edTPA Exam Comprehensive
Questions and Solutions
Graded A+
Academic Language - Answer: Oral and written language used for academic purposes. Academic
language is the means by which students develop and express content understandings.
Academic language represents the language of the discipline that students need to learn and
use to participate and engage in the content area in meaningful ways. There are language
demands that teachers need to consider as they plan to support student learning of content.
These language demands include language functions, vocabulary, discourse, and syntax.
Language demands - Answer: Specific ways that academic language (vocabulary, functions,
discourse, syntax) is used by students to participate in learning tasks through reading, writing,
listening, and/or speaking to demonstrate their disciplinary understanding.
Language Functions - Answer: The content and language focus of the learning task, represented
by the active verbs within the learning outcomes.
Common language functions in the language arts include identifying main ideas and
details;analyzing and interpreting characters and plots; arguing a position or point of view;
predicting; evaluating or interpreting an author's purpose, message, and use of setting, mood,
or tone; comparing ideas within and between texts; and so on.
Vocabulary - Answer: Includes words and phrases that are used within disciplines including: (1)
words and phrases with subject-specific meanings that differ from meanings used in everyday
life (e.g., table); (2) general academic vocabulary used across disciplines (e.g., compare, analyze,
evaluate); and (3) subject-specific words defined for use in the discipline.
, Discourse - Answer: Discourse includes the structures of written and oral language, as well as
how members of the discipline talk, write, and participate in knowledge construction.
Discipline-specific discourse has distinctive features or ways of structuring oral or written
language (text structures) that provide useful ways for the content to be communicated.21 In
the language arts and literacy, there are structures for composing, interpreting, and
comprehending expository, narrative, poetic, journalistic, and graphic print materials as well as
video and live presentations. If the language function is to interpret character development,
then appropriate language forms could include written essays (with particular ways of citing
textual evidence) or pattern sentences such as "The author used (action, dialogue, and/or
description) to introduce (main character). One example of (action, dialogue, and/or
description) was ____________, which suggested that the character was _______________."
Syntax - Answer: The set of conventions for organizing symbols, words, and phrases together
into structures (e.g., sentences, graphs, tables)
Language supports - Answer: The scaffolds, representations, and pedagogical strategies teachers
provide to help learners understand, use, and practice the concepts and language they need to
learn within disciplines.
The language supports planned within the lessons in edTPA should directly support learners to
understand and use identified language demands (vocabulary, language function, and discourse
or syntax) to deepen content understandings.
Artifacts - Answer: Authentic work completed by you and your students, including lesson plans,
copies of instructional and assessment materials, video clips of your teaching, and student
Central Focus - Answer: A description of the important understandings and core concepts that
you want students to develop within the learning segment. The central focus should go beyond
a list of facts and skills, align with content standards and learning objectives, and address the
subject-specific components in the learning segment.
Commentary - Answer: Submitted as part of each task and, along with artifacts, make up your
evidence. The commentaries should be written to explain the rationale behind your teaching
Questions and Solutions
Graded A+
Academic Language - Answer: Oral and written language used for academic purposes. Academic
language is the means by which students develop and express content understandings.
Academic language represents the language of the discipline that students need to learn and
use to participate and engage in the content area in meaningful ways. There are language
demands that teachers need to consider as they plan to support student learning of content.
These language demands include language functions, vocabulary, discourse, and syntax.
Language demands - Answer: Specific ways that academic language (vocabulary, functions,
discourse, syntax) is used by students to participate in learning tasks through reading, writing,
listening, and/or speaking to demonstrate their disciplinary understanding.
Language Functions - Answer: The content and language focus of the learning task, represented
by the active verbs within the learning outcomes.
Common language functions in the language arts include identifying main ideas and
details;analyzing and interpreting characters and plots; arguing a position or point of view;
predicting; evaluating or interpreting an author's purpose, message, and use of setting, mood,
or tone; comparing ideas within and between texts; and so on.
Vocabulary - Answer: Includes words and phrases that are used within disciplines including: (1)
words and phrases with subject-specific meanings that differ from meanings used in everyday
life (e.g., table); (2) general academic vocabulary used across disciplines (e.g., compare, analyze,
evaluate); and (3) subject-specific words defined for use in the discipline.
, Discourse - Answer: Discourse includes the structures of written and oral language, as well as
how members of the discipline talk, write, and participate in knowledge construction.
Discipline-specific discourse has distinctive features or ways of structuring oral or written
language (text structures) that provide useful ways for the content to be communicated.21 In
the language arts and literacy, there are structures for composing, interpreting, and
comprehending expository, narrative, poetic, journalistic, and graphic print materials as well as
video and live presentations. If the language function is to interpret character development,
then appropriate language forms could include written essays (with particular ways of citing
textual evidence) or pattern sentences such as "The author used (action, dialogue, and/or
description) to introduce (main character). One example of (action, dialogue, and/or
description) was ____________, which suggested that the character was _______________."
Syntax - Answer: The set of conventions for organizing symbols, words, and phrases together
into structures (e.g., sentences, graphs, tables)
Language supports - Answer: The scaffolds, representations, and pedagogical strategies teachers
provide to help learners understand, use, and practice the concepts and language they need to
learn within disciplines.
The language supports planned within the lessons in edTPA should directly support learners to
understand and use identified language demands (vocabulary, language function, and discourse
or syntax) to deepen content understandings.
Artifacts - Answer: Authentic work completed by you and your students, including lesson plans,
copies of instructional and assessment materials, video clips of your teaching, and student
Central Focus - Answer: A description of the important understandings and core concepts that
you want students to develop within the learning segment. The central focus should go beyond
a list of facts and skills, align with content standards and learning objectives, and address the
subject-specific components in the learning segment.
Commentary - Answer: Submitted as part of each task and, along with artifacts, make up your
evidence. The commentaries should be written to explain the rationale behind your teaching
