PHYSICAL-MOTOR OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENT
1. READ THE APPROPRIATE CHAPTER OF YOUR TEXT BOOK
Your assignment begins by reading the chapter of your text that relates to the age of the child that you will observe (e.g. Chapter 4 for an infant or toddler, etc.)
2. ONE-HOUR OBSERVATION OF PHYSICAL-MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
Your observation begins with a Half-Hour running observation of a child’s activity, focusing on physical-motor aspects.
10:00 a.m. Jamie pulls all the blocks off the shelf and begins building a tower. He uses his right hand to pick up the blocks and supports the tower with his lefts hand. He manages to get three blocks balancing before they tumble down, which causes him to squeal with delight!
10:05 a.m. Jamie gets frustrated as he tries to put the blocks away and calls for his big sister to come and help him. He runs to the door using quick, sure-footed steps, and opens the door using his right hand to turn the doorknob. He then runs down the stairs alternating feet….
3. PHYSICAL OBSERVATION QUESTIONS SHEET
Your observation continues by answering the following questions:
1. Describe the child’s physical appearance?
2. Does the child appear healthy? What makes you think so?
3. How does the child move? Give examples of how s/he uses his/her body to move through space. (e.g. crawling, walking, running, skipping, etc.)
4. Give examples of gross motor skills. How do they compare with what the textbook identifies as age-typical?
5. Give examples of fine motor skills. How do they compare with what the textbook identifies as age-typical?
6. Did the child appear to be comfortable with his/her physical abilities? Give examples.
7. Does the child demonstrate a preference of “handedness”?
8. Describe any eating behavior observed. Did the child request any foods? Did s/he get what was requested? How did the child feed her/himself?
9. Was the child praised for any observed physical behaviors? Describe.
10. Would you evaluate the child to be within normal range for physical/motor development in his age group? Why or why not?