Early Childhood

Task 2: Instruction Commentary

TASK 2: INSTRUCTION COMMENTARY

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

1. List the learning experience(s) you have selected for the 2 video clips you are
submitting. Identify the learning experience(s) by plan day/number.
[ Clip 1 is of large group instruction from learning experience 2. Clip 2 is of small group
instruction from learning experience 3.]
2. Promoting a Positive Learning Environment
Refer to scenes in the video clips where you provided 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?
[ From 0:17-1:30 in Clip 1, I asked students to give me a “thumbs up” if they heard a long /A/
sound word in the group of words that I said. This allows each student to think about their
response before I call on someone to tell me the answer. I can also monitor who understands
what we are doing and who needs more prompting. When the first student that I called on gave
me an incorrect answer, I used that as a learning opportunity to remind everyone what the long
/A/ sound was that we were listening for. Knowing that he has a developmental delay and that
he requires more prompting at times, I rephrased the question for him before he decided that
someone else should answer. I allowed him time to think about his answer since he had given
me a “thumbs up”, and then let him decide if he wanted to keep trying or move on. From 13:01-
13:15 in Clip 1, I checked in on a pair of students and found that they were looking to challenge
themselves. I only required students to find and write seven long /A/ sound words, but these
girls already had ten words. They understood that they could have been done, but were
enjoying the activity and thought that they could find more words. From 4:40-5:12 in Clip 2, I
worked with a student in my small group who was struggling to add a long /A/ word into her
sentence. She was writing really well and was engaged in her story so I did not want to make
her rewrite her whole story. I suggested that she add a long /A/ word to the end of her sentence
in this scene. I offered her a few words to see if she could pick out the one that had the long /A/
and would fit into her sentence. This keeps her in a good mindset to continue working and she
believes that I respect what she has written. She is a struggling reader so giving her more
prompts and supports helps with her writing.]
3. Engaging Children in Learning
Refer to examples from the video clips in your responses to the prompts.

a. Explain how your instruction engaged children in

 language and literacy development, AND
 active, multimodal learning
[ From 0:40-3:36 in Clip 1, the class did a whole group activity in which they used language to
express their literacy understanding. I said three words to them and asked which one had the
long /A/ sound. This was after we watched a video story using long /A/ words, so the students

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 Early Childhood
Task 2: Instruction Commentary

had an understanding of what they were listening for in the group of words that I said. Many
students were able to tell me that they understood the concept by telling me the correct word,
while other students told me an incorrect word. This helped me understand that they needed
more prompting, or in some cases less words to choose from. Later on in the video, all of the
students demonstrated that they understood how to find long /A/ sound words during the
scavenger hunt. From 8:27-14:50 in Clip 1, students are working with a partner on a long /A/
sound word scavenger hunt around the classroom. Instead of sitting on the rug and listening to
what they are learning about or sitting at their desk and silently writing about what they are
learning, they are walking around and exploring the classroom while they are speaking. It is
important for them to say the words to learn the vocabulary. Working with a partner allows
everyone to share what they are learning and help each other along the way. Because there are
words, pictures, and objects around the room, students have multiple forms of the long /A/
sound that they can look for. Some students looked for words because they could see the
letters that formed the long /A/ sound, while other students looked at pictures and said the word
out loud to hear the long /A/ sound. Having students draw a picture of their words helps to prove
that they understand what they have written, and that they were not just copying words that they
found. Throughout Clip 2, students are writing stories that incorporate the long /A/ sound and
the first, next, and last vocabulary that we previously discussed. My students have been taught
that writing is an independent activity until that are allowed to share their ideas with the class.
They use language with me when they need additional support or when I am asking for
clarification in their writing.]
b. Describe how your instruction linked children’s development, prior learning, and
personal, cultural, and community assets with new learning.
[ From 8:27-14:50 in Clip 1, students are engaged in a scavenger hunt for long /A/ sound words.
Since children enjoy exploring their surroundings by nature and asking questions, a scavenger
hunt is a great activity for them to learn in their own way. I provided words around the room to
help students who enjoy reading and understand words better when they can see the spelling. I
also provided pictures or visual clues for those words to support those students who struggle
with reading and need a visual to help connect ideas. The students were able to communicate
with their partner throughout the lesson and share their findings. Even though the focus for the
learning segment was on the “ai” letter chunk that says the long /A/ sound, I added in a few
words that had the long /A/ sound but were spelled differently. This challenged students to think
of what they had previously learned and connect it to what they were learning during this lesson.
I also taped up a few words that did not have the long /A/ sound to make sure that students
were paying attention. They had to use their previous knowledge and visual clues to figure out
what those words said. When the students were writing their sentences and drawing their
pictures to match their words, I accepted the majority of their work. Even though some pictures
did not match what I was thinking, the students were able to explain what it was to me so that I
could understand the difference. Their sentences also showed their cultural and personal
differences, which I accepted and appreciated. For example, many students used the word “jail”
in their sentences. They expressed that they have been to jail or know the jail in the area. I
know that some of my students have family members in jail, so this sentence is relevant to their
personal lives. This helps me learn about my students and how I can connect my lessons to
their world better.]
4. Deepening Children’s Learning during Instruction
Refer to examples from the video clips in your explanations.

a. Explain how you elicited and built on children’s responses to promote children’s
language and literacy development through active learning.

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 Early Childhood
Task 2: Instruction Commentary

[ From 10:06-10:30 in Clip 1, I noticed that one of my students found and wrote a word that did
not have the long /A/ sound during the scavenger hunt. I asked him what word he found and if it
had the long /A/ sound. He realized that it did not and decided to change it. Finding this mistake
early on helped the student remember what he was looking for so that he could focus on the
remainder of the activity. Knowing that he could orally explain to me that the word “snail” had
the long /A/ sound but “tree” did not helps me to understand his thinking during the activity. He
was able to search around the room for another word with the correct sound to replace the word
he had written. From 3:50-4:05 in Clip 2, I was discussing the long /A/ words that my student
had used in her writing. I asked her which word she wrote that had the long /A/ sound in her
sentence, and she responded with “house”. Instead of simply telling her that house does not
have the long /A/ sound, I asked her what she heard in that word. This got her to think about her
response and her writing more. She was able to determine that she needed a new long /A/ word
in that sentence. I believe that this is a more meaningful method of correcting a student because
they will remember the conversation in their future writing because they came to the conclusion
on their own.]
b. Explain how you made interdisciplinary connections in ways that deepen children’s
development of language and literacy.
[ From 8:10-10:50 in Clip 2, my students began drawing their pictures to match what they had
written. This brings in an artistic side to help students express what they have written. Some
students skip words when they are writing, but can explain their picture using oral language very
well. Connecting literacy to art allows students to show a different side of their understanding.
This activity is directly related to literacy because the drawing is helping to explain what they
have written in their story. They are going back to look at what they have written and figuring out
how to condense it into one drawing. Since we began this lesson by reading a book about
animals, many students wrote about animals in their stories. This connects to science and
allows them to introduce characters other than people into their stories.]
5. Analyzing Teaching
Refer to examples from the video clips in your responses to the prompts.

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.

Consider the variety of learners in your class/group who may require different
strategies/supports (such as children with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners,
children at different points in the developmental continuum, and/or gifted children).
[ While the students were doing their scavenger hunt from 8:27-14:50 in Clip 1, I would have
taken down some words that I had taped up around the room. I would let the students explore
and find their first few words at the beginning, and then I would gradually begin taking some
down. This would encourage more creativity and exploration of the classroom, as well as
communication with their partners. This would also challenge students who could think of their
own words. Students with higher needs would still have the visual supports around the
classroom and could use what they had already found as an example of what else they could
look for. From the beginning of Clip 2, I would like to have provided the students who were
working in a small group with me written prompts to remind them what they needed to do. They
already had the list of long /A/ words that we found in the book on the board, but I would write
out “first, next, and last” on a sheet of paper in front of them. This provides them with a visual
reminder to focus their writing and saves them the frustration of remembering how to spell the
words. I noticed in my scenes that one of my students got frustrated and unfocused a few times

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 Early Childhood
Task 2: Instruction Commentary

because he could not remember how to spell a word. In my third learning experience, I would
also like to make a few changes that were not included in my clips. I would select a different
book to read at the beginning of the lesson because it was a little too long. I believe that the
students had a difficult time focusing for the whole story and remembering what happened for
the retelling portion of the lesson. At the end of learning experience three, I would have liked to
provide more time for students to share their writing. Since the book was so long and we found
so many long /A/ words, there was not a lot of time left at the end of the lesson to share ideas.
This would have allowed students the opportunity to hear how their peers used long /A/ words
and we could have checked each other’s work together.]
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 first change that I mentioned for Clip 1 from 8:27-14:50 would improve children’s learning
because it would have challenged students after they were given support. If students who
understand the lesson right away and are gifted realize that all of the answers are right in front
of them, they do not need to do that much work. They are still differentiating which words have
the long /A/ sound and which do not, but it does not provide a big learning opportunity for those
students. This idea relates to Vygotsky’s theory on The Zone of Proximal Development and
scaffolding (Vygotsky, 1978). He found that children are capable of expanding their knowledge
to concepts that might be too difficult for them if they are given guidance. Most of the students
that I am working with would not find this activity too difficult. However, providing those supports
for the students that need them at the beginning and then gradually taking them away, allows
them to learn independently and see what they can find on their own. There is evidence that
supports this idea on the scavenger hunt sheets that the students turned in. I had a few
students find words in the classroom that I had not written on notecards for them to find. They
also went beyond the number of words that I had required them to write. The second change
that I mentioned began at the beginning of Clip 2. I said that I would have liked to provide
closer, written prompts for the students in my small group. Both of these students have more
learning needs, so providing them with reminders to keep them on task would improve their
writing. This relates to Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983). In his theory,
Gardner explains that children learn in various ways. By providing these students with verbal
and written directions, they can look back at what they need to do at any time. They also have
the spelling of the sequencing words right in front of them to keep their writing flowing. In my
scene, I repeated the directions multiple times for my students. This may have been just to
remind them or they may not have understood what I was asking them to do. The remaining
changes that I had for parts of my lesson that were not included in my video clips are simple
adjustments to help the lesson progress smoothly. The book that I selected worked well with
finding long /A/ sound words and the students did remember how to retell the story in order, it
just required more direct prompting.]

References:

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic
Books.
Piaget, J. (1959). The language and thought of the child (Vol. 5). Psychology Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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