Running Head: Elementary Observation

Child Development and Early Learning:

Elementary Observation
Sydney E. Henderson
Kennesaw State University

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This observation was done on a male elementary school student named Tyler, age 10
years and 2 months. This observations was performed at the residence of the child. Tyler was
born to a 21 year old mother and a 24 year old father. His mother is distant and uninvolved in
his life. When asked, Tyler simply states that his mother doesnt want to see him anymore.
Tyler spends the majority of his time with his paternal grandmother. His grandmother indulges in
giving in to Tylers every whim, and Tyler expects to get this sort of attention and treatment in all
places including the classroom and during his after school program. Tyler attends a public
elementary school and is in the fourth grade and he was born on September 20, 2006.
Tyler has three older siblings from his fathers previous marriage, although he does not
live with nor see his siblings very often. He stated that he saw his older siblings (ages 12, 14,
and 16) on his birthday and then not again until Halloween and he will see them next on
Thanksgiving. From stories that have been told, I take it that Tylers older siblings are into
trouble and not great influences on him. Tyler is most interested in pranks, and told me of a
recent trip he made with his grandmother just because to Eddies Trick Shop for prank props.
The YMCA Ontario put together a short Prezi on the developmental stages of the middle
child. This prezi asserts that this middle child is developing in seven different domains.. These
domains are as follows: Physical, Social, Self, Moral, Cognitive, Language, and Creative. In the
physical domain, a middle childhood child generally enjoys playing things that involve running,
jumping, and sports. In the social domain, they enjoy doing things with their best friend. In the
social domain, middle childhood children enjoy the family, but look to their friends more often
than family. As far as morals go, these children are well aware of what their right and wrong are,
but not everyone always agrees with them. Cognitively, these children make plans about what
they are going to do, but do not always stick to their plans. Their language has advanced
enough for them to feel comfortable expressing their ideas, and their creativity shows itself
through the writing process and the stories they write.

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According to Tyler, his ASP teacher recently explained to his ASP class how important
Veterans Day was, and why we celebrate it! I decided to draw off of this learning experience in
helping Tyler to further explore his thoughts on veterans, the things they do for this country and
how their job impacts civilian lives. According to the Georgia Department of Education, fourth
graders should be able to:
ELAGSE4W1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view
with reasons.
a. Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an
opinion, and create an organizational structure in which related ideas are
grouped to support the writers purpose.
b. Provide reasons that are supported by facts
and details.
c. Link opinion and reasons using words and
phrases (e.g., for instance, in order to, in addition)
d. Provide a concluding statement or section
related to the opinion presented.
After viewing these standards, and in keeping with a recent, familiar topic, I decided to
have Tyler write an opinion piece on the importance of Veterans Day. This assignment allows
me to assess Tyler to see if he is able to write properly and if he is able to formulate an opinion
and give reasons to support his thinking. The materials needed for this lesson are as follows: A
whiteboard, a dry erase marker, paper and pencil. First, Tyler and I talked about Veterans. On
the whiteboard, we defined veteran. We listed why veterans are important, what they do/have
done, how their job affects Tylers life, my life, and others lives.
After this discussion, I asked Tyler to an opinion piece about the importance of Veterans.
I explained to him that this could mean he chose that he believes that Veterans are important or
that he does not believe that Veterans are important. Tyler wrote a short opinion essay, clearly

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organizing all of his thoughts in sequential order, with a beginning, middle and end. He was able
to give one-two reasons for each opinion he stated in his paper, as well as throwing in a few
arguments and successfully giving reasons why he felt that these arguments were, in his
opinion, not valid.
This was and is a very important lesson for all children to be taught. Tyler wrote in his
paper that before this year, he did not know what a Veteran was, and that he wished he had
known about them before now so that he could have shown his appreciation for the sacrifices
so many have made to keep [him] safe and secure [his] freedom. Because I had Tyler write, I
gave him time to work on it and came back to meet him a second time to get his paper from
him. At this meeting, Tyler explained to me that he went to school and he told all his classmates
about Veterans. He told them all about how we should all thank them!
After hearing the discussions in class, Tylers teacher even set up a project to raise
awareness around the school, and to get all grade levels involved. Each classroom, and each
student as well as the staff all wrote letters to our troops, and are sending them to our soldiers
for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Since this project has come up, Tyler has gotten
many others in his life to write one as well. He asked me to create one, his father and
grandmother have both created one, as well. I think this lesson went much better than planned!
Tyler learned the importance of showing his appreciation, as well as tried to educated all those
in his life about his new knowledge.

References
GeorgiaStandards.Org - Official Site. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2016, from
https://www.georgiastandards.org/
Y., & L. (2014, March 14). Ages and Stages of Middle Childhood 6 to 12 Year Olds. Retrieved

Elementary Observation
November 14, 2016, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtpiBtL_7zc