In the Sixth Edition of their classic text, the authors reiterate the critical importance of observing and recording the behaviour of young children, especially in the current atmosphere of accountability and testing. In addition, because children with special needs are now widely included in a majority of early childhood classrooms, they have completely rewritten a chapter to focus more broadly on observing behaviours that may be viewed as disquieting. Designed to help teachers better understand children's behaviour, the book outlines methods for recordkeeping that provide a realistic picture of each child's interactions and experiences in the classroom. Numerous examples of teachers' observations of children from birth to age 8 enrich this work and make it accessible, practical, and enjoyable to read. With over 130,000 copies in print, this valuable resource for pre- and inservice educators features: fresh information about how children think and learn, how their language develops, and how their families, their culture, and their environment influence and help to shape them; observations that reflect the increasingly diverse population in contemporary early childhood classrooms; and the imperative for teachers to widen their lens in order to meet the needs of young children with a range of developmental capacities, abilities, and behaviours.

This book is a useful resource for anyone working with young children - teachers, social workers, nurses, pediatricians, and parents - who wants to develop the skills necessary to gain valuable insight into the behavior of young children."--BOOK JACKET.

Seeing Young Children is an extensive guide to observing and recording the behavior of children from birth, through age eight. General guidelines for observing children and how to interpret observations, the implementation of findings, and ongoing evaluation are included. Detailed discussions of nine recording techniques or instruments, and the advantages and disadvantages of each are covered. Observation exercises are found throughout to test skills. Specific by age group, each chapter provides readers with observation objectives, instructions as to procedure, and background information on many functional areas.

From cover: "This well-organized book presents the classroom practitioner with a systematic plan for week-by-week documentation of each child's development in an early childhood setting."

Description of various methods of observing and recording the behavior of young children.