Toy Project -3 pages- Child Development
PSYC313: Child Development Spring 2018 Moffett

Toy Project Instructions

Due by 11:59pm April 19

The goal of this project is to find a toy, or two toys, with a suggested age rating listed on the toy (e.g. “for ages 4+”). The assignment is to write a description of the toy(s) that evaluates how developmentally appropriate or inappropriate this toy is for the particular age rating listed. You are not required to purchase the toy, simply provide a description of it, accompanied by a picture of the toy itself. Students are required to identify the skills that the toy is intended to elicit, and comment on the theories behind those skills.

Students should cover the following topics in their project:

· A general description of the toy (with a picture). What is the name of the toy? What is its intended use? What ages is this toy intended for?

· The developmental skills the toy is intended to elicit. What are the developmental skills that accompany children at the age this toy is intended for? Does this toy effectively elicit these skills? Why or why not?

· Developmental appropriateness of the toy. Is this toy developmentally appropriate for the ages listed on the toy? Why or why not?

· The developmental theories that this toy is building from. Based on our discussions in class, what are the developmental theories that back-up this toy? What are the theories that support the skills this toy elicits?

Students will also be required to provide a rating of the toy, overall, between a 1 (what on earth is this toy doing in stores?!? Take it off the shelf immediately!) and 10 (yes, this should definitely be sold in stores, I’m buying one for my little cousin right now!).

This assignment should be 2-3 pages in length, double-spaced, 12pt. Times New Roman font. This project is worth 25 points. The grading rubric is provided below.

Late submissions will be deducted 1 point per day it is late. No submissions will be accepted later than 5 days after the due date.

Electronic submissions will be accepted through Blackboard.

Toy Project Rubric

Name: ____________________________________________________ Grade: ________ / 25

Toy name: _____________________________________

· General description of the toy, accompanied by a picture (6 points)

· A general description of the toy is provided with a picture of the toy, explaining how the toy operates and how it is intended to be used (6 points)

· A description of the toy is provided, but it lacks a clear description of how the toy can be used, and no picture is provided (4 points)

· The description of the toy is vague and not helpful, also lacks a description of how the toy can be used, and no picture is provided (2 points)

· No clear description of the toy is provided (0 points)

· Description of the skills the toy is intended to target in the child (6 points)

· A clear description of the developmental skills is described, accompanied by a justification for how well this toy is eliciting those skills (6 points)

· A description of the developmental skills is provided, but a vague justification is given (4 points)

· A vague description of the developmental skills is provided, and no clear justification is given (2 points)

· No description of the skills elicited by the toy is provided (0 points)

· Developmental appropriateness of the toy (6 points)

· A clear description of the developmental appropriateness of the toy is given. And a justification for why the toy is developmentally appropriate or inappropriate is provided. (6 points)

· A description of the appropriateness of the toy is given, but a vague justification is provided. (4 points)

· Only a vague description of the appropriateness is given, and no justification is provided (2 points)

· No description or justification of the developmental appropriateness of the toy is provided. (0 points)

· Description of the theories that support the skills elicited by the toy (6 points)

· A clear description of the theories is discussed and matches the skills this toy targets (6 points)

· The discussion of a theory is provided but does not match the skills this toy targets (4 points)

· The discussion of the theory is vague, and does not match the skills this toy targets (2 points)

· No discussion of theory is provided (0 points)

· A rating of the toy overall (1 points)

· This rating should reflect the discussion that has already been provided in the project regarding the developmental appropriateness of the toy

· No rating is provided for this toy