Early Childhood Planning Commentary

Planning Commentary Directions: Respond to the prompts below (no more than 9 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within the brackets following each prompt. Do not delete or alter the prompts; both the prompts and your responses are included in the total page count allowed. Refer to the evidence chart in the handbook to ensure that this document complies with all format specifications. Pages exceeding the maximum will not be scored.

1. Central Focus a. Describe the central focus for the learning segment. !he central focus for this learning segment is our classroom pet" #D$% the sugar glider" and through him what animals need to survive" &ustralia" and &ustralian animals.' b. (iven the central focus" describe how the standards and learning ob)ectives within your learning segment promote children*s

active and multimodal nature of learning language and literacy development in an interdisciplinary context
$y having D$ as my central focus" my students will have a uni+ue hands on active learning opportunity through interactions with D$. ,earning experiences related to D$" an animal unfamiliar to most" and &ustralia will allow for students to greatly increase their vocabulary. -tudents will also have to make use of their current vocabulary to make personal connections to these new concepts and vocabulary words. ' c. .xplain how your instructional plans build on each other to make connections between the active and multimodal nature of young children*s learning and their language and literacy development. &ll activities and lessons throughout the day and week emphasi/e the key vocabulary related to the central focus. -mall group phonological awareness time will be spent discussing specific sets of vocabulary terms each day. .very story time will also be centered on that same core vocabulary for the day. &s we transition to a new subset of vocabulary terms on a new day" the opening activity for the day will incorporate both the previous and new vocabulary in the form of vocabulary rich songs. ' d. Describe what was done (or could be done) to construct a physical learning environment that supports the active and multimodal nature of young children*s language and literacy development. 0enter activities were established to construct a physical learning environment that supported the active and multimodal nature of my preschool students. .ach activity was planned with an emphasi/e on use of vocabulary in a tangible way. 1or example" one activity was the #2arsupial -ort.% !his activity allowed for students to continue to improve their sorting skills by placing manipulatives into the pouch of different kangaroos. !his allowed for math skill development as well as serving as a physical representation and reminder of the word #marsupial.% &nother activity created in the same thinking was one in which students in science sorted &ustralian animals into folders based on whether they were carnivores" omnivores" or herbivores. 0arnivores went into a folder with a picture of meat" herbivores into a folder with a picture of plants" and omnivores with a picture of both. &ll centers (art" science" reading" blocks" table toys" writing" and home living) featured activities specific to &ustralia instead of the general activities usually present. ' 2. Knowledge of Children to Inform Teaching
1or each of the prompts below (3a4c)" describe what you know about the children in your class with respect to the central focus of the learning segment.
Copyright 2013 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 1 of 5 | 9 pages maximum ll rights reserved. !2"0#13 The edT$ trade%ar&s are o'ned (y The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edT$ trade%ar&s is per%itted only pursuant to the ter%s of a 'ritten li)ense agree%ent.

Early Childhood Planning Commentary

0onsider the variety of learners in your class who may re+uire different strategies5support (e.g." children with 6.Ps" .nglish language learners" children at different points in the developmental continuum" struggling readers" children who are underperforming or those with gaps in academic knowledge" and5or gifted children).

a. 0hildren*s development related to the central focus78hat do you know about the children*s

social and emotional development cognitive and physical development language development for communication
9ngoing assessments related to the social and emotional" cognitive" physical" and language development of the students related to D$ have been conducted prior to this learning experience in the form of individual one on one interviews. :uestions asked were as follows; 8hat can you tell me about D$" do you like D$ and why or why not" and what does D$ need to do everyday (what does he need to survive)< !he interviews revealed that students lacked basic vocabulary to describe D$ and his actions" a distinct interest in D$ often expressed as love" and a very minimal awareness of what D$ needed on a daily basis. -ome students were able when prompted to say he needed food and water but not much more than that. !he interviews did not directly reveal any misconceptions" but they also simply did not reveal much vocabulary knowledge. 6 also administered some Piagetian tasks to assess my students developmental levels. 2ost students appeared to be in the transitional phase based on their responses and actions. -ome students" however" were' b. Prior learning and prere+uisite skills related to language and literacy development7 What do children now, what can the! do, and what are the! learning to do related to language and literac! de"elopment# 6nteractions with the students while the cooperating teacher was conducting lessons and general interactions with the students revealed they had the ability to pick up vocabulary +uickly. !hey have recently learned about &rctic animals and can verbally distinguish between the &rctic 0ircle and &ntarctica and the animals that live in each. $ased on these observations" 6 am confident that the students will be able to successfully ac+uire and manipulate vocabulary related to another region and set of animals. ' c. Personal5cultural5community assets7What do !ou now a$out !our children%s e"er!da! e&periences, cultural $ac grounds and practices, and interests# 6 conducted a learning styles inventory based on (ardner*s studies as a means of getting to know the students and their learning styles better. 6 assessed the students for visual" auditory" and kinesthetic learning styles. =ot surprisingly" the ma)ority of my preschool students proved to be kinesthetic learners. -ome students also had many responses indicating a visual learning style. -tudents responded such that the auditory learning style was the least common learning style. $ased on a strong interest in D$ and a need for visual and kinesthetic learning to be predominant" 6 am confident learning will occur in my D$ based learning experiences. ' '. (upporting Children%s )e"elopment and *earning
Respond to prompts >a4c below. !o support your explanations" refer to the instructional materials and learning experience plans you have included as part of !ask ?. 6n addition" use principles from research and+or theor! to support !our e&planations.

Copyright 2013 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 2 of 5 | 9 pages maximum ll rights reserved. !2"0#13 The edT$ trade%ar&s are o'ned (y The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edT$ trade%ar&s is per%itted only pursuant to the ter%s of a 'ritten li)ense agree%ent.

Early Childhood Planning Commentary a. .xplain how your understanding of the children*s development" prior learning" and personal5cultural5community assets (from prompts 3a4c above) guided your choice or adaptation of learning experiences and materials. (iven the results of the learning style inventories my students completed" 6 planned to create learning experiences that were highly kinesthetic. 8hile highly kinesthetic" 6 made sure to not neglect the other learning styles as my students possessed multimodal learning styles and are still young and developing. !he idea of kinesthetic learning was reinforced by the Piagetian !asks which revealed most of my students to be in the transitional stage with a few in the preoperational stage. -tudents in both stages would greatly benefit from concrete" hands@on learning activities. ' b. Describe and )ustify why your instructional strategies and planned supports are appropriate for the whole class, indi"iduals, and+or groups of children with specific learning needs.
0onsider children with 6.Ps" .nglish language learners" children at different points in the developmental continuum" struggling readers" children who are underperforming or those with gaps in academic knowledge" and5or gifted children.

&s my class is preschool level" students have not yet been identified with 6.Ps or considered gifted. !herefore" differences in learning styles" differences in developmental stages" and general observations shape each student as different types of learners. &ll learning activities 6 have planned to teach keep the idea of each student in mind. 2y plans address the needs of visual learners through visual aids and videos" auditory learners through discussion and videos" kinesthetic learners through hands@on activities and physical movement exercises. ' c. Describe common developmental approximations? or misunderstandings that pertain to the learning experiences you are planning for the children and how you plan to address them. !he topic of &ustralia and &ustralian animals is almost entirely new to my students" so there are not many misunderstandings" )ust simply lack of knowledge.Pertaining to the daily needs of animals" 6 know from pre@assessments that my students do not reali/e animals need shelter and some do not even acknowledge the daily need for food and water. ' ,. (upporting Children%s *anguage )e"elopment Respond to prompts Aa4c below by referring to key vocabulary3 for the learning segment. a. 6dentify the vocabulary (i.e." de"elopmentall! appropriate sounds" words" phrases" sentences" or paragraphs) that will support children*s learning in the planned learning experiences. Bocabulary emphasi/ed; &ustralia" shelter" safety" food" survive" predator" prey" carnivore" omnivore" herbivore" burrow" cave5den" marsupial" sugar glider" kangaroo" koala" !asmanian Devil" goanna" platypus" dingoes" possum" echidna ' b. 6dentify a key learning experience from the learning segment plans that provides children with opportunities to develop" practice" and5or use the vocabulary identified in prompt Aa. (6dentify the plan day5number.)
?

1or example" beginning or transitional language errors or other attempts to use skills or processes )ust beyond a child*s

current level5capability.
3

Developmentally appropriate sounds" words" phrases" sentences" and paragraphs that you want children to use or create to

engage in the learning experience.

Copyright 2013 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 3 of 5 | 9 pages maximum ll rights reserved. !2"0#13 The edT$ trade%ar&s are o'ned (y The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edT$ trade%ar&s is per%itted only pursuant to the ter%s of a 'ritten li)ense agree%ent.

Early Childhood Planning Commentary

0onsider the range of children*s language development7what do children already know" what are they struggling with" and5or what is new to them<

,earning experience A of each day is devoted to vocabulary development and application. !hese activities are crafts specific to animals being discussed throughout that day (platypus" koala" wombat" sugar glider" kangaroo). 9n day one" we will discuss and create a platypus as the platypus is a carnivore" a predator" and lives in a burrow. 9n day two" we will discuss and create a koala as the koala is a marsupial, an herbivore, prey, and lives in a tree for its shelter. 9n day three" we will discuss and create a wombat as a wombat is a marsupial" an herbivore, prey, and lives in a burrow. 9n day four" we will discuss and create a sugar glider as a sugar glider is a marsupial, an omnivore, predator and prey, and lives in a tree for its shelter. 9n day C" we will discuss and create a kangaroo as a kangaroo is a marsupial, an herbivore, prey, and lives in a cave/den for its shelter. !hese learning experiences will allow for practice with some familiar vocabulary (animal names" food) and lots of unfamiliar vocabulary (types of eaters" types of shelters" predator vs. prey" etc.) ' c. *anguage (upports
Refer to your plans and instructional materials as needed in your response to the prompt below.

Describe the instructional supports (during and5or prior to the learning experience)
that help children develop and use the vocabulary identified in prompt Aa. !he vocabulary being used this week will have been indirectly (or in some cases such as animal names directly) discussed during the prior two weeks. !hese words will also be used in discussion and in behavioral reminders and both music and movement exercises. -ongs played during music and movement will be related to vocabulary and content of the day (for example" !he Dangaroo -ong on Day C when we discuss kangaroos). !he #blue line% which is where students who misbehave must stand" will become the #predator% that will sweep little misbehaving #prey% away. Bocabulary will be reinforced in the center activities" as well" as all centers will be &ustralia or animal survival themed (for example in blocks students won*t simply build" they will build #shelters%). ' -. .onitoring Children%s *earning
6n response to the prompts below" refer to the assessments you will submit as part of the materials for !ask ?.

a. Describe how your planned formal and informal assessments will provide direct evidence of multiple modalities to monitor children*s learning of language and literacy throughout the learning segment. 2ost lessons involved in this learning experience are heavily discussion based" as such" informal assessments will be ongoing related to the discussions taking place. .mbedded in the learning experiences there are opportunities for students to physically act to show their knowledge and skills" this too will be observed. !hroughout the week" students will be learning a poem and songs rich with their vocabulary. -tudents will be given an opportunity to volunteer and perform their songs. $efore the end of the week" all students will do so at least once. !he final formal assessment will assess their vocabulary knowledge related to carnivores" omnivores" and herbivores" as well as the animal names. & formal pre@assessment of this has already been taken. ' b. .xplain how the design or adaptation of your planned assessments allows children with specific needs to demonstrate their learning.

Copyright 2013 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 4 of 5 | 9 pages maximum ll rights reserved. !2"0#13 The edT$ trade%ar&s are o'ned (y The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edT$ trade%ar&s is per%itted only pursuant to the ter%s of a 'ritten li)ense agree%ent.

Early Childhood Planning Commentary

0onsider all children along the continuum of development (including children with 6.Ps" .nglish language learners" struggling readers" children who are underperforming or those with gaps in academic knowledge" and5or gifted children).

&s aforementioned" students in my class do not necessarily have specifically identified learning needs. !he assessment involving vocabulary related to animals and their eating habits will be visually rich to help assist students in remembering. !he pictures used will be copies of those used from instructional activities" again reinforcing recall of information. &uditory learners will also be aided in that the assessment will be read aloud by the teacher. '

Copyright 2013 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 5 of 5 | 9 pages maximum ll rights reserved. !2"0#13 The edT$ trade%ar&s are o'ned (y The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edT$ trade%ar&s is per%itted only pursuant to the ter%s of a 'ritten li)ense agree%ent.