Luz Renteria Gomez

Observation of Language Development

ED 231
SPECIAL NOTE: For this observation you will be collecting language samples from the child you are
observing. You will do this observation with one or two peers. One of you will interact and the others will take
notes. Then you will trade places. You will each work with your child.

Before and during the observation

Observer:
Language and cognitive development are closely related domains of development. You will focus on language
for this observation. You may interact with the child and there may be other children present. One purpose of
this observation is to give you an opportunity to think carefully about how certain types of materials inspire spontaneous
language use in young children. The teaching tool that you provide for this assignment will be used during your
observation of language development. As a result, you will be able to assess the effectiveness of the tool and your ability
to use it. You will need to select materials that facilitate the childs use of language. Collections of related objects

or other types open-ended materials work best. You will also introduce your Spontaneous Language activity at
some point during the observation. As we discussed in class, you will need to decide upon the best strategies
for encouraging language and conversational discourse. Use the form provided to document your plan for this
observation.
In order to capture authentic evidence of language development, the activities should be designed in a childdirected way. You may interact with the child to clarify their thinking but remember you are NOT trying to
teach them anything. Good questions and comments are usually the most effective.
Select an activity that will encourage spontaneous language. There are numerous possibilities so be creative. The
following is a short list of suggestions just to get you thinking:
Puppets of any kind
A game that encourages spontaneous language
Props that could be used to tell a story or promote detailed conversation
Picture Cards that could be used to tell a story or promote detailed conversation
A Writers Briefcase
Felt Board pieces
A theme oriented Prop Box for dramatic play

IMPORTANT: Be sure to think about the developmental level, interests, strengths and needs of the
child you are observing as you select the activity. Remember, you will be using this activity for the
observation of language development.

Recorder:
As recorder you will take careful notes during the 15 minute observation to collect exactly what everyone says.
You will also need to make brief notes about materials and setting. Record what the child does with the objects.
Make note of any language used by the child. Note the questions and comments your peer offers. Remember to
record how the child is doing something regardless of whether or not he or she is successful. Noting what the
child says while working/playing gives a great deal of information about thinking. At the end of the observation
you will share your notes with your peer.

Luz Renteria Gomez

Language Observation Plan

Activity/Material

Possible Prompts or Questions

Magnetic Tool Kit

(Magnetic wands, paper clips, chips, and metal
pieces)

What do you think you can pick up with the wand?

How do you think it works?
How many pieces do you think you can pick up at once?
*show how to move paper clip with wand under the table*

After the observation

Use your data, given to you by your peer, to develop brief anecdotes that describe the childs language use. The
language areas are already categorized on the recording sheet. You will use language samples to locate evidence
of various language milestones. When recording the evidence, be sure to include the language from your child,
other children, and yourself, if you were part of the interaction.

Language Observation
Child:

Will

Date:

3/20/14

Age (years and months): 5 years, 7 months

***Due to my schedule, I had to go at a time when no one else could accompany me on my observation, so
I had to take my own notes after talking to and observing Will.***

Language Area
Listening & Comprehension
(Receptive Language)

Evidence
While Will was playing with his baby, he was mostly the one that
was giving directions around the play area, Im the daddy, youre
the mommy, youre the sister, and this is the baby, he would say
that to anyone who wanted to come over and play family.
While Will was trying to find food for his baby, the mom was
walking around with a princess dress saying, We have to get
married. Daddy and I have to get married. Will, were mommy and
daddy. We have to get married first
Will looked sighed and said Do we have to do it now? We have to
take care of the baby first
The other times people told him things as well, Will would respond
easily to their comments or suggestions.
At one point before I pulled out the magnet kit out, Will was having
a hard time undressing his doll, so he brought it over to Diana to do
it. When he was trying to put on another dress, he couldnt get her
arm in, so he came up to me and asked, Can you help me?

Luz Renteria Gomez

As I was putting the babys arm through her dress, I asked if he was
taking care of his baby alone, (since everyone else had gone off to
play other things) and he said, yeah
I finished with the doll, so he took it and left. A few minutes later,
Will came back up to me and said, Its not working
As I was (having a hard time) taking the clothes off and then putting
them back on the doll, I was telling Will what I was doing as I was
doing it. At first I thought he wasnt listening, but then he would
comment as I did it, like, Oh. The legs were in one hole
Once I finished with the baby, he went back to his playing again.
Speaking & Vocabulary
(Expressive Language

When the kids first did attendance and then made a plan for the
morning, Will chose to go to the kitchen area right away. When he
arrived, he immediately said, Lets be mommy and daddy. ______
lets be mommy and daddy.
After a few other kids went over to the kitchen area, Will began
giving people their roles in the imaginative play. Ill be the dad,
you be the mom, you be the sister, and this is our baby. He was
saying all this while rocking his baby in his arms and trying to set up
an eating chair for the baby.
_____, you need to make food and then go to school. I have to take
care of the baby
When I asked what he was doing, Will told me, Im going to give
my baby food
Mommy, where are you? Wheres the babys food?
Will continued to tell people what needed to be done in their play
while the other kids were in the kitchen.
After a while, I pulled out the magnet kit and told Will who was now
alonebecause all the other kids went to play different thingsif
he wanted to see something cool. He said no at first then peeked
over when I pulled out the magnet wand, but didnt come over to it.
A few other kids came over first and they started playing with the
magnets. That was when Will got curious and came over as well.
He asked if he could join in first before he touched anything, Can I
try?
When I said he could, Will took a wand quickly. Everyone else had
taken only one magnet wand, but Will took three wands and said,
Look how many I can pick up! I can get a lot! Look, I got a lot!
He picked up a whole pile of paper clips and other objects. I
encouraged him to pick up more things or see if he could make them
move between the wands.
Instead, he continued to pick up more things until he was done. Will
put down his wands, said, Im done, and walked back over to his
baby that he had left on the table.
He was very straightforward about what he wanted to play with and
what he was doing in all of his activities.

Luz Renteria Gomez

Articulation & Speech Production

Language for Social Purposes

(Pragmatics)

While Will was playing with the baby in the kitchen area of the
classroom, he noticed Diana and another girl at a table coloring. He
put down his doll and went over to where Diana was sitting and
asked, Whatre you doing?
Diana then explained that they were coloring in the black and white
pictures they took of themselves the previous day.
They were coloring them in with wtripes and deigns like the
character Camilia Cream in David Shanons book, A Bad Case of
the Stripes.
Will started coloring in his legs right away. He colored in horizontal
lines of different colors all up his body, then colored in his face.
While I was talking to another kid, I believe Diana told Will not to
use the black or gray markers because it wouldnt show up and hed
cover up the whole picture.
After that, whenever anyone came to the table, he would tell them,
_______ color it different colors. No black or gray!
He also checked with Diana whenever he was switching colors. If he
picked up a light pink, Diana, is this okay? Can I use this one?
He would repeat the question until he got a definite yes.
When he finished coloring in his face, he moved on to the border,
He started off making a circle and then turned it into a tractor.
Diana look at what I made! I made a car! I made a car! I made a
tractor! Tractor!
Then he started drawing polka dots around the border and when I
asked what they were, he said, These are the steam of the tractor
Im using all orange! He explained to me and to Diana a few times
that the smoke was going around the border of the paper and then
back in the tractor. (he said that 6 times in 2 minutes)
Throughout my time in the classroom, Will was mostly doing what I
mentioned above. He would tell people what to do while they were
playing or would be talking about what he did while he was
drawing. Aside from that, there was really no other use of speech for
social purposes.
Like was already pointed out, he always asks before he plays with
someones things.

Luz Renteria Gomez

Language Development Observation Reflection
ED 231
While interacting with the child, which of your questions/comments prompted the child to use spontaneous language?
How did the childs response provide you with interesting information or insights into his/her thinking?
The things that mostly prompted Will to talk were his own actions while he was coloring. He would tell Diana and
everyone else what he was doing while he was doing it. For example, Diana, Im drawing circles here Diana. Im
going to draw circles here.
This observation provided me with the insight that Will works well alone, but he puts a lot of effort into his work
and wants it to be recognized. He speaks very fluently and repeats his thoughts a lot when he wants to make sure
that everyone that needed to hear him heard him.
Record YOUR question or comment below.
N/A
Evaluate the effectiveness of your Spontaneous Language material. How well did it elicit spontaneous language? Did
you find any new ways to use the material? How could you modify or improve the material to create a more spontaneous
interaction?
The material I chose was not as effective in getting Will to talk spontaneously as I thought it would be. I figured
that since he is usually very interested in magnets and the way things work, that he would want to play with the
magnets a lot, but that day he was more interested in playing family and coloring. The only reason he even went
over to my magnet tool kit was because all the other children were there and were playing with it. He played for a
while, pointed out what he was doing, and then went back to playing with his baby before going to the coloring
station.
I didnt really modify my own material as much as go along with what Will was already interested in and playing
with. I started talking to him about his family play and later, about his coloring of himself. That was when I got a
lot of spontaneous language.
I think I could modify the material by making it more engaging to Will, or having something more like
Katherines materialthe building things. The nuts and bolts seemed like something that Will would be more
interested in since he likes to create things and learn how they fit together.

Luz Renteria Gomez