Unit 4: The Primary Schooler

Middle Childhood
6-12 years old
Grades 1-3
Physical Development

Physical growth is slow but steady.

Involves:
o Having good muscle control and coordination
o Developing eye-hand coordination
o Having good personal hygiene
o Being aware of good safety habits

Height and Weight

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o
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Height: a little over two inches a year

Weight: 6.5 lbs. a year (average)
Factors affecting growth:
Genes
Food
Climate
Exercise
Medical conditions
Diseases/illnesses

Bones and Muscles

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Motor Development
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o
o
o
o
o

Have good sense of balance

Enjoy doing real-life tasks and activities
Unimanual- require the use of one hand
Bi-manual- require the use of two hands
Graphic activities- writing and drawing
Motor development skills:
Coordination- series of movements organized and timed to occur in a particular way to bring about a
particular result (Strickland, 2000)
Balance- ability to maintain
Equilibrium or stability- of his/her body in different positions
Static balance- ability to maintain equilibrium in a fixed position
Dynamic balance- ability to maintain equilibrium while moving
Speed- ability to cover a great distance in the shortest possible time
Agility- ability to quickly change or shift the direction of the body
Power- ability to perform a maximum effort in the shortest possible period

Cognitive Development of Primary Schoolers

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Concrete Operation- is the third stage in Piagets theory

- 7 to 11 years
Logic
o Inductive logic- involves thinking from a specific experience to general principle
o Deductive logic- using a general principle to determine the outcome of a specific event
o

Childhood years are the peak bone-producing years

Reversibility- awareness that actions can be reversed

Cognitive Milestones
Sequential manners- need to understand numbers before they can perform a mathematical equation
Information-Processing Skills- human mind is a system that process information through the application of
logical rules and strategies

Socio-Emotional Development