248 CASE STUDIES

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CASE 1. YOU WORK IN A NEWLY
CREATED BILINGUAL CENTER,
LOCATED IN A NEWLY CREATED
NEIGHBORHOOD, WHERE THE SOCIO-
ECONOMIC LEVEL IS AVERAGE. IS A 5-
YEAR-OLD CLASSROOM TUTOR AND
HAS 3 STUDENTS. DEVELOP THE
CENTER OF INTEREST "I KNOW MY
NEIGHBORHOOD".

DIAGNOSIS OF THE SITUATION

The precursor of the Center of Interest is

Ovid Decroly, who belonged to the New
School movement, and among the principles underlying his methodology was the valuation of
children's interests, subordinating the teachings to them. The Centers of Interest consist of
the grouping of contents and activities around themes that are of great significance to the
student, and that offer stimuli and experiences that will favor the intellectual, social, physical
and emotional development of the student. Therefore, it can be said that it works from the
principle of globalization, one of the principles established by the LOE for the Early Childhood
Education stage.

The topics to be developed arise from the child's environment, whether it is the school, the
family, the neighborhood or the locality to which the child belongs, giving the possibility of
maintaining direct contact with that environment.

Teaching is based on direct experience, giving priority to the child's activity and rewarding the
child by valuations and other social stimuli.

In our case, we start from a newly created bilingual school, where it is implied that the
students have not lived in the area for very long, however, since they are five-year-old
students, they may have little or no memory of their previous neighborhood.

CENTER OF INTEREST PLANNING

The Center of Interest: "My neighborhood", I will divide it into three parts, as Decroly called
them:

• Observation, based on experiences

• Association between objects and their qualities, phenomena.
• Expression of what has been learned

V Observation We will organize an outing from the center to get to know the
neighborhood, visiting the market (or supermarket), other establishments, the
health center (seeing it from the outside), the park, the post office, etc. We will
take something from each place we visit, for example fruit from the
greengrocer, etc. The teacher will bring a photo machine and will photograph
the places visited with the help of the students. In addition to this outing,
parents will be asked, by means of a circular, that for a specific day, students
bring flyers, brochures or cards from establishments near their homes.
V Association Activities of lotuses, dominoes, etc., in which they have to
associate everyday images (fruit at the greengrocer's, clothes at the dry
cleaner's, leaves in the park, etc.), in order to assimilate and relate what they
have seen on the outing in the neighborhood. Have each student paste on a
mural or display the collected material in class.
V Expression They will make drawings on DIN A3 sheets with the theme "my
neighborhood". The children will discuss in assembly what they have near
their home, what they like the most, what colors they associate, etc.

• Play guessing games: the child, by means of mimicry, tries to make his peers guess
which element of the neighborhood he represents.
• Working with plasticine.

Taking into account that the center is bilingual, the concepts will also be worked on in
English, so that both in the outing around the neighborhood and in the classroom activities
the basic vocabulary on this subject will be present: colors, fruits, greetings and other
expressions of social norm, names of establishments, concepts such as street, house, car,
and others that belong to the neighborhood environment, are going to be worked in the same
way in both languages, Spanish and English.

CONCLUSION

Through this Center of Interest, students are able to get closer to their environment, to know
their surroundings better and to understand, by establishing cause-effect relationships, the
reasons for their world. We will also have contributed to the development of other aspects of
the curriculum, such as: expanding their vocabulary, both in their mother tongue, Spanish,
and in the foreign language, English; developing their creativity; encouraging their curiosity
and desire to learn; establishing logical relationships, etc.
CASE 2.

DISTRIBUTE A 3-YEAR OLD CLASSROOM BY CORNERS. THEN CHOOSE ONE OF

THE PROPOSED CORNERS AND DESCRIBE HOW TO ORGANIZE, MONITOR AND
EVALUATE CHILDREN'S USE AND PLAY IN IT

ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION

We are going to plan a corner classroom for the age of three. The distribution of the
classroom by corners favors more significant learning for the child, since it gives him/her the
possibility to experiment, investigate, manipulate, play alone or in group, autonomously,
according to the need or interest he/she shows at any given moment. But this form of
learning requires a difficult planning task for the teacher. The three year old child already has
an evolutionary maturity that allows him to move around the classroom with ease and
perform activities, both gross and fine domain, although the latter still with some difficulty.
He is also in full expression of symbolism, manifesting it through play and language.

At this age, the tour of the corners can be quite free, always within the rules of coexistence
and behavior. In the planning of the corners and their distribution, the first thing we aim for is
that the space adapts to the child and allows him/her:

• To know the different spaces of the classroom and to master all the possibilities of
activity in them.
• Handle and use the material correctly.
• Communicate and interact with peers and adults.
• Accessing moments of tranquility and moments of more hectic activity in a balanced
way.

Once I am clear about what the corners should favor, I turn to the Curricular Project to
address "the objectives and contents to be worked on during the course and, based on these,
select those corners that are best suited to the achievement of these objectives and contents.

Considering that the students are in the first year of the second cycle of Pre-school
Education, I set the following objectives:

In the Area of Self-knowledge and Personal Autonomy

• Know the body characteristics, distinguishing globally the different types of
elements that make up the body
• Acquire awareness of the senses and the sensations that can be perceived by
perceive through them.
• Positively accept their physical peculiarities and those of others.
• To know one's own possibilities of action.
• To be more and more autonomous in basic needs.
• Participate in games, taking initiative, respecting the opinions of peers and
established rules.
• Progressively acquire spatial-temporal orientation.
• To progressively acquire autonomy in body, psychomotor and visual-manual
movements.
• Acquiring habits of work, health, nutrition, hygiene, etc.

In the area of knowledge of the environment

• To know some animals and plants of their environment.

• Classify objects by their physical and sensory attributes: shape, color, size, etc.
• Distinguish your family members.
• Knowledge of a trade.
 • Participate in cultural manifestations, customs and folklore of their community.

In the Area of Languages: Communication and Representation

• Communicate through oral language, using a vocabulary appropriate to their age.

• Participate in stories, songs, poetry, etc., maintaining the necessary attention.
• Value and use different resources and materials in the environment.
• To know the properties and characteristics of objects, size, shape, color, etc., through
manipulation.
• Acquire a vocabulary specific to the areas, characteristics and relationships
established with the objects.
• Learning the numbers from 1 to 5, through manipulation.

To know and differentiate geometric figures: triangle, square, circle.

CLASSROOM PLANNING BY CORNERS

Once I am clear about the objectives I want to develop with our three-year-old students, I
select the corners that I think best suit them and the children's needs. The corners that I
propose for the classroom are:

• Corner of the carpet: Where the following are performed the

counted
assemblies are
stories, will activities and, in short, where you can listen to
collective.
• Corner of construction: Where the child has the possibility of finding
elements to make three-dimensional constructions. An ideal space for the
development of language, mathematical thinking or motor skills.
• Symbolic play corner: At this age it is one of the corners that awakens the greatest
interest. Here the child has the possibility of imitation and fiction activities.
• Plastic arts corner: Where all aspects of Artistic Expression are developed. Here
children can give free rein to their creativity.
• Nature corner: It requires only a small space where the child can observe elements
of nature, for example, we can plant a seed and watch its growth process and we can
have a small pet to take care of and feed (such as a turtle, a fish, etc.).
• Letter corner: This space has a small library where children have access to books
and also provides a quiet environment for them to enjoy that moment. It is important
that this corner is away from the corners that involve more activity and that it has
good light, natural light if possible.
• Mathematics and experiments corner : This corner aims to bring the child closer to
the world of mathematics, in a stimulating and attractive way. In this corner there are
logic games, such as lotuses, dominoes, puzzles, and different recycled material
(cans, polo sticks, cardboard tubes, etc.) to carry out different experiments.

The spatial distribution of the corners will also be taken into account so that they can fulfill
their function normally. Therefore, since we do not have the dimensions of a classroom, our
priority will be to ensure that every corner is in the best possible place.

The corner with the carpet and the corner with the letters should be located close to each
other and, as we have already said, the corner with the letters should have good light. At the
same time, these corners should be as far away as possible from the construction corner and
the symbolic play corner, which can be placed next to them. The plastic arts corner and the
mathematics corner will also be located nearby, so that, if space requires it, both can share
part of their space (provided that the materials and activities to be carried out in each are well
delimited). These two corners should have a basin of water nearby. The nature corner
requires a lot of natural light, so we are going to place it under a window. It would also be
interesting to place a mirror where the child can see his or her whole body, either in the
symbolic play corner or in the assembly area.

Having described the corners that I would put in the classroom, I will now develop the
organization, monitoring and evaluation of one of them.

Plastic Corner

This corner shall be located in a non-transit space and, as mentioned above, with a water
basin. In addition, the space will be large enough so that you can work and experiment
without having to ruin and stain something.

The materials needed to organize the corner are:

• Rubber to protect the floor and the table.
 • Furniture adapted to the child and placed in a way that does not hinder movement
and that favors both group and individual activities.
• Aprons and bibs for children.
• Material (sponges, rags, etc.) so that the children can clean the space at the end of
the activity.
• Work materials: Paints (finger paints, tempera, soft and hard crayons, markers of
different thickness, etc.).
• Molding doughs,
• Molds of different sizes and shapes Rollers, glue, brushes and paintbrushes,
scissors, punches and stencils, toothpicks, cotton, toilet paper, newspapers, sponges,
chalk, salt, sugar, flour, boxes, jars and other recycled items, wool, scissors,
• Different types of paper (patent leather, pinocchio, silk, colored cardboard, DIN A3 -
DIN A4 sheets, continuous paper, etc.) and others that may arise with the planning of
the activities.
• Soap and towels to clean yourself at the end.

Materials should be ready for use each day, in a place that is easily accessible to the
children. Before starting, the children prepare the material they are going to use, as well as
collect them at the end.

There will also be a place to leave the works to dry or to exhibit them. There will be a free
wall, intended for this purpose, as well as a rope with clothespins.

The children's work is not required to be perfect (the objective is not to look for artists), so the
continuous positive reinforcement given to the child, in the form of verbal recognition, during
the creation process and at the moment of the exhibition, will be very important.

My interventions with the teacher will depend on the skills shown by the children and the
difficulty of the activity itself.

With three year old students, the activities in this corner will be quite directed, due to the
danger that the free handling of paints, etc. may imply for such young children. As far as the
creative process is concerned, the intervention will be minor, encouraging the child to
express, imagine and create, according to what he/she feels and lives.

In the evaluation we will consider:

• The corner itself (layout, interest, materials, etc.).

• The work of the teacher.
• The child will be evaluated:

V Degree of motivation to work in this corner.

V Degree of involvement in the activities.

V Autonomy at work.
V Manifestations of creativity.
V Use of materials.
V Choice of different strategies for carrying out the activities.
V Use of oral language to communicate with peers and adults (ask for help,
verbalize their activity, etc.).
V Care of materials in use.
V Pick up and cleaning of the corner at the end of the activity.

The corner will be evaluated:

 • If it suits the needs of the children.
• If it fits our classroom methodology.
• If it favors different types of relationships and communication.
• If it offers different work alternatives.
• If it satisfies the children's motivations and interests.
• If the materials are sufficiently within the reach of children.
• The teacher's attitude will be evaluated:
• The organization of the corner (location and realization of materials, aesthetics, etc.).
• The selection of materials.
• Involvement of students' homework.
• Verification and control of achievements.
• Its motivational capacity.

CONCLUSION

A good organization by corners of the classroom allows the child to carry out activities
autonomously, according to his/her preferences and interests, producing a more meaningful
and globalized learning enriched by the resources and the adequate and measured
intervention of the teacher.

With the corners proposed here, it is possible to favor the achievement of the objectives set
out in the program, working the different areas, considering the playful activity as the main
form of interaction of the child with the environment. This environment is proposed in an
attractive and stimulating way, with a multitude of materials that allow the child not only the
activity to be developed, but also the intervention strategies and the selection of instruments.

CASE 3. LIST AND SPECIFY THE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES YOU WOULD DEVELOP IN A
CENTER WITH 3-YEAR-OLD STUDENTS TO WORK ON RHYTHM.

ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION

We are faced with an assumption that, from the outset, provides only one piece of
information, the age of the children, so that, based on this, rhythm activities must be planned,
which is one of the objectives set by the LOE for the Infant Education stage. We are going to
work on it in a globalized way, covering it from the different educational areas.

We can consider rhythm as the temporal structure of various sequences of movement.

The elements that make up the rhythm can be divided into two blocks: on the one hand, the
pulse, tempo and accent, and on the other hand, the beat or meter of the rhythm.

At the age of three, the child already knows clearly the sounds he or she hears. Its rhythmic
expression is linked to a motor activity that is not yet very orderly, so that it moves without
further ado when faced with a sound stimulus. At this age he acquires a very important
ability, which is that he is able to concentrate his attention on more than one thing, for
example singing and playing an instrument. Throughout the three years he discovers that
rhythm is found in words and that he himself can change the rhythm of his movements (he
masters his own body).
It is a good time to initiate musical acquisition and awareness.

We assume that the evolutionary moment of the children is similar, that their socio-
environmental conditions are also similar and that there are no elements that distort the
educational process in them.

The first thing I am going to specify are the objectives we want to achieve with the activities
we are going to plan. In order to work on rhythmic education with three-year-old students, we
set the following objectives:

Objectives of Rhythmic Education:

• To feel the rhythm in one's own body.

• Perceiving the different rhythms of nature (day/night, sea/mountain, etc.).
• Adapt the child's spontaneous movement to a rhythmic stimulus.
• Perceiving and knowing the elements of musical rhythm (pulse, accent,...)
• Perceiving and knowing binary and thematic musical rhythms from sound
external.
• Next we will consider the materials to be used:
Instruments (triangle, claves, tambourine, xylophone, cymbals, etc.), CD with music
and nature sounds.

For music classes (in case we do not have a specific classroom) we will look for a space with
the following characteristics:

• It should be spacious and, if possible, soundproofed so that sounds can be emitted in

peace.
• That the required material is available: instruments, recordings,
players, etc.

DESCRIPTION AND PLANNING OF ACTIVITIES

We will carry out a sequenced planning of the activities, starting from the simplest rhythms up
to more complex ones.

Rhythm initiation activities

• Clapping: children must follow the sequence clapping-silence-clapping-silence,...

Little by little we will make it more complex, such as two claps one silence, two claps
one silence...
• To mark the syllables of words of classroom objects with clapping, we will use two-
syllable words at first, such as me-sa, si-lla, lá-piz.

• Listen to songs and follow the rhythm: we will play very simple songs several times,
such as "el patio de mi casa", first we will let them dance freely and then, all seated in
a circle, we will mark the beats with hand clapping. A variant of this activity can be to
set the rhythm with the feet, kicking on the floor.

Rhythm activities

• Each child says his or her name marking each syllable with clapping, e.g., Mar-ta, Ro-
ber-to, etc.
• Teams are formed and musical instruments of the same type are distributed per
group (one group with triangles, another with claves, another with discs, another with
xylophone), each group is assigned a rhythm of one beat, two beats, three beats, half
beat. First the teacher will indicate when each group starts and finishes playing their
instrument and she will help them by marking the rhythm. It is preferable not to mix
sounds, the rest of the students wait in silence.
• They learn a dance to a song in which the steps mark the beats,

Evaluation activities
• To develop dance in front of other Early Childhood Education classes.
• Ask students to make up rhythms with non-musical instruments that they can use to
provide them with (shells, stones, sticks, boats, etc.)
• Activities to evaluate rhythmic education
 • Execution of rhythms using body percussion rhythms (clapping, whistles, clapping
knees, tapping feet, etc.) emitted by the teacher and imitated by the students. The
rhythms are introduced one at a time and with very short schemes.
• Repeating several times the same rhythmic scheme performed with simple
instruments.
• Practice with the language of rhythms and figures, using words indicated by the
teacher.

CONCLUSION

At the end of the activities we will have achieved that the students internalize rhythm as an
essential part of life, helping them to understand and develop in their environment.

If we work on music with these and other activities of this type, using our body to set rhythms
and our mind to interpret the music, we will contribute to the achievement of one of the main
objectives of Education: to favor the integral development of the person as an individual and
social being.

Through musical experiences, the child acquires certain cognitive skills (sensitivity, creativity,
etc.) and allows him/her to enter more easily into fantasy and play.

Music and rhythm in particular, worked in a globalized way, will go into areas such as:

• Heuristic play, or play by discovery.

• The development of creativity
• Encouraging imagination

• Multi-sensory perception, music and rhythm can be perceived with the five senses.
• Sociability and affectivity.

Therefore, these activities will have helped the child to be happier, more creative, to express
desires and frustrations and to manage his or her self-esteem.

CASE 4.

PROPOSES A PSYCHOMOTRICITY SESSION TO WORK ON THE BODY SCHEMA WITH

A CLASSROOM OF 4 YEAR OLDS WITH A RATIO OF 24 STUDENTS IN WHICH THERE
IS A STUDENT WITH A LOCOMOTOR SYSTEM DISABILITY.

ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION

There are 23 four-year-old students with a "normal" physical development and one four-year-
old student with a motor disability that requires individualized attention.

I will begin by reflecting on the developmental stage of the 23 4-year-olds:

At this evolutionary stage, children have already developed balancing systems and bone-
muscle-joint adjustment. They have a segmental mastery of the body, so that they are able to
dissociate with which part of the body they have to perform each movement. In relation to
locomotion, at this age they have evolved considerably, the gait is already very similar to that
of adults and in running they already change direction quickly and reach considerable speed.
Other skills already mastered by the 4-year-old child are: bounces the ball with both hands,
throws and catches the ball at medium distance, can move on a bar (balance control), both
forward, backward and laterally, stands on one foot, climbs and descends stairs alternating
feet without support, increases the length of jumps and the height reached in them.
Students with disabilities in the locomotor system will not be able to perform the exercises at
the same pace as the rest of their classmates, they will work in parallel with a specific
program adapted to their needs and that promotes the improvement of their psychomotor
skills.

The session I have planned has to work on the body scheme, a concept to which the Early
Childhood Education Curriculum gives a lot of importance, transferring to the content blocks
such as "the body and self-image", "self-care", "body expression, etc.

Throughout this stage, children should know, globally and segmentally, their body, its
perceptual and motor possibilities and use the body as a means of expression.

The knowledge of the body is fundamental for the child to build the rest of his or her learning,
because it gives him or her the awareness of his or her own suitability.

The psychomotor skills session will last 45 minutes.

SESSION PLANNING

In order to plan the session, some objectives must be set: the timing, the materials to be
used, the activities to be developed and how they will be evaluated.

Among the body schema objectives, I must choose which ones to work on in our session; for
this session I choose:

• Awareness of body parts.

• Recognize body dimensions.
• To discover the possibilities of movement of the different parts of the body.

As materials, in this case, only a large mirror (which is understood to be in the classroom as a
fixed material) and sacks, or bricks in their absence, will be needed.
The session lasts 45 minutes and is divided into three phases: warm-up, activity and
relaxation.

Warm-up phase. When we arrive at the psychomotor, gymnastics or multipurpose room, we

start a warm-up or introductory activities, which will consist of:

• Let children move spontaneously throughout the space: walking, eating, jumping, etc.
Students with Special Educational Needs are also allowed to move freely. As a
teacher, I take advantage of this moment to make an observation of the type of
movement the students choose to perform, the interactions between them and the
degree of integration of the student with SEN stands close to the teacher. This activity
consists in imitating with body movement actions such as swimming, cramps, mime
movements, etc. Represent, in addition, sensations of cold, heat, fear, joy, sadness,
haste, relaxation, etc.
• Follow the instructions of the tambourine, running when the rhythm of the tambourine
is fast and walking when it is slow. If the degree of motor impairment of the student
with SEN is not very high, he/she will perform the same exercise, allowing his/her
rhythm to be different from that of the tambourine.

Development activities. Once the warm-up has been completed, we move on to the actual
activities for the development of the body schema.
 • Sacks are placed around the room, the children go around the room and when a part
of the body is announced, they take the closest sack and place it on the part of the
body mentioned. With the student with SEN, we place less heavy bags on one side of
the class and he performs the activity like the rest of the children.
• In front of the mirror, the children stand in pairs facing the mirror. One of the children
performs movements and the partner will try to imitate them. With the student with
SEN, the partner teacher is positioned and performs simple movements, adapted to
his or her possibilities.
• Imitations: the teacher gives instructions on what the children have to imitate; for
example, imitating bouncing a ball, playing tennis or soccer.

• To the rhythm of the music, the different segments of the body will be mobilized,
rotation of wrists and ankles, flexion and extension of arms, lifting a straight leg,
flexion and extension of the body (bending and rising), head turns, waist turns. If
possible, they should be done in front of a mirror so that they can see themselves.
The student with SEN will perform those movements that he/she can, such as flexion
and extension of the arms and head turns, the level of demand will be minimal,
considering his/her personal circumstances.

Relaxation exercises. In order that the students do not leave the session with an
excessively high degree of excitement, a muscle relaxation exercise will be performed:

• With a quiet music and starting from the lying position, the child follows the teacher's
indications, who, with a soft voice, says that they are a newly planted seed, which
must come out of the ground, grow and spread (at the time of these indications, the
children are incorporated gently, stretching the trunk and, later, the upper limbs).

The evaluation will be done through systematic observation, which will be used to fill in
previously elaborated evaluation forms that will help to verify the level of execution of the
different activities. The evaluation form will collect the following data:

• Recognizes the body segments of one's own body

• Correctly adopts the requested positions
• Proper use of body parts
• Coordinates body movements
• It adjusts its movements to the rhythm.

Other aspects less related to body schema will also be evaluated, such as:

• Has a good attitude towards physical activity

• Participates and interacts with peers
• Has a listening attitude and performs activities as requested.

For the student with locomotor impairment, a separate evaluation form will be prepared,
where the degree of participation, autonomy to move around the classroom, and the degree
of representation of the body scheme will be evaluated, considering each small advance as
an achievement.

CONCLUSION

After this session, the children will have acquired a better knowledge of the different parts
and segments of the body and, therefore, will have more resources to use their own body as
a means of communication and expression, working on one of the objectives set by the basic
curriculum of early childhood education: "To discover, know and progressively control one's
own body, "

With respect to the student with SEN, having integrated him/her in the classroom, having
promoted the realization of the activities proposed in the session, with no level of demand in
order not to promote frustrations, will favor not only his/her psychomotor development (which
will be worked on more in individualized psychomotor sessions), but above all will favor the
social development and self-esteem of the child, since seeing him/her doing the same
activities as his/her peers, will help him/her to have a positive self-image of him/herself.This
will be worked on in individualized psychomotor sessions), but above all it will favor the
child's social development and self-esteem, since seeing him/her doing the same activities as
his/her peers will help him/her to have a positive self-image, and at the same time he/she will
learn about his/her possibilities and limitations.

CASE 5.

HOW WOULD YOU DEAL WITH CONFLICTIVE BEHAVIOR IN AN EI CLASSROOM?

ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION

The school must inculcate in children the awareness of respect for others, collaboration,
order and coexistence. For the proper functioning of the classroom and the educational
center, they must have rules of coexistence and order that must be established and
assumed, both by the students and by the adults that make up the educational community.

The child who frequently breaks the rules in the Infant Education stage means that he/she is
not yet in control of his/her reactions. However, when faced with conflictive behaviors,
whether they are temper tantrums, bad behavior, hitting classmates, not taking care of the
material or not obeying classroom rules, the teacher must look beyond the classroom itself.
The teacher must work from the first moment to stop these behaviors, since they not only
break the atmosphere of order and harmonious coexistence in the classroom, but also show
the child a reality different from the one that the school, as an educational center for
preparation for adult life, should show. As a general rule, the school is the first place (after
the family environment) where children socialize, where they learn the values of coexistence
and develop behaviors that they will reproduce in their life in society.

INTERVENTION PLANNING FOR CONFLICT BEHAVIORS

The first thing the teacher has to consider is the cause of this attitude, asking herself:

• Does it come out of the blue or does it come from your entry into the school?
• In what ways do you manifest conflicting behaviors? (aggressively or through
frustration and crying).
• What is your family situation?
• Do you show your conflict in specific situations or throughout the school day?

Intervention in the classroom should be based on serenity; an aggressive response (shaking,

slapping, etc.) should not be given because it increases their nervousness and that of their
classmates and can also generate greater aggression.

Therefore, within this state of serenity, the first thing to do is to talk to the child about his
behaviors, try to reason and detect what may be the cause.

Afterwards, he is reminded of the rules of coexistence, explaining also why these rules exist
and the importance of respecting them, and he is warned that he who does not respect them
must be punished, so we are giving him the last chance to respect these rules and not be
punished.
If the problem continues, if he/she continues to maintain conflictive behaviors, we apply the
"time out", that is, we take him/her away from the activity he/she is doing momentarily,
explaining it to him/her with phrases such as: "you are going to go to the boredom chair for a
while to reflect on your behavior and on what we talked about the rules of the class, when
you have finished reflecting and you think you are going to behave well, tell me about it".

If the behavior continues, in parallel to the intervention in the classroom, a meeting will be
held with the parents, where they are updated on the situation and an attempt is made to find
out if there is any family situation that could provoke these behaviors: separation, birth of a
new child, etc.

In addition, the family is asked to collaborate to work hand in hand, in order to eradicate
these behaviors as soon as possible. The educational model must be the same; it is useless
to sanction a child's behavior in the classroom if later at home the child receives gifts and is
granted every whim.

The "time-out" will continue to be applied, extending the time spent in the boredom chair, as
long as the behavior to be eradicated is maintained. During this time we can also use some
activity that the child especially likes so that he/she can see the causes of his/her behavior.

If his negative behavior involves the material (misusing it, breaking it, etc.), he will not be
allowed to use the material for the rest of the day, which means that he cannot play a certain
game or do a certain activity with the rest of the group.

On the other hand, and in order to compensate, for each positive behavior he/she performs,
he/she will be praised and publicly valued for his/her behavior and thus detect the satisfaction
that these behaviors provide to all of us (teachers, classmates, family).

CONCLUSION

The objective here was to eradicate negative behaviors through appropriate pedagogical
intervention. By provoking the right situations and activities, providing the right rewards and
sanctions, the child's behavioral failures will be less frequent, gradually helping him to
relativize his negative behaviors.

The application of "time out" to negative behaviors, compensated with verbal rewards for
positive behaviors, will help the child to realize how his behavior can lead to one situation or
another, and that it will influence his activity and his relationship with others.

CASE 6.

YOU ARE IN A SCHOOL WHERE YOU WILL BE TUTORING A CLASS OF 22 4-YEAR-

OLD STUDENTS, 17 OF WHOM COME FROM THE SAME SCHOOL'S 3-YEAR-OLD
KINDERGARTEN, 3 COME FROM ANOTHER SCHOOL'S KINDERGARTEN, AND TWO
OF THE STUDENTS ARE FIRST-TIME STUDENTS. MAKE A DIAGNOSIS OF THE
SITUATION AND PROPOSE AN APPROPRIATE SOLUTION FOR THE ADAPTATION
PERIOD.

DIAGNOSIS

In Early Childhood Education, the beginning of the school year is always complicated. In this
case we have 20 students who, although they have already been in school, come from a long
vacation period where as a general rule they have forgotten many behaviors and activities.
We must therefore consider that we are starting from zero with all students.

Even so, the entry of 2 children in school for the first time requires special treatment. These
are children who have been subjected to a big change, the first big change in their lives. It
involves separation from the mother temporarily, or at least it involves separation from an
attachment figure that was centered on him/her; it is a change of routines. Change of space
where it develops, change of schedules, change of activities, etc. It means being one among
22, so that one ceases to be the center of attention; and finally, it means changing the model
of interaction with others.

ADAPTATION PERIOD-ACTION PLAN

The adaptation period is one of the most critical moments in the child's school life, it is the
time when he/she must assume a new environment and it is here where it is very important to
transmit a climate of trust and tranquility so as not to unbalance the child.

The planning of this period should be done prior to the beginning of the school year, having
clear lines of action for the beginning of the school year and holding meetings with parents.

In this period prior to the entrance of the children we must carry out the following actions.

Regarding families:

• Establish an initial meeting where they can get to know the space where their children
will be, discuss the difficulties of these first days.
• Ask them to collaborate in this process, to talk to them days before starting school
and not to dramatize the separation.
• Leave open the possibility of personal meetings when required. In our case, it will be
essential to hold personal interviews with the parents of new students, making it clear
to them what the dynamics of the classroom are, what difficulties the child will
encounter at the beginning, etc., and leaving the door open to subsequent meetings.

Regarding classroom preparation:

• Prepare a warm environment that transmits security, tranquility, affection..., and

where they feel at ease.
• Once the school year begins, the focus should be on the well-being of our students
and on conveying to them that the school is a pleasant place to meet:
• Receive the children in a personalized way and at the time of departure do it in a
relaxed and personal way.
• To carry out an individualized and sequenced incorporation over two or three days,
for example from Wednesday to Friday, so that the integration is more gradual and
the change is less abrupt for the students.

• During the hours they are at the center, we gradually show them the classroom
routines; assembly, work, corner games, recess..., but with a certain flexibility, without
impositions, that is, in these first days, if they do not want to participate in any activity,
they are allowed to do so, always reminding them that they must respect their
classmates who do participate in the activity.

In these first days it will be convenient to make continuous use of direct and systematic
observation, and to adapt our planning of the day to the rhythms of the students.

We will also observe the possible rejection behaviors that the child transmits through
tantrums, tantrums,... and we will make a diagnosis of the causes of this behavior,
intervening quickly and effectively to stop these behaviors as soon as possible.
CONCLUSION

The adaptation period will be considered concluded when we observe that the whole group-
class moves around the classroom with autonomy, has established relationships of
attachment to their classmates and to the teacher, does not show rejection behaviors and
participates and assumes all the activities that are carried out.

Systematic observation, as previously mentioned, will be the monitoring and analysis

instrument during this period, and so that this observation is not in vain, we will prepare a
monitoring record for each student that includes the following aspects:

• Arrival of the child at the center in the morning.

• Attitude in the assembly.
• Participation in the assembly.
• Participation in activities.
• Interaction with peers.
• Development in the spaces.
• Corners that he frequents the most.
• Attitude towards materials.
• Attitude when leaving the center.
• Other comments.
CASE 7.

IN A 4 YEAR OLD CLASSROOM, DESIGN AN EVALUATION PLAN FOR AN OBJECTIVE

OF THE DIDACTIC UNIT CALLED: WILD ANIMALS

ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION

Evaluation in Early Childhood Education is a complex process that addresses various

aspects of the teaching and learning process. This is addressed in different regulations, such
as:

• ORDER ECI/734/2008, of March 5, 2008, on evaluation in Early Childhood Education.

• The Organic Law of Education (LOE).

When planning the evaluation, we must keep in mind that not only is learning to be
evaluated, but it must be evaluated:

In the teaching process:

• Teaching practice
• The child's capabilities
• The development of capabilities
• The material used
• Activities.

In the learning process:

• Prior knowledge
• Level of motivation
• Level of involvement
• Group work
• Significant learning
• Participation and group work.

The evaluation plan must always provide answers to the following questions:
 • What to evaluate?
• How to evaluate? What methods we will follow
• When to evaluate? Remembering that evaluation should always be a continuous
process.
• What result can we infer from this evaluation process? This will help us to improve the
teaching and learning process.

EVALUATION PLAN

Within the Jungle Animals Teaching Unit, I am going to plan the assessment for the following
objective: name and know at least six jungle animals. At the beginning of the development of
the didactic unit, I carry out an initial assessment to find out what prior knowledge the
students have about the animals of the rainforest.

To do this we gather in the assembly and there I show them pictures of different animals
(domestic animals, farm animals and jungle animals), we discuss the characteristics of each
one (they fly because they have wings, they have four legs, they roar, etc.) and we discuss
their habitat, what they think they can eat, etc.

Subsequently, and during the development of the didactic unit, the children's progression in
their knowledge will be evaluated, always using different evaluation instruments, such as
direct observation, checklists, conversations with the children, etc. In this way and throughout
the whole process, we will obtain detailed information about the student's evolution.

Finally, and at the end of the didactic unit, a series of activities will be carried out in which the
children will individually show us their degree of knowledge of the animals of the jungle and,
consequently, the degree to which they have reached the evaluation objective: to name and
know at least six animals that live in the jungle. These final evaluation activities will be:

• Name the animals pointed out by the teacher on a jungle mural.

• Circle and color on a card only the animals that live in the jungle.
• In the psychomotor classroom, the teacher names animals, if the animal that the
teacher names is an animal, the teacher names animals, if the animal that the teacher names
is an animal, the teacher names animals.
The students will move around the classroom imitating its sound and movements. If
the animal lives in another habitat (rookery, sea, etc.), the students stay on site.

CONCLUSION

Once the didactic unit has been completed and the educational-learning process has been
analyzed, the process itself, the methodology, the activities carried out by the students and
our intervention as teachers must be evaluated. This evaluation will help us to reflect on the
shortcomings of the process, mistakes and successes. If the majority of the students have
successfully passed the objective set, we can consider our work successful.

However, during the continuous evaluation that is carried out throughout the process, the
pertinent modifications that we observe that the children or the teaching process itself
demand will be made.

CASE 8.

YOU ARE THE TUTOR OF A THREE-YEAR-OLD CLASSROOM WITH 25 STUDENTS IN

A MIDDLE SOCIOECONOMIC SCHOOL. ENTERS A HEARING-IMPAIRED CHILD WITH
A 40% HEARING LOSS AND, FOR UNKNOWN REASONS, A TOTAL ABSENCE OF
LANGUAGE. PLAN AN INTERVENTION TO WORK ON COMMUNICATION AND
LANGUAGE WITH THIS STUDENT.

ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION

This is a case that requires a special intervention, on the one hand, the child has only 60% of
hearing, which will cause difficulties in learning and social relationships. On the other hand,
the child arrives at school without communicative intentions, another reason for having
difficulties in the classroom.

In general terms and according to developmental psychology, a child of three years of age
already has the ability to construct simple sentences of 3 or 4 words and can have a
productive vocabulary of about 100 words, so we have to work on vocabulary acquisition and
oral production. The possibility that the child may have other cognitive, neurological or motor
problems associated with the language disorder and deafness detected at the entrance to the
center must also be considered.

The evolutionary level of this child is probably well below the rest of the students in the
classroom, which will require personalized and individualized attention, adapting the
curriculum to his evolutionary level, adapting activities to his cognitive level and maintaining
others that the child can perform normally.

The first thing we have to consider are the short, medium and long term goals we want to
achieve with this student; in this case we propose:

• The child begins to emit words, first 2 or three, and gradually expand the vocabulary.
• Repeat words uttered by the teacher.
• To know their environment and the elements that surround them: colors, shapes,
animals, numerical series, etc.
• To learn to make requests such as: "I want to pee", "I'm thirsty", etc.

These are the objectives prior to the diagnosis, later and when we have carried out the
evaluation, if we find other possible disorders or learning difficulties, we will set more
challenges for the child.

INTERVENTION PLAN

The first thing we are going to do is to meet with the parents, who can give us data of interest
to make the diagnosis. In many cases, parents do not even realize that something is
happening to their child. At all times we involve parents in the rehabilitation process, giving
them guidelines for action and maintaining a non-discordant attitude between family and
school. In addition to the families, the support of specialists outside the center will be
necessary, therefore we refer the case to an early stimulation center, with which we will work
hand in hand, transferring information that may be useful to us.

The next thing we will do will be an evaluation of the child's situation, we will make a checklist
where, through observation, we will evaluate aspects such as:

• Gross motor skills

• Fine motor skills
• Level of socialization
• Sphincter control
• Sound production
• Sound emission
• Gestural communication
• Tantrums, conflict behaviors
 • Affective level
Once we have the results of the evaluation, we begin our intervention by getting right into the
teaching-learning process. To begin with, at assembly times we place the child close to us, in
the front row and facing us, in such a way as to make it easier for the child to understand
what is being said. The teacher will speak by vocalizing, trying to make visual exchange with
the child, repeating sentences, etc. And when the other children speak, the teacher will
repeat what is said in a slower way, so the child will be more integrated in the group.

When carrying out the activities we consider adapting the program, lowering the activities to
their level, there will always be an adult, either the teacher, support teachers or any of the
specialists (English, psycho-motor, etc.) helping the child to carry out these tasks, serving as
a guide, as a motivating and supportive element.) helping the child to perform these tasks,
serving as a guide, as a motivator and support element. In addition to the reinforcement
given in the classroom within the school day, the child will have two days a week, for about
45 minutes (this time can be taken out of the hour of religion or alternative) an individualized
support with the intervention of a psychomotor therapist.

To eliminate undesired behaviors, for example, if the child does not control sphincters, does
not understand rules, etc., a "time-out" is established, i.e., the child will be left out of the
activity for a period of time if he/she performs an undesired behavior.

CONCLUSION

We have intervened in different areas:

• The family, involving it as a fundamental element in the child's educational process.

• Referring the child to an early stimulation center and collaborating with them.
• Within the school, we have adapted the programs to his level, we provide
individualized attention working with him, we adapt the material, he works individually
with a psychomotor therapist during the school day for an hour and a half a week.

With this intervention we intend to ensure that the child who arrived at school with a maturity
level of 1 or 2 years and with a 40% deafness, is integrated into the educational process and
gradually approaching the maturity level of his peers. If we achieve our objective, by the end
of the course the child will be able to utter sentences of about three words, express wishes
and make requests, name everyday objects, basic colors and basic shapes.

Deafness, in principle, has no cure, so the adaptations in this regard can not vary, we must
always continue to work under this idea: speak clearly, slowly, vocalizing and establishing
continuous visual contact with the child. On the other hand, do not skimp on repetition of
ideas.

If we meet our objectives we will be contributing to the child, not only being more integrated
and participating in the group, but also in his environment in general, improving self-esteem
and self-concept.