Running head: P.E.P.S.

I Case Study 1

P.E.P.S.I Case Study

Diana Alvarado

College of Southern Nevada

Edu 220

Professor Dr. Vincent Richardson

May 4, 2023
 Biography

The child I have chosen for this Pepsi Screening is a 10-year-old male. The child will be turning

eleven on December 2nd. He is in the 4th grade at a public elementary school. The child lives with his

mother, step dad, younger brother and baby sister. The child has 2 more brothers from his biological

father's side, but they reside in California. He is the oldest child out of his siblings. During the summer,

he spends time with his biological father for almost the entire summer vacation. Occasionally, he visits

his father during long weekends and visits his uncle by his mother's side in Carson City. The child

mentioned that his mother worked at Starbucks, but was unsure of where his step- dad worked. His

ethnicity is Hispanic/Latino and he was born in California, but moved to Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of

six. The child's primary language is English and understands a little bit of Spanish. He spends some time

with his mothers parents, and his grandparents, where he hears them speak in Spanish, but he responds

to them in English. I observed this child in a span of a week. I started on May 2nd and ended on May 5th.

I observed the child during his time in the classroom and when he went to specials.

Observations

Physical

The physical traits of the child I observed were as regular for a 10 year old I would say. The child

is a little over five feet, has dark hair and dark eyes, and has a lot of strength for a 4th grader. In an

article about children's physical development, it states that “children from the ages 8-10 experience an

increase in muscle and strength development”(Kid Central TN, N.D). I would say that the child I

observed averages in this area because he seems well nourished and well- fed for his age. I also

observed the child in P.E and noticed that the child has some energy to play. According to an article

from Michigan State University, Stewart (2013) states that “ 9- 11 year olds are very active and have a

lot of energy”. The child I observed can kick a ball, but I did not see much enthusiasm or energy while

playing the game of kickball. During morning recess, I observed the child spending his time hitting a
tether ball by himself and sitting in the shade until the bell rings. In the classroom, I noticed the child is

still working on his fine motor skills. He is learning to write neatly and in between the lines. In an article

about milestones for children of 10 years of age, they are “continuing their fine motor skills”, as is the

child I am observing (Staff, 2021). From my perspective, I see the child is developing physically in a

normal way, and as every child of his age, still has more to develop.

Emotional

Throughout the mornings I observed the child,I noticed he is more excited and emotional. He

would want to talk to the teacher about what he did on the weekend or at home the day before. It

seemed as though he was comfortable with his teacher to talk about stuff and let some things out. I

noticed that when he would do that, his day would go way smoother. In a CDC article about child

development, it mentioned that students “start to form stronger friendships with peers and begin to

experience peer pressure”(CDC Child Development, 2021). As I observed the child, I noticed he didn’t

have strong friendships, he would most likely play or sit alone, but he did like talking to the teacher and

he seemed safe talking to her. According to an article about emotional development, it stated “

students of the ages of 5-11, are enthusiastic learners” ( Norfolk CYP, 2023). The child I observed

showed much enthusiasm when switching lessons to learn about math. Although I noticed the child has

some trouble paying attention, I could tell he wanted to learn about math and can say it is his favorite

subject in school. Another thing I observed was that the child has some self esteem. He is quite low in

some academic areas from what I saw. Fourth-grade math was difficult for him and he knew it was hard

so he felt like he could not do it on his own. In an article about managing emotions, it specifies that

“how a child feels about their skills and competence affects how they feel about themselves or how they

see themselves.” (Anthony, 2021) I feel this reflects the child when I observe his emotional behaviors. I

saw that he did not understand the math lesson and felt less of himself. From my observations, I feel the
child is maybe below average in his emotional development because I see he does not have strong

friendships and is not trying to fit into peer pressure.

Philosophical

The child I observed reflected a couple of philosophical traits which I found surprising for a 4th

grader. The child did ask a lot of ‘why’ questions. When he would read a book, he would ask a lot of

questions about it. Most times he would empathize with characters from the book. For instance in his

classroom, they were reading a book about earthquakes, and the aftermath of them and; when and

where they would take place. He would look at the pictures of the earthquakes and ask questions of

what things were and feel for the people that experienced these earthquakes. He asked if earthquakes

occur here, his teacher told him very rarely they do, and if they do they are tiny. In an article about

philosophy of children, they alleged that “Jean Piaget’s theory states: “children under 11 years old are

not capable of philosophical thinking”, “undermines children's cognitive development and abilities.”

(Pritchard, 2022) I sense that the child I observed contradicts this theory. In another article about

children's cognitive development, it stated that “children in the ages of 6-12 develop the ability to think

and reason:” (Stanford Medicine Cognitive Development, N.D) I noticed the child that I observed was

very rational. In art class, the art teacher told the kids that they only had a little bit of time, so to use the

oil pastels quickly so other students will have time to use them as well. The child I observed used the oil

pastels swiftly so other classmates would be able to use them as. I noticed this was very reasonable and

rational of him because I also noticed other classmates were not rational about this. In another article,

Bracken (2022) states that “empathy is a core value in families because children start to understand and

connect with feelings of another person”. One morning, the child that I observed told me he was very

tired because his baby sister was crying all night. He also told me that he was not mad at his baby sister

because she did not get much sleep either and hoped she was sleeping when he left for school. I feel the

child that I observed has empathy for his family and understands the way his family runs.
Social

The child I observed is a little bit out of the normal for his social skills. In the classroom when it is

time to do partner work or pair up, the child will not pair up with any classmates. The child will go work

with his teacher, but when his teacher assigns him a partner, he is not excited about it. Now when it is

free time or a brain break, classmates go up to the child that I observed and invite him to play which is

where the child begins to interact and communicate with other peers. In an article about cognitive and

social skills, it states that children in the ages 6-10 are “intensely interested in peers and develop

friendships.” (ACT Social Skills, 2017) The child I observed is not intensely interested in peers, but is

capable of developing friendships with some peers. According to a Verywell Family article about

children's social skills, it mentions that fourth graders start to “identify characteristics of a good friend.”

(Morin, 2020) I feel the child that I observed knows which peers are nice friends and chooses to interact

with them. I noticed the child stays away from rude and mean peers in his classroom to avoid any

confrontation with them. In another article about social skills the author Li (2023) states that, “social

skills are a combination of verbal and nonverbal behaviors appropriate for initiating and responding to a

situation and allow an individual to communicate with others while avoiding negative responses.” I

observed the child is capable of communicating with others and will avoid negative responses by

walking away and not engaging in those behaviors.

Intellectual

In a Fraser Health article about intellectual development in children ages 7-11, it states that

children are “willing to take on more responsibility such as doing their chores and reading a book on

their own.” (Fraser Health, 2022) This statement correlates to the child I observed because when he

noticed his mother needed help around the house, he decided to help by cleaning his room and telling

his younger brother to clean his room as well. According to an article about a 10 year olds milestone, it

states that by the age of 10, “they should understand how their behavior affects others and recognize
and consider other people’s opinions and views and have a sense of what’s right or wrong.” (Alli, MD,

2021) From my observations, this correlates to the child I observed quite a bit. During class when the

students had to do an assignment on their chromebooks, the child would somehow drift off to playing a

game on his chromebook instead of doing the assignment. When the teacher would direct him to get on

task, he would not argue and go back to his assignment. He grinned at the fact that his teacher caught

and gave him some attention to do the right thing. From my perspective, I believe the child knows right

and wrong. In another instance, the child understands his behavior affects others. His teacher also told

him that if he was allowed to play games then other students that would see him and would think it was

okay to play when the instruction was to complete the assignment on their chromebooks. I noticed he

was proficient in recognizing and solving problems. In an article about child development, it mentions

that “children from the ages of 9-12 start to recognize problems and solve them” (Child Development,

2023). I observed he seems to fit into this area because he saw that playing games on his chromebook

was a problem and decided to solve it.

Recommendations

Physical

A few recommendations for the child’s physical development are suggested from the Kid Central

article. They recommended for the parent to encourage their “child to participate and complete at least

3 activities three times a week for an hour each time and limit time on the TV.” (Kid Central TN, N.D) As I

observed, the child was not that enthusiastic about playing kickball in P.E and had some energy in him to

kick the ball. The Michigan State University had suggestions for teachers such as “developing activities

that allow students to move about and try a variety of different physical activities and not just sports

games.” This can benefit the child to be introduced to different physical activities. (Stewart, 2013)

Emotional
 According to the CDC article about emotional changes, they recommend for “parents to talk to

their child about joining school events and volunteering to be more active in school.”(CDC Child

Development, 2021) I feel this would benefit the child I observed to start to build strong friendships with

his peers. Also in the Norfolk article, it suggests that “helping your child find the words to describe how

they feel will help the child use the words and help the teacher identify when the child is

struggling”( Norfolk CYP, 2023). As previously mentioned the child was struggling a bit in the math

lesson so this can benefit both the teacher and student in the future by finding a solution.

Philosophical

In a Stanford University article, they recommended for the teacher to “encourage the child to

share ideas and thoughts”(Stanford Medicine Cognitive Development, N.D). This would benefit the child

I observed because he had a lot of ‘why’ questions and if he is encouraged to participate more he would

be up to sharing ideas. According to a Bracken (2022) she suggests for parents to “decide which values

are important to pass on to their child.” The child I observed had values of empathy, understanding and

reasoning and can benefit expansion of more values.

Social

According to the Act article about social skills, it recommends for parents to “reinforce prosocial

skills such as sharing, empathy, and cooperation.”(ACT Social Skills, 2017) I feel this would benefit the

child by encouraging them to cooperate with peers in classroom assignments that required them to pair

up. In the Verywell Family article, it states “it is important for children to recognize good characteristics

of a friend.”(Morin, 2020) This can be recommended for teachers to help the child create friendships

with peers they are comfortable with.

Intellectual
 In an article about child development, it recommends for parents to “encourage their child to

read and discuss what they are reading about.” (Child Development, 2023)This can benefit the child by

reading with his parents and creating a bond that way.

Average

Physical Emotional Philosophical Social Intellectual

 References

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from https://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/son-10-milestones

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