I.

II.

Observation 8:
Child Study
Grade:
Kindergarten

III.

Student:
1 Girl

IV.

Setting:
Lamonte Elementary School
Kindergarten Classroom
17 Students, 1 Teacher, 1 Student Teacher

V.

VI.

Pre-Observation:
The direction of this observation is to observe the progress of a single student over time.
During this initial observation, I observed the child during certain events throughout my
time in the classroom. Prior to going into the classroom, I researched what milestones
children should reach by the age of five. To collect my data, I used a checklist from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I used my knowledge of the classroom
schedule to plan out when I would focus my observation on this student. I decided to
observe the students social, emotional, cognitive and physical development during
stations and during gym class.
Data:
Social and Emotional Development
Milestone
Wants to please friends
Wants to be like friends
Agrees with rules
Likes to sing and dance
Is aware of gender
Can tell what is real and
what is pretend

Yes

Independence
Is sometimes demanding
and/or cooperative

No

Language and Communication

Milestone
Speaks very clearly
Tell a simple story
using full sentences
Uses future tense
Says name and
address

Milestone
Counts 10 or more
things
Can draw a person
with at least 6 body
parts
Can print some letters
or numbers
Copies a triangle and
other geometric
shapes
Knows about things
used every day, like
money and food
Milestone
Stands on one foot for
10 seconds or longer
Hops; may be able to
skip
Can do a somersault

Uses for and spoon

and sometimes a knife

Yes

No

Cognitive
Yes

No

Physical Development
Yes

No evidence the student

cannot do this, but no proof
they can, I believe they are
able to, no observation to
back this up

No

Can use the toilet

independently
Swings and climbs

VII.

No evidence the student

cannot do this, but no proof
they can, I believe they are
able to, no observation to
back this up

Analysis:
From my observation of this students social, emotional, cognitive and physical
development, I have found that this student has reached some important milestones.
There are milestones that this child has not reached yet, particularly in the
communication area. The childs social development is adequate, but the child is mainly
independent and tends to keep to them-self. The childs cognitive development is
appropriate but does need some improvement to be up to par with all the milestones. The
childs physical development is definitely their strong suit. They were extremely active
during gym class and showed significant physical development. The child ran, jumped,
skipped, hopped and even could gallop. During gym the student interacted with friends
and smiled more than I saw in the classroom. As for the childs communication skills,
there is some concern. The student can say their name, but sometimes has trouble
pronouncing it. With guidance the student can say their name, but the other students can
fully and fluently pronounce their first, middle and last names with ease. I often try to
interact with the child and I ask them what they did over the weekend. The child does not
reply in full sentences, but rather fragments of sentences. The child will say grandmas
house played. The child can go to the bathroom independently and can ask fully if
they can go to the bathroom. The child is able to understand what is being asked but is
unsure how to answer or possibly unable due to a speech delay. In my unprofessional
opinion, the child does not have a disorder that causes their speech delay. I feel they just
need some extra attention and practice with their speech. They follow rules, interact with
other children but has trouble solving problems independently. During stations the child
was assigned a math page. They had to color groups of either 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 pumpkins.
Once they colored they had to match the number of pumpkins in a group to the number.
The child could easily color the pumpkins appropriately. They matched the blank square
for 0 to 0, the square with 1 pumpkin to the number 1, the square with 2 pumpkins to the
number 2 and the square with 3 pumpkins to the number 3. When it came to 4 and 5 the
student needed guidance from the teacher. The student then traced the words zero, one,
two, three, four and five with little assistance (see last page for the childs work). The
child is able to do things independently but does need more guidance from the teacher
than the other students. I believe this is because she is unable to communicate properly.
With a slight speech delay, she cannot convey her thoughts as easily as others. Overall,
the student is developing well in the physical, social and emotional and cognitive areas.
But their communication skills can affect their social, emotional and cognitive
development, therefore I feel they need more attention to properly develop their speech.

VIII.

IX.

X.

Recommendations:
To further develop the students communication skills, they need to have more attention
and guidance with speech. One on one time with a speech pathologist can help this child.
I recommend that the student be able to meet with the schools speech teacher or speech
pathologist so that they can catch up with their classmates. According to the American
Speech-Language-Hearing association, Speech-language pathologist (SLPs) work to
prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive
communication and swallowing disorders in children and adults. This student would
benefit from seeing an SLP because they can assess if this child does in fact have a
speech disorder and they can also determine the best way to help this child. I have spoken
to the teacher regarding the students speech and the teacher has let me know that they
have started the process of the student getting the help they need to determine whether or
not they have a speech disorder or if they just have a speech delay. According to the
American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association, SLPs work with diagnostic and
educational evaluation teams to provide comprehensive language and speech assessments
for students. Services to students with speech-language disorders may be provided in
individual or small group sessions, in classrooms when teaming with teachers or in a
consultative model with teachers and parents. SLPs integrate students' speech-language
goals with academic outcomes and functional performance. Ultimately, if this student
gets the attention they need, I feel their communication skills will develop appropriately.
An SLP can further the childs use of speech and challenge them to go further than they
do in their kindergarten classroom. As I stated above, in my unprofessional opinion, I
believe this student does not have a speech disorder due to autism, trouble swallowing or
any sort of neglect. They just develop differently and at a slower pace than other students.
By seeing an SLP the parents and teachers can understand if the child may have a
learning disorder and what they can do to help them. Ultimately this child would benefit
tremendously from seeing and SLP and it will enhance their social, emotional, cognitive
and physical development as well.
Post-Observation:
I go to Lamonte Elementary school every Tuesday from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., during
my time there I observe different classroom activities. For this observation, I specifically
observed a single student. I chose this student because I am interested in seeing them
grow socially, emotionally, intellectually as well as physically. They stand out among the
other students because they are not as developed as they are. I feel from this warm,
supportive and positive classroom environment, I will see this student grow significantly
in the next few weeks.
Citations:
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). FAQ: Speech and Language
Disorders in the School Setting. Retrieved from
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/schoolsFAQ.htm

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Speech-Language Pathologists Job Description and Career Information. Retrieved from
http://www.asha.org/Students/Speech-Language-Pathologists/
CDC | Milestones 5 Years | Learn the Signs. Act Early. | NCBDDD. (2016). Retrieved
from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-5yr.html