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7.3: Anecdotal Records

  • Page ID
    245017
  • This page is a draft and is under active development. 

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    Anecdotal Records

    Anecdotal records are a way to document child growth and learning through an unbiased, narrative telling of what is happening as it happens. These records can be used in a variety of ways-such as through documenting a child's growth and learning, sharing with families to discuss the child, or setting goals for the child's growth and development.

    Here is an example of a brief record (that is fictional) but shows what your records should look like.

    Good Example What you should avoid example

    Tips:

    1. Select a period of time (suggested 5-15 minutes)
    2. Focus on one child or one location (such as a learning center)

    Your record should look like:

    Child: T.S.

    Age: 10 months

    Date: 11/22/22

    Time: 11 am

    Location: Infant Classroom

    T.S. sat on the floor, the teacher, H.A., was sitting next to her. H.A. handed T.S. a block. T.S. clapped, looked up at her teacher and smiled. T.S. took the block and clapped with it. The teacher asked T.S. "do you like the blocks? Would you like another one?" The teacher held out a block to T.S. T.S. took the block and put it into her mouth. "We don't eat blocks," the teacher told T.S. and put her hand over T.S.'s hand to lower the block. T.S. looked at the block, then banged the block on the other one. T.S. jumped and started crying. The teacher picked up T.S. and told her that T.S. would be ok. Another teacher, K.V. reminded H.A. that T.S. had not finished her bottle yet. H.A. looked at T.S. and asked "would you like some more of your bottle?" T.S. looked up at the teacher. K.V. handed H.A. the bottle, and H.A. cradled T.S. When T.S. saw the bottle, she reached for it and pulled it to her mouth.

    Avoid:

    1. Major child identifiers
    2. Using present or future tense
    3. Grammatical errors
    4. Jumping in time
    5. Using summative language
    6. Any bias or opinions

    Your record should not look like this:

    tiffany, who is a cute 10 month old, is sitting on the floor with the teacher, Mrs. Aardvark. Tiffany picks up a bunch of blocks. After a few minutes, Tiffany started crying cause she was hungry. the theacher picks her up and takes her to eat her bottle.


    7.3: Anecdotal Records is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.