Case Study Final Project: Describe a Fictional Child and Incorporate what you learned about community resources and current issues.
I. Create and fully describe a fictional student, aged 1 to 3 years old. You can base this work on a child you are familiar with, but this is a fictional case study, so make sure to give them a fictional name and include the following information in your essay:
-Age, cultural background, linguistic background (whether or not he or she is an English Language Learner) and, if applicable, the language that his/her family speaks in their home
-Describe his family compilation and unique characteristics of his/her home life. Include socioeconomic background, a description of his/her home, if there are extended family, like grandparents, aunts, etc., involved in the child’s life or not. Make sure to include some atypical characteristics to make your subject interesting and to create a need for support from available resources.
-Include a current social issue that affects your student. Reference a current event that aligns with the issue that your case study deals with. Fully describe the event, include the date and where you found the information. Connect the event to your case study in order to illuminate what the child and their family is going through.
-Does the child lives in poverty? Does the child have a high quality child care in place? Was he or she born premature? How strong was the prenatal maternal period? Does he or she have high quality health care? Live in a place that has lead in the paint or in the water? You will need to research a bit online to find out more information about these issues and a current event to align with the issue you select.
-Describe the child’s daycare setting, including many details such as the agenda of the class and examples of your child’s development in regard to the class curriculum
II. Examine this child’s skills development in the following areas, both at home and at daycare, and include descriptions related to:
-Cognitive (problem-solving skills as reflected in play and use of materials)
-Language (communication with caregivers and family)
-Emotional (self-help skills, attachment to caregivers and any unusual separation issues)
-Social (eye contact, interaction with caregivers, attention and focus)
-Physical (fine and gross motor skills, eye-hand coordination)
III. Please research at least 2 areas that relate to your subject and his or her family’s very specific needs. After focusing on the topics that stand out the most, research further to collect the information you would provide support to the family. Include a complete description of the information you would share and the title of the community resource or government agency information that you gathered in your research. Of course, your community resource or government agency should be located in Northern New Jersey, preferably in Bergen County. The first place to begin is the at the Bergen County Office of Children located at 1 Bergen County Plaza, Hackensack, NJ or research their website at the following web address: http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/Index.aspx?NID=567
Post these resources within the last section of your essay, prior to the concluding paragraph.
IV. This final project is an academic essay. Please use academic language throughout your essay and refrain from informal language. Make sure to refer to the textbook or other scholarly resource within your essay, at least 3 times.