CASE STUDY - MILA

Case Study of 1st Grader Mila

Meghan Tomasi
James Madison University

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Table of Contents
A. Introduction.3
B. Methods...5
a. Methods5
b. Context6
C. Background, Data, and Interpretation...10
Background10
Physical and Motor Development..11
Emotional and Social Development...12
Cognitive Development.13
Language Development.14
Moral and Ethical Development15
D. Implications and Reflection..17
E. Assessment of Childs Development19
F. Executive Summary...21
G. References.22
H. Appendices23
Normative Data..23
Formal Observations..27
Physical Development...27
Cognitive Development.32
Language Development.36
Social/Emotional Development.39
Moral/Ethical Development...42

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A.

Introduction:
This case study is being conducted on Mila, a first grade student in Mrs. Zs class

in X Elementary School located in Virginia. All of the names included in this case study are fake
in an effort to keep identifying factors confidential. Consent to observe this student throughout
the semester was given by Milas parents after they signed a document stating that her identity
would be kept confidential, but that the observations of her and the interactions with her can be
recorded within this study. Due to X Elementary Schools policies, photography of Mila and her
work is allowed to be included within this study, as well. There have been no significant issues
surrounding this case study or in gaining permission to conduct this study.
A case study is a published report about a person, group, or situation that has been
studied over time, and its purpose is to be an intensive analysis of an individual unit (as a
person or community) stressing developmental factors in relation to environment, ("MerriamWebster", 1828). I chose to perform a case study on my particular child for these very reasons;
by studying only her as an individual for an extended period of time, I was able to learn more
about her developmental patterns as they changed or evolved throughout each day, week, and/or
month. If I were to only perform a one-time observation or simply hold a conversation with her, I
would not be able to expect a very thorough understanding of this particular child and would be
unable to see how she grows over time. By using many different methods of observation, such as
time samples, interviews, and checklists I was more thoroughly able to conduct a study of this
child and learn much more about her as a student and a person. The information I have been able
to learn about my case study child throughout this semester is also very valuable to me as a
future educator. While I understand that all children develop differently and this particular childs
case is not going to perfectly fit the cases of other students I encounter, by learning more about
one childs developmental patterns I have been given the opportunity to learn how to observe a
child in a way that tells me more about them as a student. I am able to see the types of actions, or
non-actions, this child performs and have learned what these can mean for her learning. This
knowledge can be applied to any child because now that I have more of an understanding of
what to look for, I can find these behaviors in future students I have and use these behaviors to
tell me more about how these students are developing, as well.

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In my 1st grade practicum classroom, I was introduced to seventeen different students and
asked to choose one of them to perform this case study on. When I asked my cooperating
teacher, Mrs. Z, for guidance in choosing a student, the only assistance she gave me was in
telling me which students I had the most chance of gaining permission to study from their
parents, and in telling me more about those students and what she has observed from them since
the year began. After learning more about each student and watching them for the entire first day,
at the end of the day when Mrs. Z asked me which student I had chosen, I told her that I wanted
to study a little girl named Mila. I chose Mila for a couple of different reasons. Firstly, I chose
Mila because she was one of the students that Mrs. Z had told me I was almost guaranteed to
gain permission in studying. Secondly, I chose her because from her performance thus far in the
year, she seemed to be developing at an average rate. She was performing and learning at about
the same pace as most other students her age. Finally, I chose Mila because Mrs. Z told me that
Mila is struggling with an anxiety disorder. I have also struggled my entire life with anxiety and
believed that I would be able to not only understand more of what Mila is going through and why
she behaves in certain ways throughout the day, but also because I believed I would be able to
help her with her anxiety whenever the opportunity presented itself.

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B.
a.

Methods:
Methods: Time, sources and methods used in collecting the data.
Checklist

Checklists are among the most commonly used observation tools. The items on an
observation checklist focus the observers attention on identified behaviors or characteristics and
force selectivity about what is recorded, (Leonard & Hutchinson, 2013, p. 28). I used this
observation tool to record information on Mila for her physical development formal observation.
This tool worked very well with this particular observation because questions about specific
skills or a childs level of overall development can be answered by using a focused specific item
checklistchecklists are frequently used to help assess if a child is developing normally
compared to others of his or her age, (Leonard & Hutchinson, 2013, p. 31). By knowing what
physical abilities I wanted to look for during Milas play or everyday activity, I was able to
monitor her capability and frequency in completing each pre-determined task, and therefore see
how she compared in her physical capabilities to her peers (more information about this
observation on pg. 27).
Behavior Unit Anecdotal Record
A behavior unit anecdotal record is one of the most frequently used observation tools
consists of three parts...Beginning the events that cause or precipitate the action (may be the
choice the child makes). Middle the actual episode, including behavior, language, and
interaction. Ending Factor the events or choices that cause the episode to end, (Leonard &
Hutchinson, 2013, p. 13). I chose to use this method of collecting data when I did my formal
observations on Milas cognitive development and moral and ethical development. This
particular observational tool worked well with these observations because anecdotal records are
especially helpful for gathering data on a childs social development and peer interaction
strategies, as well as his or her use of language in a social setting, (Leonard & Hutchinson,
2013, p. 15). Because both of these formal observations centered around Mila interacting socially
with her peers with a focus on how and why she behaved while playing with them, this method
helped me observe her thought processes as she performed the tasks at hand. In the cognitive
development observation, Mila was expected to play with play-doh and have a discussion with
her peers and myself (more information about this observation on pg. 32). In the moral and
ethical observation, Mila was expected to participate in a game with rules and play this game
with a few of her friends and myself (more information about this observation on pg. 42).
Writing Sample
For Milas language formal observation, I did not choose a specific formal observation
tool. Instead I chose to observe Mila as she completed a writing sample and then I took a picture
of that writing sample to study. Using my own method for a formal observation worked very
well because I was able to obtain a lot of information about the way Mila writes and
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communicates her thoughts, and I was able to begin understanding why she chose certain
vocabulary or phrases in her writing over others. Mila was, for this observation, expected to
write a five sentence story about a pumpkin craft she created (more information about this
observation on pg. 36).
Conversation
We have conversations with children every day, probably many of them over the course
of a day. If we really listen to what children say, we can learn a great deal about them. The
purpose of this observation is to consciously remember and record what children say to us.
Considered in this context, our conversations take the form of an informal interview, (Leonard
& Hutchinson, 2013, p. 39). I used this observation tool for Milas social formal observation.
This particular method worked well with this observation because I was able to observe whether
or not it was easy to engage Mila in a social interaction and what topics Mila was interested in
discussing with me. I was able to learn a great deal about her as a person, what she likes,
dislikes, what her home life is like, what friends she chooses to play with, what she plays with
them, etc (more information about this observation on pg. 39).

b.

Context: School & particular classroom environment.

School:
X Elementary School has a student to teacher ratio that is considered very small at

an average of 15 students per teacher, with the school having a total average of about 336
students and 22.8 full time teachers. X Elementary is considered much smaller compared to the
average Virginia elementary school having about 527 students. Generally speaking, the
population in X Elementarys county is middle class, inhabited by a typical age distribution and
moderately educated. The majority of students in this school are Caucasian, 86.6%, which is
slightly higher than the average percentage of Caucasian students located in the city where X
Elementary is located, that average being 74.2%. This percentage is also significantly higher than
the average number of Caucasian students attending schools located in Virginia, which is 52.2%.
The gender distribution in X Elementary is almost exactly 50/50 percentage wise, which is
slightly more evenly distributed than the average distribution of Virginia schools being male
51.5% and female 48.5%. The median household income in this zip code is $48,125 per year
which means the median income is above the eligibility threshold for reduced price lunch. About
40% of students at X Elementary are eligible for free lunch, about 10% are eligible for reduced
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lunch, and about 50% are ineligible for either free or reduced lunch. X Elementary is also in the
top 30% of VA schools in their performance on reading and math assessments; both reading and
math are at an 87% proficiency percentage. This proficiency is about equal in both male and
female students, and is higher for Caucasian students than the students of ethnic minority at the
school. X Elementary has a large gifted and talented program with 14% of its students enrolled,
which is a much bigger percentage than the average 5% across VA elementary schools. X
Elementary is on closer ground with the average VA elementary school, however, when speaking
of English proficiency among students; X Elementary has 4% of students that have limited
English speaking abilities vs. the 5% average in VA elementary schools. X Elementary is lower
in their percentage of students with learning disabilities at 11%, whereas the average VA
elementary school has 13%.
The source of this information is not included so as to protect the confidentiality of X
Elementary School.
Classroom:
The developmentally retarding effects of institutionalization can be averted or reversed
by placing the child in an environment that includes the following features: a physical setting
that offers opportunities for locomotion and contains objects that the child can utilize in
spontaneous activity, the availability of caretakers who interact with the child in a variety of
activities, and the availability of a parent figure with whom the child can develop a close
attachment, (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 144). My practicum classroom, when I first arrived,
consisted of Mrs. Z as the main teacher, Mrs. S as the literary teaching assistance, and seventeen
students. Throughout the semester the number of students has changed four separate times. One
of the students was removed from the school and put into homeschooling by the family which
dropped the classroom number to sixteen. The classroom then gained a new student who changed
schools, again raising the number to seventeen. Another student was expected to join our class,
but only stayed for a couple of days before changing schools again; this changed our number to
eighteen and then back down to seventeen. Finally, another of the students that had been in the
class since the beginning of the year moved schools dropping the number of students from
seventeen down to sixteen. Nine of the students are male and seven of the students are female. At
the beginning of the year the classroom consisted of one African American student and one
Hispanic student, but the last child to move schools was the Hispanic child. The other students
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are Caucasian. When I asked Mrs. Z of these occurrences to see if the constantly changing
number of classroom students was normal for X Elementary, she said that this was the first year
so many changes had happened. While it is normal to gain or lose a single student due to
different circumstances throughout the year, having four different instances was very irregular.
The appearance and layout of my practicum classroom is a very open, welcoming space
with different sections of the classroom dedicated to different classroom activities and lessons. In
the center of the classroom, there are four groupings of desks with each group consisting of five
desks. One desk at each grouping is, for the most part, kept empty due to the number of students
in the class (this changed every now and then because of the changing number of students in the
classroom). When first entering the classroom, to the right are the cubbies for students to put
their belongings and to the left are countertops, cabinets, the trashcan, and a sink for storing
classroom supplies and holding mailboxes for each child to pick up their graded assignments and
information for parents/guardians. Separating the counter area from the desks is a rectangular
table for Mrs. Ss lessons. Students participate in literacy activities guided by Mrs. S at this table.
In one of the back corners of the classroom there is a carpet area with a rocking chair for the
teacher to conduct read-alouds and discuss the calendar and student jobs, which are posted on a
bulletin board on the wall beside this area. In the other back corner of the classroom is Mrs. Zs
desk area, and between her desk and the carpet area there is a small section for students to read,
color, or play with different manipulatives in their free time. In the back of the classroom is a
table in the shape of a half circle where Mrs. Z teaches reading and comprehension with students.
All along the walls of the classroom Mrs. Z has posted colorful and educational posters, images,
or other learning tools for students to use as aids throughout her lessons, such as having the
entire alphabet lining the top of one wall for students to follow when writing and/or spelling.
I also had the privilege of seeing my practicum students go to P.E., Music, Art, and
Computer Lab. Each of these classes lasts for approximately half an hour. During P.E., the
students have a male teacher and they hold their class in the school gymnasium. The days I
observed them in P.E. they were rope climbing and playing soccer. The gymnasium is a large,
clean space with plenty of room for physical activity. On the wall beside the gym doors, the P.E.
teacher has stickers that have encouraging phrases on them, such as Good job! or Youre
Outstanding!. One student is chosen after each class to receive one of these stickers to take
home with them for being a good student that day. During Music, the students have a female
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teacher and they hold their class in the school music room. They sing songs, dance, and learn
about musical notes, timing, sheet music, etc The classroom is about the same size as their
regular classroom, is very colorful with pictures and diagrams posted to the walls, and includes a
large, colorful rug that students sit on during the lesson. During Art, the students have a female
teacher and they hold their class in the school art room. Each class the students have a different
art project that they complete for that day. The art classroom is around the same size as their
regular classroom, but ironically it is not very colorful. The walls are mostly bare, there are no
rugs, there are no decorations, the only objects in the room are the tables and chairs students use
for their art activity, the teachers desk area, and some countertops and cabinets at the back of the
room to hold art supplies. During Computer Lab, the students have a female teacher, but she does
not have a large role in controlling the classroom. Unlike in the other classes, Mrs. Z stays with
the students all throughout their computer lab time. She and the other teacher walk around and
assist students who need help while the students play educational computer games of their
choice. The computer lab is slightly larger than their regular classroom because it is expected to
accommodate a large about of desks and computers. Just like the art room, it is not very colorful
or well decorated, but it is carpeted and well organized.

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C.

Background, Data, and Interpretations:

Background:
Mila was 6.8 when I began observing her in September. She is an only child of a two

parent household; her mother is a nurse, but neither she nor Mrs. Z has told me where her father
is employed. She seems to play with her cousins frequently (at least on a weekly basis, if not
more). Her family is Christian and is very active in their church by going on retreats and
participating in outside activities with the other members of the church, such as her exploration
of Grand Caverns where she discovered the Lily Room and learned about reflective pools. She
and her parents are Caucasian. Mila told me that her favorite color is red and her favorite animal
is a horse, which she is able to ride, but only when the horse is walking slowly. She has no pets
because her father is allergic to animals, but she wants to get a kitten. Her cousin that visits
regularly brings her kitten for Mila to play with and playing with the kitten is one of Milas
favorite activities.
It is possible to say the children from lower socioeconomic levels were limited to
focusing on things to do, whereas children from higher socioeconomic levels were free to focus
on persons to be, (Smilansky & Shefatya, 1990, p. 53). She wants to grow up to be a fairy
mermaid princess, even though she is unable to tell me how she will accomplish this goal. I
believe the fact that she has a set goal of what she wants to become in the future, but is unsure of
how to achieve that goal, helps to support Smilanskys theory on the socioeconomic status of
children. Milas family is considered to be middle class; she is not of low socioeconomic status,
but neither is she of high socioeconomic status. She is not solely focused on tasks to perform, but
the person she wishes to become is unrealistic and she does not have a plan on how to achieve
this goal. She is in the middle of two categories.
Mila rarely talks about her father and, to be sure that her father was still a present figure
in her life, I asked Mrs. Z about him; the only information she could provide me with was that
Milas father is still married to Milas mother and lives in the same house. Mila is about average
height for her age, maybe an inch or two taller than a few of her peers. She is heavier set than the
other children in her class, which sometimes affects her physical activities.

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A microsystem is a pattern of activities, roles, and interpersonal relations experienced by

the developing person in a given setting with particular physical and material characteristics,
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 22). This can be shown through the way Mila behaves on a daily basis
in her classroom (immediate surroundings) and with her peers/teachers. She is very obedient in
her class; because of her anxiety disorders, Mila does not like to draw attention to her and,
therefore, does not act up during class or misbehave. This also means, however, that she rarely
participates or contributes to classroom activities where she has the option. If Mrs. Z asks a
question to the class, for example, Mila never raises her hand to give an answer unless
specifically called upon by Mrs. Z. From my observations, and those of Mrs. Z, Mila also does
not have any strong relationships with her classmates. She is on good terms with them all and is
always willing to make conversation or play when one of the other students initiates the
interaction, but Mila does not have one student or one group of students with which she is much
attached.
A mesosytem comprises the interrelations among two or more settings in which the
developing person actively participates (such as, for a child, the relations among home, school,
and neighborhood peer group), (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 25). When combining her school and
home environments, Mila seems to have a lot of support in either place. Her mother volunteers in
her classroom and performs activities or duties as needed by Mrs. Z. During these school visits,
while Mila seems happy and proud to have her mother as a classroom aid, she also continues to
behave in the same ways as when her mother is not there. From requesting more information
from Mrs. Z about Milas home life, I have learned that Mila consistently turns in her
assignments completed and on time, and she comes into class on a regular basis talking about
books she has read with her mother while at home. She always reads the books provided to her
by Mrs. Z and is able to discuss them in detail to prove her comprehension of the stories.
Physical and motor development physical attributes, health, nutrition, gross motor and
fine motor:
Mila seems to have normative abilities in both gross and fine motor skills. She excels in
some areas of each, such as holding and writing with her pencil correctly, having very neat
handwriting, being able to open containers or bags on her own, and being able to zip up her own
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jacket and backpack for her fine motor skills. In gross motor skills, she performs well in running,
skipping, balancing on one foot, keeping her balance while spinning in circles, and walking on
her tiptoes. She also struggles with some areas of each, however, such as cutting with scissors for
her fine motor skills and jumping, swinging, or climbing for her gross motor skills. She seems to
have a better handle on fine motor skills rather than gross motor skills overall.
When it comes to physical attributes, health, and nutrition, Mila seems to differ from her
peers. I was unable to get exact measurements of Milas weight and height, so these areas are
based off of observation and estimation. While she is about the same height as the rest of her
class, she looks to be an inch or two taller than a few of her peers. Mila is heavier set than all of
her peers by about fifteen to twenty pounds. She has long dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. She
always comes to school clean and neatly dressed, wearing appropriate clothing depending on the
weather. Her hair is usually in a long braid that reaches almost entirely down the length of her
back. She brings a packed lunch every day to school and always has the same food inside which
consists of crackers, cheese, some type of chips, varying flavors of jell-o or fruit cups, the
occasional bag of apple slices with a small container of peanut butter, and a bottle of water. She
has told me that she does not like to eat vegetables, but that she likes eating fruit. Her favorite
type of food is pizza and her favorite pizza place is Dominos. She always eats her crackers and
cheese first in her lunch box, followed by her bag of chips, her jell-o or fruit cups, and finally her
apples with peanut butter if it is included in her lunch box that day. She rarely drinks from or
even opens her bottle of water. Mila is not allergic to any foods, according to both Mila and Mrs.
Z.
Emotional and Social development self-esteem, concept identity, temperament,
relationships with peers & adults, social competence, friendships:
Reinforcement is usually equated with tangible rewards and punishments.human
behavior is largely sustained and modified by symbolic reinforcers. As a result of repeated
association with primary experiences, social reactions in the form of verbal approval,
reprimands, attention, affection, and refection acquire powerful reinforcing functions, (Bandura,
1973, p. 47). Mila talks very quietly or goes silent when she is unsure of her answer and doesnt
want to contribute when she isnt positive of what she is feeling or thinking. She talks more
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frequently, controls, or tries to control the conversation when she has input she is sure of. When I
am testing her, she is scared or nervous at first, talks quietly, and doesnt want to answer, but
after she answers a question correctly and I praise her, she is more willing to answer the next few
questions. Because of these aspects, I believe Milas anxiety gets the better of her; she is afraid
of being reprimanded or performing poorly in front of others because she is afraid of their
negative reactions to her misbehaviors. When she is praised, or in other words, when she knows
that her behavior will cause a positive response from those around her, she is more than willing
to continue performing the good behavior, such as answering my questions.
Mila does not seem strongly attached to any one of her friends in school, but is friendly
with everyone in her class and on good terms with them all rather than showing favoritism. I also
believe this has to do with her anxiety and her fear of others reactions. Drawing from my own
experiences with anxiety, I believe I have a decent grasp on why Mila is more comfortable with
having many acquaintances and few close friends. While she enjoys spending time with others
and wants social relationships, she is worried that the friends she makes will no longer wish to be
her friends if she behaves in a way that they do not like. If she, for example, accidentally hurts
one of her friends feelings and that friend responds in a negative way, Mila will begin thinking
that that peer no longer wishes to be friends.
Cognitive development problem solving abilities and evidence of conceptual
understandings, construction of meaning, imagination and creativity:
As I have observed Mila in different situations, I have learned that she has a very good
memory and is good at problem solving, but is not very good at decision making. She performs
very well in memory based activities, such as retellings, and quickly completes assignments that
involve solving problems, many times faster than her peers are able to complete theirs. During a
retelling activity I performed with Mila, I read her the story Three Billy Goats Gruff. After
reading this short story to her, I pulled out paper cutouts of the different characters and important
scenic objects related to the story, such as the bridge the goats need to cross during the story. I
then asked Mila to use these paper cutouts to retell me the story we had just read; I did not assist
her in any way other than to encourage her to keep talking when she began to go quiet. She was
successfully able to repeat not only the basic plot of the story, but also correctly identify each
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character by name and even use exact dialogue she remembered from the story. An example of
Milas quickness in completing assignments can be when I observed a math lesson during one
class period. The students were each given a dry erase marker and told to write math sentences
on their desks (ex. 4+5=9); Mila was always one of the first to correctly write out the problems
and raise her hand to signify she was finished, just as Mrs. Z had asked of them. She would also
regularly assist the peers at her table if they were struggling to write the correct answer.
Self-reinforcement functions are acquired in several different ways. People learn to
respond evaluatively to their own behavior partly on the basis of how others have reacted to it.
Parents and other socialization agents subscribe to certain norms of what constitute worthy or
reprehensible performances. They are inclined to respond approvingly when a child meets moral
standards, whereas they are quick to reprimand him whenever he deviates from the way he is
expected to behave. As a result of such differential treatment, children eventually come to
respond to their own actions with self-approval and self-criticism in accordance with the
standards originally set by others, (Bandura, 1973, pp. 207-208). Mila is very shy and
withdrawn unless she is extremely confident of her answer or opinion, and because of this, her
decision-making is affected. She is indecisive when, for example, she is asked to pick an activity
that she prefers while around her friends, most likely due to the fact that she does not want to
pick an activity that others disapprove of. Her actions coincide with Smilanskys theory because
Mila has learned to take into account other peoples reactions to address her own actions and
behaviors. She is very nervous about receiving a negative reaction during a social interaction,
and because of this she hesitates to perform until she is certain that she is performing in a way
that will gain her a positive reaction from others.
Language development expressive and receptive speech, literacy experiences and skills,
vocabulary, oral communications:
Mila is very good at speaking clearly and, from what I can tell, enjoys writing because
she is very creative in what she writes. She makes sure to take her time with her writing so that it
is exactly how she wants it, and she likes to show off what she has written to me, her teacher, and
her peers. Every day the students have a journal entry they are expected to write on what they did
the previous day after school. Along with their one to two sentence entry, they are supposed to
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draw a picture that goes along with what they have written about. Mila always writes detailed
sentences about what she did the previous day and then spends her extra time making her picture
fit her entry as perfectly as she can. When I showed an interest in her journal one day, she was
more than happy to read me what she had written, explain to me how her picture fit with her
words, and then continued on to elaborate on her entry to tell me more about what she did the
previous day than she had written in her journal. This is also how I know that Mila is able to
speak very clearly. I am easily able to understand everything she says and she uses very good
vocabulary and descriptive words to talk about her thoughts and ideas.
Mila has a slight speech impediment when using the th sound and will sometimes use
an f sound instead. Mrs. Z has been working with her on this sound and Mila is improving due
to her constant reminders. Mila also tends to misspell words when writing, but this is
understandable because at her level she is only learning to spell phonetically, as are the rest of
her classmates. Even spelling phonetically, however, Mila makes very smart attempts at spelling
each word. She doesnt just write any spelling so that she can finish her assignment quickly. She
thinks about the way the word sounds and, in many cases, will actually say the word repeatedly
out loud so that she can hear herself as she speaks the word. This helps her come up with her
ideas of how to spell different words based on their sounds, which is exactly what Mrs. Z
encourages all the students to do.
Moral and Ethical Development - Includes the childs development of concepts such as:
fairness, responsibilities, empathy, and rights of others:
While observing Mila as she interacts with her peers, I have noticed that she has a high
regard for fairness, empathy, and the rights of others, and also tries her best to be as responsible
as possible. One of the first times I joined the practicum class during recess, for example, I was
playing with Mila and she saw one of her classmates sitting on the buddy bench. The buddy
bench is a system the school created to encourage positive relationships between students. There
is a bench outside at the playground and if a student has no one to play with or feels left out they
can go sit on the buddy bench to wait for someone to come and play with them. Students are
encouraged to play with any students they see sitting on the buddy bench so that everyone feels
included and can have a friend to play with at recess.
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Mila explained all of this to me in just a couple of sentences and then pointed again
towards her classmate sitting alone on the bench. When I asked her what she thought we should
do about her classmate, Mila immediately said that she should go over and talk to the student to
see if they want to play with her. I told her that I thought that was a great idea, and I watched her
as she ran over to the bench to talk and play. I did not prompt Mila in any way to react the way
she did; Mila could have simply told me that she didnt know what to do about her classmate, or
that she didnt want to go over to talk or play with them. Instead Mila chose to spend time with
someone who needed a friend, and she made this decision immediately and without hesitation.
She empathized with her classmate and wanted to make her feel better.
Mila also tries to act very responsibly throughout each and every day, as proven by the
way she always follows the rules, the way she completes all of her assignments to the best of her
ability, the way she takes on the role of teacher if her peers need assistance with their work, the
way she always performs her classroom jobs as best she can, and the way she gets upset if she
forgets to do something or does an assignment or job incorrectly. Thus, early childhood is the
period in which numerous forms of self-control begin to develop. The word begin needs
emphasizing, since even the first graders capacity for self-regulation is of course far from
absolute;his self-control is sometimes absent, often precarious and short-lived, and usually
quite variable in quality from situation to situation, (Flavell, 1977, p. 64). This quote from
Flavell helps to prove Milas actions when discussing responsibility. When I observe her during
center time she is always actively engaged in her assignments from the start, but as time drags on
I can tell that she is getting tired of completing her tasks by the way her eyes begin to drift and
by the way she begins fiddling with her pencil. She, nonetheless, stays on track with her
assignments, pays attention to instruction, a completes everything she expected to before she
goes to free time activities. This can help prove that, while her self-control can begin to vary
from assignment to assignment and may not last for long periods of time, she still is able to
regulate her actions and stay on task.

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D.

Implications and Reflection:

1. If you had the opportunity, what areas would you want to explore further and

how might you do it?

I would want to spend longer periods of time studying Milas social interactions with
others. Because of my own personal experiences and bias towards understanding anxiety
disorders, I would want to make sure I am correct in my assumptions and/or opinions of the
reasoning behind why she behaves around others the way she does. I would want to see if her
shyness, unwillingness to initiate social interaction, and hesitancy to express thoughts and ideas
is truly due in large majority to her anxiety rather than her social development. As it stands now,
I believe I have been fairly accurate in saying the parts of her behaviors that have been affected
by her anxiety simply because of the actions of her peers and how their behaviors differ from
hers. In order to explore this further, I would observe her in more social situations, both informal
through her everyday school and peer interactions, and formal through social settings I have
created for Mila to be a part of, such as group activities or discussion.
2. If this were your classroom, what specific plans would you make for this childs
continued growth?
I would again focus more on making her comfortable in expressing herself around
others, maybe by promoting positive feedback from myself and peers whenever a student
participates in class activities, lectures, or discussions. I would also spend more time on teaching
how to correctly write the letters of the alphabet and numbers so that the amount of reversals
both Mila and her peers make when writing is exponentially decreased. From my observations,
Mila and many of the other students do still have difficulty knowing the directions a letter faces,
such as mixing up p, d, and b. I would make this a bigger focus in class so as to correct
these misunderstandings.
Specifically for Mila, I would also encourage her to try new foods that are healthier for
her to eat. I would promote healthy eating so that she would be able to learn why foods she eats
on a regular basis are good to eat in smaller portions, and why foods such as vegetables and
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fruits are better to eat more frequently. She would then be able to relay the information she is
learning about this topic to her parents when she comes home from school and, hopefully, she
would begin bringing in healthier lunches and snacks during the school day from her parents. I
would also try to provide healthier snack/food options to both Mila and the rest of the class in
order to show all students that healthier foods can not only taste good, but also make them feel
healthier.
3. Describe what you consider to be the single most meaningful experience of the
whole case study process? How has this child and this assignment influenced your beliefs
about children and your own ability to gain information and interpret childrens behavior?
I cannot think of one single experience during this process that has affected me the
greatest. All of my experiences throughout the case study and practicum have had a large impact
on the way I see myself, the way I see the students, the way I see other teachers, the way I see
the administration, the way I see the school as a whole, the way I see lessons, schedules, parental
involvement, and the list goes on. I have learned, I believe, a lot more from this experience than I
would have been able to learn simply through class lectures and textbooks. By being
encompassed by a real life classroom I have learned more about how children learn, how they
develop, the different stages they go through during the year, and how each student, while they
may all follow similar patterns, are very unique in their learning and growing. I have come to
understand how important close observation of each student really is, both for the teacher in
understanding their students learning, and for the students so that the teacher is able to give them
information in a way that helps them grow and learn as much as possible. By seeing real children
fit the different theories and findings of child development from the theorists we have been
studying this semester, they helped to bring these ideas to life and make them very apparent and
obvious to me. I was better able to see why these theorists discovered what they did, and apply
their discoveries to real life experiences I was having in the classroom.

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E.

Physical

Assessment of Childs Development:

Strengths

Areas of Concern

Progress Observed

Fine Motor Skills:

~ She needs

~ She has progressed quite

~ She hold her pencil, scissors,

improvement in the

significantly in her ability to

glue, etc correctly.

foods she eats.

use scissors; at the beginning

~ She is able to write neatly/legibly. ~ She does not open

of the year she was unable to

~ She understands how and

to a wide variety of

follow the lines with her

remembers to correctly use

foods and many of

scissors at all and would cut

punctuation/grammar in her

the foods she

pieces out individually and

writing, such as capitalizing first

regularly consumes

out of order. She now is

letters of sentences and putting

are unhealthy or

better able to make her cuts

periods at the end of sentences.

fattening.

more straight and neat, and

Gross Motor Skills:

cuts out rows or columns

~ She excels in walking, running,

before cutting squares out

jumping and skipping; she does not

individually.

trip or fall when performing any of

these activities.
Cognitive

~ She is able to perform

~ She frequently

~ She is continually

mathematical equations and spell

reverses letters or

improving in her

phonetically mentally rather than

numbers when

mathematical and phonetic

speaking out loud to organize her

writing

spelling skills, and is

thoughts.

progressing in her ability to

~ She has a good memory and is

solve problems mentally

able to transfer previously learned

rather than vocally

knowledge to new tasks she is

trying to master.
Language

~ She is able to clearly portray

~ She has a slight

~ Her vocabulary is

thoughts or ideas verbally

speech impediment

continually increasing when

~ She has a large vocabulary when

when saying the th

she speaks as she reads new

speaking to others

sound and will

material and learns new

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replace that sound

words (she is able to

with an f sound

correctly use the words she is

~ She regularly uses

learning in her own

words in her writing

conversations with others).

that she has already

mastered rather than
trying to phonetically
spell new words that
may be more relevant
to the ideas she is
trying to express.
Social/

~ She show empathy towards her

~ She does seem to

Emotional

classmates and is willing to aid

have self-esteem

them in anything she is able

issues or a lack of

~ She is good at self-regulating her

confidence in her

behaviors and actions during class,

thoughts and actions

follows rules even if she may not

~ She relies too much

~ No noted progress

want to at the time, and does not act on others reactions to

confrontationally or aggressively

regulate her behavior

towards others whether or not she

agrees with what they are saying or
how they are acting
Moral/Ethical

~ She disagrees with cheating or

~ No noted areas of

acting in an inappropriate way

concern

~ No noted progress

towards others
~ She is able to understand and
follow all rules or expectations she
has been given
F.

Executive Summary:

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Dear Parent and/or Guardian,

I would like to express my gratitude towards you in allowing me to observe your child
this semester. Through my observations, I have been able to realize how truly amazing Mila is
and how much potential she has as she continues through her schooling. She is one of the kindest
students I have had the privilege of getting to know, and I know that her teacher and peers would
say this about her as well. She is friendly towards everyone she encounters and truly cares about
the thoughts or needs of others in any situation she is in. Mila is very smart and her love for
reading will only help her progress further in her learning, as well as her enthusiasm for helping
her classmates learn during lessons and activities.
I have appreciated this experience more than you know and will be able to apply much of
what I have learned from your child to my future career as a teacher. I have seen how quickly
your child is able to pick up new knowledge when the information is presented in a way that fits
her style of learning, and how enthusiastic she gets after mastering a new topic or skill. This
excitement for learning has also helped to motivate me to learn as much about my students as
possible so that I am able to help them not only gain new knowledge, but also love learning so
that they want to continue studying new things. Mila has helped me understand how big of an
impact a teacher has on their students, and how important it is for teachers to use that influence
for the betterment of their students learning.
Thank you again for your willingness to allow me to have the wonderful experiences I
have been able to have while learning from your child.
Sincerely,
Meghan Tomasi

G.

References:

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Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A social learning analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and
design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Flavell, J. H. (1977). Cognitive development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Leonard, A. M., Dr. (2013). Tools For Observing Young Children (S. Hutchinson, Ed.). Retrieved
November 29, 2016, from file:///C:/Users/Meghan/Downloads/Observation Tools (3).pdf.
Montessori, M. (1972). The discovery of the child. New York: Ballantine.
(n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2016, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/
Piaget, J. (1969). The Psychology of the Child. Basic Books.
Smilansky, S., & Shefatya, L. (1990). Facilitating play: A medium for promoting cognitive,
socio-emotional, and academic development in young children. Gaithersburg, MD:
Psychological & Educational Publications.
Vygotskii, L. S., Luriiaia, A. R., Golod, V. I., & Knox, J. E. (1993). Studies on the history of
behavior: Ape, primitive, and child. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Vygotsky, L. (1984). Children's Learning in the "Zone of Proximal Development" (B. Rogoff &
J. V. Wertsch, Eds.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

H.

Appendices:

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Normative Data (6 years old)

Physical

Social Emotional

Language

Cognitive

(Gross and

(Understanding

(Literacy and

Fine Motor

and Using)

Mathematics)

Moral Ethical

and Self
Help)
Jumps with

Displays

Uses

Developing

both feet

overconfidence of

overregulation

language skills

Tattle-tailing

ones own ability

Can ride a

Increasing ability

Overdependence

Frequent use of

Understands

bike

to form

on word order and

self talk

right versus right

relationships with

context

Developing good

Can distinguish

Makes decisions

listening skills

what is real

based on what

versus fake

is best for

others
Can throw

High self-esteem

and catch a
ball

themselves
without regard
for others needs
Can walk on

Understands self

Has difficulty

Limited ability to

Expresses guilt

a balance

conscious

blending some

reason about

and shame for

beam

emotions such as

phonemes

abstract ideas

misbehaviors

pride,
embarrassment,
and guilt
Can hold

Has close

Can have

Can participate

Exchange of

scissors

relationships with

conversations

in adult like

favors

properly

family members

about concrete

activities

topics
Can color

Can use feeling

Developing

Can engage in

Recognizes

and write

words such as sad

pronunciation

sociodramatic

actions and
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between the

and mad to

lines

describe emotions

Can make

Uses concrete

Can understand

Can play in

Makes decisions

simple

self-descriptions

temporal words

group games or

to please

such as before

team sports

authority figures

drawings

skills

play

behaviors can
harm others

and after

or individuals of
high status

Practices

Can distinguish

Uses like or

Seeks out

Responds to

safe

ones academic

um

external

pressure from

hygiene

and athletic

frequently

validation for

others

such as

performance to

washing

that of another

hands,

while speaking

their ideas

or reading

feeding self,
and toilet
trained

Can

Can recognize

Can think about

Increasing

button or

other peoples

and integrate

empathy for

zip pants

perspectives

various qualities

others

and perspectives

after

of a situation

using the
restroom
May have

Can realize that

Can count and

Some

difficulty

other people

add numbers 1-

willingness to

with tying

interpret

10

help others

shoe
laces

experiences
differently

Difficulty

Focuses on

Can understand

Prosocial

opening

mastery goals

the concept of

behaviors

carrying and

directed

borrowing

primarily

or closing
ziplock

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bags

towards
authority figures
Focuses on

Can focus

Tries to gain

obtaining approval

long enough

approval from

from adults

to complete a

those they

task

identify with

(attention
span)
Slight

Gets

Increasing

understanding of

distracted

sharing and

the probable

easily

coordination for

causes of

play activities

successes and
failures

Can add and

compare the
monetary
value of coins
Starting to
recognize
word families
Has difficulty
with fluency
while reading
Can retell a
predictable story

They know
the concept
of print and
word
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Understand
and can use
the alphabet
Knows how to
capitalize and
use
punctuation
correctly

Formal Observations
1. Formal Observations: Physical Development:

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September 26, 2016. Checklist. 1st grade. On the playground during recess, in the
lunchroom at lunch, and in the classroom throughout the rest of the day.

BALANCE
Stand on one foot

1 (Poor)

5 (Excellent)

Spinning in circles in one spot

X
Walking in a straight line
X
Standing on Tiptoes
Walking on Tiptoes

X
X

September 26, 2016. I observed Milas balance during the first few minutes of recess
(~2:00pm). She was walking around the trees looking for leaves that were changing color for fall
and five of her male peers were playing tag nearby. I made a game out of the different balancing
activities on the chart above with both her and the boys so that I would be able to observe how
well she performed in balancing compared to her peers. She was able to stand on one foot for
approximately 2-3 seconds on each attempt before needing to put down her other foot to stop
from falling. She attempted standing on one foot 3 separate times. Spinning in circles in one spot
seemed to be her favorite balancing activity out of them all and she was excellent at keeping her
balance. She spun non-stop for about 10-15 seconds, well after her peers had quit. To test her
ability in balancing while walking in a straight line, I had Mila (and the boys) try walking along
the short black plastic wall lining the play equipment (about a foot above the grass, but level with
the wood chips in the play area). As she walked, she kept both of her arms straight out to her
sides in order to balance for a longer period of time. She was only able to walk along it for about
3 feet at a time before stumbling onto the wood chips, but she kept walking for about 10 feet of
the wall. Most of the boys balancing on the wall along with her were able to stay balanced for
longer and make it farther along the wall before stumbling. When I had her stand on her tiptoes
she was easily able to balance, but when she tried to walk on her tiptoes she stumbled every 2-3
seconds.
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Some of her balancing problems may originate from her body type, and her body type
can be explained by the types of foods she eats on a regular basis. She willingly talks about her
mom very frequently, but does not mention her father much which leads me to believe that he is
not around as often as her mother is, possibly due to work hours. Her mother is a nurse, so I can
infer that she also has strange work hours, which may explain why Mila spends much of her time
with other family members and friends of the family, and may also explain why Mila has the
same foods everyday for lunch. The types of food she eats everyday would also be quick and
easy to pack.
LOCOMOTOR SKILLS

OBSERVED # OF TIMES

Walking

Running

10

Jumping

Climbing

Sliding

Skipping

NON-LOCOMOTOR SKILLS

OBSERVED # OF TIMES

Bending

Pulling

Pushing

Turning

Twisting

Stretching

Swinging

September 26, 2016. I observed Milas locomotor and non-locomotor skills throughout
the rest of recess (~2:10-2:25pm). Exercise play, a primitive form of play, and the only kind that
occurs at the sensorimotor level and is retained in part. It does not involve symbolism or any
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specific play technique, but consists of repeating, for the pleasure of it, activities acquired
elsewhere in the course of adaptation, (Piaget, 1969, pp. 57-59). Running seems to be her most
frequent outdoor activity, and she ran from tree to tree with her friends for most of recess. This
fits with Piagets quote on Exercise play because when Mila runs, she is not participating in any
sort of activity that involves symbolism. There are no rules, motives, or even much reasoning
behind why she is running from tree to tree, she simply just enjoys running around and not
thinking about what she is doing as she is doing it. When she was not running, she was walking,
and as she walked she bent down to collect fallen leaves. She would bend down fully from the
waist, barely bending her knees, and reach for leaves with her right hand. As she collected the
leaves she would hold them in her left hand so that her right hand was free to reach for more. As
she ran or walked, she would occasionally turn or twist around to see how far her friends were
from catching her. She would always turn or twist to the right to look behind her, she never
turned or twisted to her left. As she did so, she would slow down so that she did not lose her
balance or trip. About halfway through recess one of her friends was swinging on the swing set
and Mila came over to swing with her. She seemed like she was only there for her friend, it did
not seem like she liked to swing very much because she did not try to swing very high. She was
content with mostly sitting there and talking to her friend and to me. She did not want me to push
her or help her in any way, but instead swung all on her own, unlike her friend who wanted me to
push her as high as she could go. While we were lining up to go back inside, she was eagerly
talking to her friends and skipped while she went to stand in line, and again as we were walking
towards the school door. She skipped correctly, and did not look off balance. While waiting in
line for everyone, she jumped up and down four separate times out of excitement from
something she was talking about with her friends. Each time she jumped she held my hand and
used it to push herself up higher; she did not get very far off the ground, maybe about 3-4 inches.
Each time she jumped, she leaned into me so she was slightly hunched over in my direction.
Through the activities she chooses to participate in, I believe she participates in whatever
her friends are most interested in doing. She may also enjoy the activities, but she is more willing
to play or be active when she is with her friends; such as when she stayed on the swing to talk to
her friend but did not swing very much herself. She also is more active during her conversations
with friends, shown by her choice to skip or jump depending on how excited she was about the
topic of conversation.
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FINE MOTOR SKILLS

1

Holding a pencil

Using scissors

5
X

Writing

Drawing

Gluing

Erasing

September 26, 2016. Mila seems to excel the most in fine motor skills. I observed these
skills during center time in class (~8:45-10:25am). While writing, she holds her pencil perfectly
between her thumb and forefinger in her right hand. She writes very well, her handwriting is neat
and legible, but she occasionally writes a letter or number backwards. She is capable of using
scissors to cut out pieces of her worksheets, but is unable to cut along the line; she also chooses
to cut squares out individually and in order instead of cutting out rows and then cutting out each
square, which may be the reason she has such difficulty cutting along the black lines. She will
cut a square from the middle of the page, for example, before cutting the ones around the edges if
the one in the middle is the next square she needs for her activity. Drawing is on the same level
as writing, she is able to fit her drawings to her writings and, while she has to explain some of
her pictures sometimes, I am usually able to easily tell what it is she is trying to convey. She
enjoys drawing people and whatever it is the people are supposed to be doing, such as sitting
down with popcorn to watch a movie. She is very good at gluing and holds her gluestick the
same way she holds her pencil; she basically draws the glue onto the spot of the page she needs
in order to glue on a piece of paper. She is able to stay within the lines of a box or other
designated area for the glue, and does not make a mess. Finally, when erasing, she usually does a
good job and is able to completely erase whatever it is she wants. Sometimes, however, she
either pushes too hard on the paper, therefore almost ripping it, or she erases too lightly and her
pencil marks are still able to be seen.

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She seems to enjoy learning which can help to explain why she is more in tune with her
fine motor skills rather than her gross motor skills. She focuses very hard on doing everything
correctly, taking her time to write each letter, draw each picture, and glue each spot as perfectly
as she can. She is very proud to show off her work when she is done, and can get upset, but not
discouraged, when she makes a mistake. She looks to be average to above average in her ability
to write and draw; she completes her activities at about the same speed as her peers, but her work
looks neater and more precise. She seems to be about average with using scissors. Most of her
peers make the same mistakes she does, and cut out the squares in the same way.

2. Formal Observations: Cognitive Development:

October 10, 2016. Behavior Unit Anecdotal Record. 1st grade. In the classroom right
after she arrived at school (8:05-8:25 am).
After Mila arrived at school, finished putting her backpack in her cubby, and put her
school materials in her desk, I asked her to choose three friends and then come to the back table
with them so that we could do an activity. She picked three of the girls in her class and they all
joined me at the table to play with different play-doh I had brought with me from home. I took
out four different colors of play doh and allowed the girls to choose their own color; Mila chose
red, her favorite color, and immediately began making snails out of the play doh. By the end of
the activity she had made an entire snail family that included a brother, dad, baby, mom, and
sister in that order. As we played with the play doh, I began asking her questions about the
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difference between something that is pretend and something that is real. She knew the difference
between these, and said that pretend meant something that was not real. When I asked her to give
me an example of something that was pretend at first she said mermaids, but quickly changed her
mind and said that mermaids were actually real. The other girls started to chime in to the
conversation and all of them, including Mila, began listing off things that were pretend, such as
magic and the objects they were making with the play-doh (the snails Mila was making, for
example, were pretend snails according to the girls). I began to also play with a fifth container of
play doh I had brought. I started making a birds nest with eggs in it and the other girls at the
table started to copy me and make their play doh into birds nests with eggs, as well. Mila saw
what everyone was doing and for a couple of minutes followed along, but quickly gave up and
continued making her snail family. Once the snail family was complete, she put the play-doh
container on its side, began putting the family of snails inside the container, and stated that the
container was their house. Once again, while all of this was going on, I asked the girls to think of
examples of things that were real. Mila listed off things like people and pizza. She then said that
school was definitely real because we were inside of one. When I asked her about snails, Mila
said that she does not like to play with real snails because they are slimy and gross, but pretend
play-doh snails are fun and cute. As we were cleaning up the play-doh she said goodbye to her
snails and carefully put them back into the container together so they they did not get squished.
Vygotskys formulation claims, furthermore, that the very structure of individual
functioning derives from and reflects the structure of social functioningHence, Vygotskys
approach suggests that to understand individual cognitive growth it will be fruitful to examine
specific patterns of social interaction in which children participate, (Vygotsky, Rogoff, &
Wertsch, 1984, p. 2). I was very interested to see which of her classmates Mila would choose to
bring to the back table. I have not noticed any specific friends Mila plays with, such as a group
she associates herself with in the classroom; instead she seems to be on good terms with
everyone in the classroom. When she picked the three girls I thought her choices were interesting
because she seems to be close with the boy who sits beside her at her table who I assumed she
would choose as one of the three, even though I have seen her talking or playing with the girls
she chose, as well. I wonder if the reason she chose three girls is because it would not have been
normal for her to choose a boy; to clarify, maybe her peers would have noticed and commented
on the fact that she chose a boy as her friend to take to the back table. Choosing three girls is a
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more typical decision to make and she does seem like she does not like attention drawn to her.
She tends to hide in the background rather than act in ways that would get her noticed by others.
Another character of the material of development is that it must lend itself to the activity
of the child. The possibility of rousing the interest and attention of the child does not depend so
much on the quality belonging to things as on the opportunities which they offer of doing
something with them. That is to say, in order to make a thing interesting, it is not enough that it
should be interesting in itself, but it must lend itself to the motor activity of the child. There must
be, for instance, small objects which can be moved from their places; it is then the movements of
the hand which pleases the child as he busily makes and unmakes something, displaces and
replaces things many times in succession, thus making prolonged occupation possible,
(Montessori, 1972, p. 149). I believe that having the students work with play-doh fits with
Montessoris observations on allowing children to play with objects that are easily manipulated
and keep their hands busy. Play-doh is not a very advanced or complicated toy to give children,
which proves that the object does not need to be of high quality to hold the attention of a child,
but play-doh does involve breaking pieces apart to create something new. Students hands are
constantly busy when playing with play-doh because they need to work with each piece to make
something creative.
I also wondered about her choice to immediately decide on snails as the objects she
would make out of her play-doh. I thought that maybe she chose to make snails because she likes
snails in real life, but she made sure to tell me that she thought snails were gross and that she
does not like to have anything to do with them in real life. Making a family of snails and giving
them a home out of the play-doh container is a more typical female decision to make. Girls tend
to be drawn to activities that have to do with families or taking care of the home, so I was not
surprised to see her add in those characteristics to her play with the play-doh. I also thought that
one reason she may have decided to make snails over something else was because of her motor
skills. The snails she chose to make were simple and easy, and when she tried to make the birds
nest with eggs inside she was having a difficult time molding her play-doh into the nest; this
could have been why she gave up and went back to making snails after only a few minutes of
trying. Finally another principle common to all the material means provided for education is the
followingthe material must be limited in quantity, (Montessori, 1972, p. 149). Another aspect
of play-doh that fits with Montessoris ideas is that the amount of play-doh given to each child
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can be monitored. I gave each student their own container of play-doh and made the assumed
rule that each student could only play with their individual container. This limited the amount of
objects they could make with their play-doh and forced them to be more creative in their use of
this particular manipulative.
Mila seemed to thoroughly enjoy contributing to the real vs. pretend conversation I
started during the activity. I think she contributed so frequently with her own opinions and ideas
because she was positive of her answers. She was confident that she knew the difference between
pretend and real, and because of this confidence was more willing to share her thoughts. I also
think the fact that she was among me and her friends made contributing that much easier. She is
more comfortable around me and her friends than she is with others, so she may have felt like it
was a safe environment for her to be herself.
The items she chose to use as examples were interesting, as well, especially when she
commented about mermaids. I think that she chose to say mermaids were pretend at first because
I am sure she has heard that mermaids are not real from others; I think she changed her mind
quickly about them, however, because she wants them to be real. She does not want mermaids to
be pretend, so she says that they are real because even though she has been told differently and
has never seen one before, in her mind mermaids are still a possibility and could exist
somewhere in the world. The elementary-school child has what might be called a quantitative
attitude toward many cognitive tasks and problems. He seems to understand better than the
younger child that certain problems have precise, specific, potentially quantifiable solutions, and
that these solutions may be attained by logical reasoning in conjunction with well-defined
measurement operations, (Flavell, 1977, p. 85). Going off of this quote by Flavell, Mila was
also able to give me examples of things that were real rather than pretend, and one of those
examples was that the her school was real because we were inside of it right then. This shows
logical reasoning in Milas thinking because she connected the fact that she was sitting inside a
school at the time to the fact that if she could physically see and be a part of it, it must be real.

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3. Formal Observations: Language Development:

October 31, 2016. Writing Sample. In the classroom during the end of the day lesson
(2:10-3:00 pm).

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Translation: My pumpkins name is Ms. Tomasi. It is funny. It has three teeth. It is silly. It
makes me feel silly.
During immersion week, the week during the semester that I was in my classroom
everyday from 8am-3pm Monday-Thursday, I was able to conduct my own lesson. At the start of
my lesson, the students came together as a class, sitting in their assigned seats at their group
tables and I began by asking them about different symbols related to fall. They contributed by
raising their hands and giving different examples. Once a student brought up a pumpkin I began
a discussion on why a pumpkin would be considered a symbol of fall time and about the different
characteristics of different pumpkins. Finally, we talked about whether all pumpkins look exactly
alike by answering questions such as, Are there any differences between pumpkins?, Is it ok
for the pumpkins to look different from one another?, What characteristics do you like
pumpkins to have?, etc

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The students then began getting out their toolboxes, which are their personal cases in
their desks that hold their scissors, glue, crayons, and pencils. As they did that, I gave each
student a piece of white construction paper and explained to them that they were going to be
creating their own unique pumpkins. They were allowed to make them look however they
wanted, the only rules were that each pumpkin needed to have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, and
some teeth. The students drew and colored their pumpkin on the piece of paper, and then cut it
out with their scissors.
I then took a couple of minutes to explain that they would be writing a five sentence story
about their pumpkins while I passed out the paper they would be writing their pumpkins story
on. After passing out the paper I wrote on the board the directions for each sentence, and
explained each one as I wrote it. The students would then be able to have these directions stay on
the board throughout the rest of the activity to reference as they write. Once everyone finished
with both their pumpkin and their pumpkins story, I had the students share their stories with
each other at their tables, and then had one or two different students come to the front of the class
and read their stories to everyone.
At the beginning of the lesson when discussions were going on about symbols of fall and
types of pumpkins, while Mila did not contribute at first, after other students had raised their
hands to give an answer, she began to participate as well. The language she used when giving
examples were answers that were more expected, such as saying that during the fall people
celebrate Halloween, and also some answers that were more unique or showed a more advanced
vocabulary, such as when she said that pumpkins are fragile because if they are dropped or fall
they can break open. Each answer she gave, although she spoke more quietly than her peers, was
said very clearly and pronounced correctly.
When it comes to her handwriting, Mila is about average in her class. Most of her words
are legible and she writes her letters correctly for the most part. She does not leave much room
for her writing, however, and tends to smoosh her words together without much spacing.
Sometimes her letters overlap, but from other writings of hers that I have seen, she does better
with spacing and with handwriting when she is confident about the spelling of the words. When
she wrote Ms. Tomasi in the picture above, for example, she had no idea how to spell Tomasi.
She made an effort to spell it phonetically, but wrote it less neatly because she was unsure of
herself. This is proven by the beginnings of her sentences; when I was leading this lesson with
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the class, I wrote sentence starters on the board for them to copy. They were then expected to
finish the sentences themselves. The sentence starters were: My pumpkins name is, It is, It has,
It is, and It makes me feel. Most of these words are much easier to read on her paper because she
was confident about writing them correctly since they were on the board for her to copy. The
ends of her sentences are harder to read because she was on her own with those words.
Milas vocabulary seems about average with the vocabularies of her classmates. She uses
more vocabulary when she is talking than when she is writing, probably because she uses easy to
spell words more frequently in her writing. As shown above, she uses the word silly in two of her
sentences rather than another word she may have chosen if she were simply speaking about her
pumpkin. She felt more comfortable using that word twice rather than finding a different word
that she was less confident about spelling correctly because she would have to try and spell it
phonetically on her own
.

4. Formal Observations: Social/Emotional Development:

October 17, 2016. Conversation. 1st grade. In the classroom right after she arrived at
school (8:10-8:15 am).
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Me: What did you do over the weekend?

Mila: My cousin came over and my cousin has a kitten so the kitten came over too.
Sometimes the kitten lets me hold him on his back like a baby and he doesnt scratch me. I wish
that I could have a kitten but my dad is allergic so mom and dad wont let me have one.
Me: Do you play with your cousin every day?
Mila: Not every day, but a lot. My aunt and uncle come over to visit my mom and dad
and bring my cousin with them. They go to church with me and I see them on the weekends a lot.
I like when the kitten comes over.
Me: Who else do you play with a lot?
Mila: I play with my neighbors. Theyre twins and we play outside. We have a big box
and we get inside it and then we push it over and fall out. Only one of us can fit inside so we take
turns and its really fun to roll around after we fall out.
Me: Do you play with them every day?
Mila: I try to. Sometimes my mom and dad are busy or their mom and dad is busy or we
have stuff that we do at church so we cant always see each other. They live really close to me so
sometimes I go over to their house and play in their backyard and sometimes they come over to
my house and play in my backyard with me.
Me: Is there anyone else you like to play with?
Mila: I play with my friends at school. I have some friends in other classes that I like to
play with and we see each other at recess and we run around under the trees. Last time we had a
meeting and we all sat in a circle and we talked about duck, duck goose but we didnt play duck,
duck goose. It was like a meeting that grown-ups have where we talked to each other under the
tree.
Me: So youve told me all about how you play with your cousin, your neighbors, and
your friends in other classes. Is there anyone else you like to play with?
Mila: I like to play with my mom but we dont really play. I watched ice age with her
and we at popcorn and it tasted really good. The movie was really funny and there was this one
part where one of them was pretending to be dead but he wasnt really dead and he scared her.
Mom and me laughed when that happened.
Me: Who do you like to play with the most?
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Mila: I like to play with my cousins kitten because it is cute and I cant have one but I
also like to play with my neighbors because I think they are my best friends. They play games
with me a lot and come over to see me. We have fun playing outside.
When analyzing the development of behavior from its simplest forms observed in the
lower animals to the most complex and the highest observed in man, one can easily see that
behavior taken as a whole goes through three main stages in its developmentThe second stage
is built up and erected directly above the first and basic stage in the development of behavior.
This is the so-called training stage or stage of conditional reflexes. The second class of reactions
differs from the previous one in that it is not hereditary but arises from the animals individual
experience. All the reactions in this category are the result of specific learning, specific training,
and individually accumulated experience, (Vygotskii, Luriiaia, Golod, & Knox, 1993, pp. 40-41).
This quote from Vygotsky is significantly relevant to Milas social skills and the interactions she
has with others. I have noticed that when Mila feels comfortable with someone she tends to open
up and speak more freely. She seems to really like to talk about the activities she enjoys doing,
the people she likes being with, and her opinions or creative thoughts towards different subjects,
but she does not talk openly unless prompted. She rarely volunteers answers or participation in
class, but will do whatever is asked of her. In their art class, for example, Mila did not raise her
hand to participate in a short skit with the teacher and some of her other classmates, but when her
teacher called on her she played her part perfectly. She was very shy and quiet as she fulfilled her
role, but looked like she was having fun because she was smiling. She also seems to be hesitant
at introducing herself to new people and/or joining her classmates in their play or discussions.
When she is invited into the conversation or when she is asked to participate, she is more than
willing and seems to make friends easily. She does not initiate these interactions, however. Mila
is good at communicating her thoughts and ideas, but will not do so unless asked or pushed into
participating.
All of these examples having been said, Vygotskys theory can relate to her behavior
because she is using the knowledge she has gained from prior experiences in her life to decide on
whether or not she should interact socially with someone else. She feels more comfortable
speaking openly to people that she is familiar with because she understands more clearly what
reactions to expect from them to her different behaviors. On the opposite side, she is less likely
to contribute to or initiate conversations with people of whom she is less familiar because she is
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not sure of their responses to her actions. Another example of this could be how she is very intent
on following all rules in the school and in her classroom as perfectly as possible because she has
been reprimanded in the past for acting inappropriately or behaving incorrectly; more proof of
Vygotskys theory because she is being trained to act certain ways in order to receive certain
responses, whether they be positive or negative. Something as simple as receiving a bad grade on
a homework assignment for not turning it in or as advanced as being scolded by the teacher in
front of the class for acting out during a lesson could be previous experiences that she has
learned from; this knowledge she has gained then aids her in her decisions as she goes through
her daily classroom schedule. As mentioned previously, Milas anxiety may also play a role by
increasing her fear of a negative response from others; she therefore thinks more consciously
towards what she says and does so as to receive a positive response rather than a negative one.

5. Formal Observations: Moral/Ethical Development:

November 14, 2016. Behavior Unit Anecdotal Record. 1st Grade. In the classroom during
center time (~10:00-10:30 am).

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Mila came over to my center with her literacy group made up of four other students. Mrs.
Z had given me two separate games to play; differing literacy groups played with one of the two
card games. The two games were called Crazy Cats! and Oh, Fishsticks!, and were card games
that involved practicing the long and short vowel sounds of the letter a and the letter i. Crazy
Cats! focused on the letter a, and Oh, Fishsticks! focused on the letter i. Milas group was
supposed to focus on the game Crazy Cats. The rules of the game were simple. There was a deck
of cards that had different words written on them and mixed into the deck were five Crazy Cat
cards. I had the option to play or not, and because Milas group was large, I decided to just
control the deck rather than play. I was expected to put one card in front of each student
facedown and then on the count of three the students would flip the cards over, read their word to
me, and keep the card. The more cards they collected, the closer they were to winning the game.
If, however, a student flipped over their card and received a Crazy Cats! card, they had to give
me back all of the cards they had already collected and start over.
At first everyone was excited to play and collect their cards, but, of course as the game
progressed and more students lost their cards to the Crazy Cats!, they began to lose some of their
enthusiasm. Mila, although disappointed whenever she got a Crazy Cats! card, only showed that
disappointment through a small frown and then quickly followed the rules of the game to give
me back all of her cards. A couple of her peers were not as gracious whenever they got a Crazy
Cats! card and they would pout, argue, or try and persuade me to ignore the rules. Finally, one of
the other students in the game decided that she wanted to keep her Crazy Cats! card after flipping
it over so that she could have her own petting zoo of Crazy Cats!. She relinquished her other
cards happily when I allowed her to hold onto her Crazy Cats! card. Mila quickly joined in the
new game, and now the students that didnt receive a Crazy Cats! card were the ones who were
disappointed because they wanted to add to their petting zoo. Mila even began trading her word
cards with her peers for their Crazy Cats! cards, which made the students who were still trying to
meet the games original goal ecstatic because they were gaining more cards to win.
The game ended quickly when we went through all of the cards because of the large
number of students playing, and because none of the students wanted to use their extra time to
play the same game again, I decided to mix together the two decks of cards (Crazy Cats! and Oh,
Fishsticks!) to double the amount of playing cards, and therefore, double the amount of time the
game would take to play. The same occurrence happened during this game as before; the same
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two students, Mila and one of her peers, decided to collect all of the Crazy Cats! and Oh,
Fishsticks! cards rather than the word cards so that they could have a cat and fish petting zoo.
During these two games, I had a discussion with Mila and her peers about following the
rules of the game and whether or not it was ok to cheat. Mila immediately said that cheating was
wrong and that if you didnt follow the rules of the game, then the game wasnt fun anymore. I
brought to her attention the fact that she had changed the rules of the game by collecting the
bad cards instead of the good cards, and she told me that that wasnt the same thing. She
wasnt breaking any rules by keeping the bad cards because she always followed the rule of
giving back her good cards whenever she flipped over a bad card. The peer, Student A, who
was playing the same way quickly agreed with Mila and said that they were making the game
more fun by taking the sadness out of getting a bad card. Out of the other students playing the
game, one of them said that he didnt think Mila and Student A were cheating, but the two other
students disagreed and said that Mila and Student A were not following the rules and that meant
that they were cheaters. They said that they didnt care that Mila and Student A were cheating,
however, because they were getting more cards through trading with them than they would if
everyone was following the rules of the game.
Games with rules, which are transmitted socially from child to child and thus increase in
importance with the enlargement of the childs social life, (Piaget, 1969, pp. 57-59). Once
again, I think that a lot of the explanation behind Milas actions during this game was due to her
anxiety over getting a bad reaction from those around her. She followed the rules perfectly at the
start so that she would not draw attention to herself and so that she would receive positive
feedback from me and from her peers when she followed the directions. Once Student A changed
the rules, however, Mila decided that not only was the new way of playing more fun, but she
knew that she could go along with Student As decision without getting reprimanded by me or
her peers because I had already told Student A that she could follow the new rules she had
created. I also think that Mila truly believed what she said when answering my discussion
questions on cheating vs. following the rules of the game. She thought that even though she was
keeping the bad cards she was still following the rules like she was supposed to because she
was giving back her word cards just like the rules of the game told her to do. She was not
causing any of the other players any harm by following her new rules, and was instead actually
helping her peers benefit by trading cards with them. This again got her positive feedback from
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her peers because they were happy with how she was playing the game. If the new rules had
upset any of the other players or had caused a negative reaction from me, I do not believe Mila
would have participated and would have instead followed the original rules of the game, even if
she thought that the new rules sounded more fun. This helps to show how whether or not Mila
followed the rules had a large impact on her social relationships with her peers, and also how
conscious Mila was of that fact.

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