1. Middle Childhood “ School Age Years”

2. Ages 6-12

3. Physical Development Not as rapid, but steady. Heredity and environment are factors. Gains in motor skills, agility, and physical strength.

4. Height Boys are slightly taller at the beginning, until age 9. Growth spurts: –Girls: 10 yrs. –Boys: 12 yrs. Average growth is 2-3 inches per year. By age 12, average 5 feet. –Boys: 80% adult height. –Girls: 90%

5. Weight Age 6, average child weighs approx. 47 pounds. By 12, this weight may double. Gain about 5-7 pounds per year. By age 12, girls usually weigh about 3 pounds more than boys.

6. Large Motor Skills Gains in height and weight improve coordination. Greater speed and accuracy. Balance improves.

7. Large Motor Skills-boys Boys usually outperform girls in Jumping Catching Throwing Batting WHY? They have more muscle mass.

8. Large Motor Skills: Girls Girls outperform boys in: Hopscotch Dancing Skipping WHY? They have better balance, coordination, flexibility, and rhythmic movement.

9. Fine Motor Skills Improvement in fine motor skills, including: Better finger dexterity Better hand-eye coordination Better control of motion and speed.

10. Health Concerns One of the healthiest periods for children.WHY? Many develop chronic health conditions. –Acne –Vision or hearing problems –Obesity –Asthma –Tooth decay

11. Hearing Untreated hearing infections can cause permanent damage. Ear infections now less common.

12. Vision Many preschool children are farsighted; this improves during middle childhood. Nearsightedness is most common vision problem. –25% of all children will need their vision corrected by age 12.

13. Asthma Respiratory disorder that causes labored breathing, gasping, coughing, and wheezing. Often an allergic reaction. Provoked by emotional stress, exercise, or fatigue. What should the teacher do if a student has an attack?

14. Teeth By 12, all 20 primary teeth will be replaced with permanent teeth. Between 4 and 8, more susceptible to tooth decay. Poor health and diets high in sugar. What can a teacher do to help?

15. Obesity Weigh 20% more than others of same sex, age, and build. Become a common problem. Research: overweight children often become overweight adults. Can impact emotional health.

16. Factors of Obesity Inherited Environment Physical inactivity: –More t.v. watching –Video games –Computers

17. Language Vocabulary doubles between 6 and 12. Grammar skills improve. Now use both oral and written expression. Cognitive development linked to humor.

18. Reading Through a process of trial, feedback, and repetition, children begin to read simple words and sentences. The average child begins reading around 5-6. Most spend little time reading outside of school.

19. Parents influence their child’s reading ability in the following ways: Value they place on literacy Emphasis placed on academic achievement Reading materials available at home. Time spent reading with their children. Opportunities they provide for verbal interaction in the home.

20. Keep this in mind: Children vary widely in their rate of intellectual development.

21. Friendships Greater importance Choosing friends is a more selective process. Qualities of a friend: –shares important thoughts and feelings. –Offers companionship and emotional support.

22. Self-Concept Begin to make social comparisons: the process of defining oneself in terms of qualities, skills, and attributes. Identify personal strengths and weaknesses. Formation of self-concept: view of self.

23. Self-Esteem Belief that you are worthwhile as a person. Need to believe in oneself to have a healthy self-esteem.

24. Self-Esteem is Based on: Academic competence Athletic competence Physical appearance Behavior Social acceptance

25. How can a teacher help build a child’s self-esteem? Be warm and nurturing Avoid making comparisons.

26. Understanding Others Develop empathy: the ability to understand the feelings of others. Feel compassion: being aware of other’s distress and wanting to help them.

27. Peer Group Activities Play an important role in social development. Gender differences Games with rules Team sports

28. Benefits of Team Sports Learn teamwork skills. Learn to get along with peers. Benefit from exercise. Bring enjoyment. Form friendships. Helps to build self-esteem. Develop pattern of healthy lifestyle,

29. Moral Development The process of acquiring the standards of behavior considered acceptable by society. Morality: understanding and using accepted rules and conduct when interacting with others. Learned by interacting with others.

30. Cognitive Development Begin to use logical thinking and symbols. No longer rely on just what they see or perceive. Memory improves. Attention span is longer. Academic abilities improve.

31. Factors of the Effectiveness of a Child’s Memory Age Motivation Health Attitude How could each of these factors affect the child’s memory?

32. Age Memory becomes more controlled as the child gets older. Motivation & Attitude Lack of motivation & bad attitude: Why bother? Why do I need to learn this? Health?

33. Attention Improves Can now ignore unnecessary information. Able to focus attention on important aspects of a task. Can scan detailed tasks and decide what to do first.

34. Better Problem-Solvers Example: Learn to use rehearsal to remember information. What letter comes after G?

35. Mental Operations There are significant changes in reasoning and thinking during middle childhood. Remember Piaget’s cognitive development theory?

36. Sensorimotor Stage Birth-2 yrs. Learn through senses and manipulation of objects.

37. Preoperational Stage Age 2-6 yrs. Begin to use symbols such as language to represent objects. Still learn from concrete evidence. Unaware of another person’s perspective. Lacks important concepts learned during next stage.

38. Concrete Operational Stage Middle Childhood Begin to think logically. Associations with personal experiences. Ability to learn new mental concepts.

39. Operation: the manipulation of ideas based on logic rather than perception. Concrete Operations: use logic based on what they have seen or experienced.

40. New Mental Concepts Learned Conservation Seriation Classification

41. Conservation Understand that change in position or shape of a substance does not change the quantity. Includes properties of –Volume –Length –Weight/Mass

42. How could you test a child’s understanding of conservation? Volume: –Two glasses of water Length: –Rows of pennies Mass: –Two balls of clay

43. Seriation The ability to arrange items in an increasing or decreasing order based on weight, volume, or size. How could we test this?

44. Classification Ability to group objects by common attributes, such as size, color, shape, pattern, or function. Unlike preschool years, can now mentally handle two aspects at a time. How could we test this?

45. Will all children reach the same stages at the same times? Why is it important for teachers to know what level their students are in terms of their cognitive development?