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Ed 231 Language

Patrick was observed using language during an interaction with animal Beanie Babies. When asked what the characters reminded him of, Patrick said Madagascar. He then named each animal - Argo the parrot, Joey the pelican, Marsh the horse, and Robin the hummingbird. Patrick said the animals were probably best friends like in Madagascar. His language use showed understanding of questions and ability to name objects and describe relationships. The interaction provided insight into Patrick's thinking being centered around the movie Madagascar.

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83 views

Ed 231 Language

Patrick was observed using language during an interaction with animal Beanie Babies. When asked what the characters reminded him of, Patrick said Madagascar. He then named each animal - Argo the parrot, Joey the pelican, Marsh the horse, and Robin the hummingbird. Patrick said the animals were probably best friends like in Madagascar. His language use showed understanding of questions and ability to name objects and describe relationships. The interaction provided insight into Patrick's thinking being centered around the movie Madagascar.

Uploaded by

api-308892367
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Observation of Language Development

ED 231
SPECIAL NOTE: For this observation you will be collecting language samples from the child you are
observing. You will do this observation with one or two peers. One of you will interact and the others will take
notes. Then you will trade places. You will each work with your child.

Before and during the observation


Observer:
Language and cognitive development are closely related domains of development. You will focus on language
for this observation. You may interact with the child and there may be other children present. One purpose of
this observation is to give you an opportunity to think carefully about how certain types of materials inspire spontaneous
language use in young children. The teaching tool that you provide for this assignment will be used during your
observation of language development. As a result, you will be able to assess the effectiveness of the tool and your ability
to use it. You will need to select materials that facilitate the childs use of language. Collections of related objects

or other types open-ended materials work best. You will also introduce your Spontaneous Language activity at
some point during the observation. As we discussed in class, you will need to decide upon the best strategies
for encouraging language and conversational discourse. Use the form provided to document your plan for this
observation.
In order to capture authentic evidence of language development, the activities should be designed in a childdirected way. You may interact with the child to clarify their thinking but remember you are NOT trying to
teach them anything. Good questions and comments are usually the most effective.
Select an activity that will encourage spontaneous language. There are numerous possibilities so be creative. The
following is a short list of suggestions just to get you thinking:
Puppets of any kind
A game that encourages spontaneous language
Props that could be used to tell a story or promote detailed conversation
Picture Cards that could be used to tell a story or promote detailed conversation
A Writers Briefcase
Felt Board pieces
A theme oriented Prop Box for dramatic play

IMPORTANT: Be sure to think about the developmental level, interests, strengths and needs of the
child you are observing as you select the activity. Remember, you will be using this activity for the
observation of language development.

Recorder:
As recorder you will take careful notes during the 15 minute observation to collect exactly what everyone says.
You will also need to make brief notes about materials and setting. Record what the child does with the objects.
Make note of any language used by the child. Note the questions and comments your peer offers. Remember to
record how the child is doing something regardless of whether or not he or she is successful. Noting what the
child says while working/playing gives a great deal of information about thinking. At the end of the observation
you will share your notes with your peer.

Language Observation Plan


Activity/Material

Possible Prompts or Questions

4 Animal Beanie Babies


- Parrot
- Pelican
- Hummingbird
- Horse

What do these characters remind you of?


Do you think they have names/ what would you name them?
Are they friends?

After the observation


Use your data, given to you by your peer, to develop brief anecdotes that describe the childs language use. The
language areas are already categorized on the recording sheet. You will use language samples to locate evidence
of various language milestones. When recording the evidence, be sure to include the language from your child,
other children, and yourself, if you were part of the interaction.

Language Observation
Child: Patrick

Date: 3. 30. 15

Age (years and months): 4


Language Area
Listening & Comprehension
(Receptive Language)

Speaking & Vocabulary


(Expressive Language

Evidence
Patrick understood the questions and prompts when I asked him. I
tried to put the stuffed animals in front of him at first to see if he
would do anything, however he just looked at me waiting for me to
say something. Once I started asking him questions he opened up
and became more aware and understood what we were doing.
When I asked Patrick what the characters reminded him of, he
immediately told me that they reminded him of Madagascar. This
was something I really hadnt thought of when choosing the animals
I did. When I moved on to the next question, I asked Patrick if the
animals had names or what he would name them. Because of his
answer to the first question, I thought he would definitely give them
the same names the characters in the movie Madagascar had.
However, instead Patrick came up with names of each animal. The
Parrott was first. Patrick grabbed the Parrott and named him Argo. I
thought this was interesting, as Argo is the name of an R rated
movie. However, he might have thought of the name on his own or
for a different reason. The pelican he named Joey, the horse he
named Marsh, and finally he named the hummingbird, Robin. I
thought it was interesting how Patrick named the hummingbird
Robin, as he must have thought the bird was actually a Robin. When
I asked Patrick to name the hummingbird and the horse he had some
difficulties thinking so I had to give him more prompts. When he
was looking at the hummingbird I asked if he thought it looked like
a boy or a girl. He told me that it was a boy and then named him
Robin. When looking at the horse, I asked if he had ever been on a
horse before and if that horse had a name. Patrick said he rode a

Articulation & Speech Production

Language for Social Purposes


(Pragmatics)

horse at the zoo one time and he was soft like the one I brought but
that his horse didnt have a name at the zoo. The next question I
asked Patrick was if he thought they were friends. Patrick
responded, yeah, they are probably best friends like in Madagascar
but theres a lion in that movie, hes nice though. Finally I asked
Patrick what he thought the friends would do together. I was hoping
that Patrick would pick up the toys and play with them a little bit
however; he was set on answering my questions. He told me they
would go to the truck show where they have big diggers. I asked
him if he had been to the truck show before and he told me no, but
he saw it on TV.
Patricks speech production and articulation was fairly normal. I
never noticed any speech impairments, lisps or anything like that. I
did notice that sometimes Patrick will stutter or stumble over his
words when he is talking though.
Patrick was very good with his social skills. He waited until I
prompted him and asked him questions. While I was asking him
questions, he listened to me and then would take the time to think
about the question before he answered.

Language Development Observation Reflection


ED 231
While interacting with the child, which of your questions/comments prompted the child to use spontaneous language?
How did the childs response provide you with interesting information or insights into his/her thinking?
When I asked Patrick if he thought the characters were friends, he responded by telling me that they are probably best
friends like the characters in Madagascar. He then told me how there is a lion in that movie but that he was a nice lion. I
thought this was interesting because, I could tell Patricks thinking was centered around the movie Madagascar and the
characters involved.
Record YOUR question or comment below.
Do you think these characters are friends?
Evaluate the effectiveness of your Spontaneous Language material. How well did it elicit spontaneous language? Did
you find any new ways to use the material? How could you modify or improve the material to create a more spontaneous
interaction?
I think that this was definitely a learning experience. I hadnt thought that the characters I picked would spark a
connection to a popular childrens movie. It would be interesting next time to use different characters or people to see
what kind of response I would get with him then. I think that there could have been more spontaneous language because
he seemed to be very focused on just answering my questions. I had to do this observation with Patrick while his friends
were doing a group activity so it would have also been nice to see what kind of responses I would have gotten if it was
center time and there were other students interacting as well or playing.

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