5. OBSERVING, RECORDING, AND REPORTING …

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, RECORDING, ANDREPORTINGCHILDREN'SDEVELOP MENTObservingandRecordingHowdoteacherskn owif thematerialsintheactivitycentersareofint eresttochildren?Howdotheyknowif theactivitiesaremeetingtheneedsofchildre n?Howcanteachersshareinformationwithpare ntsina waythataccuratelydescribeshowtheirchildr enarespendingtheirtime?Howdoteachersdocu menta concernthattheyhaveabouta child 'sbehavior?Howdoteachersindividuali zeanactivity?Thesearesomeofthequestionst hatteachersshouldaskthemselvesastheyplan activities,adapttheenvironment, ,classroom, , ~a ' bigsmilemightbetheonlyindicationwehaveth ata ,Childrencommunicatewithusthroughtheirey es,thequalityoftheirvoices,theirbodypost ures,theirgestures,theirmannerisms,their smiles,theirjumpingupanddown, ,bythewaytheydothings,aswellasbywhatthey do,whatis 'sbehaviorthroughtheeyesofitsmeaning99Ob serving, RECORDING, andReportingChildren's Developmenttothem,fromtheinsideout, (CohenandStem,1974, ).Byrecordingtheirobservations,teachersd ocumentchildren' ,observationsofthechildcanrevealpatterns ofbehavior,learningpreferences,masteryof skills, , ,however,todescribeaccuratelythebehavior stheyrecord, ;rather, :"Jopickeduptheblockandthrewit atSamuel,"or,"Mariespenthertimeoutdoorss ittingunderthetree.

self-help skills. These checklists provide information about what a child can and cannot do in each developmental area. Teachers can use this information to help set goals for a child and plan activities that help the child progress. An example of a developmental checklist, Observation Checklist for Teachers, is at the end of this chapter.

  Checklist, Reporting, Child, Recording, Observing, And reporting