DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION 1

Developmentally Appropriate Instruction

Haylee Caldwell

Regent University
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Introduction

During the elementary years, children are growing and developing at a rapid

pace[ CITATION Hum \l 1033 ]. While growth spurts and such typically stabilize between the ages

of six and eleven children are developing cognitively at a fast pace[ CITATION Hum \l 1033 ]. As a

teacher, it is important to recognize the activities and instruction that are appropriate for one

developmental stage are not always appropriate for other stages of development. As students age,

develop, and move through elementary school at each stage they are growing increasingly

capable of various things like collaboration and critical thinking[ CITATION Hum \l 1033 ]. My

fourth-grade students were about eight to ten years old which puts them on the end of childhood

closest to adolescence.

Rationale

Students in fourth grade are well on their way to developing into adolescence and are

cognitively capable of having enriching discussion and collaboration with peers. For my first

artifact, I chose a graphic organizer that I used with my fourth-grade students. The organizer has

quotes from the text and as I read the book we would stop and discuss each quote. The book

itself was a beautiful story that in the end turned out to be a metaphor for how Jackie Robinson

tested the ice for all African Americans as he was the first African American baseball player.

This book and the graphic organizer opened up a beautiful discussion about metaphors and racial

inequality. I could tell through the student’s discussions at their desks as they filled out the

graphic organizer that they were collaborating well. The organizer also helped the students to

understand the importance of sensory words and how those very words can activate their

imaginations. Visualizing things from only hearing words in a story was developmentally

appropriate for these fourth-grade students.

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For my second artifact, I chose role cards that I created for my students to use during a

math lesson. For the lesson, there were seven-story problems hung around the room and the

students rotated in groups as they solved the various problems. Because students between the

ages of eight and ten are developing socially and cognitively, I decided they would be able to

work in these collaborative groups to solve the story problems. Additionally, this activity

provided an opportunity for the student to get up and move which is great for them

developmentally because fourth-grade students cannot sit still for long periods according to a

table from The Responsive Classroom[ CITATION The10 \l 1033 ]. I gave each student a role card

and each card had a different assignment. The roles were based on a method for story problem

solving which the class had been following and I added hand motions to help connect the steps to

an active movement. The role of the storyteller was to read the story and not dwell on the

numbers, the role of the investigator was to determine what the problem was asking of them, and

the architect was in charge of building a model without numbers. After all, three steps were

completed, the students worked together to plug their numbers in and solve the problems

together. The students highly enjoyed this activity and they all worked well together as they

switched roles and rotated through each story problem. This artifact shows that students can

collaboratively work together in fourth grade while still having fun and activating their

imaginations.

Reflection

Diversity is important in the curriculum. Testing the Ice, provided a great opportunity for

the class as a whole to discuss diversity. This brought an awareness of the past and how African

Americans were treated unfairly. This opened up a discussion about how some things have

changed and how others have not. As a teacher, I think collaboration and discussion of diversity
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is an important aspect of learning because it teaches social skills that are needed for students to

function throughout their academic career and into adulthood. Additionally, students who are in

this stage of childhood development can look at situations and make predictions[ CITATION Hum \l

1033 ] which is what they did at the beginning of the lesson as they looked at the cover of the

book. By the end of the story, many of the students were able to recognize that the entirety of the

story was a metaphor which is something I do not think could have been recognized at an early

stage in their childhood development. Pennsylvania State University states, that developmentally

appropriate instruction is all about the teacher working their best to meet the students where they

need to be met[ CITATION Cla16 \l 1033 ].

References
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Claudia C. Mincemoyer, Ph.D., . (2016). Exploring developmentally appropriate practice.

Claudia C. Mincemoyer, Ph.D., .

Human development through the life span. (n.d.). Sulross. Retrieved from

https://www.sulross.edu/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/users/docs/education/counsel

ing-hgd_7.pdf

The Responsive Classroom. (2010). Knowing fourth graders. Northeast Foundation for Children.