I.

Observation 8:
The Four Domains of the Child

II.

Grade:
First Grade

III.

Students:
1 child - 6years old

IV.

Setting:
First Grade Classroom at Saint Matthias School
Multi-Age (6-7 years old) classroom, 23 students and 1 head
teacher

V.

Pre-Observation:
The purpose of this observation was to assess the physical,
emotional, cognitive and social development of a student in
the classroom that I have been visiting. Using an age a
appropriate developmental checklists to assist in recognizing
milestones the child has or has not met.

VI.

Data:
Observations took place September 21st & September 28th
2016
Physical Domain:
The child displayed a number of gross motor skills appropriate
for her age. During class she I watched as she danced and
sang to a YouTube video played during class. She showed
good balance and co-ordination. I was able to monitor during
recess and witnessed her skipping and running with ease. At
one point she attempted to play basketball with some boys
her age but they were not doing a good job of including her. I
found a ball and watched as she tried to get the ball in the
hoop. She was not able to get the ball up high enough but
kept trying and did not appear out of breath or overly fatigued
in her attempts. The student is about average height
compared the other students in her class and appears to be in
healthy condition. The child is able to use scissors with ease
and has very neat handwriting for a child her age. I have
supplied photos of the childs handwriting and a class project
as examples of her fine motor skills (See Appendix)
Social & Emotional Domains:
The child is shows a number of developmentally appropriate
social and emotional skills. On my second day of observation
she informed me that she had told her mother about me

visiting her class. The student then told me That her

mommy thinks I will be a good teacher one day. The student
is very friendly and has great communication skills. She does
not shy away from approaching fellow students or instructors.
She is able to participate in rule-based activities as well as
group activities. The student willingly assisted in picking up
some crayons her classmate had dropped near her. She did
this without being asked by the classmate or the co-operating
teacher. She conveys a genuine excitement for new projects
and events that are offered during class and is very well
mannered.
Cognitive Domain:
I was able to work with the child during a reading center. She
was able to slowly sound out a number of words correctly but
did have issues with words ending with the letter Y and the
end of words. We went over the ways to properly sound Y
as we do with the long E sound. I will follow up and update
her progress in my next child observation. During a math
lesson the co-operating teacher was using True or False
statements to in relation to whether a math sentence was
correct. For example: 5 is equal to 1+4, True or False? The
child showed some difficulty grasping this concept but
improved by the end of the lesson. The student has a strong
grasp of vocabulary. During a class project the child asked me
to spell a very advanced word for a sentence she was forming.
We were able to spell it out together by slowly sounding out
the word. She does not show frustration if she is having
difficulty learning, she expresses herself clearly and follows
direction well.
VII.

Analysis:
The student appears to be well on her way to achieving many
of the milestones for her age group. Physically the child
displayed the ability to hop, skip and jump with relative ease
and balance. She appears to have great fine motor skills. The
child is able to consistently write on the lines in a uniform size
as well as cut different shapes with scissors. She appears to
be in good health and size for her age. Socially and
emotionally the child was very well adjusted. She is very
conversational and friendly to her peers and adults. She
works well in groups and an interest in learning. Cognitively
the student is able to both communicate her difficulties and
successes. She is working hard at using phonics when
reading and learning new words. She did have a problem with
some complex grammar. I believe this is a matter of

experience that will come in time. The student follows

direction well and good comprehension skills.
VIII. Recommendations:
The child is developing at an ideal rate. A typical first-grader is
able to perform simple addition and subtraction, and he or she usually begins
to read and write sentences. (Pope & Pellegrino, 2014) I would continue to
reinforce her use of phonics to strengthen her literacy skills as well as
introduce appropriately complex vocabulary maintaining a steady challenge.
IX. Post Observation:
The child that I observed seems well on his way in all four
domains of development according to the developmental
checklists used. Around age 6, children begin to change the way they
think about the world. They leave behind the preschooler's egocentric thinking
and begin developing more mature ways of understanding. (Pope &
Pellegrino, 2014) She is friendly, thoughtful and energetic. I look
forward to monitoring her progress during future observations.
X.

Citations:
CDC - Child Development,Middle Childhood (6-8 years old) - NCBDDD.
(2015, March 15). Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/middle.html
Child Development Milestones - 6 to 8 years. (2003, June 6). Retrieved from
https://www.health.qld.gov.au/ph/documents/childhealth/28134.pdf
Pope, MD, J., & Pellegrino, MD, L. (2001, September 9). Cognitive
Development From Age 6 to 10 Years. Retrieved from
http://www.webmd.com/children/cognitive-development-in-the-school-agechild-ages-6-to-10-years

APPENDIX: Sample Pages

Fine Motor Skill Samples