OBSERVATIONS IN THE FOUR DEVELOPMENTAL DOMAINS
DEVELOPMENTAL DOMAINS
You need to make at least three observations in each domain for this submission.
1.Social-Emotional
A.Date: September 15, 2011 (Thursday)
Time: 8:25am-9:00am
Setting: Morning Meeting Rug
Observation:
Delphi is sitting at the morning meeting rug. She is closest to my supervising practitioner, and her partner that she was assigned to sit with on the rug was a second grade girl. Delphi did not talk with her partner or engage with her at all. About 10 minutes in, Delphi started to get restless and started rocking back and forth on the rug. She kept taking her glasses on and off, and then finally kept them on. 5 minutes later at about 8:40, Delphi noticed her friend Solomon was sitting directly in front of her. She started smiling and whispering something to him across the rug. My teacher noticed that this was happening, and told Delphi and Solomon to stop talking and listen. Delphi instantly started paying attention. At 8:45 there was a 15 minute read aloud where Delphi was very engaged. She listened very closely, did not get distracted and participated during the post reading discussion. Delphi asked if Fin M’Coul, a character was a giant too. At the end of morning meeting, Delphi remained well behaved and quiet and waited until she was called to go to a table for writing workshop.
B.Date: September 16, 2011 (Friday)
Time: 10:00am-10:15am
Setting: Snack
Observation:
As soon as my observation began, Delphi ran up to me and asked if she could eat her snack on the rug with her friend Solomon. I told her she could not go on the rug, but if there was extra room at her table or Solomon’s table they could sit together. She responded by excitingly saying “ok!!” and went over to Solomon’s table and they shared a book about underwater animals and ate their snack together. From 10:05-10:15 Delphi was completely engrossed in the book and her conversation with Solomon. The two of them were being very quiet when they talk not to disturbed anyone. Every few minutes one of them would point out something interesting in the book and the other one would laugh. At one point, Delphi stood up and started to kneel on the chair and wiggle around. She then got up all together and started jumping behind Solomon’s looking over her shoulder. At this point, their behavior during snack was starting to get disruptive, so my supervising practitioner told Delphi to sit down in a chair and continually to read and talk quietly with Solomon until snack was over. She did exactly what she was told and then volunteered to book the book away at the book shelf when the end of snack bell was run at 10:15.
C.Date: September 19, 2011 (Monday)
Time: 2:10-2:25pm
Setting: Closing Meeting
Observation:
Delphi sat on the rug in her assigned spot patiently until she was called by my supervising practitioner to pack up her backpack and return to the rug and get settled. As soon as she was called, Delphi slowly walked over to back pack and packed her folder and sweatshirt in her bag very slow and carelessly. She then slowly walked back over to her spot on the rug with her backpack and huffed before she sat down abruptly. She had a sad and tired look on her face. For the next 10 minutes while my supervising practitioner was going over what they were going to do tomorrow, Delphi looked straight in front of her with her head resting in her hands looking almost angry. At 2:20 the students were given the opportunity to read independently or in small groups before the bell rang. When the intern in my classroom asked Delphi if she was ok, noticing that she seemed slightly agitated, Delphi responded by half smiling and saying “I’m tiiirreddddddd”. She was then asked if anything else was bothering her and she said “nope just tired…when’s my mom going to get here?” When the bell rang Delphi quickly stood up and went to the door to see if her mother was there.
Developmental Implications:
In terms of Delphi’s social-emotional behavior, it is clear that she works well together in groups or when she is working with a friend. Also, because I decided to observe Delphi in terms of her social-emotional behavior during the morning, afternoon, and late afternoon, I could see that Delphi was the most alert and engaged in the afternoon around snack time. This time allowed Delphi to have the freedom that she desires, and also allows her to be with her friend and explore books with one another. At the end of the day on most days, Delphi seems exhausted and ready to go home. In order for her to be consistently alert throughout the entire day, I believe that Delphi needs some freedom to make her own choices. Instead of always having an assigned seat at the morning meeting rug, Delphi might concentrate more quickly if she were to choose her own spot. Also, at the end of the day, it may be a good idea to present other ideas besides reading quickly to do at the end of the day before the bell. Delphi might now feel as tired or as eager to go home if she had something else that truly engaged in. Although Delphi works well in groups, I still believe that it is ok that Delphi is not entirely comfortable working independently, because I believe working independently is a new skill that first graders need to be comfortable with. At the same time, I believe allowing Delphi to have fun in groups or with a partner should also be incorporated just as much on a day to day basis.
2.Physical/Functional
A.Date: September 22, 2011 (Thursday)
Time: 12:15-12:30pm
Setting: Beginning of Gym Class
Observation:
Delphi was jumping around in the line and holding hands with her friend Solomon as the class walked in line to gym class. When she entered the gym doors she ran to the black line of the basketball court to line up with her classmates to wait for instructions from the gym teacher. The teacher began dividing the class into teams because the activity of that day was a soccer scrimmage. Delphi kept whispering to Solomon who was sitting next to her and eventually walked with her teammates to the right side of the gym. She was assigned to play defense and looked hesitant as she stood there waiting for the game to start. As soon as the whistle blew Delphi’s mood appeared completely switch and she was chasing the offense all over the court. She seemed tired and her face was completely red but she never stopped moving until the teacher would pause the game. Then she would start back up again smiling and running around with her incredible energy.
B. Date: September 23, 2011 (Friday)
Time: 1:00-1:25pm
Setting: Science/Garden Observation
Observation:
When my supervising practitioner announced that the class would be going outside to sketch plants and herbs in the school’s community garden, Delphi exclaimed, “YES!!!” She started making faces to her friend Solomon who was sitting across from her on the rug. As soon as the class was quiet and lined up, Delphi calmly walked through the halls gripping her science sketch notebook tightly and pencil ready in her hand. When she got outside she and Solomon went directly over to the bushes on the ground and announced to me that they were going to sketch worms. Delphi was not afraid to climb around in the dirt and mulch and I would never have even seen her in the bushes if it were not for her red Crocs sticking out. At the end of the observation, the class shared their sketches from the garden and Delphi announced that drawing the worms were “soooooo hard but really fun!”
C.Date: September 26, 2011 (Monday)
Time: 9:45-10:00am
Setting: Reading Workshop
Observation:
During reading workshop, Delphi seemed very restless. She would not sit down, and was constantly walking around and getting up and talking to the other tables when she was not supposed to be. She was talked to by my supervising practitioner twice, and eventually took her seat. She explained to the class intern that she felt tired and that she didn’t feel like drawing and coloring all the pictures to her reading response. She said that she just wanted to write about the story that we read that day (Big Tom by Tomie dePaola), and did not want to color or draw any more. She continued to slump in her chair and rest her head on the table. It was not until the intern sat down with her one and one and helped her draw the drawings that Delphi’s mood seemed to improve. After the intern left after about 5 minutes of help, Delphi seemed content and ready to draw and color and complete the assignment of reading workshop.
Developmental Implications:
I believe that Delphi is a true kinesthetic learner. She is constantly active, moving around, and energetic and she works well when physical activity is included into the day. Observing her during gym showed how excited she gets for movement and competition. It was clear during reading workshop that Delphi had trouble sitting still, and at times her getting up and down and moving around was disruptive to the rest of the class. There was not a lot of activity that day because it was raining, so I believe that is why Delphi was acting out and being restless. The day that we got to go outside and observe the garden Delphi’s behavior was great because she was given the opportunity to move and be active. Planning some kind of physical activity is what would be the most helpful for Delphi in terms of her physical/ functional domains.
3.Language/Literacy
A.Date: September 29, 2011 (Thursday)
Time: 10:30-11:00am
Setting: Writing Workshop
Observation:
Delphi was continuing her story about Maine. She began by brainstorming ideas with the class intern about what she was going to write about. When asked what her favorite things to do in Maine were, Delphi exploded with answers and was eager to get started. Delphi diligently sounded out words that were unfamiliar to her and seemed very proud of her sentences. A multiple of times Delphi went up to my supervising practitioner to show off her work. My supervising practitioner told Delphi that it was ok for her to write about multiple true stories, that she did not have to stick to one main story because that can be challenging. Delphi quickly dismissed my supervising practitioner’s suggestion and said, “I am only going to write about Maine. I love Maine!” For the rest of writing workshop Delphi worked quietly and consistently independently writing her sentences about Maine.
B.Date: September 30, 2011 (Friday)
Time: 9:30-10:00am
Setting: Reading Workshop
Observation:
During reading workshop, Delphi was required to draw about four people that she has learned about so far in any of the Strega Nona Tomie dePaola books. As soon as the directions were explained, Delphi seemed confused and announced to her table that she did not want to draw four different characters, that in fact, she only want to draw Big Anthony. After attempting to be convinced by the class intern that the other characters were just as fun to draw and write about, Delphi could not accept that, and asked if it were ok if she just drew four different versions of Big Anthony from the different parts of the story. My supervising practitioner was fine with this and encouraged Delphi’s creativity with this suggestion. As soon as Delphi got the ok, her face lit up and she began drawing and writing about Big Anthony in four different parts of the story about him. For the rest of reading workshop Delphi worked quietly and consistently keeping to herself and humming to a song.
C.Date: October 3, 2011 (Monday)
Time: 9:45-10:00am
Setting: Reading Workshop
Observation:
During the end of reading workshop, the students were required to read independently. While observing Delphi for 15 minutes, I took away more than I imagined I would. During the entire 15 minutes, Delphi whispered the words to herself and when she was stuck on a word would think about it in her head for about a minute and then sound it out. Once the word she sounded out made sense she would exclaim, “right!” and continue on reading silently.
Developmental Implications:
It is clear that during most writing and reading activities, Delphi is engaged when she enjoys the topic she is writing about. She has a hard time adjusting to activities that are narrow and do not give her opportunity to be creative. She flourishes when writing workshops or open-ended. At times, this works for Delphi like in the Big Anthony example, but at other times, Delphi can become difficult when there is not an opportunity to be open-ended, especially when it comes to assessments. I think to support Delphi in this domain, assignments could maybe include both open ended and required parts.
4.Cognitive
A.Date: October 5, 2011 (Wednesday)
Time: 9:00-9:15am
Setting: Handwriting
Observation:
During handwriting, students are required to work in small groups to complete their handwriting books. Delphi was assigned two pages, with the words A-Z written twice on both pages. Given this amount of work, Delphi initially announced that, “This will take so long!” “Do we have to do it all?” As soon as my supervising practitioner told her that she had to complete both pages for good practice, Delphi said, “Ok I’ll start now” and began working. She carefully took her time with each letter, raising her hand on almost every one to have a teacher look at her work. By the time that Delphi got to the second page, her confidence seemed to increase, and Delphi worked faster and asked less questions for verification that she was doing a good job. At the end of the handwriting pages, she exclaimed “I did them all!” and put her handwriting away to start her next activity.
B.Date: October 6, 2011 (Thursday)
Time: 10:30-11:00am
Setting: Phonics/ABC
Observation:
During phonics, the students were given worksheets to complete that included picture-word identification. There were many pictures on a page that had groups of words written next to it. Delphi speeded through this activity barely picking up her pencil. Her eyes were squinted most of the time, and she seemed like she was concentrating extremely hard. When it came time to word families, Delphi asked a teacher for help, and as soon as she was told the directions she exclaimed, “Oh I get this now, never mind, I can do it myself!” Then immediately after she completed her word family worksheet very quickly and independently and moved on to the next activity.
C.Date: October 7, 2011 (Friday)
Time: 1:00-1:30am
Setting: Science/Social Studies
Observation:
During this particular science/social studies lesson, the students were required to do plant seeds into soil in a cup and draw and write out the steps that they took to do so. Delphi planted her seed and was eager to draw what the cup looked like, and not only that, but what the seeds would eventually grow into. So, she drew carrots, beets, and pumpkins on her page and explained that this was the type of seed that she had in her cup, and that it was fun to bury it in the soil. Delphi was appeared to be very concentrated during this activity, and barely talked to the students at her table. She carefully colored in her vegetables and took her time writing out every step that she took.
Developmental Implications:
Delphi appears to be very focused cognitively. She likes to be challenged, and is proud of her work. She builds her confidence when she receives feedback from one of the teachers, and is very creative. She enjoys thinking of and creating different ideas. She is extremely focused as seen through her work in handwriting and phonics, and is highly motivated when it comes to accomplishes tasks that she enjoys. I believe that in order to support Delphi in this domain, it would be helpful to maybe challenge her more than she already is. Giving her more handwriting or more phonics word sheets would be interesting to see if she can motivate herself to completing such a big task.
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