Name: Amber Shirley

Date: 12/3/14

Bluefield State College

EDUC 200 Child Adolescent Growth and Development
Case Study

I.

General Information
Name: Lucy Doe
Age: 7
Grade: 1st Grade
Birth Date: September 28, 2007
Resides With: Mother, Grandmother, Grandfather, Three
Brothers (ages: 6, 4, & 3), and uncle (age: 10).
Physical Description: Average height for a 7 year old girl,
long curly brown hair, green eyes, and a high pitched voice.

II.

Background (Interviewed Grandmother)

Birth Weight: 4lbs 5 oz.
Pregnancy and Labor: The pregnancy went smoothly until
the last trimester. The umbilical cord wrapped around Lucys
neck causing stress to the baby, which caused her mothers
water to break. She was born at 33 weeks (7 weeks early).
After labor Lucy lost weight and had to remain in the hospital
until she was at a healthy weight and until she was able to
breathe on her own (about 3 weeks).
Age for Development First
Crawling: 9 months

Sitting: 7 months
Walking: 12 months
Talking: 18 months
Toilet Training: 18 months

III.

Pre-school History (Interviewed Grandmother)

Lucys Grandmother said that Lucy had no
problem with separation when entering Pre-K. She also
said that Lucy was very hyper in Pre-K and would
always wonder off from what she was supposed to do.
She couldnt sit still for long periods of time, and she
didnt want to finish her work. She would tell the
teacher Ill do it later. In Kindergarten, Lucy had
trouble retaining her information and struggled
throughout the year. However now that shes in 1 st
grade, shes doing much better.

IV.

School History (Interviewed Mrs. Cheeks)

When I spoke to the 1st grade teacher at Fall River
Elementary (Lucys teacher) she gave some insightful
information pertaining to Lucys personality and academics.
The first thing that she mentioned about Lucy is that shes
very easily distracted. She works better alone than in a
group, and I believe this helps her remain on task. Mrs.
Cheeks also said that Lucy is very good at reading, but that
math is a little more difficult for her. She also told me that
Lucy likes to ask a lot of questions, for example, she likes to
have the directions repeated several times throughout the
assignment. Overall, she enjoys having Lucy as a student
and Mrs. Cheeks thinks Lucy is a good student.

V.

Observations of Child
First off it is important to mention that I ended up
observing Lucy on a 2 hour delay, so although I was only
there for a short time several subjects were covered. When I
first arrived, the students were in the computer lab. In the 1 st
grade, students take their tests individually with the teacher.
Lucy was taking her test when I walked in. She was just
finishing up with her teacher (whom I heard say she missed
a few) and then noticed I came in. She immediately wanted
to know why I was there and the teacher had to call her back
to task.
Lucy proceeded to a computer like the other students.
They were doing Lexia, which is a reading program where
students could advance at their own pace. Lucy seemed like
she was doing okay; however, when other students talked to
Lucy she would get distracted and the teacher would need to
call her to task again.
The students then moved on to lunch. I did observe
Lucy for a few minutes during her lunch to see how she
acted with the other students. At first when Lucy was finding
a seat, the other girls kind of preferred each other over her. I
believe this might be because Lucy seems to get in trouble
quite a bit and they dont want to get in trouble as well. The
other girls eventually started talking to Lucy too once she sat
down.
After lunch the students moved back to their classroom.
They each went straight to their seats. Mrs. Cheeks had
songs for the students to call them to attention and signal
quiet time. These songs also were used to help the children
put their names on the correct place on the page. Anyway,
Mrs. Cheeks did the quiet song and the students repeated it
and calmed down. I noticed that Lucy did not sing the song
with the other students but immediately got quiet.
The students then began a math assignment on Talley
charts and bar graphs. Mrs. Cheeks put a copy of their paper
on the smartboard so that she could do the assignment with
them. I noticed that Lucy would ask a lot of questions, for

example, she would ask if it was okay to write the rest of the
title under the line and she would ask for the directions
again. I think that Lucy likes the information to be repeated
so that she can double check herself and get things right the
first time. She would also stay very quiet until her work was
done. When she finished a piece of her assignment, she
would check to see if her neighbor had done his right too,
and help him if needed (the students were at tables with two
students at each.
IV.

Summary

I believe that Lucy has definitely calmed down

considerably since pre-k according to her grandmother. The
teachers at the school suggested that Lucy be checked for ADD,
but her grandmother did not want her on medication. I believe
that because Lucy has a stricter teacher this year, it has allowed
her to see how she is supposed to act so that she can at least try
to do what shes supposed to. Lucys mother was diagnosed with
Bipolar Disorder which is genetic so maybe some of Lucys
hyperactivity is due to this as well.
I also believe that Lucy has no separation issues because she
has such a big family and is used to being around many kids. In
my observation of Lucy at lunch, I saw that she was socially
awkward around the other students, but this wasnt so in the
classroom. Maybe this is also due to having a large family, for
example, she knows how to act when directed but she isnt sure
how to act when she is left to act on her own.
If could be expected that Lucy have some developmental
delays because she was so premature at birth, but I believe that
she is making progress mentally and socially. Lucy could fall under
Lev Vygotskys sociocultural approach since she has such a big
family (it affects her culture which in a way determines how she
will act toward others outside the home). Also Erik Eriksons
autonomy vs. shame and doubt, because Lucy often doubts
herself when doing work in class and likes to check to see if shes
proceeding correctly. Urie Brofenbrenners Ecological Systems

Theory also applies to Lucy, in that we can see why she behaves
differently at a home environment and a school environment. For
example, Lucy is more on task at school because she has a strict
teacher, whereas at home Lucy wouldnt be directed so closely.
In all, I believe that Lucy will grow out of her hyperactive
state with the right help. She has the potential to be successful in
school, since she seems to always want to be right and do her
assignments correctly and in a timely manner. However, I believe
that she needs more help making friends than normal 7 year old
girls. I think that having a large family with many kids makes her
a little more comfortable around people than other children are
used to. With the right help and education she could become a
very successful person.