Atwell, TIE535

TPA Task 2: Instruction Commentary Engaging Students in Learning a) Explain how the instruction (tasks, activities, discussions, and/or teaching strategies) depicted in the clip(s) motivated and intellectually engaged students in developing content related skills and strategies. Cite specific examples from the clip(s) of what students said/did to support your explanation. The instruction depicted in my clip motivated and intellectually engaged my students in developing content related skills and strategies, as the lesson was delivered in a way that set all of my students up for success. Teaching students the art of thinking about your reading is no easy task, but with practice and persistence, my students have gained a keen understanding for how beneficial tracking their thoughts can be. While my students have used strategies like the one depicted in this lesson before, I find it to be extremely beneficial to continuously model. In this lesson, I provided my students with various opportunities to express their thinking and this seemed to keep them really intellectually engaged. Giving the students ample opportunities to express their thinking through Think Pair Shares, stopping & jotting, and sharing their thinking aloud, they all seemed to be actively tracking their thoughts during the read aloud, which is exactly what I wanted them to do. I saw students eager to share their thoughts, students excited to discuss their thinking with a partner, and students working hard to record their thinking in a variety of ways. b) Using examples from the clip(s), describe how your instruction (tasks, activities, discussions, and/or teaching strategies) linked students prior learning and experiences with new learning. Prior learning and experience includes students academic content knowledge, language development, social/emotional development, family/cultural assets, interests and lived experiences. For this lesson, I certainly planned with my students in mind. I recognize that all of my students have different learning experiences, so I chose to present this lesson in a way that set them up for success. In the video, you will note that some students have white boards and markers, and other students have Stop & Jot sheets. This is because I recognize that not all of my students are ready to read and write while listening to a read aloud, but some of my students are. Whenever I asked my students to stop and jot, they knew that they could draw a picture, write a sentence, or just jot some words. Because their options were so differentiated, this lesson appeared to be relatively stress free. I wanted my students to focus on tracking their

TPA 2: Instructional Commentary

Atwell, TIE535 thoughts while reading, and I wanted them to do so in a way that was beneficial for each of them, no matter what their ability level may be. I also strategically chose that particular book for this lesson because the previous day was Halloween. I felt this instructional decision was wise because I knew the majority of my students could find some way to relate to the text. Deepening Student Learning During Instruction a) Explain how you elicited student thinking though questions or materials and facilitated responses that supported students understanding of content. As previously stated, I differentiated materials that would be most beneficial for my students to successfully accomplish tracking their thoughts while reading. In the clip, you will note that I listened to the students as they shared out their thoughts, and at times would ask them to tell me more in an effort to really help them explain their thinking. As there are right or wrong answers for this exercise, I simply listened to my students thoughts. I also made an effort to restate what my students were telling me, to ensure that I clearly understood their thought process as we were reading. When I presented students with an opportunity to stop and jot, you can hear me narrate what I see, I see some students drawing pictures, I see words, I see sentences. All great stuff! I did this in an effort to reinforce the idea that there are various ways to express your thinking and track your thoughts. When students were sharing their thoughts with partners, I leaned in and listened, and even conversed with students to really give them an opportunity to explain their thinking. All of these strategies combined helped me get an idea of my students level of understanding. b) Explain how you supported students to develop skills and strategies and connect them to real world purposes. Although my clip does not showcase this, in the beginning of my lesson, I briefly talked with my students about ways we keep track of what we are reading. As we brainstormed together, we came to a consensus that stopping and thinking about our thinking while we read is a good way to track our reading. Getting my students accustomed to using strategies like this have a direct correlation with real life, as my students ability to read and understand is an imperative part of being a lifelong learner. In the clip, some of my students made connections between the read aloud and their life or feelings, and this is so important because being able to connect to a text is one of the best ways to internalize and understand your reading, as a child, or an adult.

TPA 2: Instructional Commentary

Atwell, TIE535 Evidence of Academic Language a) Describe evidence in the clip that demonstrate the extent to which students are able to understand and/or use the language associated with the identified language demand (vocabulary, function/form and/or instructional language) in ways that develop their content knowledge/skill development. In the clip, you will note that I am consistently referring to sentence stems to help students frame their thoughts. Also, students are learning to use terms such as, I predict and I thinkbecause. You will note that in my video, when a student uses powerful words to share their thinking, I would reinforce that through saying things like, Oh! You are making a prediction! Wow! b) Using this evidence, how well did your language supports or instruction promote academic language development for students with varied language levels? After viewing the clip, I think my language supported and promoted academic language development in all of my students. For my students who are not yet fluent in the academic language, I hung a poster and referred to it continuously to help students frame their thoughts in an academic way when sharing out. I also repeated the positive academic language I heard to support further use of it throughout the lesson.

TPA 2: Instructional Commentary