Reflective Commentary
Reflective Commentary
Reflective Commentary
Yearlong Plan
Reflective Commentary
Spring, 2017
4a. Demonstrate that they analyze student learning, development and growth and apply
what they learn to improve their practiceand the teacher adapts teaching skills to meet
assessments. Some of my formative assessments are the Write your own Landay activity in
Unit 3, tickets out the door, and the Color, Symbol, Image activity from Unit 6. I will collect
these activities and reflect on my students development. Ill be looking for how well they
addressed the learning target for that particular day, as well as how they are developing as
readers, writers, and thinkers. The goal for these formative assessments is to gauge students
proficiency and adapt my lessons based on their needs. For example, if students are having
trouble focusing their Color, Symbol, Image activity because they cannot distinguish a symbol
from an image, I would use that data to adapt a mini-lesson on symbols vs. images. The
summative assessments will inform my teaching practice because patterns of error in students
work is directly correlated to insufficient teaching of that particular skill. It is not students fault
if I did not teach them my expectations and how to meet those expectations through their work.
4b. Teachers link professional growth to their professional goalsand the teacher
articles that influenced my Yearlong Plan. One of the articles was an NCTE article is titled,
Keeping the Mic On: Emboldening Voices Through Discussion-Based Inquiry by Jacquelynn
Malloy, Angela Rogers, and Susan Cridland-Hughes. In the article, the authors discuss how
Furthermore, I have set up my research unit (unit 2) in order for students to do the learning
through inquiry and discussion. Since I process my thinking through writing, I plan on having a
journal at my desk at all times in order to reflect on my lessons and make notes about how to
4c. Are able to respond to a complex, dynamic environmentand the teacher supports
For my fourth unit, students will be reading Shakespeare and tracking relationships and
character dynamics. In anticipation of the variety of reading levels my students will have, I have
prepared lessons that will help a variety of readers comprehend the text. I have included
strategies from the book, When Kids Cant Read by Kylene Beers in order to scaffold the
learning and make sure students of all reading abilities can read and understand this complex
Shakespeare text. One of these activities is called Somebody Wanted But So, and it helps
students visualize each characters desires and motives, while also considering conflicts in the
story.
Collaboration and dedication to innovation are the two things that shaped my Yearlong
Plan. In addition to listening to the excellent ideas of my peers, I also learned from the National
Council of Teachers of English articles, which helped me create units that are innovative and
engaging.