EDTPA TASK 1 ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS OVERVIEW “edTPA is a performance-based, subject-specific assessment and support system used by teacher preparation programs throughout the United States to emphasi

: Literacy with Mathematics Task 4

Task 1: Planning Commentary

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

a. Describe the central focus and the essential literacy strategy for comprehending OR composing text you will teach in the learning segment.

[The central focus for this learning segment will be the development of comprehension in identifying main ideas and supporting details in texts. For Michael, this literacy strategy will enhance his meaning-text processing ability, which is important and essential to achieving academic success, as his vocabulary recognition and sentence comprehension have improved]

b. Given the central focus, describe how the standards and learning objectives within your learning segment address

[These learning objectives also align with the state standards in that they focus on main idea identification and identification of supporting detail, key elements of text comprehension. This strategy relates to the skills of summarizing and making inferences, which come along with deeper engagement in text. Moreover, connecting reading comprehension with brief writing tasks will allow Michael to synthesize his understanding and enhance his ability to organize thoughts]

c. Explain how your plans build on each other to help students make connections between the essential literacy strategy to comprehend OR compose text and related skills that support use of the strategy in meaningful contexts.

[The lessons are progressive, starting with identifying the main ideas in short paragraphs, adding to that with supporting details in longer passages, and finally bringing those skills together into a written summary. By this, Michael will be able to make and apply his comprehension skills connectedly and build confidence in understanding and discussing any text]

For each of the prompts below (2a–b), describe what you know about your students with respect to the central focus of the learning segment.

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

1. Prior academic learning and prerequisite skills related to the central focus—Cite evidence of what students know, what they can do, and what they are still learning to do.

[Michael's academic background demonstrates improvement in reading and vocabulary identification; however, he still has difficulty in phonetic decoding and maintaining attention. He has difficulty handling abstract concepts but may do much better when examples are more concrete and tasks more specific. Knowledge base concerning these areas forms the foundation for beginning simple texts and structure tasks for comprehension].

1. Personal, cultural, and community assets related to the central focus—What do you know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural and language backgrounds and practices, and interests?

[Michael's personal interests are related to activities like working in the family restaurant and helping with cooking. His background could easily be used to make lessons more relevant through examples concerning cooking or restaurant operations; this would enhance his motivation and interest in understanding the reading tasks]

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Respond to prompts 3a–c below. To support your justifications, refer to the instructional materials and lesson plans you have included as part of Literacy Planning Task 1. In addition, use principles from research and/or theory to support your justifications.

1. Justify how your understanding of your students’ prior academic learning and personal, cultural, and community assets (from prompts 2a–b above) guided your choice or adaptation of learning tasks and materials. Be explicit about the connections between the learning tasks and students’ prior academic learning, their assets, and research/theory.

[Understanding Michael's academic strengths and personal interests informed the selection of activities. Including cooking-related texts motivates him and helps link academic skills with authentic purposes. Research into motivation indicates that when students can connect what they are learning in school with their interests, they become more engaged; when Michael sees a purpose for a task, he then becomes more attentive to it]

1. Describe and justify why your instructional strategies and planned supports are appropriate for the whole class, individuals, and/or groups of students with specific learning needs.

[Strategies such as using visual organizers and chunking information are appropriate for both Michael and the whole class. For Michael, targeted support will involve structured sentence starters and vocabulary lists to assist with sentence formation, aiding his comprehension of main ideas and details]

1. Describe common developmental approximations or common misconceptions within your literacy central focus and how you will address them.

[A common misconception in comprehension is equating main ideas with unrelated details. Michael could be unable to identify relevant information; hence, in the lessons, there are specific examples and activities on modeling to help him develop his skills in identifying the central ideas from secondary details].

As you respond to prompts 4a–d, consider the range of students’ language assets and needs—what do students already know, what are they struggling with, and/or what is new to them?

1. Language Function. Using information about your students’ language assets and needs, identify one language function essential for students to develop and practice the literacy strategy within your central focus. Listed below are some sample language functions. You may choose one of these or another more appropriate for your learning segment.

[The essential language function for this segment is summarize. Practicing summarizing will help Michael distill main ideas and focus on pertinent details, supporting his literacy development]

1. Identify a key learning task from your plans that provides students with opportunities to practice using the language function in ways that support the essential literacy strategy. Identify the lesson in which the learning task occurs. (Give lesson day/number.)

[In Lesson 2, Michael will complete a summarizing activity by identifying the main idea and supporting details from a short passage on cooking. This practical connection aligns with his interests and reinforces comprehension skills].

1. Additional Language Demands. Given the language function and learning task identified above, describe the following associated language demands (written or oral) students need to understand and/or use:

[ Key vocabulary includes terms like “main idea,” “details,” and “summary.” Additional language demands include using basic syntax structures to construct sentences that summarize text accurately]

1. Language Supports. Refer to your lesson plans and instructional materials as needed in your response to the prompt.

[Planned supports include pre-teaching vocabulary with visual aids and structured practice using sentence frames. These supports provide Michael with a framework to focus on core content and summarize effectively]

[In response to the prompts below, refer to the assessments you will submit as part of the materials for Literacy Planning Task 1]

Assessments include graphic organizers and comprehension checklists that allow Michael to visually organize main ideas and details, showing his progress in using the literacy strategy.

1. Explain how the design or adaptation of your planned assessments allows students with specific needs to demonstrate their learning.

[To accommodate Michael’s specific needs, assessments will involve simplified text passages and sentence starters to support his understanding. This structure enables him to demonstrate his learning without overwhelming him, focusing on comprehension accuracy]

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