This year was my first year teaching kindergarten, and I have to admit the process of kindergarten anecdotals and documentation was daunting. I was constantly racking my brain about the simplest way to create and log my documentation. I wanted a process that was organized and simple for my ECE and myself to access without creating more work for ourselves.
We tried using a page for each student with the four frames on it, separated onto two different clipboards. One for JK and one for SK. This allowed us to write down a quick note when we saw something to document or when we were working with a student. However, it was tedious flipping through the clipboard to find the students page. In addition, it was difficult for my teaching partner to document at the same time when there were only two clipboards with one sheet per student! I often resorted to using a sticky note to stick on the students page later.
We decided to switch to simple sticky notes and a binder separated by dividers. In the front of the binder, we put a class list that has a number beside each student's name. We then used the corresponding number to a matching divider to easily separate the students' anecdotals, and wrote the students name at the top of the divider in pencil (so we can reuse for the next year!). Throughout the day we would document notes on a sticky note with the frame code (eg. Problem Solving and Innovating = PSI), later we would stick it in their section in the binder. You could even have a different colour sticky note for each of the four frames!
This method was super simple, and didn’t require a hole punch! It has helped us identify who needs more documentation based on the amount of sticky notes each student had on their divider page. To ensure we added more documentation to the students who were lacking it, we would create a focus name list on our white board for us to easily refer to throughout the day or week!
As report cards are quickly approaching, this method of documentation will be easy to look up the anecdotals for each student to add the element of personalization into their report card.
If you're wondering how to approach organizing your pedagogical documentation, give this a try!
- Ellie
**Please note, students' names have been removed from anecdotal documentation photos to protect their privacy.