Running Head: PEPSI SCREENING 1

PEPSI Screening

Megan Webb
Professor Hooks
EDU 220
8 March 2015

PEPSI SCREENING 2

Biography of Child
Name: Kiersten Sims
Age: Five
Gender: Female
Physical Appearance: Blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin
Place of Birth: Las Vegas, Nevada
Currently residing: Las Vegas, Nevada
Parents: Rebecca and John Sims are separated and have joint custody.
Siblings: One older brother, John David, in Private Elementary School
Socioeconomic: Middle-Upper Class
Schooling: Has attended a Christian preschool for almost two years. She is currently in Junior
Kindergarten.
Extracurricular: Ballet, once a week.

PEPSI SCREENING 3

Physical
Physically Kiersten seems to meet all developmental benchmarks. When observing her in
play, many aspects of her physical development were noticed. Observing her fine motor skills it
is easy to see the abundant skills that she physically has. She is at the appropriate level for her
age, and is learning new things every day.
Using the Ages & Stages Questionnaires, 60 Month Questionnaire (provided by
teacher), I was able to collect information regarding Kierstens physical abilities, both fine and
gross motor. According to this questionnaire (completed by her mother), Kiersten meets all
motor skills for her age. As their small muscles become more fine-tuned, a 5-year-old will be
able to dress herself, handle buttons, and learn how to tie her shoes. Kiersten is working on her
fine motor skills of tying her shoes, and is able to button and zip her own clothing. She is able to

throw a ball overhand to a person standing six feet away, she is able to catch a ball thrown to her,
she is able to balance on one foot for more than five seconds, and is able to skip, hop, and jump.
When it comes to fine motor, Kiersten is able to trace lines with minimum mistakes, she is able
to use scissors and cut across lines on paper. Kiersten is able to copy shapes and letters written
on a paper and is able to hold her pencil correctly. According to Ages & Stages, research has
been done showing that this process of assessing development has proved to be a reliable source
of information about a child (Ages & Stages 2015).
Kiersten has no signs of any developmental delay in her physicality. Kiersten has had
routine checkups throughout her young life and there has not been any indication of a physical
ailment or developmental delay. Overall, Kiersten seems to be right on track with her physical
development.

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Emotional
Emotionally, Kiersten is around the benchmark of a typical five year old. Kiersten is able to
communicate her emotions, such as when she feels sad, angry, or happy. Developmentally,
children at the age of five want to please friends, want to be like friends, more likely to agree
with rules, like to sing, dance, and act, show concern and sympathy for others, are aware of
gender, can tell whats real and whats make-believe, show more independence, are sometimes
demanding and sometimes very cooperative (Important Milestones 2014).
Like any five year old, Kiersten can have times of angst and frustration. She may be tired
or have just overexerted herself when she feels this way. Kiersten is sensitive when it comes to
not getting her way in a situation. It was observed multiple times that when other children did not
conform to her ideas of what or how they are going to play, Kiersten would throw herself down
into a corner and pout and/or cry. Emotionally, Kiersten is still learning how to handle situations
that are frustrating. There have been instances of conflicts among her and her peers. Peer
conflicts [let] children see that others have thoughts, feelings, and viewpoints that are different
from their own. Conflicts also heighten childrens sensitivity to the effects of their behavior on
others (Slavin 2015).
Kiersten seems to understand more about why she feels certain ways and is able to talk
through her emotions. She is able to recognize her peers emotions and will work to resolve any
she can. One instance that was observed was a younger peer of hers was crying because someone
hurt their feelings. Kiersten proceeded to give them a hug and asked them to play with her. She
understands how to resolve feelings and how emotions can change in different situations.

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Philosophical
Kiersten sees school as Fun. When asked why we go to school, Kiersten replied, To
learn about Jesus. This seemed like a reasonable response as she attends a Christian based
preschool, where each day they learn about Jesus and the Bible.
Bioecological approach is in emphasizing the interconnected-ness of the many factors
that influence a childs development. A change in the family, such as a divorce or loss of a job,
not only influences the child directly, but may also cause changes in the childs neighborhood,
school, church, and friends (Slavin 2015). This way of thinking is considered philosophical and
it has a great meaning in development. In Kierstens life, her parents divorce has had a direct
influence on her in multiple ways. She has had to look at the world differently since the divorce,
not always understanding what was going on.
Kiersten proceeded to explain that she is learning to read at home using phonics videos.
When asked, Why do we read? Kiersten answered that Reading makes you smart! Her
Philosophical aspect of school is that we learn in order to get smart. She is able to see that we do
not just come to school in order to play with our friends, but go to school to learn and build our
knowledge. Kiersten was able to say that her favorite thing to do in school was creating crafts.
Although Kiersten is still learning the meaning of school, she is beginning to understand
that we learn while at school. She seems to look up to her brother in the realm of school. She
sees her brother doing homework and working hard on his school work. She has mentioned her
brother in conversations we had about school. She stated that her brother is going to school to get
smart and that his work is hard.

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Social
Kierstens social skills are developmentally in a place that meets age specific bookmarks.
Kiersten is more apt to see other children as friends and act accordingly. She is beginning to
understand the importance of friends. Slavin states the childs view of friendship as a temporary
relationship based on a certain situation rather than on shared interests or beliefs (2015). This is a
stage Kiersten is coming out of. She is beginning to understand that just because someone
doesnt share a toy with her, doesnt mean they are no longer her friend. She understands the
power of words in a situation like that, learning to resolve situations.
Much of Kierstens development is based on Eriksons Initiative versus Guilt
stage.During this period, childrens continually maturing motor and language skills permit them
to be increasingly aggressive and vigorous in the exploration of both their social and physical
environment (Slavin 2015). Kiersten is constantly exploring her environment in new ways,
including learning to communicate with others in appropriate ways. Kiersten is able to
understand that she has a first name and last name. She understands the differences between a
boy and a girl at in an age appropriate manner.
Prosocial behavior includes caring, sharing, comforting, and cooperating. Parten
identified four categories of play solitary, parallel, associative, and cooperative that reflect
increasing levels of social interaction and sophistication. Play exercises childrens linguistic,
cognitive, social, and creative skills (Slavin 2015). When it comes to play, Kiersten is able to
play on her own, without help of peers or an adult. This includes puzzles, blocks, books, and
even creative projects. Kiersten is also able to parallel play with peers, working side by side with

PEPSI SCREENING 7

another child to complete a task or just play in a specific area. Kiersten is able to share with her
peers and understands taking turns.

Intellectual
According to Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development, Kiersten is currently in the
preoperational stage of cognitive development. The text states that in the preoperational stage,
children have greater ability to think about things and can use symbols to mentally represent
objects ( Massey, 2008). Their language and concepts develop at an incredible rate. Yet much of
their thinking remains surprisingly primitive (Slavin 2015). Kiersten is still unable to fully
understand how to see from another persons perspective, but is slowly learning that what it may
feel like to another person in a certain situation. For example, While watching a movie where
someone
Development occurs as the child internalizes these signs so as to be able to think and
solve problems without the help of others, an ability called self- regulation.(Slavin 2015)
Kiersten is able to think about situations and figure out a way to solve it. Kiersten has an ability
to see things from different perspectives.
Kiersten is able to recall situations that happened in the past. She is able to think about
something that she has done before and do it again. Kiersten is able to recognize things that she
has seen before and can recognize different situations in her life, both past and present. Kiersten
is able to comprehend the thought of something that may happen in the future as well as things
that have happened in the past. Kiersten is able to demonstrate an activity that she has previously

PEPSI SCREENING 8

learned, such as trying to tie her shoes. Kiersten is able to analyze a situation that has happened
in the past and can sometimes come up with a solution to a problem.

PEPSI Chart
8
7
6
5
Kiersten

Average
3
2
1
0
Physical

Emotional

Philosophical

Social

Intellectual

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Advise for Teachers and Parents

Kiersten is a bright young girl who is above average in many areas. As advice goes,
teachers should be aware that Kiersten is still learning to understand the reason we go to school
is more than to just play and do projects, but it is to learn and begin to understand the real world.
This is something that should be kept in mind when addressing school work. Bringing in real
world examples into assignments will help Kiersten understand the assignment better.
Kiersten needs a challenge, but also review. Taking tasks that challenge her intellectual
abilities, but also reviewing what she already knows will open up her mind to new ideas and
thinking. In the classroom Kiersten should be challenged to think more independently when
completing assignments.
Overall, Kiersten has shown that she is an above average five year old with great
intellectual abilities and amazing social skills. Teachers and Parents should work to engage
Kiersten in new and challenging tasks. Kiersten has the ability to take on challenges and
accomplish new tasks within the home and classroom environment.

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References
Slavin, R. (2015). Chapter Seven: The Effective Lesson. In Educational Psychology: Theory and
Practice (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.
ASQ-3 At-A-Glance. (2015, January 1). Retrieved March 8, 2015, from
http://agesandstages.com/asq-products/asq-3/asq-3-at-a-glance/
Important Milestones: Your Child at Five Years. (2014, March 27). Retrieved March 9, 2015,
from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-5yr.html