Observe children playing for at least 10 minutes and complete an analysis of the play. You may go to a public place like a park, mall, or play date where children are playing. If you work in a school,

Observe children playing for at least 10 minutes and complete an analysis of the play. You may go to a public place like a park, mall, or play date where children are playing. If you work in a school, you may also observe during free play time. Record your observations in the template below. You must use the template. 

Observation TemplateDownload Observation Template

You will observe and record the following components:

• Description of location
• Demographics of child(ren)
• Observation of child(ren)'s actions- this is only what you can see and hear. Do not interpret the meaning or thoughts behind the observations here.
• Interpretations of those observations
• Description of 2 types of play you observed (name and define the type of play, describe how the child's actions modeled the type of play
• Connection to 1 theorist we have studied (name the theorist, describe the theory, and describe how the child's actions are connected to the theory)

Observation Template

Description of location:

Demographics of child(ren):

Use chart below

1.    Observation of child(ren)'s actions- this is only what you can see and hear. Do not interpret the meaning or thoughts behind the observations here.

2.    Interpretations of those observations

Observation (unbiased facts about what the children are doing)

Interpretation (What you think is happening)

How many children? What are they doing?

Description of 2 types of play you observed (name and define the type of play, describe how the child's actions modeled the type of play

Connection to 1 theorist we have studied (name the theorist, describe the theory, and describe how the child's actions are connected to the theory)