Anecdotal Records are detailed, narrative descriptions of an incident involving
one or several children. They are focused narrative accounts of a specific event.
They are used to document unique behaviors and skills of a child or a small
group of children. Anecdotal Records may be written as behavior occurs or at a
later time.
Anecdotal!Record!Developmental!Domain2________________________________________________
Child’s(Name: __________________ ((((((((((Date: __________________
Child’s(Age: _____________________
((((((((((
((((((((((Time: _________________
Date(of(Birth: ___________________
((((((((((
((((((((((Observer:(____________
Setting: ___________________________________________________________________________
Anecdotal:
(Describe exactly what you see and hear; do not summarize behavior. Use
words conveying exactly what a child said and did. Record what the child did
when playing or solving a problem. Use specific language to describing what the
child said and did including facial expression and tone of voice; avoid
interpretations of the child’s behavior; For example “He put on a firefighter’s hat
and said, “Let’s save someone!” or “He looked towards the puzzle piece and then
looked toward the puzzle. He put the puzzle piece on the puzzle and turned the
piece until it fit. He took the puzzle piece out.” Avoid using judgmental language)
Interpretation:
(What specific inferences can you make from this anecdotal record? What does
it tell you about this child’s growth and development? The inferences must be
directly related to the domain designated in the anecdote and refer to a specific
aspect of the domain.)
Implication(for(Planning:
(Give a specific activity that you would incorporate into curriculum planning as a
result of what you learned about this child. Be sure the plan is directly related to
the area of development described in the anecdote. Be sure the activity is a
different activity than the one in the anecdote. Include a brief explanation of why
you would create the specific activity.)
Anecdotal Records
Anecdotal!Record!Developmental!Domain2 Social
Child’s(Name: Jai!Liam ((((((((((Date: January!11,!2010
Child’s(Age: 4!years!1!month
((((((((((
((((((((((Time: 9:15!AM
Date(of(Birth: February!9,!2006
((((((((((
((((((((((Observer:(Ms.!Natalie
Setting: Ray!of!Light!Montessori,!Main!Playground
Anecdotal:
Jai!and!‘L’!were!playing!“cooking”!in!the!sandpit.!Jai!filled!up!his!pots!with!sand!
whilst!‘L’!said,!“In!a!minute…my!cake’s!not!done!yet.”!Jai!said,!“Can!I!see?”!and!he!
went!over!to!the!stove!to!see!‘L’s’!pot.!“My!cake!has!chocolate!in!it…see.”!‘L’!points!to!
the!mix.!Jai!giggles…”Yum”!and!grabbed!a!handful!of!the!mix!and!pretended!to!eat!it!
whilst!dropping!the!sand!to!the!ground.!‘L’!laughed,!“You!can’t!do!that…you!have!to!
wait!till!it!is!cooked!”
Interpretation:
Jai!and!‘L’!have!developed!a!good!friendship!and!are!interacting!together!well.!This!
activity!showed!that!they!enjoy!dramatic!pretend!play!of!an!activity!they!probably!
have!both!observed!at!home.!
Implication(for(Planning:
To!leverage!Jai’s!and!‘L’s’!interesting!in!cooking!into!a!mathematical!cooking!
experience!for!counting!and!weighting!ingredients.!
Anecdotal Records
Anecdotal!Record!Developmental!Domain2________________________________________________
Child’s(Name: __________________ ((((((((((Date: __________________
Child’s(Age: _____________________
((((((((((
((((((((((Time: _________________
Date(of(Birth: ___________________
((((((((((
((((((((((Observer:(____________
Setting: ___________________________________________________________________________
Anecdotal:
Interpretation:
Implication(for(Planning:
Sample Solution
