Observation Log

CHILD

Day of the
Week with
DATE

Content: Strength and/or Weaknesses

Additional Thoughts:

Child 1

F- 9/9/16

LA- Writing- Focus is on oral

storytelling and linking writing to read
alouds
The teacher hung up what the students
were to write on their papers up on the
board for them to copy. It took this child
very long to get started and would not stop
talking while doing it. The teacher had to
consistently tell her to stay on task. She
completed the assignment during lunch
since she did not finish it due to talking.

She has problems

completing tasks in a
timely fashion. Timing
her might help motivate
her to get things done.
Her table mates also
seem to distract her.
Student might be better
off sitting at another
table.

Child 1 T- 9/13/16

LA- Writing- Focus is on story

comprehension and comparing and
contrasting two stories
The student made two comparing and
contrasting comments about the books
that were read. Verbally answering is a
strength of hers. As we read, she tried to
pay attention but was still very distracted
by the other students on the carpet. This is
one of her biggest weaknesses.

This student seems to be

more of an auditory
learner. She is able to
comprehend things
through listening but
struggles with reading
and writing. If she were
not distracted all the
time, I believe that she
would know exactly
what was going on.

Child 1

F- 9/16/16

Math- Focus is on odd and even

numbers as well as patterns and time.
The child tried to be engaged in the
lesson. She kept speaking out when she
was not called on though. Again, this is
one of her biggest weaknesses with all of
her subjects. She was not understanding
the concept of even and odd quite yet.

In my opinion, I think
that this student needs to
sit in the front row on
the carpet and switch her
table to a quieter table
so that she is not
tempted to talk so much.
Sitting in the front row
might help her to be less
distracted by other
things on the carpet.

Child 1

T- 9/20/16

LA- Writing- Focus is on key ideas and

pictures and also short a words.
The child drew the appropriate pictures

Student seems to
understand what to do
but is struggling with the

but had a hard time coming up with

sentences to describe them. She kept
getting out of her seat to use the restroom,
get a tissue, sharpen her pencil, etc. The
teacher made her stay in her seat until she
was finished but she had a very hard time
with this.

writing portion. She

wants the teachers to
spell all the words for
her before even trying to
sound them out. We
make her sound them
out before helping
though and she is
usually able to get them.

Child 1

M- 9/26/16

LA- Focus is on making connections to

self, other texts, and more.
She made comments about how the two
main characters from each book were
alike physically. When asked to compare
characteristics that were not physical
though, she had a hard time.

We read two Miss

Nelson books. She
understood what
comparing and
contrasting meant, but
was confused when we
talked about physical
characteristics versus
characteristics related to
personality or emotion.

Child 1

F- 9/30/16

LA- Reading/Writing- Focus is on using

details to describe the story and
working with also short o words
The student had to ask many questions
about what to do because she was not
engaged during the read aloud. The
writing assignment they did today was
based on the reading. For her short o
writing assignment, she kept trying to
look at her neighbors paper to see what to
do.

She becomes so
distracted on the carpet
that she misses so much
important information.
The fact that she talks so
much could indicate that
she is a verbal/auditory
learner.

Child 1

M- 10/3/16

LA- Writing- Focus is sequencing the

events of a story
The child started off very slow but once
she got to work she did everything
correctly. She needed most of the boxes
on the worksheet they were doing read to
her, but she knew the answers after the
questions were read aloud to her.

She kept asking what to

do but when our
response was, what do
you think you have to
do, she knew exactly
what to do. She lacks
confidence in her work
and her first solution is
to ask questions that she
already knows the
answers for.

Child 1

M- 10/3/16

Math- Focus is on addition problems to

20 and story problems
The child was not engaged in the lesson.
She was playing with her shoes, leaning
on the cabinets and playing with them,
and trying to talk to her neighbor. The
teacher attempted to get her engaged by
calling on her to answer questions and
such, however she did not know several of
them. Also, after the teacher was done
talking to her, she would go straight back
to being distracted.

Again, in my opinion, I
think that this student
would benefit from
moving to the front row
while sitting on the
carpet. She becomes so
distracted by her
surroundings that she
misses out on the
important information.

Child 1

M10/10/16

LA- Focus is on writing personal

narratives with the class.
The students began to write in their
writing journals today. The teacher
modeled what she wanted them to write
and had them copy what she wrote into
their own journals. This child
procrastinated writing, but soon got
started. She asked many questions about
what to write but eventually got it.

She did not talk as much

as she usually does
during tasks. This could
be due to the sign we
had her make. It is a
Stop and Think sign.
She made it and its a
reminder for her to try
before she asks
questions.

Child 1

Th10/13-16

Math- Focus is on breaking down

numbers 10 and under.
She did a nice job using the number line
on her desk to help her with this but she
still asked so many questions. She knows
the answers but still asks if theyre right.

This student seems to do

better in math than in
reading and writing. She
is more interested in this
as well.

Child 2

F- 9/9/16

LA- Writing- Focus is on Oral

Storytelling and Linking writing to
read alouds
When it was time for students to copy the
graphic organizer onto their own papers,
this student was reluctant to do so. He put
his head down and then began walking
around the room afterwards. He is a

This student is an ELL

student but can speak
fluent English. He does
okay with his writing
but does not like to. He
does not like to engage
in an academic activity.
We need to find

defiant student who does this often. After

talking to him, he finally sat back in his
seat and began writing, but very slowly.

something that will

motivate him to stop this
behavior.

Child 2

T- 9/13/16

LA- Reading- Focus is on story

comprehension and answering
questions as a class.
Today, the teacher did a read-aloud and
asked questions to the students. When
asked a question on the carpet, he
shrugged his shoulders because he did not
know the answer.

This child is an ELL

student so sometimes, he
has a hard time
comprehending the
stories we read. His
mother speaks Spanish
at home and he speaks
both Spanish and
English. This could be
where some of his
comprehension issues
are coming from though.

Child 2

F- 9/16/16

Math- Focus is on odd and even

numbers as well as patterns and time.
This child was able to complete the
worksheet on odd and even numbers with
80% success. He understands the buddy
concept that we have been working on.
When working with the clocks though,
this student completely stopped working
and became defiant once again. He got up
from his seat, walked right out the door,
and would not come back in the room.
When he finally did, he went to the
classroom library and started doing
somersaults on the carpet.

When this student

decided to quit working,
this is what he does
every time. This was not
the first time this has
happened. Sometimes,
nothing will trigger it,
but today, the time
portion of the math
lesson seems to be what
triggered it. In future
lessons, I will watch for
this and try to stop it
before it escalates this
much again.

Child 2

T- 9/20/16

LA- Writing- Focus is on key ideas and

pictures and also short a words.
This student drew pictures that did not
match the part of the story that he was
supposed to be drawing about. His
sentences also did not match. He was
confused on what to write. After
explaining the task to him in a different
way, he was able to verbally tell us what
the character was like at the beginning,
middle, and end of the story. He attempted
to fix his sentences and drawings.

This child tried very

hard today. I think that a
large part of his
misunderstandings are
due to his language.
Sometimes it is hard for
him to know what
English words mean,
even though he knows
how to say them. He
needs vocabulary work.

Child 2

M- 9/26/16

LA- Reading- Focus is on making

connections to self, other texts, and
more.
The story they read was a Miss Nelson
book. Last Friday, they read a different
Miss Nelson book so today they compared
and contrasted the two texts. They focused
on the main characters and talked about
how they were alike and different. This
student was engaged in the reading and
seemed interested in it. He tried to answer
several of the teachers questions and got
most of them correct. He made a comment
about the characters personality
differences, which is something that many
of the other students were not able to do.

This child is very

interested in reading.
However he does not
like to write. Today, he
sat and listened quietly
on the carpet the whole
time. He was engaged in
the discussion and
seemed to understand
what was going on
during the story.

Child 2

F- 9/30/16

LA- Reading/Writing- Focus is on using

details to describe the story and also
short o words
This boy sat down to write and was able
to write one detail for each part of the
paper. We assisted him by explaining the
questions in a different way than what was
written. He tried his best and scored fairly
well on the paper.

Positive reinforcement
and praise has been
motivating this boy. He
tries very hard when he
is being praised. Today,
I noticed he was starting
to quit and get distracted
instead of doing his
paper, so I went up and
praised how much he
had already done. I was
clear on what he still
needed to do but in a
very positive way. This
drove him to get back on
track and continue to
work.

Child 2

M- 10/3/16

LA- Writing- Focus is sequencing the

events of a story
He was very engaged because the story
had Spanish in it and he speaks the
language. The teacher had him translate
several words for the class and he was
happy to help. He sat on the carpet quietly
during the read aloud and then worked
hard at his seat to get his work done. He
did need help reading the questions on the

After reading the

questions to him, I
stayed near him in case
he needed more help. He
worked diligently and
was really trying to
write. He was interested
in this task because he
was able to relate to it.
He felt special because

worksheet.

the teacher asked him to

translate many of the
words to the rest of the
class and they were all
amazed.

Child 2

M- 10/3/16

Math- Focus is on addition problems to

20 and story problems.
This child was uninvolved in the lesson.
He refused to even open his book. He
started running around the room and doing
somersaults on the large carpet while the
other students were trying to do their
work. He laid on the floor and was
throwing his erasers in the air before my
teacher sent him down to the principals
office.

Math seems to be a
consistent problem with
him. He refuses to even
try. Additional tutoring
would be very beneficial
to him. He knows how
to do most of the work
but just doesnt seem to
like to.

Child 2

M10/10/16

LA- Focus is on writing personal

narratives with the class.
The students began to write in their
writing journals today. The teacher
modeled what she wanted them to write
and had them copy what she wrote into
their own journals. This child asked to use
the restroom but would not come back
into the room afterwards. He did not
complete this activity today, but will
finish later.

This child acts out every

time he does not feel
like doing something.
We try to be so
motivating with him and
even allow him to get on
the computers (which is
something he loves)
when he behaves
appropriately, however
this doesnt always
work.

Child 2

Th10/13/16

Math- Focus is on breaking down

numbers 10 and under.
This student was suspended for the week
so he was not in class after Monday.

This child will not be

back in school until next
week.