Edtpa Planning Comentary

Visual Arts
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.
[In order for students to fully understand, reproduce, and create artwork in the world around
them they need to have a solid understanding of value and color. With my instruction I will guide
them through the technical side of beginning to master these two elements of art. I will teach
them to consider a range of media when creating value and color within a piece and connect it
to their personal lives by giving them the choice on what they draw. By allowing them to bring
objects from home that they personally value, or by letting them pick their own object out of the
classroom, they will be more invested in the lesson as a whole. This will help provide students
with a form of autonomy, which will lead to motivating them to put their most into the project and
fully understand and process the technical side of the lesson.]
b. Given the central focus, describe how the standards and objectives within your
learning segment support the development of students’ abilities to create, present, or
respond to visual art by incorporating at least one of the following components:
 interpreting art (analyzing art-making approaches, theories, art forms, genres, etc.,
used to convey meaning)
 developing works of art/design (using techniques, methods of experimentation, or
investigation)
 relating art to context (personal, social, cultural, or historical perspectives)
while providing opportunities for student choice (of content, methods, or styles).
[ Within my learning segment students will be using a wide range of media to create both value
and color within their pieces. By working with both pen and watercolor pencil students will be
able to use techniques and methods of experimentation to master the elements of art that are
value and color. Because the students will be depicting objects that mean a lot to them, objects
that they value, they will also be relating their art to context because they will be bringing their
personal perspective to this project.]
c. Explain how your plans build on each other to help students create, present, or
respond to visual art and deepen their learning by making meaningful connections to
at least one of the following components:
 interpreting art
 developing works of art/design
 relating art to context
while providing opportunities for student choice.
[ My lesson plans’ units build on each other by leading students through stages that build off of
each other, continually increasing in complexity and purpose. Students start by going over
vocabulary relevant to their lesson: value, crosshatching, tint, and shade. They will be asked to
show their grasp of these words and these concepts. They will then be shown how these
techniques can be used to depict an object. In this way they will learn how to develop works of
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Visual Arts
art using various mediums. From here they are asked to create a value scale within their
journals, showing that they know how to develop value with pen. From here they are to depict
an object of their choosing using crosshatching and watercolor pencil to depict value and color.
Because the object is of their choosing not only am I providing the students opportunities for
personal choice, but. I am relating the art to their own personal contexts.]
2. Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching
For each of the prompts below (2a–d), 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).
a. Prior academic learning and prerequisite skills related to the central focus—Cite
evidence of what students know, what they can do, and what they are still learning
to do.
[Prior to this student have learned about color theory (they have learned about complimentary
colors, analogous colors, and how tints and shades work in regard to using watercolor paint.)
Prior to this, students have worked on a project involving watercolor leaves on a multicolor
background. While doing this, students were asked to use wet on wet to blend colors and use
analogous colors within their leaves. In previous grades students were have also worked on a
cut paper assignment in which they had to identify complimentary colors as well as use colors
that have high contrast.]
b. Personal, cultural, and community assets related to the central focus—What do you
know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural and language
backgrounds and practices, and interests?
[Coming into this, students will have experienced many projects within my classroom that have
scaffolded them up to this. Although they have been working with different color theories as well
as ideas of contrast, they will not have learned about the methods of using these elements that I
am going to teach them. This does not mean that I should assume students can use these tools
completely independently, as Students A, B, and C will require redirection and may require a
more personal review of the principles that we are drawing on. I will do this by referencing
projects that they have done previously that share similarities to what they are working on now. I
will also encourage students to take their subject matter for their final piece from their home. In
this way students will bring their own culture and interests into the classroom. In this way
students will be more motivated to complete their project and to make it look as good as
possible, as they are not dealing with an object that was assigned to them, rather an object that
they picked and that they value.]
c. Physical development or conditions, if applicable for your learning segment—What
do you know about students’ physical development (e.g., students’ fine- motor skills) or
conditions (e.g., attention deficit, processing issues) that will affect instruction for the
central focus?
[At this stage in their development students will have enough fine motor skills to start grasping
the concept of hatching and cross hatching. Working on this fine detailed form of shading will
help them further increase their sense of dexterity and fine motor skills. Student A will need to
have this modeled to him if he gets off task or does not fully understand the process of hatching
and cross hatching at any and all of the projects’ stages. Student C will be allowed to take a
Visual Arts
break from the project if they start to have an emotional outburst, as they will not have the
concentration skill to work with hatching and crosshatching during such an episode.]
d. Visual art dispositions related to the central focus—What do you know about the extent
to which your students
 persist in their ability to apply visual arts concepts to create, present, or respond to
visual art and
 believe in their ability to learn visual arts?
[My students have shown that they are able to persist in their ability to apply visual arts
concepts to create, present, and respond to visual art and believe in their ability to learn visual
arts. As I have stated before, the projects both earlier from this year and from their years of art
prior have been continually building upon each other, and students are quick to take control of
their own learning. Although students need to be reminded to stay on task, specifically students
A, B, and C, they will all work to have their projects done in the time frame given and show pride
in their work by the end.]
3. Supporting Students’ Visual Arts Learning
Respond to the prompts below (3a–c). 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 or theory to support your
justifications.
a. Justify how your understanding of your students’ prior academic learning; personal,
cultural, and community assets; and physical development or conditions (if applicable)
(from prompts 2a–c above) guided your choice or adaptation of learning tasks and
materials. Be explicit about the connections between the component(s) of visual art
addressed within the learning tasks and students’ prior academic learning, their assets,
and research/theory.
[I am using my student’s prior academic learning, taking the form of their practicing color theory,
lessons in contrast, and basic understanding of shading, and have paired this with Vygotsky’s
theory on the Zone of Proximal Development in order to inform my choice of learning tasks and
materials. According to Lev Vygotsky students will learn at their best when they are challenged
with a task that is difficult enough that they need assistance; not so easy that they could do it on
their own and not so difficult that even with assistance that they could not complete the task. As
they have had previous experience with working with colors in watercolor paint and dealing with
painting techniques to depict contrast, having students practice this in the same medium would
leave the students learning little from my lesson. However, if I had introduced them to
something that they have no prior knowledge of whatsoever some students, especially students
A, B, and C, may give up on their learning and understanding of the concepts presented.
Instead what I chose to do was further build off of their understandings of contrast by giving a
lesson in shading via crosshatching, a new concept that is being delivered through a known
concept (pen and ink crosshatching via contrast) and introducing a new form of a previously
used medium (watercolor pencil instead of watercolor cakes). This will further my student’s
understandings not only of the new concepts provided but widen their knowledge of the
concepts that they were taught previously.]
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.
Visual Arts
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).
[My instructional strategies and planned supports are appropriate for the whole class as well as
individuals such as Students A, B, and C because I am scaffolding my students towards
grasping their new concepts by drawing on previous experiences. Through my PowerPoint
presentation I will be reminding students of their previous experiences with the concepts of
value, tint, and shade. From here I will introduce how these concepts which they have learned
before can be used and applied through a new medium and new way of applying a familiar
medium, those being crosshatching in pen and ink and using watercolor pencils. While going
over their prior knowledge is good for the class as a whole, doing this will be integral for
students A and C, who oftentimes need redirected towards their goal and need directions
restated. This will relate their new tasks to previous tasks that they have completed, and if they
should need redirection it can be easily restated from something that has already been
presented to the class as a whole. Students will also approach their final project in a gradual
way by creating a value scale within their journal. This will help ease students towards the idea
of working with crosshatching in order to create value. I will also assess each students’ value
scale, making notes on their successes and how they can further work to grasp the concept of
cross hatching to create value while moving onto their final project. This reinforcement,
especially being written reinforcement, will help Students A and C as they will have a written
reminder that I can refer back to if they should get off task or be uncertain about how to
approach cross hatching.]
c. Describe common errors or misunderstandings within your central focus and how you
will address them.
[Some common errors that I may face are students misunderstanding how to exercise control
when hatching and crosshatching. One way that I will combat this is by having them create a
value scale within their journal for the first unit in my lesson plan. I will review their value scale
with them before we move on, talking about how students have either fully grasped the idea of
hatching to create value, or guiding them on ways that they can better understand the concept. I
will leave notes within their journal so that they may review them when working on both their
project for the current unit plan and for future projects as a whole. Another common
misunderstanding is the amount of water needed to activate watercolor pencils. To address this,
I will provide a demo on how watercolor pencils work, referring to their previous projects using
watercolors as reference. I will also remind students as I walk around to use water sparingly
while on that step of their project.]
4. Supporting Visual Arts Development Through Language
As you respond to prompts 4a–d, consider the range of students’ language assets and
needs—what 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 to create, present,
or respond to visual art by incorporating the component(s) 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.
Visual Arts
Analyze Compare/contrast Critique Describe Interpret Question

[Within my central focus students must critique and describe various aspects of their pieces as
well as their classmate’s pieces. Students must describe the object that they have chosen to
illustrate, why they chose their object (what makes it an object that they value/closely relate to),
and discuss their illustration using proper visual art vocabulary (hatching, crosshatching, tint,
shade, value). Students must also critique their peers’ pieces being respectful but providing
them with feedback using the same visual art vocabulary that they are expected to use when
describing their own piece.]
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.)
[In lesson number 3 during day 1 students will participate in a critique of the class’ pieces. This
will provide students with the opportunities to use the language functions that I have described
above. Students will first be scaffolded and modeled on how to go about properly critiquing and
discussing students’ pieces and then have to describe their piece as well as critique their peers’
pieces.]
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 and/or key phrases
 Plus at least one of the following:
 Syntax
 Discourse
[Students will have to use proper visual arts vocabulary, specifically around the words hatching,
crosshatching, tint, shade, and value. They will use these words to describe their piece when
presenting it to their peers, and when their peers are presenting their projects students are to
use those same words properly while commenting on and offering advice about their pieces.
Because students will be presenting their pieces and will be commenting on pieces there will
naturally be discourse amongst students. The teacher is to discuss and model the proper way to
do this, making sure that comments are appropriate and properly use their visual arts
vocabulary.]
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 and/or key phrases, and syntax or discourse).
[In order for students to fully understand, develop, and use their proper visual arts vocabulary
while having discourse between peers and discussing their own pieces I will have a PowerPoint
describing they phrases hatching, crosshatching, tint, shade, and value. I will pair these phrases
with visual examples to showcase them so that they are not only hearing about the phrases but
seeing them in practice. I will ask students to elaborate on the concepts provided so that they
build upon their own understandings and do so in a way that is natural to them. I will also ask
students to take notes within their journals on these vocabulary words so that they will have
something to refer back to throughout both this project and any future project. Having it in their
Visual Arts
journal will be an essential support for students A and C, as they will be easily redirected
towards the goals of their project, as they will be able to refer back to their own persona journal.]
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 your planned formal and informal assessments will provide direct
evidence of students’ abilities to create, present, or respond to visual art and monitor
students’ understanding or application of the component(s) you have chosen to address
(interpreting art, developing works of art/design, and/or relating art to context)
throughout the learning segment.
[My planned formal and informal assessments will provide direct evidence of my students’
abilities to create and respond to visual art prompts, and I will be able to monitor their
understanding throughout, particularly from lesson 1 to lesson 2. In lesson 1 I will have students
create a value scale of 6 squares within their journal which I will check and make notes on as
need be to guide students towards an understanding of how cross-hatching and hatching can
be used to create a variation in value. I will check each student’s journal individually before
moving onto a worksheet which I will pass out to the students. If the students need to, I will ask
students to redo some of their squares to show me that they have an understanding of and can
create the subtle differences in shading that are present inside of a value scale. The worksheet
which they will be working on will show that they not only understand how to cross-hatch/hatch
but understand how to use hatching and cross-hatching to turn a shape into a form. This will
reinforce both their understanding of the technique of hatching and cross-hatching, as well as
the new vocabulary words that I have given them (shape and form). I will also review their
shapes and provide feedback on their technique and how light moves around their forms. There
will be direct correlation between the feedback given on the worksheets and the value scales
and how their final piece, creating an illustration of an object which they bring in from home that
they value, and will show the progress of their understanding which will have been helped with
both my instruction and my assessments/feedback. Feedback will be both written and provided
with illustrations to show what they should be doing and will mostly be given in the form of sticky
notes on their journals or their worksheets.]
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).
[The design of my planned assessments allows students with specific needs to demonstrate
their learning because I will allow them to show their understanding of the concepts presenting
in a variety of ways. Student A will need some assistance with staying on task and due to his
being on the spectrum may learn better with visual cues than with written cues. Because of that
I will give students the ability to write down the terms that I give them in their journal in their own
words. I will stress to students that it is more important to me that they understand the concepts
in their journal than it is that they write down exactly what I wrote down on the board. For my
sticky note assessments, I may also add drawings to my notes that I leave and not just write
down assessments/corrections. In this way student A may have a visual reminder if they cannot
fully understand or focus on their written reminder. Students B and C often get distracted, and
so I will have the worksheet show in writing what is expected of them and write on the board the
Visual Arts
steps of what I will have them do (make a value scale, get it checked, start shading their
shapes, specify a light source). This way Students B and C (as well as student A) may look to
the board to see where they should be with their progress. This will also help my assessing the
students because they will be able to be on the same track as the other students. Students B
and C in particular are at the same level skill wise, their attention is what they need to be
focused, which I will do through universal design elements such as instructions on the board,
given orally, and reinforced on their worksheets.]

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Visual Arts

Task 1: Planning Commentary

TASK 1: PLANNING COMMENTARY

Analyze Compare/contrast Critique Describe Interpret Question

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