Elementary Literacy

Task 1: Context for Learning Information

TASK 1: CONTEXT FOR LEARNING INFORMATION

Respond to the prompts below (no more than 4 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within the
brackets following each prompt. Do not delete or alter the prompts. Pages exceeding the maximum will not be scored.

About the School Where You Are Teaching

1. In what type of school do you teach? (Type an “X” next to the appropriate description; if
“other” applies, provide a brief description.)
Elementary school: __X___
Middle school: _____
Other (please describe): _____

2. Where is the school where you are teaching located? (Type an “X” next to the appropriate
description.)1
City: _____
Suburb: _____
Town: __X___
Rural: _____
3. List any special features of your school or classroom setting (e.g., charter, co-teaching,
themed magnet, intervention or other leveled small group instruction, classroom aide,
bilingual, team taught with a special education teacher) that will affect your teaching in this
learning segment.
[ The only special feature in my cooperating teacher’s classroom is groups based on reading
levels. My cooperating teacher determines their reading level by the district’s diagnostic tests on
FastBridge. Right now we currently have five reading groups in our classroom. Each group has
four to five students in it. We have two groups for students reading below grade, one group
reads at a Kindergarten level and the other at a first grade level. We have two groups of
students who read at grade level. Our last group is made up of the students who read above
grade level. My cooperating teacher meets with each group at least twice a week. She tries to
meet with the two below grade level groups three times a week if time allows. In their reading
groups they focus on many different reading strategies and discuss different genres of text. ]
4. Describe any district, school, or cooperating teacher requirements or expectations that might
affect your planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula, pacing plan, use of
specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests.
[ Collaborative Classroom is the curriculum that this school uses for language arts. It provides
lessons that focus on Being a Reader, Making Meaning, and Being a Writer. The programs of
Being a Writer and Making Meaning influenced this learning segment. Making Meaning typically
focuses on one story for a few lessons while the students work on assessments and vocabulary
instruction. I chose to focus on one story for these three lessons: The Story of Ferdinand. Being
a Writer influenced how I chose to teach the first lesson. I wanted to incorporate writing into this
learning segment and still have them feel familiar with the content. The students have practice
with writing about their own drawings, and using this story is a great tool to model writing, as
well. ]

1
If you need guidance when making a selection, reference the NCES locale category definitions
(https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ruraled/definitions.asp) or consult with your placement school administrator.

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 Elementary Literacy
Task 1: Context for Learning Information

About the Class Featured in this Learning Segment

1. How much time is devoted each day to literacy instruction in your classroom?
[ about 120 minutes ]
2. Is there any ability grouping or tracking in literacy? If so, please describe how it affects your
class.
[ Yes there is grouping based on their reading levels and ability tracking based on the students
skills when they are reading with a teacher. Considering the complexity level of an objective
allows you to plan lessons that are tiered so that students will be successful while still being
challenged to achieve higher levels of mastery and knowledge. This is also a way for teachers
to differentiate instruction ( Cecil, Gipe, & Merrill, p. 274). The students are grouped based on
their FastBridge scores and reading and comprehension scores from meetings with the reading
specialist and my cooperating teacher. The groups meet after the whole-group mini-lesson. We
have five different reading levels, but because of the hybrid schedule, it looks different. On A
day we only have three different groups, but on B day we have five groups. When they all come
back together in a few weeks we may need to split a couple of groups up depending on the
numbers. We want to keep the group size to four to five students per group. We have one
above grade level group which is called the “Blue” group, and two below grade level groups, the
“Red” and “Orange” groups. The “Red” group reads at a kindergarten level and the “Orange”
group reads at a first grade level. We also have two groups that read at grade level. We have
the “purple” group and the “Yellow” group. There’s nothing that’s different between the reading
level of these two groups, we just had eight students who read at a second grade, and we didn’t
want a group that big. Individual conferences happen once or twice a week. The conferences
basically consist of the student reading a book to us and then taking an AR test. I will also ask
the students questions such as what has happened in the book so far, why did you choose this
book, did you like this book, why or why. The AR test helps us to see how much of the story
they actually comprehended. ]
3. Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for literacy instruction. If a
textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication.
[There are no textbooks or instructional programs used for this learning segment. ]
4. List other resources (e.g., electronic whiteboard, classroom library or other text sets, online
professional resources) you use for literacy instruction in this class.
[ We have a classroom library, projector, and document camera that we use often. My
cooperating teacher also has anchor charts that she has created that she uses. My cooperating
teacher also has students use their Chromebooks to get on (epic!). ]

About the Students in the Class Featured in this Learning Segment

1. Grade level(s):
[ 2nd grade ]
2. Number of
◼ students in the class: _20____
◼ males: _12____ females: __8___
3. Complete the charts below to summarize required or needed supports, accommodations, or
modifications for your students that will affect your instruction in this learning segment. As

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 Elementary Literacy
Task 1: Context for Learning Information

needed, consult with your cooperating teacher to complete the charts. Some rows have
been completed in italics as examples. Use as many rows as you need.

Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/supports
or accommodations/modifications to instruction or assessment (e.g., students with
Individualized Education Programs [IEPs] or 504 plans, students with specific language
needs, students needing greater challenge or support, students who struggle with reading,
students who are underperforming or those with gaps in academic knowledge).
For Assessment Task 3, you will choose work samples from 3 focus students. At least one
of these students must have a specified learning need. Note: California candidates must
include one focus student who is an English language learner.2

Students with IEPs/504 Plans

IEPs/504 Plans: Number of Supports, Accommodations,
Classifications/Needs Students Modifications, Pertinent IEP Goals
Example: Visual processing 2 Close monitoring, large print text, window
card to isolate text
504 for hearing impairment 1 Sitting closer to the teacher, using a
hearing device

Students with Specific Language Needs

Language Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations,
Students Modifications
Example: English language 2 Pre-teach key words and phrases
learners with only a few through examples and graphic organizers
words of English (e.g., word cluster, manipulatives,
visuals)

Have students use pre-taught key words

and graphic organizers to
complete sentence starters
Example: Students who 5 Make connections between the language
speak a variety of English students bring and the language used in
other than that used in the textbook
textbooks

Students with Other Learning Needs

Other Learning Needs Number of Supports, Accommodations,
Students Modifications
Struggling readers 5 Leveled text, targeted guided reading,

2
California candidates—If you do not have any English language learners, select a student who is challenged by academic
English.

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All rights reserved. V07
The edTPA trademarks are owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edTPA trademarks is
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 Elementary Literacy
Task 1: Context for Learning Information

ongoing reading assessment (e.g.,

running records, miscue, conferencing)

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All rights reserved. V07
The edTPA trademarks are owned by The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Use of the edTPA trademarks is
permitted only pursuant to the terms of a written license agreement.