Feather1

KaylaFeather
TinaChavez
SeniorInternship
17December,2015

IthasbeensevenyearssinceIwaslasthere,wheneverythingseemedsomuchlargerand
theworldwasdifferent.IwalkedthroughthefamiliarofficedoorsseeingthesameofficestaffI
onceknew.ItwasstrangeseeingtheteachersIoncehadyearslater.Iknewtheirfacesandtheir
names,butitseemedsosurreal.IfoundmywhereIneededtobeandwalkedintomyveryfirst
classroom,mykindergartenclassroom.ThereIsawmymentorthefirsttimeinawhileandsaw
howmuchsmallereverythingseemed.
Sheshouldmearound.Taughtmehowtousetheprinter,theequipment,andhowtohelp
thestudents.Theyallcamein.Theselittlepeople,whosefaceswereexcitedandscaredtosee
me.Iwasastranger,buttheytheysawmeasanotherteacherandtheyalreadylovedtheir
teacher,soTheygrewtolikeme.Igottoseehowthingswererunandhowtheyworked.
Eventually,Ihavenoticethestrugglesthesechildrenarefacingwhilelearning.Learning
skillslikereadingandwritingisaffectingthesechildren,inapositiveandnegativeway.Ihave
beenworkingwithmygroupofstudentsforweeks,andIlovethesechildrensomuch.Ihave
noticedthattheyallwanttolearn,besuccessful,andtoenjoyjustbeingchildren.Howeverwith
someofthestandardsandrequirementsforthesechildren,fourtofiveyearolds,itiscausing
themtobestressed,nervous,andlimitinghowsuccessfultheybegintofeel.Childrenatthisage

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doneedtolearntheseskillsandbaseknowledge,buttheyalsoneedtofeelsuccessfulandenjoy
havingfunaswell.
TobetterunderstandwhatIstartedtoobserveintheclassroom,Istartedtostudyfour
studentsontheirprogresswhilelearningtoreadandwrite.Iwanttolearnifthereisawayto
explainandencouragestudents,whilereadingandwriting,tobelessstressedandmoreexcited
tolearntheseskills.Leadingmetomyessentialquestionof:
Howdokindergartenstudents
handlestressinrelationtolearningthereadingandwritingprocess?
Background
Itisimportanttounderstandthebodysreactiontostress.Stressisareactionofthebody
todefendthedemandsthebodyisrequiring.Occursinbothpositiveandnegativesituations,that
arecausedbyconfusion,irritation,and/orexcitement.Triggeredbystrongemotions,illnessor
drugs,tohelpbringthebodybacktoitsnormalbalance.Stressappearsinthreestages:alarm
reaction,resistanceandadaptation,andburnout/exhaustion.Thealarmreactionphaseiswhen
thebodybeginstoreactandgearsuptotakeactionbycausingthebodytoreact.Reactionsare
typicallynervousstomachorbutterflies,perspiration,rapidbreathingandthefeelingofa
poundingheartsometimespeoplemightexperienceasecondwindorburstofenergy(Youngs,
77).Theresistanceandadaptionphaseiswhenthebodystartstocreateitsnormalbalance
again(Youngs,80).Thefinalphase,burnout/exhaustion,iswhenthebodyneedsrestfrom
burningthroughmostofitsenergyandvitaminsandminerals(Youngs,8081).Forchildren,this
canbeevenmoreintensethanforadultsbecauseadolescentsdonotknowhowtohandle
differentsituations.Childrensfeelingsandemotionsstillarebeingdeveloped,whileanadult
hasexperienceandunderstandsthemostappropriateaction.

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Tofullyunderstandwhythesechildrenarestressed,itisimportanttolookathow
requirementshavechanged.BeforetheCommonCoreStateStandardsoftoday,Californiaused
CaliforniaEnglishLanguageArtsStandardsorCaliforniaELA.TheCaliforniaELAwascreated
in1997itsmaingoalforkindergartenwastoteachthebasicknowledgewithoutexpecting
studentstocometoschoolwithanybaseknowledgelearnedfromparentsorotheradultfigures.
Itfocusedonreading,writingstrategies,writtenandoralenglishlanguageconventions,and
listeningandspeaking(Ong,913).EachhadbasictopicstohelpteacheachsectionofEnglish
LanguageArts.Basically,designedtoteachtheskillsneededforreadingandwriting,while
allowingstudentstohavefunandtobechildrenfirst.
Today,CaliforniaandmostoftheUnitedStatedusetheCommonCoreStateStandards
ortheCCSS.TheCCSSstillcoverthesameinformationastheCaliforniaELA,butwith
additionalinformation.Themainstandards,theCCSSrequiresforkindergartenersareliterature
reading,foundationalreadingskills,writing,speakingandlistening,andlanguage(Ong,Mclean
andGunderson,2933).Eachofthisstandardisdesignedtobuildoffofknownknowledge
learnedfrompreschoolorparents,suchasthealphabetandsimpleonesyllablewords.However
theCCSS,doesnotteachconnectinglifeexperiencestoinformationandeventsintexts,
distinguishfictionaltextsfromnonfiction,orunderstandingandfollowingoneandtwosteporal
directions(SCOE).Itisassumedthatastudentwilllearnthisontheirownorhasalreadylearned
fromaparent,butateachercanteachthisoranyadditionalinformationtohelpstudentsthrive
withintheclassroom.
Comparatively,theCCSSandtheCaliforniaELAareverydifferentwhenitcomesto
emphasis.Simplyput,thecontent/emphasisisbeingtaughtdifferentlyandinalowergrade.

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MostofthestandardsaddedtoCCSScomefromfirst,secondandsometimethirdgrade
equivalentoftheCaliforniaELA(SCOE).Thisisinterestingbecausesomeoftheparentscould
havebeeninfifthorfourthgradewhentheCaliforniaELAwasapplied,butmostwereinmiddle
schoolwithCaliforniaELA.Meaningheparentshavemissedawholegenerationofstandards
andexpectthattheirchildrenwilllearnthesameinformationtheylearned.Informationlikethe
alphabetandsimpleonesyllablewordsbecausetheyrememberlearningthatinschool,putting
theirchildrenatapotentialdisadvantagewhenenteringkindergarten.Overall,thestandardsare
verycomprehensivewhichmaybemuchmoreworkthanpreviousstandards.
ThekindergartenstudentsatMillerElementaryarefacedwiththechallengesandrewards
oftheCommonCoreStateStandard.TheyarethethefourthyearoftheCommonCore
Standardsanditisfullyimplementedwithintheclassroom.Thestudentsteachersteachesboth
kindergartenandprekindergarten.Bothagegroupslearnthesameinformationbutoverdifferent
times.Themajorityofthestudentsunderstand,buttheyeachfacedifferentchallengeswiththe
commoncore.
Methods
IcollectedmydataatMillerElementary.MillerElementaryisamediumsizedpublic
schoolhiddeninthesouthwesternpartofEscondido.Mostofthestudentslivenexttoornearthe
schoolandenjoycomingtolearn.Millersstudentsareanywherefromfourtoelevenyearsold,
allofwhomcomefromdifferentbackgroundsandabilities.However,formyinternshipI
workedwiththekindergartenandprekindergartenchildren,intheK1classroom.WhileIwas
workingwiththesestudentsIrealizedhowdifferentthecurriculumtheywerelearningwastothe
standardsthatwereappliedabout19yearsago.Thisledmetowonderwhateffectsitwashaving

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onitsstudentsandiftherewasawaytohelpsupportthemiftheyfoundreadingorwritingtoo
difficult.
TobetterunderstandandanswermyessentialquestionIhadtoobservemystudentsand
askedquestionsofmymentortoreceivebackgroundinformationandaclearunderstandofthese
students.Iinitiallyselectedfourstudents:twokindergartenersandtwoprekindergarteners.Inthe
endIselectedthreeboysandonegirlsforthisexperimentbecauseofthebehaviorIhadalready
seenwithinthestudents.AsIsidenote,thiscouldworkwithanyfourstudents,Ijustpickedfour
thathadstruggles,butwerecapableoflearningtherequiredcurriculuminashorttime,andthere
wouldbenodifficultiesworkingwiththem.
OnceIhadmyfourstudentsselectedandmymainfocusfoundIbeganobserving.Each
dayIobservedmychosenfourastheycamein,whattheydid,howtheyinteracted,orreactedto
instructions.ImainlyfocusedontheeffectsoftheEnglishsubjectmatterhadonthe
students.AfterrecordingforasmanydaysasIcould,Iinterviewedmymentoraskingaboutthe
homelivesthestudentsexperienced.Iwanttopossiblyseeiftheirbehaviorinclasscouldbea
resultofastressortheywereexperiencingathome.AlongthewayIalsotookpicturesormade
copiesoftheirwritingstobeanalyzedlater.Overthecourseofamonthandahalf,Iobservethe
studenttwiceaweekwhenevertheyworkedonwritingorwritersworkshop.
Analysis
Kindergartenisnotwhatitusetobe.Withharderandmorecurriculum,studentsare
havingahardtimeworkingonschoolandbeingchildatthesametime.Thisisespeciallyseenin
youngergrades,butmainlyinkindergarten.Mostkindergartenershaveahardtimewith
understandingalltheinformationtheyneedtolearn,andtheyeachreactandhandlethesituation

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differently.However,forsomethisdoesnotapply,andtheyhavelearntomanagestress,butthat
isaselectfew.Mostwillgetupsetorfrustrated,mildreactions.Whereasothershavestronger
reactions,andarangeofemotions.Manyhandleandlearnfromallthematerial,afewreally
thriveandrisetothechallenge,whileotherscannothandlethetaskbeingfaced.However,these
studentscouldnotreactingtothecontent,buttotheirownmisunderstanding,workethicsthat
arenotquitedevelopedyet,oroutsidefactors.Allthemorereasonwhyunderstandingthestress
triggers,andwhyisimportanttofindandsolvewithintheseyoungchildren.

MajorityofthestudentsinthekindergartenatMillerElementaryexperiencefrustration,
anger,ornervousnessaboutanassignment.Theywerefacingstress,eventhoughtheyhaveno
ideawhatstressis.OffourstudentsobservedinacasestudyconductedatMiller,StudentA
thrivedwithintheclassroomandfacednotroubleswithwork.StudentBhadsometroublesbut
couldfigureouthowtosolvethemonherown.StudentChadawiderangeofreactionswhere
hewouldcry,getupset,ornotworkhard,andwhenStudentDwasfacedwithchallengesin
learninghemightquitorloseconfidenceinhimself,especiallyifdoinggroupwork.
ThefirststudentistheidealoutcomeoftheCommonCore.StudentAisafiveyearold
whitemale,wholiveswithhisparentsandoldersiblings.Everydayhecomesineagertolearn
andexcitedforwhatthedaybrings.Heisahardworkingstudent,whothinksabouthowtofix
problemsonhisown.Inthecasestudy,theobservernoteshowherarelygetsupsetorfrustrated
whenhecannotdosomethingandduringtheirwritingtimeifhegetsstuckonaworditmakes
himthinkandwanttofindtheanswerandaskquestions.Thisisextremelyimportantbecauseit
meansthestudentisnotsecondguesshimselfandhastheconfidencetoworkandmoveon.

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Confidenceisanimportantfactorindealingwithstressbecauseitallowstofeelincontrolof
theirchoices,tohaveasenseofhumor,andtobeabletoenjoylife(Youngs,88).Hisconfidence
alsoallowshimtobeabletoexpresshimselfinwritingandenjoydoingso.However,the
studentsdoesnotparticularlyliketheemotionsthatalwayscomewithwriting,butitisagood
thingthatheshareshisemotionsbecauseitallowsteachersandparentstohelphimwith
situationsanddealwiththeemotionsheisfacing.(GolantandGolant,165).Hehandlesthestress
andchallengesofschool,andlearninghowtoreadandwriteextremelywell.StudentAisagreat
exampleofastudentwhohaslearntobalancebothbeingastudentandachild.
StudentBisawhitefiveyearoldfemale,ofamiddleclassclasshomeandliveswithher
oldersisterandparents.Sheissmartandconfident,withacademicskillswheretheyneedtobe.
Shewantstolearnandtobeinvolvedintheclassroomandhasfoundhowtobalancebeinga
studentandhavingfunasachild.However,studentBduringclasswilleitherbitehernailsor
chewonherhair.Thiscouldbeasignofstress,butsheisconfidentandhasnotroubleinclass
noraretheanyproblemsathome.InaninterviewwithstudentB,shetalksabouthowshelikes
toreadandwritebutwouldprefertodoart.Thiscouldpossiblyexplainwhyshebiteshernails
orchewsonherhair.Itisaninternalconflictabouthowshewantstodosomethingsheloveor
getmorepracticeinsomethingshelikesbecausesheisstillachildandwantstohavefunshe
choosespaintinginsteadofreadingorwritingstories.
StudentCisawhitefiveyearoldmale,whoseparentsaredivorcedandistheyoungest
sibling.Heisoneofthemostadvancedstudentsacademically,buttheideaofsomethingnewor
somethingthatmightbehard,causeshimtoloseconfidence.Inthecasestudy,whenwriting
storieswasintroduced,studentCstartedtocrybelievingthathecouldnotbeabletowrite.The

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realitywas,hewasthemostcapablestudent.Hefinishedfirstandwiththeleastamountof
mistakes.Thisisbecausehereadsatasecondgradereadinglevelandknowsmanywordswhich
helpshimbeabletowrite.However,asaresultofhislackofconfidenceittakesinawhileto
calmdownandrealizehoweasyitcouldbeforhim.Whenheknowshecandoit,herushesas
doesnotdoasgoodofajobaspossible.Inthecasestudy,theobservernotedthatitishisgoalto
befirstdone,sohecangoplayorreadbecausehedoesnotliketheideaofmissingoutonfun.
Hewouldprefertobeachildfirstthenastudent.Alsonomatterthesituationhewillpanic,and
stressoverwhatishappening.Hecannotlearntorelaxandcalmdown,whichissadand
interesting,makinghimlessconfident.Ifhecannotbefirstorcannotbeclosetotheteacheror
particularstudent,hewillgetupsetand/orcry.Howeverwhenworkingwithhimoneononehe
isfine,thereisnooverstimulationandtheteachoradultcanhelpandguidehiminthebestway
forhim,butthiscannotbegonebecausetheteachermustfindthebestwaytoteachallofher
students.
StudentDisahispanicfiveyearoldmale,whoseparentsspeakSpanishandisthemiddle
childofthree.Heisaveryinterestingstudent,eventhoughheisaninexperincedacademically
andanonenglishspeaker.Overthecourseofthecasestudyhehasimprovedacademicallyand
hasmoreconfidencenowthanbefore.Withhelpandmotivationhewilltrynewthingsandwill
learn,butwithoutithewillnotdowork,willtaketolongtofinish,orintentionallyruinshis
work.Healsohasaninterestingwayofexpressingandcommunicatingwithpeople.Mostofthe
timehewill,point,makeasound,orlaughtocommunicatehispoint.Whenhedoesspeakitwill
eitherbeontopicornotatall.Whenaskedwhathisleastfavoritepartaboutreadingis,his
answerwasthenumbertenandittookseveralattemptstogetananswerthatwasnotten.This

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mightbeduetotheEnglishbarrier,wherethestudentknowsEnglishbutdoesnotpracticeand
theteacherorpersoncommunicatingwithhimdoesnotspeakSpanish.
Thestandardsinthecommoncorewereagoodideainintheory.Accordingtothe
studentsteacher,inpracticeabout80%ofthestudentscanmeettheexpectations,andtheother
20%cannot.Thesestudentsarenotabsorbingthebasicknowledgeneededtostartaneducation.
Withoutknowinghowtoreadandwriteatayoungageitmakesitharderinadulthood.The
CommonCoreStandardsmakestodaysstudentshavetochoosebetweenhavingfunandbea
child,orbeahardworkingstudent.Itishardforthemtofindabalanceandthesearechoices
childrenshouldnothavetoface.Theyshouldbeabletolearninanenvironmentwhereitisnot
oneortheother,buttaughtinawaythatmakesitconnectedinsteadofhavingtofacethestress
oftheirchoices.
Action

Inconclusion,kindergartenstudentseachhandlethestressoflearningindifferentways,
whethergoodorbad.IntheorytheCommonCoreStandardsisagreatideaandstandard,
especiallyinmathematics.Howeverinlanguageartsandenglishcurriculum,itisverydifficult
forthestudents.Moststudentsdomeettherequirementsifbeinglookedatnumericallyoras
statistic,butchildrenarenotstatistics.Ifthestatewasjustlookingatthesestudentsasnumbers,
thentheCommonCoreisdoingagoodjob,butiftheeducationlooksatthestudentsand
childrenthenthereisworktobedone.
Themostextremewaytohelpsupportthesestudentsischangingsomeofthecurriculum.
Thiscurriculumforchildrenwhoareaboutfiveistoointimidating,especiallyfortheyounger
grades.Ofcoursechangingthecurriculumwillnothappenforsometime,butwithinaclassroom

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ateachercanchangethehowthecurriculumistaught.Insteadofjustintroducingtheideaof
writer'sworkshop,whenthestudentswrite,theywriteonetogetherorslowlyintroducetheidea
ofit.Insteadofsayingtodaythestudentswillbewritingaboutsomethingthathappenedtothem
recentlyortellastory,possiblestartastorytogetherasaclassandhavethestudentsfinishit.
Thenthenexttimetheydowritersworkshoptheyfeelcomfortablewiththeideaandmore
confidentthanstartingsomethingontheirown.
Anotheralternativethatisonthemoreexpensivesideishavingsmallerclasssizesor
anotherteacher/helperwithintheclassroom.Oneteachercanworkwiththestudentswhoare
understandingthecurriculumorthemajorityoftheclass,whereastheotherhelpsasmaller
groupwhoneedmorehelpandsupporttosuccessinschool.Itisimportantthattheteacher
recognizeearlywhoneedshelpandcanfindawaytoputtheminasmallergrouptohelpwork
moreoneononewith.Studentsbenefitfromthisandteacherslearnhowtochangetheir
languageandhowtheyteachertobestsupportthestudent.Thiscanbehelpfulwiththestudents
aregoingfineinclassbutjustbarelybecauseitcouldbeamiscommunicationbetweenthe
teacherandthestudent.
Thesimplestthingtohelpstudentsnotfeelstressedwouldbetoencouragethemasmuch
aspossibleandbuildtheirconfidence.Confidenceiskeybecausetheycannotworkwithoutit,or
workisnotofgoodquality.Thishelpsthestudentfeellovedandmorecomfortableinthe
environmentallowingthemtoflourishmore.Ifteacherscontinueorstartapplying
encouragementthestudentswoulddobetterorfeelbetterabouttheirwork.

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Appendix

Interviewwithstudents
StudentA:
Me:Whenyoureadbooks,whichfacesdoyoufeel?Doyouloveitdoyounotlikeit?
StudentA:Idontlikeit()
me:Youdontlikereading?Whenyouwritehowdoesitmakeyoufeel?Doyoulikewritingor
doyounotlikewriting,orsomewhereinthemiddle?
StudentA:Ilikeit.(5/5)
Me:YoulikeWriting.Okaywhydoyoulikewriting?
StudentA:Becauseit'sfunandittakesoutyouremotionsandfeelingsinlife.
Me:Whatisyourleastfavoritepartaboutreading?
StudentA:ThatIneedtobringoutmyemotionalfeelings
Me:InWriting?
StudentA:yeahbecausemysistershamsterdiedandwehadtoburyitinmybackyard.
Me:whataboutforreading,likewhenyoureadabook?
StudentA:Well,Ireallydontknowmuchwordssoitsnotthatfunforme.
Me:Andwhatisyoufavoritepartaboutreading?
StudentA:Well,ummm
Me:youcansayIdontknow
StudentA:Idontknow

StudentB:
Me:Whenyoureadabookhowdoesitmakeyoufeel?DOyouabsolutelyloveitordontloveit
atall?
StudentB:Iabsolutelyloveit(5/5)
Me:Whataboutwhenyouarelearninghowtowrite?
StudentB:Iloveittoo(5/5)
Me:Whydoyouenjoyit?
StudentB:BecauseitisfunwhenIdoitatschool,butwhenIamathomeitisjustkindof
boringcausePaintisfun.Ihaveapaintingboardandachalkboard,theybothgotogetherandI
paintedyesterday.Andwhenmymomandsisteratthe(cannotmakeoutword)Iabsolutelylove
paintingathome.
Me:What'syourfavoritepartaboutwritingorreading?Isitbeingabletoexpressyourself?
StudentB:It'scauseIcan,Idonthavetolistentothewords.Icanjustmakethewordsandand
notthewordsonthepages.
Me:Whatisyourleastfavoritepart?
StudentB:ItswhenIreadandigettoexpression

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StudentC:
Me:Whenwedoreadingandwriting,basedonthesefaceswhichonwouldyouchoose?
StudentC:Mmmm,Happy.(5/5)
Me:Thisone.Isthisforbothreadingandwriting?
StudentC:Hmmm(nodsyes)
Me:Whydoyouenjoyit?(heshrugs)YoucansayIdontknow,ifyoudontknow
StudentC:Idontknow
Me:Youjustlikeit.Okaywhatsyourfavoritepart?Whenitiswritingdoyoulikebeing
creative
StudentC:Hmmm
Me:AndReadingyoulikelisteningandreadingallthefunstories?
StudentC:yup
Me:Umm.Whatisyourleastfavoritepart?
StudentC:Idontknow
Me:Youdontknow.Okay.Doyouthinkyouareagoodwriter
StudentC:Yes.

StudentD:
Me:Doyoulikereading?DOyouabsolutelyloveitordoyounotloveitatall?Orsomewhere
inhere?
StudentD:pointsto5/5
Me:Thatone.andWhataboutforwriting?Likewhenyoulearndifferentwordsorhavetowrite
astory.
StudentD:pointsto

Me:Youlikeitbutnotalltheway.Whatisyourfavoritepartaboutwriting?
StudentD:play
Me:Whataboutforreading?
StudentD:toRead
Me:Whatisyourleastfavoritepartaboutwriting?Isithard?
StudentD:It'snothard
Me:Whatisyourleastfavoritepartaboutreading?
StudentD:10(eventuallysaysnottoread)

InterviewwithMentor
1.Ihavebeenteachingfor31years.
2.TheCommonCoreStandardswereimplementedfouryearsago.WestartedwithMathematics
thefirstyearandphasedItheLanguageArtsoverthepastthree.Wearecurrentlyinfull
implementation.

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3.TheCommonCoreStandardsaremorerigorousthanthepreviousstandards.Manyofthe
LanguageArtsstandardsareNOTdevelopmentallyappropriateforthefivetosixyearold.
Mathematicalstandardsaregoodandnotasdifficultforthestudents.

4.TheElAstandardsposethesamechallengesastheCommonCoreforELDstudents.ELD
studentsstruggleandhavestruggledwithallstandardsdependinghowmotivatedparentsareto
developtheEnglishskills.

5.TheCommonCoreStandardsposesignificantchallengesforallstudents.Thestandardsare
veryhighandcancreateanxietyifnotpresentedinadevelopmentalway.Moststudentsmeetthe
expectations(about80%).

6.IthinktheCommonCoreStandardsarechallengingforallstudentsandteachers.Theyneeda
bitofadjustmentintheareasofReadingandWritingtobetteraccommodatetheabilitiesofthe
fivesixyearold.mathematicalstandardsarefinebutneeddevelopmentallyappropriate
activitiesandmoretimeforstudentmastery.Itisagreatnationalefforttounifythecurriculum
forallstudentsacrossthenation.

7.AedanandKasharewhite,middleclassEnglishspeakingstudents.Bothboysarethe
youngestsiblingsandcomefromsemiprofessionalhomes.Aedanisfromadivorcedfamily
whileKash'sparentsaremarried.SierraisawhitemiddleincomeEnglishspeaker.Sheisthe
youngestoftwogirls.NicholasisaHispanicstudentfromamiddleclassfamily.Spanishisthe
primaryhomelanguage.Heisthemiddlechildofthree.

8.Allstudentsbehavewellwhenyouarenotpresent.Theydocompletetasksmorequickly
whenyouarepresenttoguideandassistthem.

9.Academicallyallstudentsaredifferent.Aedanisveryskilledinreadingandwriting,yetdoes
nothavetheconfidencetoworkindependently.Kashisabrightstudentwithbetterthanaverage
academicskills.heisconfidentandeagertocompletetasks.Sierraisbrightandconfident.Her
academicskillsareslightlyabovegradelevelstandardsandsheismotivatedtoworkandlearn.
NicholasisveryinexperiencedacademicallyandanonEnglishspeaker.heismakingacademic
progressandworkswellindependently.heismotivatedandwithhelpwithnewthingswilltry.

CaseStudyNotes
StudentA:
ObservationsforOctober27,2015
Cameinsaidhelloandwaved

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knowshisAlphabetsounds,buthastothinkaboutitabit.kindofprocessifitistheright
sound
Standsstillduringinstructions
seemstired,orpossiblybored
Duringanassessmentusedresourcesaroundtheroomtohelphim
Needsminimumamounthelpwithwriting,aboutoneword
didwritersworkshop
ObservationsforNovember3,2015
Cameinwanderedtheroomtoseewhatwewillbedoingforthedayverycuriousand
energetic
Followsdirections
doesworkwithouthelp
ObservationsforNovember10,2015
SadthatAedanwasnotherebecauseAedanishisfriend
didvwordsearchfoundsomewordsbeforeteacherandtheclass
dancedwhenfinishedworkingfindingwordssmiling
smiling
pronounceswordsandcanidentifyeachwordwhilereading
ObservationsforNovember12,2015
Cameinhoppingandskippingwithenergy
Whiledoinggroupworkwithmehewasverywillingtoholdconversationneedlittleto
nopromptingwithcontinuingaconversationandcanspeakveryclearly
didartinclass
wasinanotherclassroomformostofthetime
ObservationsforNovember17,2015
Firsttoanswerandbecorrect
Waitedtobecalledon
Heanswersquestionsaskedbyteachers
Usedresourcestomakesureweweredoingthemonthsoftheyear
usesresourcesforwriting
MostlyamathDay

StudentB:
ObservationsforNovember3,2015
Bitingfingernailsandeatinghair
weplayedgamesanddonotdomuchinthewayofwork
ObservationsforNovember10,2015
Verytalkative
ObservationsforNovember12,2015

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Bitingnails
Whendoinglettersshehadnotrouble
playedgamesandwasintheartroom
ObservationsforNovember17,2015
Sick

StudentC:
ObservationsforOctober27,2015
Cameinansweredmyhellowithoutlookingatmeandmovedquicklytothecarpet
Knowsalphabetsoundsandwhateachletterit
bitofalisp,speechimpediment,andpossiblestutter
Alwaysisthefirsttoanswerorthefirstwiththerightanswer
Eitherstandsreallystill,ormovearound,butislistening
Startedtocrywhenweexplainedthefirstinstructionsforwritersworkshopsayinghe
believedhewouldnotbeabletodoit
Firsttofinished,needednohelp,andwasphoneticallycorrect
writersworkshop
ObservationsforNovember3,2015
Comesingetsstuffquicklyandsitsoncarpet
gotstraighttoworkafterinstructionsneedednohelpandeasilyunderstood
Wrotelastnameonpaperandwanttohelpteachotherstheirlastnames
Helpedstudentswithsoundingoutwords
wenttospeechclass
ObservationsforNovember10,2015
Absent
ObservationsforNovember12,2015
Camelater,seemedupsetandredeyed
Hadahardtimekeepingconversationwithandneededlotsofprompting
artclass
wasinanotherclassroomformostofthetime
ObservationsforNovember17,2015
KeptMakingsoundsatotherstudentsduringinstruction
Pointedandcalledouttheanswerwhennotcalledon
Wascountingwithteacherwhenonlyafewwere
Waslaughingandtalkingwithfellowstudents
Canfindwordseasily
Startedtocrywhenhecouldnotgethisspotnexttotheteacher
Saysthewordagaintomakesurewhatthefirstsounditmakes

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Gotstraighttoworkandwasalmostfinishedrightaseveryonewasstartingtoworkor
getfocused
Keepsgettingupsetandcrying
Wenttospeechclass
Startedtocrybecausehedidnotfinishwheneveryoneelsefinished
Wasmostlyamathday

StudentD:
ObservationsforNovember3,2015
Scribbledalloverhiswork
weplayedgamesanddonotdomuchinthewayofwork
ObservationsforNovember10,2015
Pointandmakessoundstocommunicate
upsetaboutnotknowhowtowritefivealmostcried
ObservationsforNovember12,2015
distractedbyotherstudents
wasaskedtotelltheweather(whathesawoutside),butkeptsayinghot
Hegotupsetandbelievedhecouldnotwritehisletters/alphabet,Idecidedtofirsttrace
themtoshowhimandthenhewouldwrite.thisworkedoutwillandhefinishedanddid
mostofthemcorrectly
ObservationsforNovember17,2015
DidnotwanttodohisCjob
GotlazyandwasrunningbehindsoIhadtohelphim

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WorkCited
Golant,SusanK.,andMitchGolant.
Kindergarten:ItIsn'tWhatItUsedtoBe
.3rded.Chicago:
LowellHouse,1988.Print.

Ong,Faye.
EnglishLanguageArtsContentStandardsforCaliforniaPublicSchools:
KindergartenthroughGradeTwelve
.Sacramento,CA:Dept.ofEducation,1998.Print.

Ong,Faye,JohnMcLean,andCynthiaGunderson.
ALookatKindergartenthrough
GradeSixinCaliforniaPublicSchools:TransitioningtotheCommonCoreState
StandardsinEnglishLanguageArtsandMathematics
.Sacramento:California
Dept.ofEducation,2011.Print.

SCOE|SacramentoCountyOfficeOfEducation.
SCOE|SacramentoCountyOfficeof
Education
.Web.4Nov.2015.<
http://www.scoe.net/
>
http://www.scoe.net/castandards/multimedia/k12_ela_croswalks.pdf

Youngs,BettieB.
StressAndYourChild:HelpingKidsCopewiththeStrainsandPressuresof
Life
.NewYork:FawcettColumbine,1995.Print.