Student Observation (5th Grade)

Today I conducted a student observation. Due to an early dismissal, I had limited observation time. I guess I should tell you why I chose to observe this child. Having been in this classroom for a few weeks now, I have become aware that this student never turns in any assigned work. I got a chance to view this child's planner and there is not one page without the teacher's red markings. (The teacher marks her students' planners when a child doesn't complete an assignment) This makes me wonder, what's going on here?

I started by observing the posture of the struggling student. While the teacher held a discussion with the class, this student was somewhat slumped in his chair, never raising his hand to any of the teacher's questions (as most of the class did). He didn't really seem to be paying attention to anything the teacher had to say.

After the brief discussion, all of the students were given a worksheet to be completed as a class to build on the discussion. The teacher read the first question and asked for volunteers to give the answer. After an answer was given, all of the students (except the struggler) wrote the answer on the sheet. My student was stretching while just staring at the paper. By the time the class had gone over about 3 questions and answers, my student struggler decided it was time to start writing. But having been so far behind, he had to ask the teacher for the answers to questions 1-3.

The end of the worksheet was near, and the teacher had the students answer the last question on their own and then turn in the paper. All the students completed the worksheet, except for the student I was observing. It was at this point when the class was dismissed to go home due to power outages. I would really like to get to the bottom of why this student refuses to complete work and turn it in. In some cases, I can witness that the work is actually complete, but he just doesn't turn it in. I think there is definitely something going on here.

Webquest

The WebQuest that Patty and I would like to work on is actually one that I completed in Instructional Technology many semesters ago. The topic is Geography, and students will use Google Earth to complete the given tasks. My WebQuest can be found here on Google Sites. It still needs a lot of work, and all forms of assessment need to be re-done. Some of the wording on the site could be updated as well. We will be keeping Google Earth as the main source in this WebQuest.


The CSO's we are thinking of using are:
SS.O.4.4.2 Analyze and assess the effects of and explain how people adapted to geographic factors (e.g., climate, mountains, bodies of water) on the following:

• Transportation routes
• Settlement patterns and population density
• Culture (e.g., jobs, food, clothing, shelter, religion, government)
• Interactions with others (local, national, global)

SS.S.4.4 interpret, and choose maps, globes and other geographic tools to categorize and organize information about personal directions, people, places and environments (The World in Spatial Terms).

Double Entry Journal #9

"Kindergartners are now under great pressure to meet inappropriate expectations, including academic standards that until recently were reserved for first grade."
I was pretty shocked when I read this statement. I think it's crazy that teachers and administrators "do not value" play in the classroom or say there is no time. If students do not play, teachers are losing the opportunity to allow students to release energy. Children are becoming more angry and aggressive today and this could possibly be one of the leading factors.

"They invent scenes and stories, solve problems, and negotiate their way through social roadblocks. They know what they want to do and 

work diligently to do it."

This statement was said in regards to children working hard at play. Play is a form of social enrichment. Children build social skills, language skills, and tend to be less aggressive when given the chance to play. Why take this away? Children put so much effort into relationships when playing, that it would be unjust to remove play from a child's life.
“If I give the children time to play, they don’t know what to do.  They have no ideas of their own.”
I totally agree with this quote. Whenever I would babysit my neighbors, they would always ask me what to do or say there was nothing to do. I find that this is a real problem with children today. Children don't know how to be creative and use their imagination. We really need to encourage kids to get their hands dirty and explore.


Here is a link to a related MSN article.

Reference:

Miller, E., & Almon, J. (n.d.). Crisis in the kindergarten: Why children need to play in school. Retrieved from http://earlychildhoodcolorado.org/inc/uploads/Crisis_in_Kindergarten.pdf


Pappas, S. (2011, August 14). All school, no play?. Retrieved from http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44123365/ns/today-parenting_and_family/t/all-school-no-play-kids-learning-suffers-without-recess-experts-say/