Task 1-Part E-Planning Commentary

Middle Childhood Science
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 the learning segment is for students to explain the formation of
thunderstorms, hurricanes and tornados and connect how these storms affect us in our dayto-day experiences. The content area of this lesson is Earth Science, specifically
meteorology. These lessons are targeted to sixth grade students who are following the
Georgia Performance Standards curriculum. Students will be taught through guided note
taking, real life examples, online lab simulations and educational videos that will hone in on
their prior knowledge and allow misconceptions to be reassessed and eliminated. The
content is being taught so students are aware of the different factors that affect our weather
and how real world phenomenon shape our day-to-day lives.]
b. Given the central focus, describe how the standards and learning objectives within your
learning segment address the use of science concepts and the ability to apply scientific
practices through inquiry to develop evidence-based explanations of or reasonable
predictions about a real-world phenomenon.
[There are several instances throughout the lessons where the central focus and learning
objectives address the application of various scientific practices to scientific concepts through
inquiry and evidence based explanations. One example can be seen in Lesson 1 during the
inquiry based learning portion (see body of the lesson). Students are applying the scientific
practices of constructing explanations and communicating scientific information to complete
their verbal and written task. The learning objective is: How are storms formed and where/when
do they occur most frequently? During the teacher directed portion of the lesson, students have
just learned that hurricanes depend on warm water and its evaporation for the hurricane to keep
its form. This will be the evidence they use to construct the written and verbal explanation:
What season is Hurricane season in the United States? Write your claim and evidence. This is
directly connected to the standard: Relate how moisture evaporating from the oceans affects
the weather patterns and weather events such as hurricanes. This also links back to the central
focus in two ways. The first is that the task supports student connection to day-to-day
experiences by addressing the weather patterns that affect the areas where my students live
(Atlantic Ocean/North America). Secondly, students must use the scientific concepts of the
formation of storms in order to give their evidence-based explanation. Another example
question that requires students to deepen their thinking through inquiry is: What could weaken a
hurricanes strength? (Probing question: Hurricanes are fueled by warm water and evaporation,
so what could stop a hurricane?). Students must connect their knowledge of the formation of
storms to draw conclusions.
In Lesson 3, the learning objective is to justify why the center
of a hurricane has low air pressure through the collection and analysis of data in the Gizmo lab
(online simulation lab). Students will first make a reasonable prediction: Will air pressure
increase or decrease as wind speed increases? Students will use the scientific concepts
reiterated in Lesson 1 and 2 to help find evidence to support their prediction. Students will then
use the online Gizmo to find patterns in the data (How is the air pressure, wind speed and cloud
coverage changing as the hurricane gains strength?) Students will use tables to organize their
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data, and utilize them to give their justifications. This will be in the form of evidence-based,
written responses. This is directly associated with the standard: S6CS6: Students will
communicate scientific ideas and activities clearly. C. Organize scientific information using
appropriate tables, charts, and graphs, and identify relationships they reveal. Both the learning
objective and the standard require students to apply the scientific practice of interpreting data
through inquiry (seen in Instructional Material Appendix H Section II) to develop evidence-based
explanations (seen above).]
c. Explain how your plans build on each other to help young adolescents understand
relationships between scientific concepts, scientific practices, and the phenomenon in
the learning segment.
[In lesson 1, the learning objectives center around 1. defining thunderstorms, tornados and
hurricanes, 2. making predictions and constructing explanations about when/where storms
occur most frequently through inquiry learning and 3. developing models to examine real world
phenomenon. This lesson is broken up into mini-segments. The first segment pertains to
thunderstorms, the second segment describes tornados and the last segment is about
hurricanes. Each segment will be broken up into three portions: A. Definition of the storm B.
Formation of the storm and C. Inquiry based learning/Make connections to prior knowledge
(Lesson 1 body of the lesson). Portion A and B are teacher directed. We will discuss the
scientific concepts of the days lesson: definition and formation of storms (thunderstorms,
tornados and hurricanes). This builds to the third part of the lesson where students apply the
scientific practice of constructing explanations based on the previous scientific concepts
learned. This then builds to the final step of having students develop a model (flow map
Lesson 1 Closure activity) to illustrate the progression of storms and have a complete summary
of how scientific concepts, practices and phenomenon are integrally connected. In lesson 2, the
learning objectives require students to 1. compare and contrast thunderstorms, hurricanes and
tornadoes and 2. analyze a real world article about Hurricane Katrina and come up with
scientific conclusions based on the phenomenon. The scientific concepts learned in lesson 1
are used for constructing evidence based explanations about the article in Lesson 2 (i.e. How
did Hurricane Katrina form? Would Atlanta ever experience a hurricane? Why or why not?)
Students will also build a Venn Diagram (Lesson 2- body of the lesson) to support their claims
about the differences and similarities of hurricanes. Again, they will use the concepts learned in
Lesson 1 to develop their models. In Lesson 3, students will then have the opportunity to
engage in an online lab simulation and observe, analyze and collect data bout hurricane
formation and support claims with mathematical computations (discussed further in prompt 1d).
The concepts learned in Lesson 1, and reinforced in Lesson 2, will give students the prior
knowledge needed to reason through and justify conclusions in Lesson 3 (Instructional Material
Appendix H). Lesson 4 is the formal assessment and this will be a great tool for the instructor to
see if students truly grasped the relationship between scientific concepts, practices and the
phenomenon of storms (see more in Task 3 Assessments).]
d. Explain how you will help young adolescents make interdisciplinary or integrative
connections between the central focus of the learning segment and other subject areas.
[I will help young adolescents make interdisciplinary connections to geography, mathematics
and language arts. As stated in the learning supports segment of lesson plans 1, 2 and 3, I
provide students with a world map that contains the degrees of latitude, name of each continent,
and the name of all major bodies of water (see Instructional Material Appendix F). In lesson 1,
students are presented with the knowledge that hurricanes are known as typhoons and
cyclones in other countries due to what body of water the 74-mile per hour winds are formed.
This is a direct correlation to the central focus of my lessons where students are to explain the
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formation of thunderstorms, hurricanes and tornados and connect how these storms affect us in
our day-to-day experiences. The geography portion makes these weather patterns real and
tangible. It allows students to connect the formation of storms to real life places around the
globe. My students who have not learned about the location of these bodies of water will benefit
from the visual representation in order to connect to the content.
In the simulation lab of
lesson 3, students are required to find the difference between wind speed and air pressure
before and after a hurricane hits a weather station (Instructional Material - Appendix H - Section
II). Students will use the mathematical operation of subtraction and explain how wind speed and
air pressure change as a hurricane approaches (Example questions: Does wind speed
increase? Does air pressure increase? How do you know? Etc.) Students will use their
mathematical equations to justify their responses. This connects to the central focus in that it
deepens student knowledge of hurricane formation and visually shows how hurricanes are
extremely lethal to human society as it approaches and continues to gain momentum.
Lastly,
I will help young adolescents make interdisciplinary connections to language arts during the
Literacy Station in Lesson 2. Students read an article from the Junior Scholastic Magazine
(Instructional Material Appendix G) and write a letter to a friend, family member, or pet based on
the prompts given about the article (Appendix G-2 Instructional Materials). The article describes
the devastation Hurricane Katrina caused and how a year after the storm had passed peoples
lives were still damaged. This gives students the opportunity to be creative through their writing
while also staying within the constraints of the scientific practice of constructing explanations.
Two examples of the prompts include: 1. What did you find interesting about the article? 2. How
did the hurricane form? Explain. There is a balance between scientific material and creative,
reflective writing. This relates to the central focus because the article gives real world
connections that includes testimonies from young adolescent children telling their story about
how the hurricane affected their lives forever. ]
2. Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching
For each of the prompts below (2ac), describe what you know about your students with
respect to the central focus of the learning segment.
Consider the variety of young adolescent 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, prerequisite skills, and understanding of the nature of science
related to the central focusCite evidence of what young adolescents know, what
they can do, and what they are still learning to do.
[My students have prior academic knowledge of air pressure systems, local/global winds and
weather patterns (caused by cold, warm and stationary fronts) learned in previous lessons that I
have taught. They understand that the unequal heating of land and water causes winds, which
will help them connect to the central focus that requires an explanation about the formation of
storms. I administered an eight-question, open-ended pre-assessment (Task 1-Part DAssessments) during the previous school day, and many of my students (ten out of the twenty
students who took the pre-assessment) wrote the acronym idk (stands for I dont know) for
every question. My students are extremely bright, but some are still learning to make
connections to the material without the instructor asking probing questions or providing
sentence frames (i.e. I think thunderstorms most frequently occur in (part of the United States)
because ____(evidence)_.) As seen in lesson 1, I make sure to scaffold instruction by providing
these language supports (sentence stems) during the inquiry based learning portion in the body
of the lesson. The group of students who need more support in making evidence based
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explanations will benefit from these sentence stems. Some students are also still learning how
to organize their thoughts through note taking in an orderly format, so I have provided Cornell
Notes (Instructional Materials Appendix B) to help guide instruction. However, my students
excel in viewing visual models and utilizing graphic organizers to connect learning. The class as
a whole also excels in verbal communication with other classmates and instructor. They have a
willingness to participate in an academically stimulating environment. My two students with OHI
(other health impairment) have acute health problems that may cause limited alertness during
the learning segments (as it is written in their IEP). They also struggle with supporting their
claims with evidence-based explanations. They will use the sentence stems previously
discussed as support, and I will frequently check both of my students work samples to make
sure they are on task and receiving extra time to complete assignments if needed.]
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?
[Most of my students were born around 2004, and they have grown up in a new era of
technology. 90% of the students in my classroom have a smartphone, laptop or tablet that they
can use just as proficiently as I can. In this new age, students are connected to the news around
the world in an instant. In Lesson 2, I adapt the familiar real world phenomenon of Hurricane
Katrina into the lesson to bring relevant, real life examples into the classroom. Though my
students were not directly impacted by the storm, nor were they old enough to remember the
news coverage, their daily connection and interest in social media outlets and news channels
have kept them up to date about tragedies such as hurricanes. This is connected to the second
part of central focus that describes making links to how storms affect our day-to-day
experiences. My students also live in North America, and we experience a lot of thunderstorms
year round. This will allow me to reference their personal assets of experiencing thunderstorms
in an attempt to explain how thunderstorms are formed as seen in the central focus. My
students also come from varied cultural backgrounds that add a sense of diversity into the
classroom. In lesson 1, I explain how a hurricane is also called a typhoon and a cyclone
depending on what part of the world a person is located. Using my students cultural assets and
making connections to how storms affect people from different continents around the world
helps them to relate to the content on a personal level.]
c. Young adolescent developmental assets related to the central focusWhat do you
know about your students cognitive, physical, and social and emotional
development?
[Most of my students are at the developmental stage where they are extremely curious and
always wanting to know why certain phenomenon occur. They seem to always seek out
meaning during science class, and this is a great strength when meeting the central focus
mission to engage students in explaining the formation of storms. My students are at the stage
in adolescents where they feel as though others will judge their ideas. However, I have
cultivated a learning environment where student interaction and student response is positive
and engaging. This allows for students to put their best effort forward when answering questions
without feeling any social awkwardness or outside judgment. One of my students with SLD
(special learning disorder) works well socially in a collaborative small group setting. My lesson
plans give many opportunities for him to discuss concepts with his classmates. This is directly
related to the central focus in that it allows my student to connect his real world experiences
through verbal, scientific communication with his peers.]
3. Supporting Students Science Learning

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Respond to prompts 3ad below. To support your justifications, refer to the instructional
materials and lesson plans you have included as part of Planning Task 1. In addition,
support your justifications using principles from research and/or theory, including how
the research and/or theory reflects elements of young adolescent development.
a. Justify how your understanding of your students prior academic learning (from prompt
2a above) guided your choice or adaptation of learning tasks and materials. Be explicit
about the connections between the learning tasks and students prior academic learning
and research/theory.
[My students prior knowledge of air pressure and weather patterns is essential in their
understanding of storms. Students will use their prior knowledge of precipitation, low/high
pressure, and evaporation to make sense of the new concepts of the formation of storms. For
example, students understand that storms occur at areas of low pressure (prior knowledge). But
what happens if the area of low pressure is created over warm water? This will be a great
connection into understanding how hurricanes are formed (over warm water). Students prior
academic learning styles guided my adaptation of learning tasks by incorporating pause
breaks in the inquiry-based learning section of Lesson 1. Students who need more time to
process information and make evidence based explanations do not benefit from going quickly
through material. These pause breaks will relieve some anxiety about not having the right
answer instantaneously. During these pauses, students will have a chance to look through their
old notes or silently recall prior knowledge in order to process the new information.
As
students are asked to explain their ideas [] and critique those of others, including written
examples, they learn from the experience of encountering multiple examples of the level of
precession and detail that scientific thinking requires (Quinn, Lee & Valdes, Understanding
Language, p.4). Supported by this research, I will not only ask probing questions, but in
addition, give teacher directed instruction throughout the learning segment. This will encourage
students to think outside the box, and I will present them with many examples of how to
communicate scientifically. One example is in Lesson 3 where I complete Section I of the
simulation lab with the students before having them collect, observe, and analyze data on their
own or in small groups. This is also seen in Lesson 2 and 3. Because my students have
strength in verbal communication, during the warm-up activities for Lesson 2 and 3, I ask
student volunteers to come to the front of the classroom to explain their graphic organizers to
the class (Venn diagram and Flow map) in order to show their classmates examples of a proper
graphic organizers. This supports students in developing models they can use in the future, and
it also gives a great visual of the similarities and differences of storms. Lastly, I have provided a
folder on each table that includes a world map and vocabulary terms for my visual learners to
refer to as needed (Appendix A and F of Instructional Materials). ]
b. Justify how your understanding of your students personal, cultural, community, and
developmental assets (from prompts 2bc above) guided your choice or adaptation of
learning tasks and materials. Be explicit about the connections between the learning
tasks and students assets AND research and/or theory.
[My understanding of my students personal, cultural, community and development assets
guided my adaptation of the learning tasks by making sure that topics are relevant and tangible
for students as seen in lesson 2 (i.e. article relating to Hurricane Katrina) and lesson 1 (using
lived experiences of thunderstorms to connect prior knowledge). According to Teaching Science
to Every Child, the overall knowledge of science allows students to have control over their own
lives, have better job opportunities and also allows students to become better citizens. It has
been said that the greater the instructional congruence of a lesson with students lived
experiences, the more likely the students will find the content accessible, meaningful, and
relevant(Settlage and Southerland, 2012, pg. 345). I have made sure that this research was
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the foundation for all of my lessons, and that my classroom remained culturally responsive. In
lesson 2, I chose the article about Hurricane Katrina for students to read because it connected
to what students already knew to the new information being processed. Because my classroom
has a mix of cultures, In Lesson 1, I made sure to go over what storms are called in different
countries around the world (i.e. Depending on what ocean you live near, you would refer to a
storm over 74 mph as hurricane, cyclone, or typhoon). This shows students that we are not the
only people impacted by such storms, thus, making the content more culturally relevant for
students.]
c. Describe and justify why your instructional strategies and planned supports are
appropriate for the whole class, individuals, and groups of young adolescents with
specific learning needs.
Consider the variety of young adolescent learners in your class who may require
different strategies/support (e.g., young adolescents with IEPs or 504 plans, English
language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in
academic knowledge, and/or gifted students needing greater support or challenge).
[As stated in prompt 2a, I make sure to scaffold instruction by providing sentence stems during
inquiry-based learning. In this way, the group of students who need more support in making
evidence based explanations can benefit and meet the standard. I have provided Cornell Notes
(guided notes) to help guide instruction. In this way, the group of students who are still learning
how to organize their thoughts through note taking in an orderly format can utilize this handout.
For my students who have an IEP, I have strategically chosen (based on emotional and social
congruency) an effective seating chart throughout the lesson segment. This learning adaptation
is supported by Vygotskys social cultural theory which states: learning awakens a variety of
internal developmental processes that are able to operate only when the child is interacting with
people in his environment and with his peers (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 90). With this theory in mind, I
encourage small group activity throughout the learning segment.]
d. Describe common preconceptions (based on prior academic learning and experiences)
within your central focus and how you will identify and address them.
[During the pre-assessment (Task 1-Part D), most students had some difficulty with question 5:
Following our air pressure and fronts project, would you say storms have low or high pressure?
Write your claim and evidence. It is actually a trick question, and should have been worded
differently. Thunderstorms are formed due to the differences in air pressure. Some of my
students feel that if air is rising, and going high in the sky, this means high pressure. If cool air is
sinking low to the ground, this must mean an area of low pressure. This erroneous pattern was
seen in the previous weeks lesson about air pressure and fronts, and it is probably the biggest
misconception amongst my students. I want them to understand that during the first stage of
thunderstorm formation (cumulus stage Appendix C) the updraft is causing an area of low
pressure because warm, moist air is less dense and rises into the atmosphere forming clouds.
As cool air that is denser sinks back down, it produces high air pressure. This ties back to my
central focus that engages students in making explanations about the formation of
thunderstorms, hurricanes and tornados. I will address these misconceptions in Lesson 1 during
the teacher directed portion of the lesson as well as during the technology station in Lesson 3.
My audio and visual learners will benefit from watching a few videos about the formation of
thunderstorms, tornados and hurricanes. This will allow them to hear the material from a new
perspective and give them visual representations of each storm.]
4. Supporting Science Development Through Language

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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, from the list below, essential for students to
develop understanding of science concepts, the phenomenon, and the application of
scientific practices through inquiry within your central focus.
Analyze
Explain
Interpret
Justify with evidence
[One language function that is essential for students to develop deeper understanding of
science concepts, the phenomenon of storms, and the application of science practices through
inquiry is for students to explain. This perfectly falls within the central focus, which is based
around students mastering the idea of explaining the formation of storms. This chosen language
demand is seen in the learning objectives of Lesson 1, 2, 3 and 4, but I will discuss a keylearning task from the learning segment in the following prompt (4b).]
b. Identify a key-learning task from your plans that provides young adolescents with
opportunities to practice using the language function. Identify the lesson in which the
learning task occurs. (Give lesson day/number.)
[A key learning task from my plans that provides young adolescents with the opportunity to
practice using the language function explain is during the literacy station in Lesson 2, the
second lesson in a sequence of four lessons. In Lesson 1, students learned the content, while
Lesson 2 reinforces that content through the practice of making evidence-based explanations.
In the letter-writing portion, students are asked, Would Atlanta experience a hurricane? Explain
why it would or why would not. Instructor will ask students probing questions to help facilitate
learning in the classroom (i.e. Do hurricanes usually hit inland cities?) Students write out their
evidence-based explanations in letter format always keeping in mind how these storms are
formed (central focus) to help guide them to accurate explanations. The language function
explain is also seen in Lesson 1, where students must write out their evidence based
explanations with the support of sentence stems. I will discuss in the next prompt (4c). ]
c. Additional Language Demands. Given the language function and learning task
identified above, describe the following associated language demands (written or oral)
young adolescents need to understand and/or use:
Vocabulary and/or symbols

Plus at least one of the following:
Syntax
Discourse
[Because my students are still learning how to give explanations that are supported by
evidence, in Lesson 1, I have adapted learning tasks by providing students with sentence stems
(examples in Appendix D Instructional Materials). Sentence stems are used during the body of
the lesson to ensure student progress and guide discourse through written and verbal
explanations. This supports students use of the academic language that is relevant to the
content of the learning segment. For example, I may ask: If a thunderstorm is caused by moist
air rising, what season do you think thunderstorms will most likely occur? Why do you think
this? Students will participate in written discourse through their explanations, using sentence
stems as a support. Then, they will participate in verbal discourse by sharing with the class their
thoughts. Students are encouraged to also explain why they agree or disagree with their
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classmates (a sentence stem is also provided to build these student perspectives Appendix
D). This facilitates a healthy learning environment where students feel motivated to work
collaboratively in an intellectually stimulating classroom. Students will use proper vocabulary
during all written and verbal communication. I have provided each table of students with a list of
the vocabulary terms (Appendix A Instructional Materials) for the learning segment. Students
are always encouraged to review these terms whenever needed during discussions. Using the
content specific vocabulary shows mastery of the concepts and gives the instructor an informal
assessment about students development.]
d. Language Supports. Refer to your lesson plans and instructional materials as needed
in your response to this 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 symbols, syntax, or discourse).
[I made sure to utilize graphic organizers to give students a tool to collect their thoughts in
written form as well as give an opportunity to practice using the proper academic vocabulary. In
lesson 2, at the technology station, students will develop a Venn diagram model that shows the
differences and similarities between thunderstorm, hurricanes and tornadoes. In lesson 1,
students develop a flow map that requires them to illustrate the formation of storms. This
supports students during their written and oral explanations (discourse) as they utilize their
models to find evidence. In Lesson 3, students use tables (syntax) to organize and collect data.
Their analysis of their tables is crucial when justifying their explanations (gizmo lab in Lesson 3).
This form of syntax helps students to analyze and support claims with evidence. In Lesson 2,
my students with IEPs will have the option of receiving the Hurricane Katrina article a day in
advance. They will be familiar with the text before they come to class and feel more confident in
their written language during the letter-writing portion of the lesson. Students also follow along
during the PowerPoint presentation in Lesson 1 with Cornell Notes. This will be another great
way to find evidence during their written and verbal explanations, and help them practice using
the academic language. Through scaffolding strategies such as intentional small group work
(sociocultural learning and collaborative learning), modeling new information (teacher directed),
graphic organizers (i.e. Cornell Notes, Venn Diagram, Flow maps etc.), and connections to
background/prior knowledge, I meet the needs of different levels of language learning because I
provide verbal and written opportunities to demonstrate understanding through explanation. This
reduces the reluctance for students to participate since there are a variety of ways to succeed
and show mastery. Working with peers, individual work, verbal/written reasoning, and consistent
cultural relevance all serve as great ways to reach different levels of learning in my classroom.]
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 young adolescents understanding of
science concepts,
the real-world phenomenon, AND
the application of scientific practices through inquiry
throughout the learning segment.
[The formal assessments occur before the learning segment (pre-assessment Task 1-Part D) as
well as at the conclusion of the learning segment on Day 4/Lesson 4 (post assessment). The
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questions have been designed to provide direct evidence of young adolescents understanding
of science concepts, real world phenomenon and application of scientific practices (specifically
constructing explanations) through inquiry. All of the questions on the pre assessment and
many of the inquiry-based questions on the post assessment require open-ended, responses
that involve students constructing explanations. This will allow the instructor to assess those
students who understand the science concepts and understand the real world phenomenon of
storms. The post assessment also engages students in the scientific practice of analyzing data,
which is a great indicator of comprehension of the science concepts and real world
phenomenon. There are many places where the teacher can assess students informally
throughout the learning segment. In Lesson 1, during the exit ticket out the door, students must
build a flow map (construct a model) that illustrates the progression of storm formation. Student
flow maps will give the instructor an idea of where students stand in the mastery of the content.
Also, during the body of the lesson, assessments will occur during each inquiry based
explanation (using sentence stems) and verbal communication of concepts. In Lesson 2, I will
informally assess students prior knowledge of the science concepts in their KWL charts
(Instructional Materials Appendix B). I will quickly review the K (what students know) and W
(what students want to know) columns to see where I can pull student prior knowledge into my
lesson in order to make connections. The W column shows the instructor how students
participate in the scientific practice of asking questions and shows their curiosity about the
concepts.
During the warm-up (lesson 2), students engage inquiry based learning in order
to connect the previous days lesson to the new information being learned. For example: How
does moisture evaporating from the oceans affect the weather patterns? Discuss in your groups
and explain. I will listen to student conversation and informally assess how students are truly
connecting with the real world phenomenon of storms and the scientific practice of constructing
explanations. In lesson 3, I will also informally assess students through their Gizmo labs when
they have to justify their reasoning with evidence and analyze data. For example, in Instructional
Materials Appendix H Section II, students are to make their predictions about whether air
pressure increases or decreases in the center of the hurricane as the wind speed increases.
They must complete the collection of data and analyze their findings to see if the previous
justifications were supported. This will give the instructor direct evidence to students
understanding how air pressure and wind speed connect to the formation of storms/hurricanes.]
b. Explain how the design or adaptation of your planned assessments allows young
adolescents with specific needs to demonstrate their learning.
Consider the variety of young adolescent learners in your class who may require
different strategies/support (e.g., young adolescents with IEPs or 504 plans, English
language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in
academic knowledge, and/or gifted students).
[As I stated in prompt 4d, I meet the needs of different levels of language learning because I
provide verbal and written opportunities to assess my students. I have adapted my assessments
and strategically designed them in such a way that individual students can demonstrate
understanding through written explanations, verbal communication, construction of models
and/or the analysis of data. There is not a one size fits all mind frame in my classroom, and I
am completely aware of the needs and capabilities of my students. For my students with OHI
and SLD that need extra time on the formal post-assessment, I will allow them to come in during
my planning period to finish their work. They also have the option of taking the post-assessment
in the media center with supervision from the allocated IEP instructor. The instructor will read
the questions aloud to ensure their accommodations are met. ]

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Middle Childhood Science

Task 1: Planning Commentary

TASK 1: PLANNING COMMENTARY

Middle Childhood Science

Middle Childhood Science

Middle Childhood Science

Copyright 2015 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

Middle Childhood Science

Middle Childhood Science

Copyright 2015 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

Middle Childhood Science

Justify with evidence

Vocabulary and/or symbols

Middle Childhood Science

Middle Childhood Science

Copyright 2015 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

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