promethean Board or on a chart of paper to hang up) could assist
vocabulary acquisition of these groups of students. For those students who are either identified as
gifted or are at a higher literacy level than their peers, I could work with them as a small group or
individually to brainstorm more complex vocabulary words (such as “bumpy” or “wrinkly” or
“soft” for texture words). I could also provide support by modeling more complex vocabulary,
scaffolding it onto the language they are already using with more sophisticated vocabulary.
Utilizing hand motions, and engaging the students in those hand motions, could provide a more
tactile way for students to engage with the vocabulary, combining with visuals on the charts and
the auditory experience of hearing and speaking the vocabulary words could help all of the
students learn the vocabulary for this learning segment. Having the students practice this
vocabulary with peers at their table also allows each student to fully engage with vocabulary
practice at their own pace, while also being challenged by their peers.]
5. Monitoring Children’s Learning
a. Describe how your planned formal and informal assessments provide direct evidence to
monitor children’s multimodal learning throughout the learning segment.
[The children have multiple ways to show their learning throughout the learning segment. The
most prominent formal assessment for each lesson is the graphic organizers that will be compiled
into a science notebook. Each lesson contains one graphic organizer where the students will
write their observations, their predictions, recycling procedures, experimental results, and other
ideas. These assessments will show each students’ writing abilities, as well as their scientific
thinking and learning. Each lesson also incorporates informal assessments, namely from teacher
observations and student discussions. The students will discuss their ideas and observations with
their peers for each activity. This will serve as an assessment not just of student thinking, but of
their ability to compare their thinking with others’ and potentially modify their responses.
Throughout the lessons, the students will respond to questions given by the teacher. This serves
as a formative assessment where students can explain their learning as it is happening. The
teachers will observe students throughout the learning activities, noting what strategies students
use to perform observations, record their ideas, and complete the activities.]
b. Explain how your design or adaptation of planned assessments allows children with
specific needs to demonstrate their learning.
[For Lessons 1 and 2, I created different versions of graphic organizers to provide adequate
challenge for various student levels. Providing students with key vocabulary words written on
the Promethean Board as well as sentence stems will support all students in this writing.
Sentence stems will also aid students with their discussions with peers. For students who struggle
to sound out challenging words, I will utilize movements corresponding to letter sounds that they
have already learned to aid with recall. Our classroom also has sight words displayed for student
reference. For students with fine motor needs, we provide pencil grips for the completion of the
writing task. I can also write dictated responses in yellow marker for students to trace with
pencil. For English Language Learners, targeted vocabulary instruction and use of visuals will
aid them in recording their learning, in addition to drawing their answers. I will prompt students
who need more of a challenge to deepen their thinking and write longer/more sentences. The use
of engaging materials and lessons will motivate all students to participate in the activity.]
After reviewing your work, summarize the changes you made to this document.
[I needed to make changes to 4: Supporting Children’s Vocabulary Development. I needed to
identify and describe explicit vocabulary supports I could utilize for identified groups of
students. I also needed to explain how I would utilize these supports, and how those students
would benefit from them. I identified potential supports for ELL learners, students at lower
writing levels, a student who has an identified language disorder, and students who are gifted/at
higher literacy levels:
“One particular student in my classroom who would need vocabulary support is my
student who has an identified Language Disorder, which affects his ability to process
receptive language and produce expressive language. An example of a vocabulary
support for this student could be visuals of key vocabulary terms printed out with the
written vocabulary word printed beneath them. This student could refer to these visuals at
his table, pointing to the desired vocabulary word (such as “smooth” or “rough”) to
indicate which term he wants to communicate. The printed vocabulary word could
support him in his writing, as he could copy the word, and a teacher or peer could name
the vocabulary word for him (he could then repeat the word back, helping him to practice
and integrate the word with the visual). This would also be useful for the ELL learners in
my classroom, as well as the students whose writing abilities are lower. Creating a chart
(either on the Promethean Board or on a chart of paper to hang up) could assist
vocabulary acquisition of these groups of students. For those students who are either
identified as gifted or are at a higher literacy level than their peers, I could work with
them as a small group or individually to brainstorm more complex vocabulary words
(such as “bumpy” or “wrinkly” or “soft” for texture words). I could also provide support
by modeling more complex vocabulary, scaffolding it onto the language they are already
using with more sophisticated vocabulary. Utilizing hand motions, and engaging the
students in those hand motions, could provide a more tactile way for students to engage
with the vocabulary, combining with visuals on the charts and the auditory experience of
hearing and speaking the vocabulary words could help all of the students learn the
vocabulary for this learning segment. Having the students practice this vocabulary with
peers at their table also allows each student to fully engage with vocabulary practice at
their own pace, while also being challenged by their peers.”
I inserted this writing into 4c.]
Task 2 Instruction Commentary

1. List the learning experiences you have selected for the 2 video clips you are submitting.
[I am focusing on Lesson #1: Properties of Paper.]
2. Promoting a Positive Learning Environment.
a. How did you demonstrate mutual respect for, rapport with, and responsiveness to children
with varied needs and backgrounds, and challenge children to engage in learning?
[During the exploration portion of the lesson, the students were all seated at their table spots with
their data sheet and the first type of paper we explored: orange construction paper. The students
were recording in the color data cell for the construction paper, by writing “orange,” or by
coloring the box with an orange utensil. One of the students, N, had written the word orange with
an orange colored pencil. I crouched down next to her table and asked her, “N, I noticed that you
wrote the word ‘orange’ in an orange colored pencil. Can you tell me more about that?” She
explained that she used the orange pencil because she could see it was orange through the color
and the written word. I asked her if I could share that with the class, and that I thought that was a
creative idea. I also reminded her that it is ok to say no if she did not want me to share (she
sometimes wishes to keep her work private). By asking her permission, I was respecting her
emotions and offering her control over her own work. She told me I could share, so I stood in the
middle of the tables, rang the chime to get everyone’s attention. I described what N did, and said,
“I thought that was really useful, because then she can see right away and remember what color
the construction paper was by looking at the word, and the color of the word. Maybe you would
like to try that too.” During the lesson, I tried to keep such interruptions to a minimum, in order
to allow the students to focus on the exploration and develop their own ideas. However, I thought
that this would be a learning opportunity for the students, challenging them to utilize the data
sheet in ways that are both creative and useful for them. Throughout the lesson, I encouraged the
students to use their senses to determine what they thought were the paper’s properties. I also
encouraged them to ask each other what they thought the texture, thickness, and color were, to
listen to each others’ answers, and to perhaps change their answers after listening to what their
peers had to say. At one table, two students were each discussing chipboard’s texture. They were
discussing whether the chipboard was rough or smooth, which were the two main texture
vocabulary words I had introduced in the beginning of the lesson. One of the students, S, raised
his hand, so I came over and sat in an empty chair next to them. S said that he and J disagreed
over whether the chipboard was rough or smooth. S said they could not agree, and did not know
what to do. I reminded the students what I had told them in the beginning of the lesson, that “it is
ok not to think the same things,” and as long as they were using their senses and thinking about
their answer, their answer is fine. Earlier in the lesson, the class had collectively disagreed about
what color newsprint was, some saying white, some tan, some gray, so I had taken the
opportunity to discuss with the class about how no one’s data sheet would look the same because
we all see the world differently. I reminded J and S about this, but then I added, “But it looks like
it is important to you to agree with each other. Is that what you want?” They nodded, so I said I
would help them. I said, “Well, one texture word I know is slimy, like a frog. Do you think this
chipboard is slimy?” The children laughed and said “no.” I said, “Ok we agree it is not slimy.
Write that on your data sheet.” I led them on in a discussion, noting that J said that it was not as
rough as sandpaper, which S agreed with. I then said “looking at your data sheet, S, you wrote
that the tissue was soft. Do you both think it is as soft as a tissue?” They agreed that it was not as
soft as a tissue. I repeated that the chipboard’s texture was “not as rough as sandpaper, but not as
soft as a tissue, so what could we say?” J said that the chipboard was “in the middle!” I said, “So,
if we wrote ‘in the middle,’ would we be able to read this tomorrow and remember what it
meant?’ S said yes, and J said no. I told S if that is how he would remember, then writing “in the
middle” is fine, since this data sheet was a tool for him to use. To J, I said “how do you think we
can write this so you would remember?” J said “rough and smooth,” because it is “both.” Near
the end of the lesson, the class tested each of the papers for the property of absorbency. I saved
this part of the lesson for the end since it involved extra equipment, the novelty of which could
be dysregulating to some of the students; a more structured use of it would help those students
utilize the materials appropriately, allowing each of the students to explore this property in a
calm learning environment. I modeled the use of them, and gave each student a dropper with a
small bucket of water at each table. We all dropped one drop onto each piece of paper at a time,
counting to 5 to see if it absorbed. The students then recorded their findings on their data sheet.
While doing this for the tagboard, one student asked if the tagboard would absorb the water if we
counted for longer. This lesson had gone on for longer than I had anticipated, and I explained
that we had to go to recess, and did not have time to wait for long to see if it absorbed. I
suggested that we leave a drop of water on while we went outside, and we could see if it
absorbed afterwards. I put the tagboard under the document camera, dropped a drop of water on
it, and then we got ready for recess. When we returned, all of the students could see what
happened (it absorbed!). In this way I was honoring and responding to the children’s inquiry,
while also making sure the lesson did not infringe on other parts of our day.]
3. Engaging Children in Learning
a. Explain how your instruction engaged children in
○ Language and literacy development, AND
○ Active, multimodal learning
[Lesson #1 involved exploring properties of ten different types of paper. The students each
received their own piece of the paper that they could physically engage with. I encouraged them
to rub the paper between their hands to feel its texture, or to rub it against the back of their hand
or their cheek to see if it felt different (“This construction paper feels a lot rougher on my cheek
than in my hands!”). I told the students to look closely at it, right up in front of their eyes with
“laser vision” to see more details, then to hold it far away to see if they noticed anything else
(“Up close here the newsprint looks white, but when I hold it back it is more brown-ish white I
think.”). I also had them scratch it with their fingers near their ear to hear how it sounded. In this
way, each student had the chance to deeply explore each piece of paper, drawing their own
conclusions about its properties: was it rough or smooth? Was it thick or thin? What color was
it? I let the students keep the pieces of paper throughout the lesson, and encouraged the students
to make comparisons between the different papers (“M, you said that the construction paper was
rough. Now feel the sandpaper.” “Oh, this is really rough!” “So what do you think about the
construction paper’s roughness now?” “Well, it is not as rough as the sandpaper. But it’s more
rough than the tissue.”). I also had the students test the absorbency of each piece of paper, giving
each student a dropper and putting a bowl of water at each table. The students could see up close
if the paper absorbed the water quickly, if it took a little longer to absorb, or if it did not absorb
liquid at all. The students were able to record their findings on their own recording sheets,
meaning each student was able to draw their own conclusions about a paper’s properties. This
lesson involved a lot of academic language for the students to engage with (thick, thin, absorb,
rough, smooth, etc). I made sure in my instruction to introduce and explain this language in a
way that made it approachable and understandable to the students. I used visual hand motions to
help convey some meaning, such as saying “thick” while holding my hands far apart, and “thin”
while holding them close together. I invited students to contribute their understanding and
explanations of the academic language: “Hold the paper between your hands. Feel how it feels.
How it feels is called texture, say texture.” “Texture.” “Who can tell me how this paper feels?”
“Kind of bumpy.” “Not very soft, it’s rough.” “If I press hard it hurts a little bit.” “Ok, I hear that
it is bumpy, not very soft, rough, and that it hurts if you press too hard. So what can we say its
texture is? It’s texture is….” “Rough!” “Bumpy!” “Not soft.” That example also illustrates the
use of sentence stems (“It’s texture is….”) which help students frame their thinking with the
language, and give them possible ways to express that language. I also gave the students many
opportunities to practice this language. I circulated throughout the classroom as the students
explored their pieces of paper, asking them to tell me their observations (“I see you wrote that
the tissue was thin. Tell me more about why you wrote that.” “It is really easy to bend, and when
I look at it you can almost see through it kind of.”). I also encouraged the students to share their
findings with the peers at their table: “Talk with the people around you, do they agree or
disagree? What did they notice?” This also promoted specificity in the students’ language, as
they had to be understood by another peer (“I thought the kraft paper was brown, do you agree?”
“No I thought it was smooth.” “Color! I thought it was brown.” “I thought you meant how it
feels.” “The texture?” “Yeah.” “Me too, smooth.”). By scaffolding the language through visuals,
sentence stems, and allowing students to engage with and practice the language, they were able
to utilize it in a practical way in conversations with their peers about tangible objects. ]
b. Describe how your instruction linked children’s development, prior learning, and
personal, cultural, and community assets with new learning.
[Throughout the lesson, as the children experienced different types of paper, they began making
connections between the papers and their lives (“I have this at my house!”) I used these
connections to frame what we were learning about (“What do you use this paper for at your
house?”) and then built upon it to deepen their learning. For example, several students noted that
they have cardboard at home or see it at stores “for boxes.” I asked them, “why do you think they
use cardboard to make boxes, instead of another kind of paper? What properties of cardboard
make it a good box that can hold things and keep them safe?” The students discussed this, saying
that “water did not soak in, so if a box is in the rain, the stuff inside won’t get wet.” Thus I was
able to take their home experiences and use them to extend and apply their thinking. Accessing
their prior learning also helped to frame their learning in context. For example, the students had
utilized sandpaper in a previous science lesson about wood. I asked the students to recall what
the sandpaper was used for (“making wood smoother”), and then extended this by asking “what
properties of the sandpaper make it useful for making wood smoother?” I prompted the students
to “observe by looking really closely at the sandpaper,” adding that they could “use their laser
vision like a superhero.” I also prompted them to touch both sides of the paper, utilizing sensory
and concrete learning to deepen their thinking in a developmentally appropriate way. A group of
the students in the class frequently engage in superhero play, so this personal connection made
the practice of observation engaging, while also more fully explaining what I meant by
“observe.” The students then noticed that one side was really rough, and that texture was what
caused the wood to become smooth.]
4. Deepening Children’s Learning during Instruction
a. Explain how you elicited and built on children’s responses to promote children’s
language and literacy development through active learning.
[I started the lesson by having the children sit around the carpet in a circle. I sat in the circle as
well, so that we were all on the same level and facing each other. I told the students that we
would be beginning a new science unit, and asked them “who remembers what scientists do?”
The children raised their hands, and shared different things scientists do: learn about things that
are alive, see how things work, fix things, build things, etc. One student said “they look really
closely at things, like with a magnifying glass.” I responded that “when we look closely at
something, we observe it. Say ‘observe.” All the children said “observe.” I told the children to
observe various things around the classroom as practice: “observe your shoe,” “observe the
ceiling,” etc. I told the students that today we would be observing paper. I held up a piece of
printer paper and asked, “is this paper?” The students said yes it was, and I asked, “how do you
know this is paper?” The students said many different responses: “it just is,” “you can write on
it,” “you can fold it into a paper airplane,” etc. I passed a piece of printer paper to every student
around the circle, telling them to observe the paper. They looked at it closely. I asked, “what
color is the paper?” “White” was the only answer given. I asked “What does it feel like?” I
modeled feeling the paper in between my hands, with my fingertips, and next to my cheek. The
students responded, “soft,” “smooth,” “pointy corners,” etc. I said, “What you are doing is
noticing the texture of the paper, say ‘texture.’ Texture is how something feels. You can say, the
texture is soft, the texture is bumpy, the texture is rough, the texture is fuzzy. Turn to your
neighbor and tell them what you think the texture is of your paper. The texture is….” In this way,
I explained the targeted scientific vocabulary of “observe” and “texture” through a gradual
scaffolding, utilizing the students’ senses, discovery, and input to add context to the language.
Throughout the lesson, I returned to these discoveries to promote further language development:
“Remember to feel the paper, what is its texture? The texture is….slimy, fluffy, smooth, rough,
bumpy….oh you said this paper is bumpy, why do you say it is bumpy? Oh, I see you are
pointing to the sand on that sandpaper. Say, “the texture is bumpy.” Ok, now let’s write “bumpy”
in the texture box.” Through asking these types of questions and building on their answers, I
promoted the students to become more comfortable utilizing the vocabulary in both their oral
language and in their writing.]
b. Explain how you made interdisciplinary connections in ways that deepen children’s
development of language and literacy.
[Since paper is a material that is utilized in many other disciplines, I was able to make
interdisciplinary connections as the students were exploring the properties of the different types
of paper. We had been discussing as a class the different uses each paper has, and explaining
why it has that use based on its properties. As a table of students were exploring the tagboard, I
brought a paperback book that we had read as a class the other day. I told the students to feel the
cover of the book, and many of the students identified the cover as being similar to tagboard. I
asked the students why they would use tagboard as a cover of a book. One student said that it “is
a little bit hard to bend, it is thick, so it would be hard to bend the cover and hurt the book.”
Another student said “It does not absorb water fast, so it won’t get wet.” I affirmed that it
protects the book because it is thick and does not absorb water. I pointed out that sandpaper also
has those properties; why do they not make book covers out of sandpaper? “It would be hard to
hold, too scratchy.” “You couldn’t really write or draw on it, you probably couldn’t read it.” “Its
texture is too rough!” Thus the students were able to connect this learning to reading, writing,
and even art by considering why we use certain types of paper for different tasks.]
5. Analyzing Teaching
a. What changes would you make to your instruction to better support children’s learning
related to the central focus? Be sure to address the needs of all children, including those
who need greater support or challenge.
[The first change I would make would be to spread this lesson over the course of multiple
days—at least two, but even three days. The second change I would make would be to utilize one
type of data sheet for all students. On this data sheet, I would have a similar chart, but have the
names of the types of paper printed in a font that the students could trace while leaving all of the
other data cells empty. I would also put the data sheet on both sides of a piece of paper, having
just 2 or 3 rows of cells on each side of the page. The third change I would make would be to
pre-make vocabulary cards of key words, and attach them to objects that students could refer to
(such as the color “tan” printed on a card attached to a tan paint chip, or the word “smooth”
attached to a piece of satin fabric).]
b. Explain why you think these changes would improve children’s learning. Support your
explanation with evidence of children’s learning AND principles from developmental theory
and/or research.
[The primary reason I think extending this lesson would improve children’s learning is that it
would increase the opportunities for deep discussions among my students. During the lesson, I
noticed that the short time frame meant that discussions between students about their discoveries
were often rushed, or even skipped, in order to explore as many types of paper as possible. Some
students who normally work at a slower pace did not even get to explore half of the pieces of
paper in one lesson time frame. Offering more time for discussions would facilitate the
development of perspective-taking, which according to Piaget are skills these pre-operational
learners are still acquiring. This would also increase students’ use of the scientific language and
vocabulary, as oral language practice is an important part of vocabulary acquisition (NRP, 2000).
Extending the lesson into multiple days would also allow more time for the students to write in
the new data sheet, and splitting the data sheet into the front and back of the paper could allow
for more space for student writing. On the current data sheet, the data cells were a small; the
more advanced students in my class were writing their extra observations or more complex
vocabulary words in the margins, which made for a more confusing data sheet in the end that
was difficult for the students to refer back to. Giving them more space would allow them to
better organize their writing, utilizing the graphic organizer more efficiently and helping them
reap the benefits from this tool (Miller & Calfee, 2004). Having larger data cells and more time
to explore the paper types would mean more time for the emergent writers in the classroom to
record their thoughts independently. The current data sheet that had them simply circle their
answers did not fully support their writing development. Large data cells would give them space
to attempt to write the words on their own, either through drawing, partially phonetic spelling,
invented spelling, etc. They could then dictate their responses to a teacher, who could write them
in yellow marker for them to trace, supporting letter formation and fluency (Templeton &
Gehsmann, 2014). Creating vocabulary cards with corresponding objects/visuals would help
ELL learners, the student with an identified language disorder, and students who find writing
challenging. The use of concrete materials would help to facilitate the vocabulary learning of all
students in the room, as their thinking is inherently concrete (Piaget), but they would particularly
help those who struggle with vocabulary and language. Connecting the vocabulary words to
tactile objects makes the vocabulary tangible, accessible, and less confusing for ELL learners
(Wright, 2010). They could not only hear and say the word “smooth,” but also experience it in a
hands on way, allowing them to connect and apply the word to the paper they are exploring. The
student with an identified language disorder could also utilize these, being able to see and feel
the objects to determine which vocabulary word he wished to use. He could also utilize these to
communicate with peers. Similarly, those students who find writing challenging could utilize
those cards as references, allowing them to explore and record on their data sheet more
independently. ]
[No changes were required.]
Task 3 Assessment Commentary

1. Analyzing Children’s Learning
a. Identify the common assessment (what the assessment was and what evaluation criteria was
used) and the specific language and literacy learning objectives you chose for analysis.
[I chose the common assessment from Lesson #3, which was a one page addition to their science
notebook describing the process of recycling. For this assessment, the children wrote about and
drew a picture of their experience recycling paper (their observations, the procedure, etc). I
created a rubric to evaluate this assessment (the common assessment and the rubric are attached
below). The rubric measured whether the students wrote a sentence that reflected their recycling
experience, utilized the sentence stem “I recycled by,” drew a picture that coordinated with the
writing, and whether the picture was labeled. One of the learning objectives for the assessment
was, “I can describe how people recycle paper through writing and drawing.” The language and
vocabulary objective was for the children to learn and understand the vocabulary words
“recycle,” “recycling,” “paper,” “pulp,” “screen,” “tissue,” and “press.” These learning
objectives framed the assessment, where after the students engaged in a hands-on activity
recycling paper, they would draw on that experience for their writing and illustration. Their
assessment would demonstrate their understanding of the recycling process as well as convey
information using the targeted vocabulary (either in their drawing or in their writing).]
b. Summarize the class’s learning for the common assessment.
[The majority of the students were able to compose a science notebook page that reflected their
experience recycling during the lesson, creating writing and drawing that coordinated together.
In particular, this assessment demonstrated that over the course of the learning segment they had
grown more adept at recording their observations gathered through scientific experiences. As a
whole, the class was able to record portions of the recycling process, drawing pictures of paper
being torn into pulp, the pulp being mixed with water, and then being pressed into a screen and
left to dry. Some students recorded this entire process in their drawings, some selected certain
steps to portray. The students also created writing that supported these drawings and reflected
their recycling experience. The writing of the students ranged in complexity from simple
sentences (“I recycled by making noo [new] paper”) to more complex multi-sentence paragraphs
(“I recycled by taring [tearing] up old paper. I presed [pressed] it in the screen. It dris [dries] to
noo [new] paper.”). Two of the students created drawings and writings that were illegible (one
has an IEP for developmental delay and finds many academic tasks challenging, and one is new
to our classroom and does not have many academic skills yet). When prompted to verbally
explain their drawings and writing, however, those students were able to verbally articulate the
recycling process, pointing to specific portions of their drawing and their writing that supported
those ideas (“this is the paper, I am pressing it to get all of the water out, here is the new paper”).
The students also utilized many of the targeted vocabulary words for this lesson: all of the
students wrote “recycle” as it is part of the sentence stem that all of the students used, but many
also added either to their writing or their labels words like “screen,” “pulp,” “paper,” etc. As I
observed the students, I noticed that many of them were utilizing the strategy of observing others
recycling in order to help them in their writing and drawing. The students had been recycling
paper in small groups, and writing their journal pages before or after their turn. Many of the
students would look up at the groups of students as they recycled, adding more details to their
writing and drawing (“Oh, I forgot the bucket of water!”). The class had learned not just about
recycling, but how to use their observations as a tool to compose informational texts. A small
group of students were not able to independently write their responses, but were able to copy the
sentence stem, and dictated their answers to a teacher, who wrote it in yellow marker for them to
trace.]
c. Use the class summary you provided in prompt 1b to analyze the patterns of language and
literacy learning for the class.
[By discussing the recycling process while also tangibly experiencing it themselves, the students
were able to learn and integrate the language surrounding recycling in an authentic context. By
verbally prompting students throughout the lesson, the students were encouraged to utilize the
targeted vocabulary. Many of the students struggled to remember the vocabulary after the
recycling experience was over, however, and required prompting from teachers to incorporate it
into their writing. However, many of those students created drawings that depicted those
vocabulary words (such as drawing a picture of the screen, but failing to write the word or attach
a label to their drawing). This was especially apparent in student groups that typically find new
vocabulary challenging, such as ELL students and our student with an identified language
disorder. As noted in 1b, two students’ writing and drawing that they independently produced
were illegible to the teachers. However, they were not illegible to the students who created them,
who were able to point to specific words and aspects of their drawing as depictions of specific
observations and procedures (“This is my paper, it is wet, it dries in the sun”). Overall, the class
showed a strength in verbal language during this lesson, with the majority of students able to
successfully communicate the recycling experience through verbal communication. The
drawings and writing the students produced reflected this learning as well as the overall writing
ability of each student—if a students’ writing lacked coherence, it was not because their learning
or understanding of the material was necessarily lacking. They were able to draw on their
knowledge of phonics and sight words along with the sentence stem to assemble their written
informational text.]
2. Feedback to Guide Further Learning
a. Explain how you provided feedback to individual children to address their individual or
developmental strengths and needs relative to language and literacy development.
[Though I assessed the students’ learning through the use of a rubric, and thus the rubric
informed my feedback to the students, I provided the students with verbal feedback. The two
focus children consist of one student who is an ELL learner (L), and of another student who is an
average learner in our classroom (A). The ELL student, L, came into our classroom in September
speaking very little English, coming from a primarily Spanish-speaking household. By the time
of this lesson, she had acquired a working level of English, with limited academic language.
Though she is strong in phonics, she finds writing to be challenging, primarily in regards to
developing ideas. For L, I utilized verbal feedback in order to both gauge her understanding, and
to also be a support to help her fully communicate her learning. I elicited verbal responses from
her, and built on those responses by asking questions and clarifying her understanding with
visuals and hand gestures. At one point during the lesson after she had recycled her paper, she
had written the sentence prompt but no further, and was drawing a picture consisting of a picture
of a person next to a circle. I asked her to describe her drawing, and she told me “I make paper, I
recycle” while pressing on the tabletop with both hands. I restated her words to promote
language and vocabulary acquisition—“Yes, you are pressing, I see you are pushing down on the
table like you pushed the pulp onto the screen, the round circle. What is this circle on your
paper?” “The screen!” “Oh, I see now, you are pushing the pulp through the screen. Wow, your
drawing is showing me what to do to recycle, what do your words say?” I pointed to the words
she had written and we read them together—“I recycled by”. L did not continue the sentence, so
I reminded her of a strategy we had been working on for previous writing activities: “Remember,
first the words on the board, then your words. I’ll read the words on the board, then L will say
her words. ‘I recycled by….’” I gestured to her to indicate it was time for “her words” while also
pointing to her picture to remind her of her thinking. She said “I recycled by...screen.” I
responded by pushing on the tabletop as she had done earlier, and she said “pushing on the
screen!” In this way, my verbal feedback reminded her of what she was missing (a finished
sentence), clarified the thinking she was showing in her picture, and prompted her to
independently complete the work using a strategy she had learned before. For the second focus
child, A, my verbal feedback served to extend her thinking, rather than to clarify it. A’s language
and literacy abilities are at average or slightly above. She is often able to meet expectations, but
either rushes through activities or stops once minimum standards are met. For this assessment,
she had easily written a sentence—“I recycled by making noo [new] paper.”—and had drawn a
picture of a white circle on a brown square next to a window, which she had labeled as “recycled
paper.” At this point, she would have scored a 7/7 on the rubric I created for this assessment, and
I utilized my feedback to express this achievement: “Wow, A, I see you wrote a sentence, can
you read it to me?” “I recycled paper by making new paper.” “You did make new paper, and you
sounded out a lot of those new words. What is your picture?” “My new recycled paper is on a
paper towel, drying by the window.” “Yes, I see your label here of ‘recycled paper.’ So you
wrote your sentence, your sentence tells me about what you did, and your picture matches and
has labels.” In this way, I used my verbal feedback to name her accomplishments, describing
what was successful about them. However, I wanted to challenge A, so I also used the verbal
feedback to prompt her to extend her learning further: “A, you wrote one sentence, could you
write more? What other parts of how you recycled are important to share? Make sure your
picture matches, too.”]
b. Describe how you supported individual children to understand and use this feedback to
further their learning related to learning objectives, either within the learning segment or at a
later time.
[For A, I felt it was important to describe the components I was looking for on the rubric in order
to help her understand her accomplishments and the strengths I saw in her assessment. Simply
showing her the rubric would have been inaccessible to her; the rubric itself is purely a tool for
myself to gauge her learning. However, by verbally describing its components that she met, she
was able to understand and gauge her achievements. In the future, this practice will help her
self-monitor her work. However, even though she had met the standards for the lesson,
prompting her to extend her work by writing more sentences and adding more to her picture
promotes her to increase her understanding of recycling while also helping her to learn to add
more details to her writing, and to draw on her own observations and experiences for those
details. I helped her to understand this importance by explaining it in an accessible way: “You
still have more time, and there is more space on your paper, so I know you can add more. But it
is also important to add more details because your paper could actually teach people how to
recycle, if you add enough detail. Someone could read your paper right now, but could they learn
how to recycle just from this paper?” “No, I didn’t show the screen.” “And what else?” “Mixing
the pulp with water.” “Ok, let’s write those things, too.” For L, as an ELL learner, I also felt it
was important to use my verbal feedback to describe what she had accomplished (“Oh, I see
now, you are pushing the pulp through the screen. Wow, your drawing is showing me what to do
to recycle”) while also prompting her to add to what she had already done. By reminding her of
the strategy of “words on the board first, then your words,” my feedback was reinforcing her
writing development, helping her to remember to not just write the sentence stem but to write a
full sentence. One of L’s areas of strength is phonics, so my feedback did not focus on that
aspect of her writing, but rather developing her ideas. Her picture demonstrated to me that she
had an understanding of the recycling process, but needed assistance recording it in writing and
expressing it verbally; my feedback was tailored to support her in these tasks.]
3. Evidence of Vocabulary Understanding and Use
a. Explain how children were able to use the key vocabulary to support their learning of the
content.
[In this learning experience, the children were able to use the key vocabulary in both verbal
discussions with teachers and peers, as well as in their writing. After the vocabulary was
explicitly taught both through teacher instruction and in a recycling video, the students had the
opportunity to engage with the vocabulary in context while actively recycling paper. The teacher
led the students in discussions throughout the activity, naming the key vocabulary and prompting
the students to utilize it. They then utilized the vocabulary in their writing, both by incorporating
it into their sentences and by labeling their drawing. Interestingly, a lot of the students forgot a
lot of the vocabulary while working on their writing, even though they had successfully utilized
it previously in the lesson. The teachers continued to prompt students to utilize key vocabulary
words in their writing, promoting specificity (“I pressed the paper in the circle thing.” “The
circle has a name, do you remember it?” “No….” “The screen, you pressed the paper into the
screen. Make sure you label that part on your picture!”). By utilizing the vocabulary while
engaging in an authentic learning experience, they were able to more effectively integrate the
vocabulary into their writing and their drawing, even if they required prompts to remember it.
They could also draw on the tools used in the recycling experience to inform their learning
(“Then I used that thing, the round thing over there, the screen. It gets all the water out”). This
was especially useful for students who struggle with vocabulary, such as ELL learners or those
with an IEP, as they had tangible experiences and objects that supported their vocabulary use.
Throughout this learning segment, I had encouraged the students to collaborate and discuss their
observations with peers. Even though this lesson was more independent, I noticed some of the
students continuing this collaboration, but in regards to the vocabulary: “S used a screen in his
drawing, and I saw it and remembered to put on in mine too!”; “N don’t forget to put a picture of
the pulp, I drew it like this.” This tended to happen with the students who were at a more
advanced language and literacy level, as they had time after their writing and drawing to add
more details and notice others’ drawings. But this also happened across developmental levels,
too: “R, you’re just drawing a swirl!” “It’s my new paper I made.” “Oh when you pressed it?”
“Yes.” In this way, the students were able to make connections between the written vocabulary
and the verbal language in order to collaborate with each other, using the vocabulary to make
themselves understood and to improve their work.]
4. Using Assessment to Inform Instruction
a. Based on your analysis of children’s learning presented in prompts 1b-c, describe next steps
for instruction to impact children’s learning:
○ For the class
○ For individuals/groups with specific needs
[In the short term, I believe it would be beneficial to have the students publish their science
notebooks, either by displaying them in the hallway outside of the classroom, or displaying them
online for families to see. In the long term, creating more active learning opportunities and
integrating them with writing tasks would be a beneficial next step for this class. These could be
hands-on experiences in the classroom (similar to the recycling they did for this lesson), or it
could be something larger, like a field trip. For the ELL students like L, an important next step
could be to develop their ability to generate ideas for their writing, rather than just seeing writing
as an exercise in applied phonics. This could also help A: by generating more ideas before
writing, she could find it easier to add details to her work later on. All of these next steps put
together could help support the students development of writing as both a skill and a tool to
express their observations and ideas. For a small group of students in the class who could still be
considered emergent writers, continued phonics and phonemic awareness supports and
interventions will be an important step to support their writing development.]
b. Explain how these next steps follow from your analysis of children’s learning. Support your
explanation with principles from research and/or developmental theory.
[Creating opportunities for children to participate in authentic writing activities—writing about
their own experiences, lives, and interests—promotes the idea that writing is a meaningful and
relevant practice that is worth learning; this is emphasized when student work is shared with
others through publishing (Blanch, Forsythe, Van Allen, & Roberts, 2017). Linking writing and
other literacy tasks with active experiences has been shown to increase student motivation and
language and literacy development (Taylor, Morris, & Cordeau-Young, 1997). Supporting
phonics and phonemic awareness development is an essential part in promoting children’s
writing development, as it enables children to segment words into their phonemes and then
record those phonemes (National Reading Panel, 2000). This would help support the emergent
writers in the class, as those students are still working to acquire those necessary skills. For the
ELL learners in our classroom—especially L—research has shown that phonemic skills are also
helpful for writing development (Harrison, Ogle, & Keilty, 2013), however, it is also important
to support their writing development in other ways. By assisting ELL students in generating
ideas and scaffolding their writing work through conversations and modeling, ELL students can
become more confident and fluent in their writing (Williams & Pilonieta, 2012).]
[No changes were required.]
Common Assessment: Science Notebook Final Page

Common Assessment: Rubric

Score (1=present,
Assessment Component 0=absent)
/1
At least one sentence is present
/1
Writing uses stem, “I recycled by”
/1
Writing reflects recycling experience
/1
Picture is present
/1
Picture is labeled
/1
Picture makes sense with the writing
Total Score: /6

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Kindergarten Science—Paper Samantha Schwab 1

TPA: Kindergarten Science

Lesson Plan: Paper Day 2

TASK 1: CONTEXT FOR LEARNING INFORMATION

About the School Where You Are Teaching

1. Classrooms utilize thematic, interdisciplinary teaching and learning

About the Children in the Class Featured in this Learning Segment

3. Number of children in the class: 26

Children with IEPs/504 Plans

IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations,

Language Disorder/ 1 No supports, accommodations, or

Developmental Delay 1 Sensory tool, fine motor support for

Speech Articulation 3 30 minutes of pullout for speech

Children with Specific Language Needs

Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations,

English Language 6 Explicitly teach vocabulary, provide

Children with Other Learning Needs

Other Learning Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations,

Advanced reader: reading 1 Leveled texts, differentiated reading

Lesson Plan: Paper Day 1

State Academic Standards:

Instructional Resources and Materials Needed:

Lesson Plan: Paper Day 2

State Academic Standards:

Instructional Resources and Materials Needed:

Lesson Plan: Paper Day 3

State Academic Standards:

Instructional Resources and Materials Needed:

Task 1 Planning Commentary

Task 2 Instruction Commentary

Task 3 Assessment Commentary

Common Assessment: Science Notebook Final Page

Common Assessment: Rubric

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