Observing Children for Differentiated Instruction: Practical Strategies & Goals

1. Practical Strategies for Observing Children to Support Differentiated Instruction Boces, 11/3

2. What are you expecting to learn from this workshop?

3. Goals • Write an objective observation • Observe young children with a purpose • Use observations to guide Intentional Instruction • Use observations to support learning that leads to indicators of the NYS Prek Foundation for the Common Core

4. Seeing is Believing

5. Objective/Subjective Observation • Write down what you see, what you smell, what you feel. • In your small group talk about your observation. As a group write down on a piece of paper two columns - “Objective” and “subjective”.

6. How do you feel about Observing Children?

7. Clip chapter 3 video 5

8. Chap 4 video 8

9. Chapter 4 video 9

10. Chapter 4 video 10

11. Chapter 4 video 12

12. Linking Observations to Prek Foundations indicators

13. Approaches to Learningchapter 5 video 14

14. Strategies to promote development and learning • Provide time for children to explore a variety of activities and materials • Assist child to find answers to own questions by exploring together • Provide tasks where the goal is trying different strategies rather than right or wrong answer • Try child’s suggested interventions when problems are encountered; talk to child about what worked and what did not work

15. Comment positively on child’s persistence and concentration • Help child focus attention (i.e. “look at this.” “I want you to pay attention to the experiment.”) • Encourage children to pursue favorite activities • Help children remember experiences with photographs

16. Reading Standards for Literaturechapter 4 video 11

17. Strategies to Promote Development and Learning • Use the letters of the alphabet as they come up in real life situations • Print in upper and lower case letters • Provide paper and writing tools for child to use for specific purposes (i.e. card for sick child) • Ask child to sign artwork, cards, and letters • Point out shapes of individual letters to help children learn letters

18. Provide opportunities for child to draw a story or idea and write out the dictation for that idea • Model making lists (i.e. grocery list)

19. Scientific Thinkingchapter 7 video 17

20. Strategies to Promote Development and Learning • Provide opportunities for children to learn through all the senses • Provide opportunities for children to share observations through pictures and words • Help children represent his/her observations using charts/graphs • Invent and conduct simple experiments with children (i.e. sink and float)

21. Demonstrate, explain, and engage child in activities that make predictions about natural events • If possible, go to museums or community events that focus on the natural world