Artifact 6C

SUBMISSION I (Part II)

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

          OBSERVATION 1:

Jeda was sitting with two other female classmates at the center table. All three students were working on completing the morning activity (Weekend News). The two girls stopped working on their assignment and began talking to each other. Jeda stood up, got a clipboard, and sat on the rug with her assignment. She worked independently and quietly until the end of the period.

          OBSERVATION 2:

During Math time the class was seated on the rug. Jeda started to talk to a classmate that was seated one person away from her. The teacher at the front of the class asked her to stop. Jeda continued to talk. Then, Jeda started to confront the person sitting next to her on a T-stool. Jeda stated that she was feeling crowded and wanted more space. Sighing, Jeda asked her neighbor to move. The neighbor didn’t. The teacher asked Jeda to stop talking and pay attention to the lesson. Jeda ignored the teacher and laid down once the teacher began to face the board again. Jeda crawled to the other side of the classmate on the T-stool and continued her conversation. The teacher turned around and asked Jeda to sit at a table. Stomping her feet, Jeda went to a table and put her head down.

          OBSERVATION 3:

During Math, the students were instructed to work individually or in small groups on a set of 3 worksheets. Jeda laid down, alone, and with a clipboard on the rug. She played with a piece of fuzz for two minutes and then put it on top of the clipboard. Jeda got up and walked over to the jar of pencils. Picked one up and returned to her spot on the rug. She colored a corner of the clipboard with the pencil and then stood up again. Taking her work with her, she walked over to the student teacher sitting with students at the center table. Jeda asked the student teacher for help. Not receiving an answer, she asked again. The student teacher explained the directions and Jeda said ok. Walking away from the student teacher, Jeda returned to her spot on the rug. She worked quietly and independently until the end of the period.

          Developmental Implications:

Observation 1 allows one to see that Jeda is capable of making the right choice for herself. She is able to realize her classmates were not following directions, and chose to move to another table. Her confidence in herself, at times, is often demonstrated though acts like this. Observation 2 shows Jeda making the opposite decision. She knew continuing to talk was against the teachers wishes, and she chose to do it anyway. According to Omnibus Guidelines: Personal and Social Development, in second grade students are working on just this: Classroom routines and showing initiative and self-direction in actions. For Jeda, I believe, it is important to reinforce her good decision making. For when she does make mistakes, a better tactic would be to educate her on the other choices she had. This is something I hope to work on with Jeda.  

2.       Physical/Functional

OBSERVATION 1:

Jeda joined her classmates inline at the door. While waiting to leave, Jeda began to step dance with two other female classmates. She would clap her hands together twice, cross arms and pat shoulders, tap her thighs, stomp one foot and tap the ankle, then stomp another foot and tap the ankle. All three girls repeated the pattern several times until asked to stop by the teacher in charge.

          OBSERVATION 2:

During Wellness, the students played several different games. During the last game of the period Jeda was asked to throw a bean bag in the air and catch it. During the first round the teacher asked the students to throw it just up to their line of sight. Jeda threw hers to the right height and caught it. Then, the teacher asked the class to reach up into the air, see where their finger tips landed, and then throw the bean bag to that height. Jeda threw hers to the correct height and caught it. The last step was to throw the bean bag as they could and catch it. Jeda threw hers up in the air. It hit an exposed pipe. Jeda did not catch the bean bag.

          OBSERVATION 3:

During Theme Studies, Jeda flipped through a book about ancient Egypt. Pausing on a page with the map of the country Jeda walked over to the student teacher. She asked her to make a copy of the map. The teacher took the book and went to make a copy. Jeda stood at the center table and talked with one female classmate. When the student teacher returned Jeda took the photocopy and went back to her work station. She grabbed a piece of blank white paper from the shelf next to her. Then, she took the photocopy and placed it under the blank white sheet. Jeda walked over to the window and placed both sheets on the glass. With a pencil, Jeda traced the outline of Egypt along with the path of the Nile River. 

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          Developmental Implications:

In the above observations, Jeda completed several tasks that all required hand-eye coordination. Omnibus Guidelines: Physical Development: Fine Motor Development states that second graders should be using their hand-eye coordination to complete various tasks. I was most impressed with her ability to trace the map while holding it up to the window. It took Jeda quite a bit of time, but she stuck with it. The physical/functional domain for Jeda is a definite strength and has room for great potential.   

3.                Language/Literacy

           OBSERVATION 1:

During Read Aloud, Jeda was seated in her assigned seat on the rug. When the teacher began reading the story Jeda lied down and folded her arms and rested her head. At the end of the chapter the teacher asked a few comprehension questions. Jeda sat up, and raised her hand. The teacher called on her and she answered the question.

         

OBSERVATION 2:

          During Literacy time, the class was working on fictional stories. Jeda was sitting next another classmate. She began narrating what she was writing. Jeda used different voices, and acted out facial and body expressions. The classmate laughed. Jeda continued until the teacher asked her to concentrate more on her writing.

OBSERVATION 3:

          During Literacy, Jeda finished writing her fictional story. She proofread it with an adult tutor. The story contained 2 characters, Amina and Jenerra. They went to Nigeria together and came back. The tutor complimented Jeda on her detail, and sequence of events in the story.

          Developmental Implications:

Two of the above observations demonstrate well Jeda’s reading and writing abilities. The Omnibus Guidelines: Language and Literacy: Writing, states that second graders are consciously working on writing fictional texts with sequence. Jeda’s story was cohesive and had a distinct beginning, middle, and ending. Secondly, Jeda is a very animated reader. She often creates voices, and a variety of rhythms when reading a story aloud. Omnibus Guidelines: Language and Literacy: Speaking expresses second graders need to experiment and become comfortable using descriptive language and feeling when conversing. This is very evident in her spoken language, however, it would be valuable to help Jeda acquire the vocabulary necessary to express the same intense level of feeling just with her writing.

4.                Cognitive

           

OBSERVATION 1:

During Math, Jeda picked up her worksheets and pencil, and had a seat at the main table. Pointing with her finger, she read the directions. She looked up at the teacher sitting a few chairs away, and leaned in to hear what she was saying. Then, Jeda got up and went and asked the teacher to help her. The teacher read through the directions with Jeda. Jeda picked up her paper and went and sat back down. She wrote down an answer and erased it. She got up again and went over to the same teacher.

          OBSERVATION 2:

During Theme Studies, Jeda is working by herself in the maps group. Each week Jeda returns to her project (making maps of Egypt). Jeda traced the outline of the country and the path of the Nile River. She then went and searched in the classroom library for a book. Upon finding one that suited her needs, she returned to her workspace and sat down. She added places to her map and then began drawing mini pictures of local landmarks. 

          OBSERVATION 3:

During Math the class was taking an assessment. Jeda received her assessment and found a “Just Right” workspace. She read the directions and the first problem under her breath (her lips were moving). First she tried to solve the problem just by writing out an equation. Then, when she was unable to reach an answer, she stood up and went to the Math cabinet. She got a basket of counting cubes and returned to her workspace. She counted out enough cubes for each number in the equation and found her total. She recorded the answer and moved on to the next story problem.

          Developmental Implications:

During the above observations Jeda is really taking responsibility for her own learning. Omnibus Guidelines: Personal and Social Development: Approach to Learning mentions a second graders eagerness and curiosity as a learner. Observation 1 and 2 show Jeda taking initiative and seeking out the additional information she needed to be successful. Observation 3 captures Jeda’s ability to know what math strategies work, and are useful to the current problem. Omnibus Guidelines: Mathematical Thinking: Approach to Mathematics, depicts that a second grader should have strategies to solve math problems. Above, Jeda’s strategy was using an appropriate manipulative to visually and kinesthetically acquire the answer. 

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Submission II

INDIVIDUALIZED PLANNING

Due: February 23 (either send via e-mail or leave a hard copy outside of my office)

As you prepare to complete this Submission be sure to review all of the information you have compiled about this child so far.  What have you learned about this child? Using the data, define an area that you would like to focus on. Cite references from your data that helped you choose this area.

  

Include two individualized strategies or adaptations (see below) for your Focus Child, based on your observations and the data that you have compiled thus far. Focused observations should have been on-going to aide on your development of the learning strategies.

 

Strategies

1.    Defining, with Jeda, what a “good” workspace is.

·         This will occur during a private, one-to-one conversation. I will help Jeda think of 3 main criteria for what would be the ideal workspace and why. Jeda will write them down on a piece of paper, that I will keep. We will meet weekly to check in and see if she is choosing workspaces that meet her criteria.

·         During check-ins, if it becomes evident that Jeda is make bad choices, I will make it my responsibility to thoroughly give Jeda ideas for how she could have made a better choice.

2.    Communication: Expressing what she needs effectively.

·         This will occur by having a one-to-one conversation about what steps she should take to prepare herself for success at the beginning of a work period.

·         A checklist will be created that she will hold on to.

·         Check-ins will occur every few days, and eventually be stretched out to weekly, bi-weekly, etc. 

Rationale

As collected in my initial research about Jeda’s learning style, Jeda has an extremely hard persevering through classroom activities that she deems difficult. Often times I observe Jeda acting out or shutting down during whole class, small group, or individual work time. I believe that by helping Jeda to understand the difference between the ideal work space and the more fun work space, she will be able to choose a workspace that will allow her to feel successful and prepared to learn. Jeda, in one observation, chose to move to a more quiet workspace and finish her work. However, in another observation she was persistant in conversing with a classmate during frontal instruction. It is instances like these, I believe can be oppurtunities for proactive coaching and education. When the workspace is in place, Jeda can also continue to set herself for success by having a procedure she follows to initiate active engagement in academic work. As demonstrated in above observations, Jeda has a tendancy to not read directions, or read directions to activities and not think them through. My intent with the checklist, is to develop a list of steps, strategies and questions she can use to engage herself without immediately going to a teacher.

 

Planning

Once Jeda, and I have met on these topics, they can be implemented immediately. When I am the teacher in charge, I can give reminders to Jeda to consult her checklist. I can also make the other teachers in the room aware of the skills I am working on with Jeda and our plan. With everyone on board, Jeda should receive consistent practice, coaching.