OBSERVATION #5 1

Observation #5

Kevin Killgore

Pacific Oaks College

HD 450 – Reflective Teaching

Professor Waters

November 15th, 2017

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Observation #5

Introduction

Jake is a 10-year-old boy in the 5th grade. His skin is very fair, his hair is short and

brown, his eyes are light blue, and his adult teeth protrude from his mouth in a crooked fashion.

He is a bit chubby and tall for his age. The time spent with Jake for this observation occurs in a

side room of a large hall during their final play performance. This room is their backstage area,

where there is an open doorway leading onto the stage. When Jake and his classmates are not on

stage they are in this room maintaining a level of silence to not disturb the performance. The

following observations were gathered over a time period of roughly 30 minutes. This

observation was centered around Jake, but also includes observations of other children around

Jake that he wasn’t necessarily involved with.

Observation

The final performance of the fifth-grade play begins. Jake’s scene is the opening scene of

the play so he starts out on the stage. As his scene finishes he and the other children waltz off the

stage and into the backstage room. They are wearing their Native American costumes and

carrying their props in hand. Around the room, there are children in many different clusters,

engaging with each other in different silent activities. Jake smiles as he returns to the side room

and looks at his friends from his scene as they are smiling and softly giggling between each

other. Two of the girls go over to a coat rack to change costumes. Jake doesn’t change out of his

costume yet.

Next to Jake are three girls playing quietly with a mesh bandana. They are tossing it in a

triangle to each other. Each one vigorously thrusts it up into the air in the direction of the one to
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her left, in a clockwise order, and it gently floats down into her hands. The next one does it in

the same fashion, and the triangle repeats. This continues as they maintain complete silence;

only communicating with their faces. One of the 5th grade teachers walks in from the back door,

and the girls immediately drop the bandana in the basket of props, and look around the room

nonchalantly. When the teacher leaves the room, they pick the bandana up again and continue to

play toss.

A few moments later, a song is sung in the performance, which can be heard backstage.

Jake and one classmate begin to silently sing along with the words, “Yipee tye eye-oh, get along

little dogies…” While doing so, they are playfully lip-syncing by holding their hands near their

mouths as if they are holding invisible microphones, and are acting very animated. Two other

classmates decide to join them in their act. One boy next to them sees their act, and begins to

join by swinging one arm back and forth to the rhythm of the song, also in silence. The second

boy runs over to the piano in the corner of the room and pretends to play along with the song.

With alternating arms, he swings one up and the other down like a cartoon character banging on

a keyboard. As the song ends, so does their backstage performance.

As the performance comes closer to its end, one of the teachers begins to corral the

students to get ready for the finale. Jake, among others, whispers demandingly to others in the

room saying “C’mon guys! Get ready! Get in line!” They all are standing in line, peering as

best they can through the stage door as they await their cue to enter. The moment finally comes,

and they file onto the stage to sing their final song.
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Conclusion

This particular observation examined a very unique play environment. The environment

was one in which voices and sounds had to remain at very low volumes, if they even made sound

at all. This is often a difficult task for elementary-aged children. Having all the students know

that they must remain quiet, their playful spirits were not hindered. Some students used nearby

props to aid in their play, while others were more imaginative. To say the least, they kept

themselves entertained.

One of the adaptations that had to be made was communication. Without the ability to

speak louder than a feint whisper, the students used multiple alternative methods of

communication. Some students used hand gestures and body motions, some used facial

expressions and eye contact, and some whispered or mouthed words to each other. Many

students used combinations of any of those just mentioned. In order to communicate certain

opinions or just to be silly, some students would use their bodies to act in a very animated and

exaggerated manner. For example, Jake and his friend were very animated when silently lip-

syncing along to “Get Along Little Dogies,” appearing to show goofiness to their other friends.

Like his friends, the boy who pretended to play the piano also portrayed motions on the keyboard

that were very exaggerated.

In accordance with Vygotsky, the children are not simply entertaining themselves, but are

also developing on a cognitive level. Imaginative play helps children to develop meaning and

make sense of the world they live in (Farr 2014). In this particular scenario, their imaginative

play relates to the production that they have been practicing in the months leading up to this

performance, and it shows mastery of their art.

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References

Farr, T. (2014, May 13). Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development. Retrieved November

16, 2017, from http://udemyblog.wpengine.com/vygotskys-theory-of-cognitive-

development/.