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| Observation
checklist to track children’s work |
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| Type
of Submission: |
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This
idea is a submission for:
X A curriculum idea
__Cool things to do
__A special issue
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| Age
group for whom this activity is appropriate: |
3-5
year olds
| Brief
description of activity: |
I
created observation checklists so that I could see how children
work with the different software programs
| What
I did to set this up and how I followed through: |
| I made
up a chart showing the different software programs we have.
Down the side of the chart, I typed in each child’s name.
Each week I printed out a new chart to use. I hung the chart
next to the computer with a marker attached to it. |
| Materials
used: |
Paper,
marker, MS Word or other word processing software
| What
the children had to do and what I wanted them to learn: |
Each
time a child used the computer, he or she put a mark in the appropriate
box. I also used this chart to help the children keep track of
taking turns.
| Background:
How I got the idea: |
I wanted to have
a better idea of which software programs the children were using.
I noticed that some software (for example, JumpStart and Franklin)
offers a report on what kids are playing on the software. I realized
I could make up my own system to accomplish this. It’s important
to know what they are exploring and playing with. Kids were complaining
to me that some kids were "hogging" the computer and wouldn’t
give others a turn. I thought I needed a system that would be fair,
would help the kids take responsibility for themselves and how they
were using the computer, and would also help me keep track of what
they are doing.
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| Analysis:
How the kids and/or parents responded: |
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This is a very
simple tool but it gave me good information over time about how
the kids were using the software. It also gives the kids a good
opportunity to have responsibility in recording their choices.
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| Extension |
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To
follow up, we made a graph showing how many birthdays occurred in
each month.
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