Part B - Instruction-Commentary Final

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.
[Learning Experience 1 day 1 is my small group clip and Learning Experience 3 day 1 is my
whole class clip. My lessons are ordered so that the students practice segmenting and blending
their sounds with a manipulative in a small group setting before moving on to blends in a large
group setting. For this reason, I have ordered my clips for submission in the following order:
learning experience 1: clip 2, small group, learning experience 3, clip 1: whole group.]
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?
[I demonstrated mutual respect for each student in my classroom by knowing where they sit on
the carpet and their first name (learning experience 3, 6:44). I also made eye contact with the
student while they were talking and helped them when they came up to the board. I have
developed a rapport with each student by fostering a personal relationship with them. Starting
on my first day, I made sure to get to know each student’s learning style, interests ,and family
life. I demonstrated responsiveness to my students by giving celebratory praise or cheers when
they answered a question correctly (learning experience 1, 00:13, learning experience 3, 9:01-
9:04). My Cooperating Teacher has a list displayed of thirty cheers that the students can chose
from when they answer a question correctly. I asked the students which cheer they would like to
receive in order to praise their hard work and critical thinking skills. By giving each student the
choice of cheer they would like, the cheer is more special to them. To support the child with
varied needs, I have him sit by his one-on-one aid and together we acknowledge his hard work.
I also gave him extra reminders to fix his behavior and chances to answer my questions. I have
challenged each of my students by asking them additional questions, which requires them to
think outside their comfort zone. (learning experience 1,00:50). ]
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
[My instruction engaged language and literacy development by having the students repeat the
vocabulary before starting a segmenting or blending activity. In Learning Experience 3, I asked
the students what it meant to segment and blend their sounds together(learning experience 3
9:55-10:49). I had each student in my whole group activity practice saying “segment” and
“blend” after the engaging activity (learning experience 3, 9:55 to the end). My first learning
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Early Childhood
experience focused on students segmenting, blending and counting sounds they heard in each
word. This helped foster language development since each student was able to use the abacus
to see that every letter makes a sound and that sounds can be segmented and blended
together to produce a word. Additionally, the small group clip fosters language and literacy
development as students demonstrated counting the sounds in each word which focuses on
number recognition and sense (learning experience 1, 2:42-2:45). My small group clip promoted
active learning by having the students look at a word card, work with a manipulative, and talk
with one another to segment and blend the word. My whole group lesson fostered language and
literacy development by having the students see words with blends in the context of a book. The
students were then able to see how words with blends are found all around them, even in their
own classroom library (learning experience 3, 9:33- 9:45). The students developed their
language and literacy skills in the whole group lesson by practicing segmenting and blending
the words in the book. Learning experience three was active by having the students raise their
hand to tell me what words from the book had the blends in them(learning experience 3, 7:10-
7:30). I then wrote these words on the board. I underlined the blend part of each word that
contained a blend. The whole group lesson incorporated multimodal learning because the
students are becoming familiar with the words in a more regular context, a book. By keeping
track of how many words with blends are in the book, students were able to practice their
addition skills (learning experience 3, 9:20-9:40). This is a multimodal lesson because students
used their counting and addition skills to find out how many words had blends in this book.] ]
b. Describe how your instruction linked children’s development, prior learning, and
personal, cultural, and community assets with new learning.
[My instruction linked to children’s development since all of my students have different needs,
especially my focus student with an IEP. During my small group lesson, I had to make sure he
had a physical manipulative use when counting the sounds to enhance his physical
development (learning experience 1, 2:40-2:45). By asking students in my small group to count
out loud while segmenting the sounds in the words, students were able to develop math
sequencing and counting skills (learning experience 1, 2:40-2:45). By understanding each of my
students’ level of development, I was able to tailor my lesson to their needs. I used my children’s
level of development when I asked them to tell me the word with the blend in it from the book in
learning experience 3 (learning experience 3, 5:19). I also asked the students to define what
segmenting and blending are, which incorporated the communication section of the cognitive
domain(learning experience 3, 9:55-10:49). During my whole group lesson, I showed a video to
review what a blend is and orally reviewed what a blend is (learning experience 3, 10:28-10:49).
I personalized my instruction by using each students’ name when calling on them (learning
experience 3, 10:18). I linked my instruction to community assets because the book was taken
from the classroom library. My students have seen this book and have worked on segmenting,
blending and with blends form most of the school year. I could not connect to the students’
cultural assets because none of them have identified any culture besides using American
literature. I tapped into my students’ prior learning by planning my learning experiences around
concepts that they are familiar with. Another form of a manipulative was used when segmenting
and blending were first introduced. To provoke their prior learning, I brought back a
manipulative.]
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.
Early Childhood
[I elicited responses from my students in learning experience 3 by asking prompting questions

to get a response (learning experience 3, 9:09). I asked the students to define what segmenting
and blending were. I then built on this response by giving them options such as “ is blending
when sounds are added together or taken apart”? (learning experience 3, 9:55-10:49). I also
had the students repeat the words “segmenting” and “blending” to enhance their language and
literacy development. I made this lesson active by having the students raise their hand and tell
me where the words with the blends were on the page. To build on from learning experience 1, I
had the students define what a blend it (learning experience 3 10:41-10:49). I elicited their
responses by showing a video to start the conversation. I then built of their answers by reading
a book which had several words with blends in it. Students had to segment the blends in order
to blend the words to produce a complete thought. (learning experience 3, 8:58). In both clips, I
elicited responses from my students by asking prompting questions and giving them the
confidence to make mistakes. The students know that it is okay to be wrong and we will work as
a class, such as calling on other students, to learn together. If one student did not get the
correct answer, I would have a friend give them a hint to help them find the answer. (learning
experience 3 :19) .]
b. Explain how you made interdisciplinary connections in ways that deepen children’s
development of language and literacy.
[I made interdisciplinary connections to math by incorporating counting and addition skills in
order to deepen the development of language and literacy. When the students were segmenting
and blending their sounds in learning experience 1 (in the abacus lesson) , I asked them to use
their fingers and the abacus to count how many sounds they heard (learning experience 1, 2:55-
3:00). In learning experience 3 where I read the book, the students counted and then kept track
of how many blends were on each page. They then added how many words in the book had
blends. Both of learning experiences which incorporated math skills helped the students deepen
their language and literacy development through sound recognition and counting. When the
students counted how many sounds were in each word, they were using their fingers as a
manipulative(learning experience 3 9:41-9:47). The children were able to hear all the sounds in
the words during experience 1 and 3 when they segmented and blended the words. By counting
the sounds out, students were able to identify how many sounds were in each word on the word
card and in the book. To conclude the learning segment, I asked the students to define
segmenting, blending and what a blend is. ]
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).
[To better support my students’ learning, I would have the students walk around their school to
find words with blends in them. I would have done this school walk around to start learning
experience 3, before showing the video of the blend song (before learning experience 3 starts).
For example, the school I am at has their core values posted on display boards around the
school. Some of their core values include being prepared, respectful, responsible, and safe. The
words “prepared”, “respectful” and “responsible” all have blends in them. By taking a tour
around the school and finding these words, I could have introduced what a blend is in a more
Early Childhood
creative and active way. We could have then segmented and blended the core value words to
practice my central focus in a different setting. My students with IEPs could have been
supported by walking at the front of the line to keep them actively engaged and allow them to
better concentrate on the activity. They also would have been able to practice their hallway
procedures , which they have been struggling with. My gifted students could have incorporated
these words into a writing prompt about how they demonstrate that they are “respectful”,
“prepared”, “responsible” and, “safe”. Students could also have practiced pronouncing and
touching the core value words to focus on segmenting and blending in a physical and active
way.]
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.
[A walk around the school would have captured my students’ attention right before we started
the whole group lesson (clip 1, before it starts). I would have added the words “respectful”,
“responsible” and “prepared” to the popcorn words (learning experience 3) to make it more
relative to the school environment. Students would be supported in this lesson by being able to
make the connection that segmented and blended words are found all over in everyday life. The
students have been focusing on these two skills for awhile and by having a more active activity,
students would have made the connection between abstract concepts to a concrete example in
their own school. Bloom (1956) observed guided response learning, which means “learning a
complex skill through imitation and trial and error” (Randall,2004). When we stopped at the core
value bulletin board, I would have the students repeat the word as a form of imitation. The
students would then segment and blend these words with blends in them. Through the repetition
of segmenting and blending words and seeing words with blends, students would have been
able to retain both of these skills better. Watson (1930) noticed that “repetition established habit”
(Weibell 2011). Repetition through different senses, such as touching the words on the bulletin
board that make up the core values and movement around the school, would have allowed the
new vocabulary to resonate with the students and aid in developing literacy. The physical
activity of walking around their school would allow students to start to recognize blends in their
everyday life instead of only in texts read in the classroom. Through repetition of encountering
words with blends, the students would have been able to practice segmenting sounds, blending
sounds, counting sounds, and finding blends.(Weibell,2011). By counting the sounds the letters
made, the students would have developed their number sense and recognition with a more
multimodal approach. My students that face speech challenges could have practiced saying
their letter names and sounds aloud. By counting their numbers, the children would have been
able to develop their number sense a little more if I added these changes. ]
Transcription of Clip 2, learning experience 1, transcription of a child’s response that is

inaudible”
Focus student 1: How do I draw a rectangle (to illustrate the abacus)? ( 14 seconds to 22
seconds)
Focus student 2: Draw bees? Bees? Oh, beads. (28 seconds to 34 seconds)
Focus student 2: Oh, okay. I’ll draw them. (46 seconds)
Focus student 1: There are three sounds in “d-o-g”. (51 seconds)
Early Childhood
Focus student 2: How do I draw moving 3 beads over? Like this? ( 1 minute 11 seconds)
Focus student 1: I need to move an arrow under the letter. Move an arrow. (1 minute 38
seconds)
Student 3: I want to do it like him (points to student 1) (1 minute and 52 seconds).
Focus student 2: Yes, I’m done. (1 minute and 53 seconds).
Focus student 1: Yes, I hear 3 sounds. (2 minutes and 12 seconds)
Focus student 2: B-e-t (said twice). (3 minutes and 14 seconds to 3 minutes and 31 seconds)
Student 3: I need help. ( 3 minutes and 36 seconds)
References:
1. Randall, V. R. (2004). Learning Domains or Bloom's Taxonomy . Retrieved March 03,
2018, from
https://academic.udayton.edu/health/syllabi/Malpractice/Unit01/lesson01b.htm
2. Weibell, C. J. (2011). Principles of learning: 7 principles to guide personalized, student-
centered learning in the technology-enhanced, blended learning environment. Retrieved
Feb 14, 2018 from
https://principlesoflearning.wordpress.com
Instructional Materials in Learning Experience 1 not easily seen:
Early Childhood

Part B - Instruction-Commentary Final

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Early Childhood

Task 2: Instruction Commentary

TASK 2: INSTRUCTION COMMENTARY

a. Explain how your instruction engaged children in

[I elicited responses from my students in learning experience 3 by asking prompting questions

Transcription of Clip 2, learning experience 1, transcription of a child’s response that is

Focus student 2: Oh, okay. I’ll draw them. (46 seconds)

Focus student 1: There are three sounds in “d-o-g”. (51 seconds)

Student 3: I want to do it like him (points to student 1) (1 minute and 52 seconds).

Focus student 2: Yes, I’m done. (1 minute and 53 seconds).

Focus student 1: Yes, I hear 3 sounds. (2 minutes and 12 seconds)

Student 3: I need help. ( 3 minutes and 36 seconds)

Instructional Materials in Learning Experience 1 not easily seen:

Instructional Materials in Learning Experience 2 not easily seen:

Instructional Materials in Learning Experience 3 not easily seen:

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