Hirsch 1

Sarah Hirsch
Sonya Gaches
TLS 357 Fall 16
01 December 2016
Final Written Report
Child 1s name: Nick
Description of Child
This child is a 7-year-old boy in second grade. He is part of a four-member
family. Nicks family consists of his mother, father, and sister. Nicks parents are
divorced and he splits his time between the two homes. He has a dog at his
mothers house and another dog at his fathers house. His father has had some
legal issues that keep him from being an active part of our school community.
Nicks mother is from Sweden and is a registered nurse and doula. His father is a
martial arts instructor and real estate broker. Nick speaks English but is exposed
to the language of Swedish in his household through his mother.
Description of Assessment Used
Number of the Day Almost everyday the teacher gives this in class assessment
called number of the day. The first graders in the class are given a two-digit
number and the second graders are given a three-digit number. The second grade

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sheet asks the students to show a different way of writing the number, if it is odd
or even, what would be 1 more or 1 less, 10 more or 10 less, 100 more or 100 less,
the word form, how many 100s, 10s, and 1s, and what the expanded form is. This
assessment shows their growth in their understanding of math.
Classroom Observations These are the everyday things that the teacher notices
in the classroom throughout the day. The data collected in this manner goes
towards understanding better ways to support the student and in what ways they
may need more assistance. This is done on a notepad that the teacher keeps on
their person throughout the day so they can record the data they see.
Family questionnaires These are assessments that the teacher has gathered off
of parent questionnaires. This are sent out quarterly and asks how the child feels
about school, their favorite subjects, their strengths and challenges, and any
questions that want to be discussed during conferences.
Science Reports These are done twice a semester on a topic that the children are
studying during their science time. The students conduct a data collection phase
using note taking worksheets, nonfiction books, and the Internet. Once the
children have done their research in the form of observations and data. The next
stage for the students is to draw about their topic and to write a one-page report
stating the learned facts and conclusions that they have found. These reports are

Hirsch 3
assessed based on thoroughness of details on their topic and also how detailed
their illustrations are and how well they support their report. When the reports
and illustrations are finished, they are put on display in the classroom hallway.
Successmaker This is a computer-based assessment that measures a students
knowledge in math and reading. It consists of numerous activities that test where
a student is in these subjects and pushes them to learn a bit more outside of their
knowledge. This assessment is done through clicking numbers and letters on the
screen, typing the answers on the keyboard, or answering verbally through the
microphone on their headset.
Big Brown Bear Typing This is a free website that the students have been
practicing their typing skills on. This assessment measure their accuracy, speed,
and words per minute. We began this assessment to prepare the second graders
for the standardized testing that requires them to type on a computer. This
assessment teaches the children letter recognition, word construction, and fine
motor skills.
Student of the Week Letters This assessment is in a letter format and has the
students write the date, a heading, six sentences with adjectives and justifications
for the adjectives that describe the student of the week, and a closing. The
students work a rough draft and the once the corrections that are needed are

Hirsch 4
made, they write their final draft. These letters then go home with that student
of the week when all of the letters are completed. The letters are assessed based
off of sentence requirement and quality as well as correct letter format.
Analysis of Childs Growth and Skills
Physical Development In the initial assessment, Nick was able to walk in
line and was able to support his body to sit criss cross on the carpet. He was also
able to running in a coordinated fashion and had the fine motor skills to properly
grip and control his writing utensils. On October 26, 2016, I monitored Nick while
he worked on Big Brown Bear Typing and noticed that he was using proper hand and
finger placement on the keyboard and also knew which finger to use to strike the
appropriate key. This showed how his fine motor skills had progressed from
holding a pencil to convey his words, to using his fingers to convey his words
through a computer. On November 7, 2016, I observed Nick running up and down a
flight of stairs in his home. He was doing this by putting one foot on each step and
exhibited a mastery of this gross motor skill.
Social & Emotional Development In the initial assessment, Nicks mother
recorded on a family questionnaire that Nick feels just fine about school. Nick
tended to hang out with the same group of children in the classroom. Nick was well
adjusted with his parents divorce. Throughout the semester I have observed Nick

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begin to form a new friendship with one of the other children in the classroom. On
October 5, 2016, the children were able to choose their own partners for a math
game. Instead of Nick picking one of his 2 nd grade friends he approached Michael,
one of the first graders in the class. On November 2, 2016, Nick invited Michael
to sit with him and his other friends at a table to work on his assignment. This
shows how Nick has developed the skills necessary to form friendships and
relationships with his peers.
Language Development In the beginning of the year, Nick was able to
communicate his needs and answered questions that were posed at him. He used
expression and detail when he communicated with his peers and the adults he
encountered. On November 7, 2016, I observed Nick understanding and using
sarcasm with his mother. On this same day, I also observed that Nick has become
more comfortable holding lengthy conversations with adults that he isnt that
familiar with. He spoke with a parent volunteer in the classroom for 3 minutes and
included jokes and personal details in their conversation. This shows that Nick has
developed the skills necessary to be a lively conversation partner and has begun to
understand the various forms of speech.
Reading & language Arts Skills In the initial assessment, Nick had
mastered 7 out of the 7 skills that had been assessed on the assessment

Hirsch 6
Successmaker. He had also made a 0.10 gain since he had originally started this
assessment. When the data was last pulled from this assessment on October 26,
2016, Nick had mastered 14 out of the 15 skills that were being tested at his
course level. Nick had also made a 0.60 growth from the initial start of this
assessment. In Nicks student of the week letters, he showed his understanding of
punctuation marks, letter formats, and sentence structure from the beginning.
Nick is still working on his grammar and expression in his letters. In his October
27, 2016 letter, he had 12 miscues, but he has shown growth because in his
November 10, 2016 letter, he had no miscues.
Math Skills In the initial assessment, Nick had the highest score of 3.25
on the math section of the assessment Successmaker. When the data was last
pulled from this assessment on October 26, 2016, Nick still had the highest score,
but his score had grown by .75 to a 4.00. In the initial assessment of the Number
of the Day, Nick gave all of the correct answers to the categories being assessed.
Throughout the semester, Nick has continued to make no miscues on this
assessment. He has shown growth through this assessment by solving the problems
for much higher numbers. In the beginning of the semester he was solving for
numbers like 213, 313, and 431. At the end of the semester he is solving for

Hirsch 7
numbers like 897, 797, and 916. This shows his growth of his understanding of
three digit numbers and their properties in math.
Social Studies Skills In the initial assessment, Nick was familiar with which
hand was supposed to be used to say the pledge of allegiance. He also knew the
words to the pledge and how to say them correctly. He has continued to
understand this concept throughout the semester. In the beginning of the
semester, I observed Nick try to accurately show the location of the tropical
rainforests in the world during the social studies time in our class schedule. While
he knew that there were any tropical rainforests in the United States, he was
unsure of where they were located in the world. Throughout the studies in his
social studies group, Nick has grown in his understanding of this topic. On
November 16, 2016, I observed Nick shade in the tropical rainforests correctly on
a world map and write facts and information about the tropical rainforests of the
world. This showed Nicks growth of his world understanding and of the different
types of habitats that make up the world.
Science Skills In the beginning of the year, the classroom did reports on a
mealworms life cycle. The students wrote details about their worm and drew a
picture of their worm. Nicks insect record had 4 details and a small picture.
Later in the semester, the students had to pick an animal to research for theme

Hirsch 8
study and Nick chose to focus on the Anaconda. The students had to research the
animal of focus and create a science report on that animal. During his initial
research period of the anaconda, his data was simplistic and was not report ready.
Nick showed thorough research of his animal in his research packet, but did not
have full ideas expressed yet. In Nicks final report, he showed growth through
combining all the different facts about his chosen animal into a cohesive report
that is easy to read and understand. All the data that was simplistic was combined
with other data to make a clear and cohesive sentence adding detail to his animal.
This showed his growth of understanding that making clear ideas helps with writing
a science report that needs to be understood by a particular audience. His final
report also showed his growth in gathering more data and being able to compile the
data into a report.
Childs Strengths and Areas for Future Growth
Nick has great strengths in both gross motor skills and fine motor skills. He
is able to run up stairs and type using correct hand placement on a keyboard which
are both complex skills for a child to master. Nick has strength with forming
lasting relationships with the other students in his class. His language is a great
strength to him. He is able to fully communicate his needs and wants and uses
expressive adult like language. Nick has strength with his writing. All of his

Hirsch 9
writing follows the same type of flow so an area of future growth for Nick would
be for him to experiment with different types of writing styles to see if there is
one that would work better for a certain type of writing than others. One of
Nicks greatest strengths is his ability in math. In a regular assessment for math,
he never gets a problem wrong. He has mastered the concept of three digit
numbers so an area of future growth for Nick would be to challenge him with four
and five digit numbers on this assessment. In social studies, Nick has shown
strength in his ability to research and understand more about the world. An area
of future growth in this domain could be for him to do more research on different
types of habitats in the world. Nick has strength in his science skills in that he is
able to accurately collect and record data to make a report for an audience.
Collaboration with Child and Family for Presentation
For this presentation, I told Nick and his mother at the first home
engagement that I would be making something about him. I gave him option of
what kind of medium could be used to tell his story and he originally chose a
PowerPoint and he wanted it to be minecraft theme with his favorite color of red.
His mother is the one that suggested incorporating the color red into his
presentation since a lot of what he does is in red. I touched base with him about
three weeks ago and he changed his mind about the presentation. He now wanted a

Hirsch 10
display board that was red, but he wanted the theme to reflect the science area
that would be presented. Because of this change, the theme of the presentation
became snakes. Nick also helped me pick out work samples to put on his board.

Child 2s name Derek

Description of Child
This child is 7 years old and is in first grade. He lives with his mother,
father, and younger sibling. After his first year in school, Derek was retained in
Kindergarten for another year. Dereks favorite subject is math and his parents
say that he is really enjoying school this year. Derek has a speech IEP and is
worked with by a resource teacher for a certain amount of time each week. Derek
speaks English and comes from an English speaking family. Derek is of Hispanic
descent so he may be exposed to Spanish through his family.
Description of Assessment Used
Number of the Day Almost everyday the teacher gives this in class assessment
called number of the day. The first graders in the class are given a two-digit
number and the second graders are given a three-digit number. The second grade
sheet asks the students to show a different way of writing the number, if it is odd
or even, what would be 1 more or 1 less, 10 more or 10 less, 100 more or 100 less,

Hirsch 11
the word form, how many 100s, 10s, and 1s, and what the expanded form is. This
assessment shows their growth in their understanding of math.
Classroom Observations These are the everyday things that the teacher notices
in the classroom throughout the day. The data collected in this manner goes
towards understanding better ways to support the student and in what ways they
may need more assistance. This is done on a notepad that the teacher keeps on
their person throughout the day so they can record the data they see.
Family Questionnaires These are assessments that the teacher has gathered off
of parent questionnaires. These are sent out quarterly and ask how the child feels
about school, their favorite subjects, their strengths and challenges, and any
questions that want to be discussed during conferences.
Science Reports These are done twice a semester on a topic that the children are
studying during their science time. The students conduct a data collection phase
using note taking worksheets, nonfiction books, and the Internet. Once the
children have done their research in the form of observations and data. The next
stage for the students is to draw about their topic and to write a one-page report
stating the learned facts and conclusions that they have found. These reports are
assessed based on thoroughness of details on their topic and also how detailed

Hirsch 12
their illustrations are and how well they support their report. When the reports
and illustrations are finished, they are put on display in the classroom hallway.
Successmaker This is a computer-based assessment that measures a students
knowledge in math and reading. It consists of numerous activities that test where
a student is in these subjects and pushes them to learn a bit more outside of their
knowledge. This assessment is done through clicking numbers and letters on the
screen, typing the answers on the keyboard, or answering verbally through the
microphone on their headset.
Big Brown Bear Typing This is a free website that the students have been
practicing their typing skills on. This assessment measure their accuracy, speed,
and words per minute. We began this assessment to prepare the second graders
for the standardized testing that requires them to type on a computer. This
assessment teaches the children letter recognition, word construction, and fine
motor skills.
Student of the Week Letters This assessment is in a letter format and has the
students write the date, a heading, six sentences with adjectives and justifications
for the adjectives that describe the student of the week, and a closing. The
students work a rough draft and the once the corrections that are needed are
made, they write their final draft. These letters then go home with that student

Hirsch 13
of the week when all of the letters are completed. The letters are assessed based
off of sentence requirement and quality as well as correct letter format.
Analysis of Childs Growth and Skills
Physical Development In the initial assessment, Derek was able to sit on
the carpet correctly and walk in a line with the other students. He also displayed
the fine motor skills needed to hold and use a writing utensil correctly. Currently
in the semester, the students are learning how to type with the assessment Big
Brown Bear Typing. Derek is developing the more complex fine motor skills needed
to type with the correct hand position. In the beginning of the assessment, Derek
was unable to keep his hands in the correct position and used the search and peck
method. Through the practice that is needed to learn to type correctly, Derek has
shown growth. When the letter is one that is located on the home row of the
keyboard, Derek is able to use the correct hand position in order to hit the key.
For most other keys, he needs to lift his hands off the keyboard so he can see
where the letters are located, but once he finds the key he is looking for, he
places his hands correctly and then stretches to hit it.
Social & Emotional Development In a family questionnaire that was sent out
at the beginning of the semester, Dereks mom said that he feels super good about
school, which shows his understanding of his feelings. In the initial assessment, I

Hirsch 14
observed that while Derek interacted with quite a few of his classmates, he hadnt
formed a close bond or friendship with any child in the classroom. On October 12,
2016, I noticed that Derek was laughing and holding a lengthy conversation with
another boy in the class on their way to the gymnasium. On October 26, 2016, I
observed that Derek chose to partner up with this same boy for a math game and
also chose to sit next to him on the carpet. On November 7, 2016, I observed that
Derek stood in line with this boy on their way to class in the morning and they were
sharing a joke and some laughs. This shows Dereks growth in his social
interactions with his peers and his ability to form lasting relationships.
Language Development In the beginning of the year, Derek was able to
communicate his needs and be understood by the other students. He occasionally
stuttered, but was still able to express himself. Derek receives pull out services
for his stutter, and has come a long way with his speaking. On October 5, 2016 I
observed Derek speaking with a student for a period of about 3 minutes. During
these 3 minutes, Derek only stuttered with 5 words. On November 16, 2016, I
again observed Derek speaking with a friend during a math activity during a 5minute period. During this time, Derek only stuttered on one of the words he
spoke the entire time. This shows Dereks growth in his language development
throughout the semester so far.

Hirsch 15
Reading & language Arts Skills In the initial assessment, Derek had only
mastered 3 out of the 7 skills that he was tested on in the Successmaker
assessment. He had also gained 0.16 on his course level. When the data was last
pulled on October 26, 2016, Derek had mastered 8 of the 15 skills being assessed.
He has also made a 0.60 gain from his original course level placement at the
beginning of the assessment. In Dereks student of the week letters for the week
of October 21, 2017, he was unclear about the proper format of a letter. He had
all the elements, but they just werent necessarily in the correct location. By the
week of November 10, 2016, Derek had become familiar with the proper format
for a letter. This shows his growth in his writing and in understanding the
different ways to write and the different reasons to write.
Math Skills In the initial assessment, Derek always wrote the number and
its word form correctly in the Number of the Day assessment. He did well on the
adding and subtracting 10 as well, but was still unclear on identifying even and odd
numbers. In the more recent Number of the Day assessments, Derek accurately
writes the number and its word form, the base ten form, the number in tally marks,
and the even and odd identification. This assessment shows his growth in his
understanding of what the difference is between an odd and an even number is.

Hirsch 16
Social Studies Skills In the initial assessment, Derek was still unsure about
which hand to use during the pledge of allegiance, but he was able to say at least
half of the words correctly. While he mastered the knowledge of which hand to
use for the pledge, he still had not learned all of the words for the pledge yet. On
October 26, 2016, I observed that Derek used the correct hand for the pledge of
allegiance and also said all of the words correctly. This shows his growth with
memorizing important recitations and his growth in his recall ability of information.
Science Skills In the beginning of the year, the classroom did reports on a
mealworms life cycle. The students wrote details about their worm and drew a
picture of their worm. In the initial insect record, Derek only wrote one
incomplete detail about his mealworm and drew a non-detailed picture of the worm.
Later in the semester, the students had to pick an animal to research for theme
study and Derek chose the Leaf Cutter Ant. Derek put information on all but one
of the pages in his data collection packet. Derek collected a little bit of data to
begin his report and got all the key pieces to begin his final report on the leaf
cutter ant. Dereks report was in the correct format and contained all the key
details and facts from his data collection worksheet. Derek has still not finished
his picture that is to accompany his report. This shows his growth in understanding

Hirsch 17
how to write in a report format. It also shows his growth in data collection
methods and how to record it properly.
Childs Strengths and Areas for Future Growth
Derek has exhibited a beginning strength in his fine motor skills with typing.
I would like to see him grow further with his typing by practicing where the keys
are in relation to his hand placement. Derek is showing a strength for forming
lasting bonds with others in the classroom. Derek is really showing growth and
strength in his language development with his perseverance over his stutter. An
area for future growth with his language development would be for Derek to
continue his work with the resource teacher and continue with the language
development supports that are currently in place. Derek is showing strength with
the different writing formats needed for different purposes and audiences. I
would like to see Derek work with other types of formats in his writings to
continue to develop his writing skills. Derek shows strength with addition and
subtraction with double-digit numbers.
Collaboration with Child and Family for Presentation
For the presentation, I emailed Dereks mother to ask for the family input
for what to use to present the data since the families do not come near the
classroom for drop off and pickup of the students. I never heard back from the

Hirsch 18
family after three attempts of emailing them so I continued on with the
presentation based off of Dereks input. I gave Derek some ideas and Nick came
by and told him he was doing a PowerPoint presentation. Derek decided that he
wanted to do a display board with a Pokmon theme for his information. When I
checked in with Derek about three weeks ago, he overheard Nicks idea of using his
favorite color and his science report animal as a theme for his board. So Derek
asked to do a blue display board with a leaf cutter ant theme. Derek also helped
me pick some of the work samples to be put on the board.