Commentary Ctrentman

Secondary History/Social Studies
Task 1: Planning Commentary
TASK 1: PLANNING COMMENTARY

Respond to the prompts below (no more than 9 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. Central Focus
a. Describe the central focus and purpose of the content you will teach in the learning
segment.
[ The Central Focus of a three-day lesson plan will be for students to build arguments and
answer the question What effects do different groups interest have on the political process?
Students will analyze the use of a two-party system along with the use of mainstream media to
influence elections. Students will understand how different interest work to portray candidates
and parties in a desired way. Students will learn that media can present bias and they will learn
to view it through a more critical lens.]
b. Given the central focus, describe how the standards and learning objectives within your
learning segment address
facts and concepts

inquiry, interpretation, or analysis skills
building and supporting arguments or conclusions
[ Fact and concepts are addressed in Lesson Plan 1 use the OAE standard for American
Government 2. - Political parties, interest groups and the media provide opportunities for civic
involvement through various means. Students will also use the Common Core Reading
standard SL.11-12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions
with diverse partners on topics, texts, and issues, building on others ideas and expressing their
own clearly and persuasively. In order to ensure that the standards align with the content
students will learn about the two-party system in The United States of America. This will consist
of differing ideologies of the conservative and liberal political views. Students will link these
ideologies to the democrats and the republicans. Once students have learned about the
differences of these two ideologies they will be asked to work in small groups of 5 with an
assigned ideology. Students will work to research arguments as too why their assigned ideology
is better than the other. One of the members of these groups will be assigned to be undecided.
Following the period of research the differing sides will build an argument using supportive facts
in order to convince the undecided member of the group. Students will further work to
understand the effects of the two-party system in the US. Half of the class will be given an
article supporting the two-party system while the other half will receive an article arguing against
it. Students will deepen their understanding of the role political parties plan in American
government while interpreting differing views. They will build arguments by highlighting what are
the strongest points of the article. Following the individual reading the teacher will lead a class
discussion addressing both sides. Students will use evidence to support their argument. Facts
and concepts are also present in Lesson Plan 2. The lesson will shift to the main stream media
and its influence on the public. Information regarding the business of most mainstream media
companies will be provided for the students through class discussion. Knowledge of bias and
motives from broadcast companies will be the focus of the lesson. Students will view coverage
of one news story from three different sources. They will analyze the facts and concepts used
by the source and think critically about what is being portrayed and how. Students will begin to
build arguments as to what effects bias in the media have on the public. Following each clip
students will look critically at who the source supports and how. Following the three clips
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students will be asked to compile their argument in a concise three sentences explaining how
media has an opportunity to influence citizens and civic duty. Lesson Plan 3 will use the same
standards as the previous two lessons. Students will use a variety of different sources to
analyze how the media bias and private interest work in national elections. The students will
each be assigned one of four sources that are considered to be conservative or liberal. They will
work through formative assessment individually to guide their understanding of the impact these
sources have. These assessments will ask students to answer questions in regards to the
effects on candidates that media bias create. Students will answer who is represented and how
in each of their formative assessments. These data based questions will help the students build
arguments and understand the bias present. Following the individual formative time the students
will be placed in groups with one representative from each source. The students will take turns
explaining what they found in their research. Students will take notes on each one of their
members brief presentation and offer any commentary they might have. Using this information
student will tie together the information from the last three days in an extended writing response.
They will explain how media bias influences or does not influence national elections. They will
have a variety of different articles and examples to provide evidence from. This final written
assignment will tie the standards into the facts and concepts by making the students create and
support an argument showing their understanding of the effects of media and public office]
c. Explain how your plans build on each other to help students make connections
between facts, concepts, and inquiry, interpretation, or analysis skills to build and
support arguments or conclusions about historical events, a topic/theme, or a social
studies phenomenon.
[ The lesson sequence is ordered intentionally to help build students understanding. Students
first need to have a thorough understanding in the differences of ideology between
conservatives and liberals. The understanding that these two groups differ greatly will make it
more clear that the contrasting beliefs have cause a rivalry in the political atmosphere. The
research use in LP1 will aid this through understanding. During the first lesson students also
practice building arguments using facts and evidence. They practice arguing their points and
persuading others. These skills and information will be crucial to fully understanding the
intended lesson. In LP2 students will be made aware of how main stream media in the US often
works. They will develop their ability to view coverage and stories with a critical lens. Students
will understand that private interest often influence stories and shape them into something of
bias. These skills and knowledge will work together in LP3 where students will be asked to
analyze media bias and its effect on national elections. Students will use their developed skills
of thinking critically about news sources and their ability to build arguments using supporting
evidence to argue the effects of mass media and the use of the two-party system. This will be
assessed through a final written assignment asking students to use the sources to explain the
effects of differing ideologies and the way the media portrays them.]
2. Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching
For each of the prompts below (2ab), describe what you know about your students with
respect to the central focus of the learning segment.
Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/support
(e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners, struggling readers,
underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted
students).

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a. Prior academic learning and prerequisite skills related to the central focusCite
evidence of what students know, what they can do, and what they are still learning
to do.
[through previous lessons students have been developing the skill of extracting facts and
meaningful points from texts in order to assist in research. Students have worked with document
based questions to understand what authors of primary and secondary sources objectives are.
Students have practiced highlighting the strong and meaningful points of texts. In a previous
lesson analyzing the First amendment students read arguments about the dangers of freedom
of speech. They worked to find the most meaningful point of the author and explain why.
Students will be developing their ability to turn these facts found in reading and other sources
into arguments and evidence. This relates to central focus by developing their ability to think
critically about a topic and build an argument using facts and evidence from text. Students will
have a brief background knowledge of presidential elections. Previous lessons have covered
the electoral college and the national election process. Students will be learning how to
compare conservative and liberal view points on major political issues. Students will also be
learning the skill of viewing media more critically. They will learn to ask questions as to why
certain sources say or doing something different from another. Students will also develop the
ability to synthesize their knowledge of two different topics in a meaningful way. Students will be
able to describe how different ideologies are magnified by the media bias.]
b. Personal, cultural, and community assets related to the central focusWhat do you
know about your students everyday experiences, cultural and language
backgrounds and practices, and interests?
[ Throughout the school year I have gotten the opportunity to get to know my students on a
more personal level. This includes helping during school, discussion based learning, attending
community events, and interacting with the students through conversation. My students are a
very diverse group who bring a large variety of different options and perspectives to the
classroom. The classes are very respectful and work well together. The school represents a
wide range of race, income, and ideology. Politics and media are usually strongly influenced by
home life. My students have been exposed to these topics under the influence of their own
guardians. It will be crucial that I encourage an open mind so that the central focus may
succeed. Most students are involved in some sort of after school activity. These activities have
helped shape social skills and will make the small and large group discussions more natural.
The students are present on social media and are aware of outlandish stories on the web. With
the use of the internet access to media and information is easy for this generation of students.
This interest in internet sources and stories will help to engage the students by appealing to
their generational tools. Although most students are not old enough to vote they are aware of
the high-profile election of 2016. They want to learn more about what happened and what it
means for their future. This interest will also help to engage the students by relating the topics
back to their lives outside of school.]
3. Supporting Students History/Social Studies Learning
Respond to prompts below (3ac). To support your justifications, refer to the instructional
materials and lesson plans you have included as part of Planning
Task 1. In addition, use principles from research and/or theory to support your
justifications.
a. Justify how your understanding of your students prior academic learning and personal,
cultural, and community assets (from prompts 2ab above) guided your choice or
adaptation of learning tasks and materials. Be explicit about the connections between

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the learning tasks and students prior academic learning, their assets, and
research/theory.
[ The task and materials used for these three lessons is scaffolded in a way that develops skills
and understanding of large issues present in society. First the students develop knowledge of
the subject and begin to create their own opinion of Main stream medias influence in national
elections. Knowledge of political parties will be important to all students as they enter adulthood
and start the practice of civic engagement. The students are aware of how elections influence
our nations policy and will be invested in the outcomes of elections. Getting students to
understand the importance of different perspective will educate them to be more well-rounded
citizens. Kevin Kumashiro Argues for the importance of teaching these different perspectives.
Teaching against the norm and introducing a variety of different viewpoints is crucial to
developing what Kumashiro refers to as global citizens. Students will be able to analyze these
different perspectives in the media. Our society is moving more towards the use of the internet
and social media as the medium where people find their news. Students interest in online use
will create the interest needed to engage them in the lesson. Students will be able to read media
reports for current events and other stories relevant to their daily lives with a more critical view
and open mind. Students are social and interact well with their peers. Because of this the small
group work and larger class discussion will be valuable to the social aspect of the students
lives. They will be able to share ideas and develop their own opinions while taking other
students perspectives into account. Assessments will be scored with regards to students
personal background and culture. Opinions are unavoidable in the political world and personal
opinions are not what will be scored. Students should be building arguments that explain why
they feel the way they do about a certain topics and issues. Small group work will force the
students to further understand different perspectives of other resources as well.]
b. Describe and justify why your instructional strategies and planned supports are
appropriate for the whole class, individuals, and/or groups of students with specific
learning needs.
Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different
strategies/support (e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners,
struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic
knowledge, and/or gifted students).
[ Over the three lesson plans I incorporate a variety of different learning strategies. The use of
visual, audio, and text based instruction along with individual, small group and large group
learning help to accommodate different learning styles and needs. I understand that all students
learn differently and I have created a three-day lesson that is inclusive to all learning styles. The
different sizes of groups will work to make students who do not feel comfortable discussing the
topics in a large setting more likely to participate. These small group discussions are helpful for
my students with IEPs and 504s. These students learn better in small groups. They will have the
opportunity to learn from their fellow peers as well. My classes are social learners and will
benefit from group discussion. For those learners that prefer individual work they will be given
the opportunity to do so. Social skills that come with discussion are important for student growth
and will be expected unless conditions prevent it. The use of both video and text will allow
students who may struggle with reading to still understand the main points and topics presented
in the lessons. By making these lessons more student center I allow students to use each other
as resources. This is not to say that only one student will be doing the work but different
perspectives will aid the lesson.]
c. Describe key misconceptions within your central focus and how you will address them.

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[ A common misconception is that the democrats and republicans both hate each other. I will
address this by providing explanations as to why their ideologies may differ but also give
examples of how they have worked together in the past. The United States of America operates
under one government despite multiple different parties and interest. Another misconception
that will be addressed is that the media is controlled by mostly liberal ideology. I will address this
by introducing a verity of different sources from both the left and right ideologies.]
4. Supporting History/Social Studies Development Through Language
As you respond to prompts 4ad, consider the range of students language assets and
needswhat do students already know, what are they struggling with, and/or what is new to
them?
a. Language Function. Using information about your students language assets and
needs, identify one language function essential for students to learn the history/social
studies content within your central focus. Listed below are some sample language
functions. You may choose one of these or another more appropriate for your learning
segment.
Analyze
Compare/contrast
Construct
Describe
Evaluate
Examine
Identify
Interpret
Justify
Locate
[ Students will understand how to analyze the influence of media in national elections. Students
have developed the ability to compare two different topics and during the lesson they will be
able to analyze the effects of differing opinions. Answering the questions what are the effects
and who is effected will be crucial to analysis of the topic.]
b. Identify a key learning task from your plans that provides students with opportunities to
practice using the language function identified above. Identify the lesson in which the
learning task occurs. (Give lesson day/number.)
[ The final written essay task during Lesson Plan 3 will allow the students to analyze the effects
of the main stream media. This document based question assignment will ask students to think
critically about how the portrayal of national figures in media effects public opinion and civic
involvement. The assignment will be a written response to multiple different examples of media
bias. Students will be asked to analyze the effect that all the sources have.]
c. Additional Language Demands. Given the language function and learning task
identified above, describe the following associated language demands (written or oral)
students need to understand and/or use:
Vocabulary/symbols
Plus at least one of the following:
Discourse
Syntax
[ Vocabulary to support the lesson will be crucial to understanding. Certain terms in this lesson
have meaning that can change in context. The students will be responsible for understanding
the meaning of the vocabulary terms in relation to the topic. Vocabulary words include
Partisanship, bias, conservative, liberal, mass media, and yellow journalism. At the beginning of
both Lesson Plan 1 and Lesson Plan to I will go over the key vocab necessary for the students
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to understand. The words Conservative and Liberal will be discussed in depth by the class
during lesson 1. These definitions will build as the class moves throughout the three days. A
large part of this lesson will be devoted to describing the policies and ideals that each side
supports. The understanding of these ideologies will be the base for understanding the
differences between the two major political parties in the United States. This will also help
describe what partisanship means and how the concept will help students to develop their
arguments. During Lesson plan 2 the focus shifts to the media. Students will understand What I
mean when I refer to mass media. This term will set the scale of the number of people that a
given source is able to reach. Students will understand that media does not just consist of the
news. They will be able to describe what mass media is and how it is growing. The concept of
Yellow Journalism is crucial to understanding the bias of media as well. The sensationalism and
bias of most media is what creates the characters on either side of the story. This concept will
be crucial to building and supporting arguments during assessments throughout the three
lessons.]
d. Language Supports. Refer to your lesson plans and instructional materials as needed in
your response to the prompt.
Identify and describe the planned instructional supports (during and/or prior to the
learning task) to help students understand, develop, and use the identified language
demands (function, vocabulary/symbols, discourse, or syntax).
[ There are instructional supports throughout the three days of the lesson. Formative
assessments allow me to grasp where the students are in their understanding and also address
any areas that students misunderstand. The vocab words are vital to creating the final argument
in lesson 3 so the other supports will be important to the discourse. In the first lesson the
teacher will spend a large majority of the time comparing conservative and liberal. Students will
also be given the opportunity to explore the definition of these ideologies on their own. This
student centered learn allows kids to explain the differences in their own words. This disscription
will be assessed during classroom discussion. This reaserch will help students to also
understand what partisantship is and the effect it has on the national election. Students will build
arguments following this class describing the policies of conservative or liberal and building an
argument. Students will defend one side or the other using their definitions of the terms and
information from the class. During lesson plan two the focus will be on the concept of the bias
yello journalism create in the mass media. Students will understand how the sensationalism of
yellow journalism creates contriversy. During the assemssment students will be able to prove
their knowlage of this bias by analyzing a veriety of different news sources. They will understand
that bias is present throughout the media and the effects that its ability to reach huge audiences
has on public image. The use of these vocab terms and concepts will be crucial to creating the
final argument in Lesson 3. Students with IEP and 504s will be given deffinitions of conservative
and liberal that they will be able to refrence. The assessments will also allow me to give help to
the students who need it and challenge the students who understand the material. Additional
questions thoruhgout the lessons will allow me to ask gifted students to think deeper about
certain topics.]
5. Monitoring Student Learning
In response to the prompts below, refer to the assessments you will submit as part of the
materials for Planning Task 1.
a. Describe how the planned formal and informal assessments provide direct evidence of
how students learn and use facts, concepts, and inquiry, interpretation, or analysis skills

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to build and support arguments or conclusions about historical events, a topic/theme, or

a social studies phenomenon throughout the learning segment.
[During lesson plan 1 Students will first be assessed in their understanding of the differnec
between conservative and liberal policy. The assessment is formative and will be discussion
based. Students will have the opportunity to reaserch the two ideologies and will be made
awarew that they will be required to share what they found with the rest of the class. This
knowlage will create the base understanding necessary to creating their final argument. The
differences between the two ideologies will be what fuels the discussion and how the media
amplifies this difference. The final assessment of lesson 1 will give students the opportunity to
prove their learning through a brief writing activity. Again, students will reference the material
from class but individually. They will need to show their knowledge of political ideologies and
argue why a certain aspect of values are valuable or not. Students will also analyze the effects
of the two-party system during this writing activity. They will address both good and bad aspects
of the two-party system. This awareness will help strengthen their ability to think critically or the
norm. Students will challenge the two-party system and become aware of some flaws. During
Lesson Plan 2 students will be assessed in their ability to think critically about media from daily
experiences. They will be able to show that they are thinking critically about how information is
presented and the effect it has on the consumer. The students will watch clips from three
different sources while trying to identify the bias present. Students will use their knowledge of
private interest in broadcasting to explain the presence of bias. Students will be able to analyze
who the sources represent and who they do not. They will be expected to understand why
certain things are left out and the effect that yellow journalism has on the public. These clips will
be followed by written response giving students opportunity to address the for mentioned aspect
of the source. This assessment will let me know that the students are able to think critically
about sources which is a skill needed to complete the final summative assessment in lesson 3.
The last lesson will give assessment to students in the form of formative and summative. Each
student will be given a source they will research in-depth. They will then share what they found
from the source with three other classmates who had a different source. The ability to describe
the source will act as a formative assessment. Students should use their skills of comparing
ideologies and argument building to analyzer how the different sources have different affects.
Students will explain these effects in the final written assignment which will synthesize the
information and skills learned throughout the three lessons.]
b. Explain how the design or adaptation of your planned assessments allows students with
specific needs to demonstrate their learning.
Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different
strategies/support (e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners,
struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic
knowledge, and/or gifted students).
[ There are a variety of different ways that students have the opportunity to learn. Not all
students learn the same way and that is why I use a variety of different strategies and supports
to ensure that different learners get what they require. Students will work individually, in small
groups, and as an entire class. My students are social learners and will benefit from hearing
perspective from their peers. This varied style of learning will encourage student s to participate.
The use of scaffolding and other supports during the three days will also help students with IEPs
and 504s. The use of the pros and cons graphic organizer during lesson 1 will help struggling
students visualize their learning. The Work Mat activity during lesson 2 will help struggling
students to view the differences in sources. They will be able to compare different perspectives
all on one page. The jigsaw activity during lesson three will give Students with IEPs and 504s
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the chance to learn in a smaller group where they have a better opportunity to learn. By
jigsawing the sources I am limiting the work load for the students who may struggle with reading
or working with multiple materials. Additional questions will be introduced for students who are
gifted and understand the material easily. They will be asked to think more deeply about the
effects that these topics have on their daily lives. All of this scaffolding works to build skills and
knowledge of the subject so that the students will be successful in completing the final written
assignment.]

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Secondary History/Social Studies

Task 1: Planning Commentary

TASK 1: PLANNING COMMENTARY

facts and concepts

Secondary History/Social Studies

Copyright 2016 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

Secondary History/Social Studies

Copyright 2016 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

Secondary History/Social Studies

Copyright 2016 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

Secondary History/Social Studies

Secondary History/Social Studies

Copyright 2016 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

Secondary History/Social Studies

to build and support arguments or conclusions about historical events, a topic/theme, or

Secondary History/Social Studies

Copyright 2016 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

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