Format for Observation Paper

Class/secti
on:
Your
Name:
Assignmen
t:

FHS 1500 (MWF)

Ana de Freitas
Observation #3

Background
Childs age:
Fictitious
name:
Location:

Information
10-11 years
Gracie
Lincoln Elementary School
450 E 3700 S, South Salt Lake, UT 84115

Physical Development
I observed the fifth grade class and focused on an 11 year old girl named
Gracie. She sat in the back row and did not move too much throughout the time I
was there. She was a little heavier than most of the other students in the class. I
do not know if she is obese, but she could be. It depends on her weight to height
ratio or body to mass index (BMI) (Berger, 2014, p. 247). I was not present during
recess during my observation, but I am guessing she does not spend much time
doing physical activity. If she is obese or overweight, hopefully she will lose weight
and develop healthy habits so she can stay healthy throughout the rest of her life.
It is very important that she develops these habits earlier so they will be easier for
her in the long run. Childhood obesity continues to increase in the U.S. and is a
trend that will hopefully diminish soon. About 1/3 of 6 to 11 year old children are
overweight (Berger, 2014, p. 247). Not only does obesity affect the child now but it
will affect her long-term. Self-esteem usually falls, school achievement drops, and
as they become older, they are less likely to marry or attend college. Children ages
5 to 17 should be active for at least one hour a day, which is just the minimum.
Although physical activity poses risks, the childs health is better overall (Berger,
2014, p. 246). Hopefully Gracie exercises more and gets the help she needs. If not,
the future could be hard on her. Exercise and good eating habits should be a part
of everyones daily life.
Cognitive Development
According to Piaget, middle childhood is associated with concrete operational
thought. That means that children can perform logical operations (Berger, 2014, p.
253). Gracie could read and write. She played matching games which required her
to think about which word matched with its corresponding picture. Each day they
learned new words, therefore increasing their vocabulary. Each students reading

speed was tested. She listened to the teacher and followed all instructions. During
the silent reading she pulled out a small but wordy book. When she colored, she
did not go out of the lines. All the students were given an exercise in which they
had to cut different shapes out of paper. She was very efficient and involved in her
own work. Something that I noticed was that the teacher had to repeat a lot of the
same things. She would tell the kids how to say a certain word and have them
repeat it back to her. She repeated the same word 5 times and had the children
repeat over and over, multiple times. Children need a lot of practice to master a
strategy or remember a word (Berger, 2014, p. 256). Lastly, the teacher would
countdown from 10 to get the childrens attention and silence. Gracie was a very
good student and had no problem quieting down. She seemed very mature for her
age. Maybe shes mature and knows to quiete down the first time she is asked;
maybe she is just a quiet person.
Social/Emotional Development
Gracie did not interact socially as much as the other kids. She sort of did her
own thing; however she did look over at her neighbors assignment. I did not really
see her talk to any of the students. She would ask the teacher questions of
clarification. She was not distracted by the other students. That demonstrates
selective attention (Berger, 2014, p. 256). She chose to ignore the conversations of
others while focusing on her worksheet. During the last 15 minutes of class, the
teacher asked the students to clean up all the papers off the floor and line up their
desks. Gracie immediately did what was asked and was ready to go. My opinion is
that she wanted to go home. I do not know if she has a lot of friends but hopefully
she does and they are a good influence. With a bad peer group, she may feel as
though she is less and become depressed or may even take on unhealthy
behaviors because of peer pressure. A bad group of friends could also lead to low
self-esteem. Although bullying is common in middle childhood (Berger, 2014, p.
308), I did not witness any form during my visit. Gracie did not seem to have any
problems. She seemed to be content and amused by her classwork.

Reference List
Berger, K. S. (2014). Invitation to the life span (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Worth
Publishers.