Observation and analysis

Child’s/Children’s Name/s: Adam Date: 5/9/2018

Context and content of the observation:
Adam was playing with a few boys under the veranda area. The boys created their own
things with the big connecting blocks. Adam and the boys were using what they have made
to look at things in the playground when I approached them.
Me: “What did you make Adam?”
Adam: “thid id a bino..lar(not clear). It a thun one” (This is a binocular, it’s a gun one)
Me: “Wow, you have made a binocular, and it’s a gun one, is it?”
Adam: “Yeah”
Me: “What does it do, why do you make a gun binocular?”
Adam: “It tood the naughty birdie” (it shoots the naughty birdies)
Me: “How do you know which one are naughty birdies and why you need to shoot them?”
Adam: “the one in the moon betord (because) I am potecting (protecting) the world”
K: “yeah, mine one is the electric gun. We are protecting the worlds from naughty animals”
Adam: “mine eed the eleted (electric) one too”
Me: “I see, these are the electric guns that you guys use to protect the world from naughty
animals, so what are you guys?”
K: “I am a security person”
Aarav: “I am a police fire fighter; mine one is a fire gun transformer”
H: “mine is a power one”
Adam: “I am a polide (police), mine edd (is) a elected (electric) one”
Me: “Wow! Sounds like you guys are working together to save the world, aren’t you? You
have security guard, fire fighter and policeman”.
K: “yes we are. I will use my gun to shoot the aliens”
Adam: “Mine will toot (shoot) evething (everything) that jum (comes) jom (from) the kye
(sky)”
Me: “Wow, your one will shoot everything that comes from the sky?”
Adam: “Yeah and the birdie”
Then the boys ran around with their weapons to pretend shooting and spying things in the
playground. K appeared to be leading this play, Adam followed K around and the others
followed them.

Analysis:
From the observation, Adam was involving in cooperative play (Dunlap, 2009) with a group
of children and appears to enjoyed playing with K as he followed K around and they made
the similar weapons. Adam showed interest in dramatic play (role play) being a police
character and he seems to like construction, he used his own creativity and imagination in
creating his weapon in play using his own preference of colours and making his own design.
From the conversation Adam has unclear oral language, he was not able to pronounce the
sound of “C, S, Sh, F and R”, he does not have control of those sounds (phonology) which
affect his syntax in his oral language (Arthur, Ashton and Beecher, 2014) and when he said the
long words they were not clear. However, Adam was confident involving in the social
conversation as he was keen in responding to the questions asking and sharing with adults
and peers about his creation and what his role is. Adam has an awareness and skills of
pragmatics (social interactions) this is shown in his turn taking and responding to questions
in the conversation (Arthur, Ashton and Beecher, 2014).
Link to the EYLF outcome 4 Adam is confident involved learner as he develops dispositions for
learning such as confidence, creativity and cooperation as he contributed to play experience
emerging from their own ideas, and Adam also resources his own learning through connecting with
people, processed materials and play (DEEWR, 2009).

Follow up/future planning:

- Provide role play experience symbolic and cooperative plays (Dunlap, 2009) to prompt Adam
in involving in social interactions, this includes dress up as community helpers (police, fire
fighter etc.)
- Set up construction play or Adam to express his construction skills, creativity and
imagination to construct something, involve his friend “K” in the play.
- have a group construction experience for Adam to work cooperatively with other children,
Ask Adam for an idea what to make and get him to lead the experience.
- Provide literacy rich experiences for Adam to enhance his oral language development such
as singing, story, and other range of texts (EYLF outcome 5).