Spec Educ Task-1b Planning Commentary

Special Education
Task 1: Planning Commentary
TASK 1: PLANNING COMMENTARY

Respond to the prompts below (no more than 12 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing
your responses within the brackets. Do not delete or alter the prompts. Pages exceeding the maximum
will not be scored.
1. Alignment of the Learning Goal, Standard, Lesson Objectives, and Planned Supports
a. Complete the table below to identify the
learning goal selected for the learning segment.
academic content standard, alternate standard, or early childhood standard, related
to the learning goal and/or the planned supports. (Note: Please include the number
and text of the standard that is being addressed. If only a portion of a standard is
being addressed, then only list the part or parts that are relevant.) Indicate if there is
no relevant standard for the learning goal and/or planned supports.
lesson objective for each lesson.
planned supports to be used throughout the learning segment and described in the
lesson plans, specific to achieving the learning goal. (Please provide a brief list of the
key supports that you intend to use; you will have an opportunity to explain how they
support the focus learner in prompts 3ad and 4b.)
Learning Goal: [ Ginger will identify 9/12 features of four different informational
texts (newspaper and magazine articles, history textbooks and subject specific
books), and write a one-paragraph summary using a graphic organizer for one
selected informational text. ]
Relevant Academic, Alternate, or Early Childhood Standard: [ CCSS.ELA-
LITERACY.RI.6.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6-8
text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the
range. ]
Lesson Objectives Specific Planned Supports to Address the

Learning Goal (supports may be the same across
lessons)
Lesson 1 [Ginger will verbally [ Verbal prompts, gestural prompts, and partial
state and write down physical prompts for redirecting attention; verbal and
two features of written directions; scribe services; dictation of test
informational texts questions; extended time on pre-test if needed; check
and their definitions.] off/circle/fill in the blanks instead of essay questions;
hard copy worksheets to follow along with spoken
verbal directions; multiple and varied texts; color
coded pens and sticky notes; sensory/regulation
breaks (if needed); peer mediated support systems,
gradual release of responsibility, modeling, different
learning styles (multiple intelligences), repetition, and
post-lesson check-in to self-reflect.
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Bilingual supports: picture supports, phonetic

spellings, instructions verbally given in English and
Spanish if needed. ]
Lesson 2 [ Ginger will use a [ Verbal, gestural, and partial physical prompts and
graphic organizer redirects, scribing services, written and verbally given
(Venn diagram) to directions, sensory/regulatory breaks if needed,
compare features modeled spellings of words, editing, different colored
found in two different pens, peer mediated support, cooperative learning
informational texts. ] pairs, multiple text examples, teacher facilitated
models, kinesthetic activities, formative assessments
(not summative), extended time on assignments,
Bilingual supports: picture supports, phonetic

spellings, instructions verbally given in English and
Lesson 3 [ Ginger will complete [ Verbal prompts, gestural prompts, and partial
(independently write) physical prompts/redirects to compete the task; verbal
one close read and written directions; verbal and gestural redirects;
strategy for one scribe services; hard copy worksheets to follow along
selected with spoken verbal directions; enlarged fonts if
informational text as needed; articles read aloud; modeled spelling and
defined by the expectations; multiple and varied texts, color coded
instruction paper. ] pens; sensory/regulation breaks (if needed); peer
mediated support systems; extended time on
assignment, gradual release of responsibility,
modeling, different learning styles (multiple
intelligences), repetition, and post-lesson check-in to
self-reflect.
Bilingual supports: picture supports; phonetic

spellings; instructions verbally given in English and
Lesson 4 [ Ginger will use an [ Verbal prompts, gestural prompts, and partial
annotated close read physical prompts to redirect attention; verbal and
passage to write a written directions; scribe services; modeled
summary of the text paragraphs; peer and adult editing support, modeled
using a graphic letters or words; hard copy worksheets to follow along
organizer and adult with spoken verbal directions; multiple and varied
support. ] texts, color coded pens; sensory/regulation breaks (if
needed), peer mediated support systems, gradual
release of responsibility, modeling, different learning
styles (multiple intelligences), repetition, and post-
lesson check-in to self-reflect.
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Lesson 5 [ Ginger will [ Verbal prompts, gestural prompts, and partial
independently physical prompts for attention redirects; verbal and
complete a close written directions, scribe services (if requested);
read strategy, dictation of test questions(if requested); extended time
analyze text features on pre-test if needed; check off/circle/fill in the blanks
and write a summary instead of essay questions; enlarged paragraph shells
of an informational or articles (if requested); hard copy worksheets to
text ] follow along with spoken verbal directions; multiple
and varied texts; color coded pen; sensory/regulation
breaks (if needed); peer mediated support systems,

Spanish if needed; test can be performed in Spanish if
needed (this will be discussed ahead of time so that I
can translate the test). ]
b. Based on the learning goal and the focus learners IEP goals, respond to ONE of the
prompts below.
If the selected learning goal is academic and is aligned with an IEP goal:
Explain how the learning goal and the planned supports align with the IEP goal.
[ Gingers associated IEP goal is as follows: Given visual supports such as a graphic
organizer, Ginger will summarize a text by identifying a main idea and 3 key details about
the text, verbally identify 3 descriptive features of the text or picture and use complete,
grammatically correct sentences when applicable for up to 4 out of 5 opportunities.
Gingers learning goal states that after 5 lessons, Ginger will identify features of four
different informational texts (newspaper and magazine articles, history textbooks and
subject specific books), and write a summary using a graphic organizer for one selected
informational text. Gingers learning goal relates directly to her IEP goal. In order for Ginger
to be able to take the steps needed to summarize the informational text and then write a
summary, she must first understand what an informational text is and what composes it-
thus the first portion of her learning goal. The parts of informational text that I feel are
important to Ginger understanding the overall structure of the text include: the title, author,
headings and subheadings, bold text, index, table of contents, glossary, pictures, captions,
chapters and a resource list. These will be most important for Ginger to navigate when she
reads non-fiction in school, at home, or in her community. In order for Ginger to access
informational text to meet her IEP goal, she requires thorough knowledge of what is included
in text and how to access different parts in order to find a subject, describe it, and be able to
accurately describe how she did this. The second part of Gingers learning goal is derived
directly from the IEP goal in regards to the fact that Ginger will write a summary using a
graphing organizer. Her planned supports for writing a summary from a close read passage
include paragraph shell including sentence starters expressing the main idea, three
supporting evidences and vocabulary. This allows Ginger to write the three key details about
what she has read in the text. Ginger needs the highest level of support and scaffolding in
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order to achieve this goal due to her difficulties with written expression and memory/working
memory. For example: in her ELA class, many students independently numbered and wrote
a five-sentence summary. Ginger had completed one sentence independently; to complete
the task Ginger verbally stated her ideas for a scribe and required prompting to identify the
main idea, details, and be able to express it in a sentence. There are pictures included for
every article she summarizes ensuring that she is able to describe the text OR picture with
at least three details. ]
c. List any special accommodations or modifications in the learning environment,
instruction, or assessment required by the IEP and relevant to the learning goal.
[ In this unit Ginger will need several types of accommodations to the learning
environment in order to make the learning fully accessible in the least restrictive environment. In
terms of the learning environment, Ginger may need: sensory breaks in the form of a stress ball,
lava lamp, walk, water break; preferential seating around circular table; easily visible instructions
on an anchor chart and in a worksheet; easily accessible materials in the classroom. For
example, in each lesson, the students sit around one round table with enough space for me to
circulate around it. This gives me quick and easy access to each student as they require help.
For Ginger, getting immediate feedback helps her self-correct and ensure that she is
understanding the material.
Most of Gingers accommodations will be related to the format of instruction, particularly
the language. Ginger may need accommodations in terms of bilingual support. These supports
look like: picture supports as a way to connect graphics with vocabulary; phonetic spellings
written underneath; instructions verbally given in English and Spanish (if requested); translated
test or questions spoken verbally in Spanish if needed (this will be discussed ahead of time so
that I can translate the test). Although Ginger generally refuses bilingual supports, they are
offered each lesson to support her learning in English and Spanish. Prior to this unit, I brought
Ginger to the library to select some subject specific books she may enjoy. Ginger selected two
on tigers and another on baby animals. There was a copy of one book in Spanish which I
offered to check out for Ginger to accompany the English text, but Ginger believed that she
could read and understand the English version and declined the Spanish text.
There will also be changes to the way that Ginger shows her written expression. Ginger
will use a variety of graphic organizers, including: paragraph shells with sentence starters; Venn
diagrams; check off charts; color coding guides; and modeled graphic organizers. As Ginger
has difficulties with written expression (she often struggles to write a sentence that makes
factual or grammatical sense), graphic organizers reduce the stress she associates with this
task by providing an organizational framework for her thinking. For example, in lesson 2,
students use a Venn Diagram to compare features of informational text. The diagram is color-
coded and clearly defines the similarities and differences. In an alternative writing block without
added supports, students may be expected to write a paragraph comparing the two topics; this
type of task is not currently accessible to Ginger.
Although Ginger has great focus, she occasionally needs redirects to keep her on-task
behavior. These redirects would look like: verbal reminders, partial physical (arm nudges to
keep writing), and gestural (where to write). Ginger also benefits from accommodated materials
including: enlarged fonts, color coded pens, colored post its, worksheets with paired anchor
charts, and color coded instructions. The purpose of the accommodated materials, such as the
paired anchor charts and worksheets, is to give Ginger more exposure to what these features
look like. Repeated exposure is more likely to foster generalization and maintenance over time.
Color-coding (her writing, or the text) serves to differentiate portions of the text, or provides
Ginger with colored boundaries that may help her stay on task.
Additionally, during the pre-test and post-test assessment in lessons 1 and 5, Ginger will
receive: extended time, dictated sentences and questions, translated questions, check off/fill in
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the blank, and true or false questions. These questions show the depth of Gingers knowledge
without forcing the cognitive load of writing. As I want to test her knowledge, not how well she
can write, a test in this manner is an accommodation for Ginger. As a student studying special
education, it is my goal to make the learning accessible to all of my students. For this reason,
all of these supports are available to each learner in my small group if the student demonstrated
need for a particular support. ]
d. Explain how the lesson objectives, learning tasks, materials, and planned supports are
sequenced to
move the focus learner toward achievement of the IEP goals, standards (as
appropriate), and the learning goal.
build connections between the focus learners prior learning and experiences and
new learning for the learning goal.
NOTE: If the lesson objectives are the same across the learning segment, the
explanation may address how the materials used or the planned supports may change
throughout the learning segment.
[ The planned supports are very similar throughout the learning segment. On the first
and last days, Ginger has added support in terms of summative assessments, which are not
given on days 2-4. The lesson objectives provide Ginger with reasonable framework for
achieving her unit learning goal. For the learning segment, each of the objectives and learning
goal were selected because they pertain to a common core state standard as well as Gingers
IEP goal. Although Ginger may not fully accomplish the IEP or the standard in the scope of this
lesson, Gingers communication and learning goals bring her closer to meeting proficiency in
these areas. The repeated practice of text features every day in lessons 1-5 will help Ginger
practice and maintain knowledge of these topics. Having instructions for close reading and
writing summaries seems brief in this scope, however, Ginger will be using the same framework
in her reading extension class for the remainder of the year. Introducing this skill at this time will
allow Ginger the reminder of the year to practice the skill of identifying and using text features,
and finding a main idea with supporting evidence. As this skill is the schools SLO, Ginger will be
probed in her proficiency of this skill. Using this unit is an opportunity to bring Ginger closer to
meeting her IEP goal and meeting the schools SLO and unit objective. Each lesson is logically
sequenced to build on prior knowledge from the lesson before. In order to ensure Gingers
immediate communication and participation, each day begins with a five minute inclusion
activity with peer communication and partners. Additionally, as Ginger is an ELL student and
has mentioned that she is not as confident as she would like, the group will be completing
inclusion activities each day in order to foster a sense of community, inclusion, and to get
Ginger involved in the classroom activity. Then, lessons 2-4 feature an instructional piece
before an applied activity. For example, in the second lesson, students use a chart to check off
what types of features appear in each text. We come together as a group to talk about what we
notice, and introduce textual organizers in this unit. Then, the students use a Venn Diagram to
compare two types of informational text. This helps students practice using a graphic organizer
as well as build knowledge and practice a compare and contrast with that knowledge. To ensure
that achieving these goals is accessible and attainable for Ginger, the planned supports are
designed to make sure that Ginger is able to fully understand the directions and be able to
express her thought process in writing. The pretests and posttests are direct measurements of
learning objectives from lessons 3 and 4, and the features learned and reviewed in lessons 1-3.
Although the post-test is slightly longer than the pre-test, familiarization of those skills with a
summative review will give Ginger a chance to show me the score of Gingers growth in
knowledge of the subject. Along with the learning tasks and pre and post-tests, the
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communication goal is structured to reflect Gingers knowledge and ability to recall and state the
features of informational text; this will be taught in lessons 1-3 and reviewed in 4/5. This goal
meets Gingers IEP goal of being able to recall three key details of an object. In this case, the
object is an informational text, and each detail is a feature. ]
2. Knowledge of Focus Learner to Inform Teaching of the Learning Segment
For each of the categories listed below (2ad), describe what you know about the focus
learners strengths and challenges as related to the lesson objectives of the learning
segment. Cite evidence of what the learner knows, what s/he can do, and what s/he is
learning to do in relation to the learning goal and any relevant planned supports.
Refer to baseline data obtained prior to the beginning of the learning segment.
a. Prior learning and experiences, including prerequisite knowledge and skills related to the
lesson objectives
[ Ginger has not had a direct instruction on the form and function informational text (non-
fiction) yet in Middle School. In Elementary School, the district has informational texts as shared
read texts read to the whole class; however, without bilingual supports that Ginger would have
required and late identification of her disability, it can be inferred that Ginger may have not been
in the least restrictive environment to participate fully in whole class lessons at that time.
According to baseline, Ginger is aware that a nonfiction text is about real stuff and it is
different from the other books I read. However, when prompted, Ginger was unable to state
any features of a nonfiction text (0/12) and knew, once introduced what 3/12 of the features
were (title, author, picture). With prompts, Ginger is able to recall information from her long term
memory pertinent to the topic, although she struggles with short term memory. With no
instruction, Ginger has accomplished 33% of her communication goal and with additional
teaching and repeated practice will be able to work towards the lesson objectives. Because
Ginger has the prerequisite knowledge of knowing what non-fiction is, I can begin to introduce
different types of textual features and encourage Ginger to discover meaning; she has the
prerequisite skills and level to learn this type of material and have access to the text hat the
small group will be using at this time.
Gingers baseline data shows that she is able to discriminate 1/3 key details from a 6th
grade text. This correlates to the second portion of her learning goal. When tested on
10/28/2016, Ginger answered 0/4 comprehension questions correctly on a passage of 596
words with a 450 Lexile. Comprehension is a major IEP and learning goal for Ginger.
Ginger is able to write independently but needs structure and assistance in putting her thoughts
on paper. On more difficult text, the cognitive load needed to decode work parts and read
fluently greatly impacts Gingers comprehension of the text. In order for Ginger to participate in
the close read activity (lesson 4) and write a summary of the text, it must contain words that are
over 95% decodable and accessible. Ginger has the prerequisite skills needed to perform this
activity with the familiarity of sentences starter, appropriately level texts, and the ability to write
with adult mediated support. ]
b. Social and emotional development (e.g., impulse control, ability to interact and express
him/herself and his/her feelings in constructive ways, ability to engage and persist in
individual and collaborative learning, social connectedness)
[ Considering the districts social emotional learning standards for grade 6, Ginger
exceeds expectations in terms of emotional development and the ability to express empathy
towards family and peers. As Ginger has difficulties with self-reflection and realizing what she
does not understand, Ginger has planned supports to assist her in recognizing her strengths or
weaknesses in her learning post-lesson. Ginger shows respect for her peers, their perspectives
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and opinions, and can be a leader in a small group. My focal learner is one of the most well-
regulated students on my caseload. She is able to sit in her seat and remain focused for up to
45 minutes at a time. With the planned supports, I want to encourage Ginger to use the
movement and sensory breaks allowed if she needs them in order to return to the lesson with
enhanced focus to the learning material. ]
c. Personal, family, community, and cultural assets (e.g., the focus learners interests and
strengths, relevant lived experiences, and self-management skills; family supports or
resources; cultural expectations; community supports or resources)
[ Ginger is a student who loves working in small groups where a teacher is easily
accessible, and she feels heard and understood. As an ELL student, Ginger has mentioned that
sometimes she feels nervous or uncomfortable speaking in front of the class, especially reading
in class. However, within a small group of more familiar peers, Ginger thrives and becomes a
leader and a role model as she gains the confidence to speak and read that seems lost in front
of the whole class. With a supportive family, Ginger practices her English at home with her
younger sister and is teaching her parents English as well. This shows that Ginger is willing and
able to take a leadership position when feeling comfortable-something I hope she will do in her
small group in this unit. To encourage this, I will ensure that she has enough confidence in the
material to take a leadership role with a partner and her peers. I chose my focal student for her
kind disposition, superior self-management skills and hard-working demeanor. ]
d. If relevant, any other information about the focus learner that will influence your
instructional planning (e.g., other needs and strengths in areas such as motor skills or
communication)
[ Ginger has strong fine motor skills as evidence by her detailed art projects and carefully
written script. Ginger is at an ELL level of 4 and needs bilingual supports if the vocabulary is
unfamiliar or the text contain words that are difficult to decode. Ginger receives speech and
language for articulation of vowels. She receives no PT or OT services. The emphasis that
these additional skills had on the planning of this lesson is that I wanted to give Ginger chances
to engage with pictures to encourage her artistic side and also act as a bilingual support.
Additionally, as Ginger is proud of her careful writing, but has difficulties in written expression, I
do not pressure Ginger to write quickly. This will make sure that she feels her work is valued,
she can complete it neatly, and that she can complete the task to the degree stated in the
lesson objective. ]
3. Supporting Learning
Refer to the instructional materials and lesson plans you have included to support your
justifications, as needed.
a. Describe how the learning tasks, materials, and planned supports address your focus
learners needs and capitalize on his/her strengths and interests.
Planned supports can include the learning environment, instructional strategies, learning
tasks, materials, accommodations, modifications, assistive technology, prompts, and/or
scaffolding that are deliberately selected or designed to facilitate learning of the targeted
knowledge and skills.
[ This lesson was built largely for Ginger, based off of the needs expressed in her IEP
and from classroom observations, thus the lesson directly meets her learning and IEP needs.
Talking to Ginger about books we have read, I noted that Ginger often has difficulties
remembering key information, and being able to express that in a sentence. When we worked
on summaries together, Ginger needed 1:1 support with intense scaffolding to glean the main
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idea, and write it down without an adult model. Although writing is a challenge to Ginger, she
enjoys seeing the written production of her thoughts and the ability to look back on her writing to
remember her learning. In the past few weeks, Ginger has been drawing me pictures and
writing accompanying stories as a choice activity. Scaffolding in this unit looks like the use of
graphic organizers, peer mediated/supported activity, teacher modeling, and scribe services for
the summary. Ginger is highly creative, and possesses a vocabulary that is impressive for any
student, and especially a student who has learned English in the last few years. By learning
strategies that will help summarize the information and find main ideas, Ginger will become
more confident in this task, and be able to go beyond the expectations to put her own special
word-smithing spin on her work. In order to motivate Ginger during the learning segment,
texts have been chosen to support her out of school interests such as cats and other animals,
food, and nature. ]
b. Explain how the learning tasks, materials, and/or planned supports will provide challenge
to your focus learner.
[ These learning tasks will be challenging for Ginger as comprehension is one of the
areas identified in her IEP as needed the most time dedication in order to accomplish her goals.
This unit will requires the group of students to be highly focused and resist peer and outside
distractions in order to complete the task in the time allotted. Although Ginger has high
functioning social emotional skills and focus, completing three difficult and cognitively
demanding tasks in a row, such as in lessons 2 and 5, will require mental stamina and
engagement in the material. Next, as Ginger has been identified as a student who has
difficulties with short term memory, her communication goal may be a challenge. I am expecting
Ginger to state 9/12 text features independently. Although planned supports allow for verbal
prompting (What about the words that come under a photo?) and physical prompting (pointing
to a feature), I am expecting Ginger to be as independent as possible. ]
c. Justify your choices of learning tasks, materials, and planned supports based on
the focus learners strengths and needs and
principles of research and/or theory.
[ In order to successfully meet the learning goal, I use the method of gradual release of
responsibility (including modeling) to provide a structured and scaffolded experience for the
learner. The steps to gradual release of responsibility include I do, we do, and you do. First,
the I do consists mainly of teacher modeling. The original theory of modeling in education is
derived from Albert Banduras Social Learning Theory which states that most of the behaviors
that people display are learnedthrough the influence of example (Bandura, 5). In the unit, I
model for Ginger the use of multiple graphic organizers by writing out examples, and the
completing a model technique for close reads. Additionally , directions are explained and then
modeled by myself completing the actions as if the student would. In accordance with bandura,
without modeling, individuals including Ginger experience a shorter process of acquisition
(Bandura, 5) for the skills when a task is modeled. The we do of gradual release of
responsibility is comprised largely of group work- something that is evidenced by the
cooperative Venn Diagrams in lesson 2. According to a 2012 article Mixing up the I we and
do by Grant et. al, positive group work allows students to put their knowledge into action as
the try inquiry skills in a peer mediated and supported environment (49). What makes the
group work, and thus we do productive is the demand for background knowledge which
combined with peer support can be activated in subsequent inquiry or reading tasks (49). In
the you do portion of the task, such as the independent close read and summary in Lesson 5, I
am expecting Ginger to apply the knowledge she has seen modeled and completed in a group
independently (alone) as a way to express understandings and make individual connections
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(Grant, 51). Although Ginger will be completing this work without the assistance and
communication of a peer, she will still be receiving adult planned supports. Often, these
supports are in the form of a gestural prompt, using gestures such as pointing, to guide the
student to the correct response and visual, such as pictures or text that can assist the student
to respond correctly (Alberto & Troutman, 2003). Using the lowest level of support possible
and providing enough response time will ensure that Ginger is completing the you do
expectations for the task as independently as possible. Additionally, I follow Perezs guidance
on managing inclusive classrooms in numerous ways. To ensure that I guide students towards
learning, not funnel them towards the correct response, I ask prompting questions to have
students self-actualize their individual knowledge (Perez, 138). Additionally, activities are
structured to have restricted time in order to adhere to attention spans, use anchor activities
such as inclusion games to promote success, and give clear, succinct directions delivered both
written, verbally, and modeled (Perez, 138).
As Ginger is an exceptional individual with a learning disability, I took into account the
way her disability manifests while planning this comprehension and synthesis based unit.
According to the Adolescent Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology, students with
learning disabilities have impacted communicationtrouble rememberingand difficulty
understanding instructions (AACAP, 1). These components relate to a students metacognitive
ability- or ability to monitor their thinking and learning. A students strategic process and
metacognition skills while reading are measured by the readers ability to recognize when they
have not understood something and reread that portion of text. This is especially important
when considering Gingers IEP comprehension goal. I selected informational text as a unit
because of the commonality of this type of text in Middle School as well as the additional
complexity of these texts. From the umbrella of informational text, I selected three crucial skills
for Ginger to practice in order to accomplish her IEP and learning goal: use of graphic
organizers, completion of a close read strategy, and summarizing a text. Graphic organizers, a
crucial component of this students IEP goal, are described in the article, Graphic Organizers
and Students With Learning Disabilities: A Meta-Analyses as more effective on posttest,
maintenance, and transfer measures (Dexter, 70). In the research study composed of
students in grades 4-12, graphic organizers were cited to improve more basic skills as well as
higher order thinking skills (Dexter, 67). For Ginger, improving this type of thinking will help her
meet her IEP and learning goals. Finally, to ensure comprehension, lesson 4 includes a close
read strategy in order to ensure that Ginger has read and understood the main ideas present in
the informational text. In accordance with research based strategies listed in the article by
Fisher and Frey, the close read strategy I designed used: short passage, repeated readings,
and annotations (Fisher, 182). When used correctly, this close read strategy helps students
critically examine a text as well as starting a necessary habit (Fisher, 1). For Ginger, this is
the first in-depth interaction with expository text, and sets the precedent for how she will
continue to engage with more complex informational text in the future. In summation, using
these research/evidence- based practices helps to ensure that Ginger has the biggest chance to
show growth and gains towards her IEP and learning goals. ]
d. Explain how, throughout the learning segment, you will help the focus learner to
generalize, maintain, or self-manage the knowledge, skills, and planned supports related
to the learning goal.
[ In the learning segment, the reproduction either verbally or written of features of
informational text is repeated through each of the five lessons in order to encourage
maintenance. After each lesson, I plan to assess progress towards the learning goal,
including strengths and weaknesses, as well as individualizing a plan for generalization
and maintenance. Planned supports will ensure that Ginger attains mastery of the
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subject during the unit, and goes deeper than surface learning in order to apply her skills
and maintain them. During the instructional period of this unit, my focal learner is
expected to use nonfiction text in all of her content area classes. Learning a more
abstract concept. Such as the vocabulary term, glossary will become more concrete
and ingrained as she recognizes the word, its usage, and practice as she experiences it
weekly in her content areas. ]
4. Supporting the Focus Learners Use of Expressive/Receptive Communication
a. Communication Skill. Identify and describe one communication skill related to the
learning goal that the focus learner will need to use to participate in the learning tasks
and/or demonstrate learning.
Consider the focus learners strengths and needs related to the communication
skill. Examples of communication skills include retelling a story, explaining a
mathematics problem-solving strategy, answering questions, appropriately expressing
frustration, selecting the right sign, requesting assistance, selecting a picture, starting
or stopping communication, and responding to a prompt or cue.
[Gingers communication goal is as follows: Ginger will verbally identify text features of
informational text including: glossary, bold text, index, table of contents, author, headings,
subheadings, titles, pictures, captions, chapters and a resource list for 9/12 opportunities (75%
of the time). This communication goal will be addressed by the entire group in lessons 1, 2 and
3. However, In lessons 4 and 5, Ginger will complete this communication goal 1:1 with a
teacher. Ginger receives services for speech and language mainly to work on articulation. I will
not consider Gingers articulation when grading the completion of her communication goal.
Gingers baseline was 0/12 features identified independently and 3/12 identified with adult
prompting. When prompted, Ginger seemed to light up and was able to tell me a partial answer.
This led me to believe that Ginger may have difficulties pulling information from her long term
memory into her short term memory. Providing structures, repeated practice on the features the
learning goal covers is crucial to Ginger accomplishing the goal. This communication goal was
created so that Ginger develops a vocabulary surrounding nonfiction literature, a resource that
is becoming more and more crucial for Ginger to use fluently on a daily basis in a variety of
content areas. By being able to state the features, and with verbal and physical prompts
(indicating parts of a text), Ginger will be able to recall that she is familiar with a particular terms
when it is used in other classes. This will help Ginger navigate to parts of informational text
better, and feel more confident participating and interacting with the text in her classes. ]
b. Explain how you plan to support the focus learners use of the communication skill
(planned supports for communication can include instructional strategies such as
vocabulary development, modeling, guided practice; materials such as graphic
organizers, dictionaries, spell-check; or accommodations such as assistive technology).
Describe how the supports assist the focus learner in acquiring, maintaining, and/or
generalizing the communication skill.
Provide an example from your lesson plans of this planned support.
[My focus learners communication goal is: Ginger will verbally identify text features of
informational text including: glossary, bold text, index, table of contents, author, headings,
subheadings, titles, pictures, captions, chapters and a resource list for 9/12 opportunities (75%
of the time). In the assessment section, I have a check off sheet where I can mark how many
features of informational text Ginger is able to recall and describe both with verbal prompting
and independently. As Ginger needs 9/12 correct (75% of the time) It will be a scaffolded
experience with prompts to encourage her to be as independent as possible. The planned
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supports are used in accordance to total task presentation (ABA) guidelines for which supports
are given as needed to support the learner in completing the entirety of the task. When
prompted with the communication goal, Ginger may or may not need additional prompting to
complete the task. If Ginger needs a prompt, I can open a magazine or textbook, point to a
feature and say something like, Ginger, what feature is this? Can you think of any others?
With this gestural/verbal prompt, Ginger will recall the learning completed during lessons 1 and
2 which address gaining a familiarity with text features. If/when Ginger meets the
communication goal in the lesson, her learning simply does not stop. I will continue to assess
her to see if the skill is maintained. If Ginger exhibits a decline in performance over time (lack of
maintenance) we can review and re-explore an informational text. By reviewing the information
and being tested in the communication goal each day, Ginger is engaging in retrieval practice
and will be more likely to maintain this skill over time and across environments.]
5. Monitoring Learning
a. Explain how the assessments and the daily assessment record (including baseline data)
will provide evidence of
the focus learners progress toward the learning goal through the lesson objectives
the level of support and challenge appropriate for the focus learners needs
[According to baseline, Ginger is aware that a nonfiction text is about real stuff and it is
different from the other books I read. However, when prompted, Ginger was unable to state
any features of a nonfiction text (0/12) and knew, once introduced what 3/12 of the features
were (title, author, picture. Ginger has a Lexile level of 268, and reads 108 words per minute.
Gingers baseline data shows that she is able to discriminate 1/3 key details from a 6th grade
text. This correlates to the second portion of her learning goal. When tested on 10/28/2016,
Ginger answered 0/4 comprehension questions correctly on a passage of 596 words with a 450
Lexile. In brevity, here is how I thought the lesson structure (and assessments) build in order to
promote success.
Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5
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Build Understand Review the Synthesize Using written Demonstrate

knowledge what an components, new information to knowledge of
(Objectives) informational and begin to information complete a the
and text is, the four synthesize and find the graphic components of
reasoning types, and that information most organizer, and informational
there are 12 using a more important part learn to turn text, as well
features. familiar of an annotations an
graphic informational into complete understanding
organizer. text. thoughts. of how to read
and reproduce
Lesson the
Lesson
objective: I Lesson information
Objective: I
can verbally Objective: I Lesson found.
can use a
state and write can complete Objective: I
graphic
down two (independently can use an
organizer Lesson
features of write) one annotated
(Venn Objective: I
informational close read close read
diagram) to can
texts and their strategy for passage to
compare independently
definitions one selected write a
features found complete a
informational summary of
in different close read
text. the text using a
informational strategy
graphic
texts. including
organizer and
analyzing text
adult support.
features and
write a
summary of an
informational
text.
b. Explain how you plan to involve the focus learner in monitoring his/her own learning
progress.
[Gingers disability impacts her metacognition. Often, she is unaware of when she
understands or is confused about a topic; she often doesnt self advocate post-lesson if she
doesnt understand. I will be transparent with Ginger post lesson about her progress and
understanding about the topic by giving valuable feedback. Ginger and I respect one another,
and she often asks about her progress in class. Giving the students a day in between lessons
allows me to check in with Ginger and show her the scores on her communication log and
assignments as she moves towards her learning goal. After every test or assignment for her
core classes, Ginger and I review the test questions together by talking about what she did or
did not understand (in both English and Spanish). With the test corrections, I analyze her
performance to ensure Ginger did not miss any questions due to her language barrier or a
misunderstanding of the question. this unit, I provide written feedback in lessons 1 and 2 directly
on the graphic organizers for all students. In lesson 3, I provide verbal feedback to all students
after completion. After collecting lessons 3 and 4 together, I provide written feedback to all
students, and a conference with Ginger to ensure that she feels confident with the objectives.
After lesson 5, I will write formal feedback on the assessment and give Ginger a rubric pre-
assessment in order to understand the expectations. ]
Special Education
[ Sources: Lesson Plans 1-51

Brinkman, B. J. (n.d.). Julia Brinkman. Retrieved November 05, 2016, from
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com
Bussing, K. (2016, October 13). The World's Deepest Underwater Cave is Almost The
Height Of The Empire State Building. DOGO News: Fodder for Young Minds.
Chancellor, D. (2000). Tiger tales and big cat stories. New York, NY: DK Pub.
Cubs Force Game 7 in World Series. (2016, November 2). Wisconsin State Journal, p. C1.
Frey, W., Bergez, J., & Joseph, A. (2004). History alive!: The ancient world. Palo Alto, CA:
Teachers' Curriculum Institute.
Jannot, M. (2016, March/April). Crows' Feats. Audubon, 3-64.
Marko, K. (1995). Pocket babies. New York: Franklin Watts
Nolte, B. (Director). (n.d.). Summarizing [Video file]. In Summarizing. Retrieved November 7,
2016.
Patent, D. H., & Jubb, K. J. (2005). Big cats. New York: Walker &.
Quarishi, G. (2015, March). Learning to Love Cristiano Ronaldo. Howler, 7.
Read Skillfully, Write about What You Read Learn More. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5,
2016, from http://teacher.depaul.edu/Documents/SpaceFoodnonfiction4thgrade.pdf
2016, from
http://teacher.depaul.edu/Documents/SeasonsonthePrairieNonfiction4thgrade.pdf
2016, from http://teacher.depaul.edu/Documents/WorkingattheHospitalGrades3-4.pdf
Various. (2017, October 17). Who Dak? Sports Illustrated, 4-60. ]
[ Sources: Principles of Research and Theory
1
These sources are given alphabetically to adhere to APA guidelines. To view sources lesson by lesson, please
observe the sources listed in the end of the lesson plan in the materials section.
Special Education
AACAP. (2012). Facts for Families (Pamphlet). Washington, DC: American Academy of Child
and Adolescent Psychology. Pamphlet no. 16.
Alberto, A.A., & Troutman, A.C. (2003). Applied behaviour analysis for teachers. (6th edition).
NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Armbruster, B. B., Anderson, T. H., & Ostertag, J. (1987). Does Text Structure/Summarization
Instruction Facilitate Learning from Expository Text? Reading Research Quarterly, 22(3),
331. doi:10.2307/747972
Bandura, A. (1971). Social Learning Theory. General Learning Press, 1-46. Retrieved
November 9, 2016, from Library of Congress.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 75-170398
Bennett, Rolheiser, & Stevahn. (1991). Cooperative Learning Structures. In Cooperative

Learning: Where Heart Meets Mind (pp. 199-239).
Boulineau, T., Fore, C., Hagan-Burke, S., & Burke, M. D. (2004). Use of Story-Mapping to
Increase the Story-Grammar Text Comprehension of Elementary Students with Learning
Disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 27(2), 105. doi:10.2307/1593645
Brookhart, S. M. (2013). Grading and group work: How do I assess individual learning when
students work together? Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Dexter, D. D., & Hughes, C. A. (2011). Graphic Organizers and Students with Learning
Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis. Learning Disability Quarterly, 34(1), 51-72.
doi:10.1177/073194871103400104
Fisher, D. (n.d.). Close Reading In Elementary Classrooms. McGraw Hill Reading Wonders, 1-
6. Retrieved November 07, 2016, from McGraw Hill Education.
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2012). Close Reading In Elementary Schools. The Reading Teacher,
66(3), 179-188. doi:10.1002/trtr.01117
Grant, M., Lapp, D., Fisher, D., Johnson, K., & Frey, N. (2012, September). MIXING UP THE "I,"
"WE," AND "YOU" Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 56(1), 45-55. Retrieved
November 09, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23367759
Perez. (n.d.). Managing Inclusive Classrooms: Helping All Student Learn. In The New Inclusion:
Differentiated Strategies to Engage ALL Students (pp. 131-150). ]

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Task 1: Planning Commentary

TASK 1: PLANNING COMMENTARY

Lesson Objectives Specific Planned Supports to Address the

Bilingual supports: picture supports, phonetic

Bilingual supports: picture supports, phonetic

Bilingual supports: picture supports; phonetic

Bilingual supports: picture supports; phonetic

spellings; instructions verbally given in English and

Bilingual supports: picture supports; phonetic

Build Understand Review the Synthesize Using written Demonstrate

[ Sources: Lesson Plans 1-51

[ Sources: Principles of Research and Theory

Bennett, Rolheiser, & Stevahn. (1991). Cooperative Learning Structures. In Cooperative

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