The title page should be centered both horizontally and vertically and should contain the following three items:

An Hour in the Life of John (1. Title)

by: Carla J. Claudio (2. Name of student/author)
Psyc 4 (Class)

The first page should be a short summary of the paper, or an abstract. Page numbering should be justified right with the student's last name, a space, and then the page number.  Page numbering should start on the Abstract page.

Abstract (This word is centered)

This report consists of the actions of a preschool child as seen by a psychology student. The child chosen for this observation was a three-year-old Caucasian male in a pre-school setting, who will be called John (please do not use the child's real name). The observation took place at The Child Development Center, Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, California on February 10, 1999, for one hour. John displayed many of the same characteristics of the other children, so only his unique physical, cognitive, and emotional growth will be reported on. The purpose for this observation is to apply different learning theories to a child in his environment.

The third page starts the body of the paper.  The title of the paper should be restated on this page.

An Hour in the Life of John (The title is centered)

All paragraphs will have a five space indent on the first line with your paper. This is not possible on the Internet.  Additionally, your paper should be DOUBLE SPACED.  This also does not show up on the Internet.

John is sitting on the floor playing with blocks. He picks up one block in each hand and is pretending that they are guns. He makes shooting sounds as he shoots at imaginary targets. John licks one block and wipes it off. He continues as though he is trying to clean it. He then rubs the block against his cheek. Suddenly, he puts it in his mouth and bites it. This relates to Piaget's theory of Preoperational Thought. By using the blocks as though they are guns, John displays symbolic thinking. He also displays sociodramatic play. Sociodramatic play not only helps children try out and rehearse social roles; it also allows them to express their fears and fantasies and to learn to cooperate" (Berger & Thompson, 1995, p. 396). This is correct example of APA citation. According to Parents Magazine (1998, September, p. 146) "Three year olds are still discovering the characteristics of blocks and may enjoy simply clacking them together and piling up shapes. Many children at this age are increasing the skills they need for representational play, which sets the ground work for creative thinking." John is using the blocks as tools to symbolize his ideas. When John licks and bites the blocks, he is displaying Piaget's theory of sensorimotor intelligence. This theory states that infants constantly bang, shake and `mouth' toys to examine their texture. Additionally, Piaget's information-processing theory tells us that humans analyze, store information, and then retrieve it when necessary. John is taking in the information and storing it like a computer.

John runs over to another activity center where he grabs a ball and starts dribbling it. He tosses it up in the air and it bounces across the room. He watches it and then runs after it. John's display of gross motor skills is fitting for his age. Dribbling is a form of mastery play.

This is the beginning of the second page of the body.

As long as he has the proper space and the ability to practice, his skills will develop rapidly. John sits on top of the ball and watches Sara and her mother enter the classroom. Sara is crying. John is interested in what is going on and stares intensely at the situation. Sara's mother kisses her and tells her "good-bye." The teacher calls the children to get ready for a snack. John washes his hands and he sits down at a table next to Sara. He reaches over, puts his hand on hers, and says, "You will be okay." Preschool children are learning how to cope with their emotions and learn this by observing others. They begin to have an understanding of the causes and consequences of emotions in other people. "Moreover, preschoolers also become more prone to experiencing empathy, as the involuntary "pull" of another's distress makes a child feel sad. For some young children, feelings of empathy for someone in distress precipitate actions to comfort and assist that person" (Berger & Thompson, 1995, p. 375). John's actions relate to the Social Learning Theory. An inclusive part of this theory is called "modeling." Modeling is when a child sees other people's behavior and imitates it (Berger & Thompson, 1995).

The children gather together at the carpet area. The teacher puts on a song that tells them to gallop around like horses. The song then instructs the children to do different things like tip toe, run in place, and waddle like a duck. John follows the instructions and laughs with the other children. Suddenly, the song changes and John stands still and listens for a moment. He walks away and sits behind a paint easel. The teacher calls John to rejoin the group but he continues to hide. She walks over, takes his hand and returns him to the group. John pulls away and says, "Fuck it." The teacher looks at him in disbelief and leads him out of the classroom. I follow as John is taken to the Child Care Director's office. He sits quietly on the sofa as the teacher

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explains the incident to Beth, the Director. The particular song with instructions of movement excited John. It helped him interact with his peers and gave him another chance to use his large motor skills. When the song stopped, it upset him. The song stopped before he was ready for it to stop. John was frustrated and this is when he said, "F*** it." This directly relates to Social Learning Theory. John probably had no idea of what his words meant, however, he must have observed someone using these words at a time when he or she was frustrated. He was simply expressing his feelings and repeated the statement. "In fact, preschoolers are able to soak up language like a sponge, an ability that causes most researchers to regard early childhood as a crucial period for language learning. The sponge like fast mapping that occurs during these years is so impressive that we need to remind ourselves that young children cannot readily grasp every word they hear" (Berger & Thompson, 1995, p. 357).

The teacher leaves John with Beth. She sits besides John on the sofa. Beth is quiet and sits with him for a few minutes. She begins to talk in a soft tone and explains that the words he used were not nice words. Beth inquires about his morning activities in the classroom. She asks questions like: "Are you angry?" and "Has something upset you?" John does not reply, instead he stares intently into his lap. Beth asks John if he will try to use nice words with his teacher. John looks at her and smiles. Hand in hand, they walk back to the classroom where the children are listening to a story. "Discipline means 'teaching' not punishment. What you do about any single incident is not as important as what you teach on each occasion. Punishment may need to be part of discipline on certain occasions, but it should follow promptly on the misbehavior, be short, and respect the feelings of the child" (Brazelton, 1992, p. 253). The

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teacher promptly took John out of the classroom to let him know that his language was not acceptable nor tolerable.

Story time ends and the children move to a different area for independent play. John chooses the wooden blocks and he plays while talking to the boy next to him. He looks carefully at each block as he adds it to his tower. Once it is thirteen blocks high, he decides to take the tower apart one block at a time. He then throws a block at the boy next to him. The boy looks up and John says, "You can play with me." The boy gathers his animal toys, scoots closer and they play together. This is a good example of the Learning Theory's Laws of Behavior, stimulus and response (Berger & Thompson, 1995). John knew he could get the boy's attention if he threw a block at him.

John continues building his tower. The tower falls over and he rebuilds it. He repeats his process over and over again. He then tells the teacher that his tower keeps falling. She makes suggestions, then demonstrates how to make the base wider. John is now displaying Vygotsky's theory of apprentices in thinking. The teacher gave the guided participation that John needed to keep his towers from falling over. He will practice this new skill and will succeed in building taller towers. "Playing with blocks helps a child gain fine-muscle control in their fingers as they learn to stack blocks one on top of the other. Blocks act as a catalyst for a child's physical development between their third and fifth birthdays. When children play with simple open-ended materials like blocks, they are free to experiment. Their play is richer and more imaginative than when they play with realistic toys" (Parents Magazine, 1998, September, p. 146).

This is the beginning of the fifth page of the body.

The teacher announces that it is time for lunch and she asks everyone to clean up. John does not want to clean up, instead he runs and hides. The teacher asks him several times to pick up his blocks but he ignores her. She begins to sing, "clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere... ," while doing so she puts a couple of blocks in the box. John smiles, kneels besides her and begins to clean up.

John is a perfect example of how our social skills are developed at an early age. Even when he was not sociable, his environment allowed him to be himself. There was no yelling, making fun of or belittling John. Most importantly, he was never forced to comply. Instead, he was guided in making the right decision. This "guidance" was essential in allowing John to develop self-esteem regardless of his actions.

Following is the reference page.  It goes on a separate page of its own.

References (remember to center this word!)

Berger, K. S. and Thompson, R. A. (1995). The developing person: through childhood and adolescence (4th ed.). New York: Worth.

Brazelton, T. B. (1992). Touchpoints: your child's emotional and behavioral development. Massachusetts: Perseus.

Heller, L. J. (1998, September). These Classic Toys Build Thinking and Socializing Skills. Parents Magazine, 145-148. New York.