EDS 205 Observation Reflective Journal 1/22/13 Name: Sarah Imbriaco Date: Jan.

15-22, 2012 School Site: F. Elementary Grade Level: 3rd Focus Subgroup: Girls FINDINGS Nearly all the girls sit up front during whole class activities. Furthermore, they tend to congregate during this time.

EVIDENCE 1/15-1/22: During three different whole class activities (read aloud, vocabulary, and math), nearly all girls were sitting up front. 1/15-1/22: In all instances, O was checked out and daydreaming. In two of the instances, M was distracted and playing with her boots and headband. The others were focused up front, asking questions, and participating. TD, Y, and EV participated during each observation. B, DLP, LDSS, O, M, I, and EL never participated, though all but O and M were engaged and on task. S participated in one instance.

Most girls appear attentive during discussions and whole class activities. Only four girls tend to participate during class. The others do not.

During independent study and independent reading, girls tended to separate into pairs or to sit on their own.

1/17, 1/22: B, DLP, EL, I, TD, and LDSS went to work right away, selecting a book and finding a seat to begin reading. They all sat independently during this time. EV, O, and M took much longer to get on task, wandered about the room, dallied when choosing a book, etc. They eventually joined other girls.

REFLECTIONS Perhaps the girls are more eager to please? They may just be genuinely interested in learning. They are usually the first to the carpet, so perhaps the boys cant get to the front by the time they arrive. Most of the girls are eager to learn and enthusiastic about school. Some are held back, it seems, by their language skills. This is the case with B, DLP, and LDSS. EL is shy and does not speak unless prompted. EV is always called upon and is a diva who loves the attention. She stands up and goes to the front when called. O is always daydreaming, and administration believes she is depressed, though we dont know why or how to help her with this. M is constantly distracted, and is one of the few girls who does not sit up front. S seems torn between staying on task and being attentive, and being distracted and silly with a friend. She usually sits in the middle of the class. The girls are more quiet than the boys. I was surprised to notice the girls worked mostly on their own during this time. Most got to work quickly, and stayed on task. Some pairs would chat for a bit. EV, O, and M instigated the chatting during my observations. EV and M are social butterflies. O does not like to do the work, so she chats often. She also complains of not sleeping well, which likely plays a part. Many girls resisted chatting and preferred to keep reading or work on their netbooks. Independent

study was more chatty in general than independent reading.