Middle Childhood:

Physical & Cognitive

Development
Physical Development
in Middle Childhood: Slow but Steady

~Beginning at about age 6 and

continuing to age 12, children go
through middle childhood. This
period is often referred to as the
"school years".
In what ways do children grow
during the school years, and what
factors influence their growth?
Compared with the swift growth during the
first 5 years, physical growth during middle
childhood is slow but steady.

School-aged children grow, on average, 2

to 3 inches per year.
This is the only time during the life span
when girls are, on average, taller than
boys.
By age 11, the average girl is 4' 10".
The average 11-year-old boy is 4' 9 1/2 ".
(physical growth during middle childhood,
continued)
During middle childhood, both boys and girls gain
from 5 to 7 pounds a year.
Variations of a half a foot in children the same age
are not uncommon.
Height and weight variations can be affected by
poor nutrition and racial or ethnic background.
 Smaller children in areas with poor nutrition
(possibly related in part to racial/ethnic
differences too)
 Promoting Growth with Hormones: A
controversy
Available only the last decade, prototropin and
other artificial human growth hormones are being
taken by over 20,000 abnormally short children.
Some developmentalists question whether
shortness is serious enough to warrant drug
intervention.
The drug is costly and may lead to premature
puberty (which can restrict later growth).
These artificial hormones are effective adding
over a foot of height
 Nutrition is also linked to physical
development during middle childhood

Proper nutrition is linked to positive

personality traits
 more alert
More involved with peers  more energy
 more positive emotions
 more persistent
more often  more self
 less anxiety
confidence
 more investigative
Nutritional Benefits

Children with
more nutritious
diets had more
energy & self
confidence.
(Nutrition and physical
development during
middle childhood, continued)

Undernutrition & Malnutrition

definitely lead to physical, social and
cognitive difficulties for children in
middle childhood
BUT, Overnutrition (the intake of too
many calories) also presents
problems!
(Nutrition and physical
development during
middle childhood, continued)

Obesity is defined as body weight that

is more than 20 % above the average
for a person of a given height and
weight.
10 % of all children are obese.
This proportion has risen 54 % since
the 1960s
 Balanced Diet?

Recent studies have found that children’s diets are almost opposite
the diet recommended by the US department of agriculture, which can
lead to an increase in obesity.
(Nutrition and physical
development during
middle childhood, continued)
Despite growing rates of obesity, American society
places a strong emphasis on thinness.
Concern about weight increasingly borders on
obsession in the United States (especially for girls)
 Research indicates that a substantial number of 6

year old girls worry about becoming “fat”

 40+% of 9 & 10 year olds are trying to lose
weight!
 WHY? Mostly due to our society’s preoccupation
with being slim
Despite the focus on thinness in the U.S., the
number of obese children is increasing.

Obesity can be caused by a combination

of genetic and social characteristics.
School-age children tend to engage in
little exercise and are not particularly fit.
The correlation between TV viewing and
obesity is strong.
Even without regular exercise, however, children’s gross
& fine motor skills develop substantially
during
FinetheMotor
school years.
Skills
 These continue to advance

 Increased levels of myelin around the nerve cells

raise the speed of messages traveling to muscles
Gross Motor Skills
 Important advances, including muscle coordination

 Gender differences likely the result of societal

messages/expectations rather than motor skill

Gross Motor Skills

Gross motor skills continue to develop and advance

across the middle childhood years.
Physical in Middle Childhood: Motor
Development Main Points

School-age children's gross and fine

motor skills develop substantially over
middle childhood.
An important improvement in gross
motor skills is muscle coordination.
Fine motor skills advance because of
increases in the amount of myelin
insulating the brain neurons.
Health During Middle Childhood
For most children in the U.S., the common
cold is about the most serious illness that
occurs during middle childhood.
BUT colds are not uncommon during middle
childhood
1 in 9 has a chronic, persistent condition
Although life threatening illnesses have
declined over the past 50 years, some chronic
illnesses have become more prevalent
One illness that has increased in
prevalence: Asthma
~ASTHMA, a chronic condition characterized
by periodic attacks of wheezing, coughing,
and shortness of breath, has increased
significantly in the last several decades.
Asthma attacks are triggered by a variety of
factors.
 respiratory infections
allergic reactions to airborne irritants
 Stress
 exercise
(asthma, continued)

Children can use an aerosol

container with special mouthpiece to
spray drugs into the lungs.
Some researchers believe the
increase in asthma is due to
pollution, dust due to better insulated
buildings, and poverty
Rising Rates of Asthma

Sine the 1980’s, the

rate of asthma
among children has
almost doubled!
Pollution, and better
methods of detecting
the disease are
reasons this is so.
 Health during middle childhood:
Psychological Disorders
~ It is important that psychological disorders not be
ignored in school age children (which often occurs
because symptoms are different than those of adults)
~ Childhood depression is one psychological issue often
overlooked by teachers and parents.
~ 2-5% of school age children suffer from depression
~ For 1 % depression is severe (express suicidal ideas)
Health during middle childhood: Psychological
Disorders
All kids are sad sometimes. This is different than
depression (depth of sadness, length distinguish)
Childhood depression is also characterized by the
expression of exaggerated fears, clinginess, or
avoidance of everyday activities.
In older children it may produce sulking, school
problems, and acts of delinquency.
It can be treated with a variety of approaches.
Approaches to treating childhood depression…

Psychological Counseling
 Effective!

Drugs
 Controversial!

 About 200,000 Prozac prescriptions written in

1996 for kids aged 6-12 (a 300% increase over
the previous year!)
 Criticisms: not approved for use with children and
teens; lack of long term effectiveness of the drug;
consequences to developing brains; lead in for
further drug use
Another psychological issue that surfaces during middle
childhood: anxiety disorders
(8-9% of children)
 Intense, uncontrollable anxiety about situations that most

people would not find bothersome

 Specific stimuli (germs, school)
 Generalized anxiety (source can not be pinpointed)
It is important not to ignore psychological issues during
childhood!
 disruptive to the child’s life
 children with psychological problems are at higher
risk for future disorders during adulthood
 More Impacts on Development:
Children with Special Needs
One student in a thousand requires
special education services relating to
VISUAL IMPAIRMENT, legally defined
as difficulties in seeing that may include
blindness (less than or 20/200 after
correction) or partial sightedness (20/70
after correction).
 Visual impairments can also include
the inability to see up-close and
disabilities in color, depth, and light
perception.
(Children with Special Needs, continued)
AUDITORY IMPAIRMENT, a special need that
involves the loss of hearing or some aspect of hearing,
affects one to two percent of school-age children and
can vary across a number of dimensions.
 The loss may be limited to certain frequencies.
 Loss in infancy is more severe than after age 3.
 Children who have little or no exposure to the sound
of language are unable to understand or produce
oral language themselves.
Abstract thinking may be affected.
(Children with Special Needs, continued)
Auditory impairments are sometimes
accompanied by SPEECH IMPAIRMENTS,
speech that is impaired when it deviates so
much from the speech of others that it calls
attention to itself, interferes with
communication, or produces
maladjustments in the speaker.
 3 to 5 %of school-age children have speech
impairments.
 STUTTERING, a substantial disruption in the
rhythm and fluency of speech is the most common
speech impairment.
(Children with Special Needs, continued)
Some 2.3 million school-age children in the
U.S. are officially labeled as having
LEARNING DISABILITIES, difficulties in
the acquisition and use of listening,
speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or
mathematical abilities.
Some suffer from dyslexia, a reading
disability that can result in the reversal of
letters during reading and writing, confusion
between left and right, and difficulties in
spelling
(Children with Special Needs, continued)
ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY
DISORDER (ADHD) is a learning disability marked
by inattention, impulsiveness, a low tolerance for
frustration, and generally a great deal of
inappropriate activity.
 3 to 5 percent of school-age children are
estimated to have ADHD (3.5 million Americans
under age 18!).
 Ritalin or Dexadrine are stimulants used to
reduce hyperactivity levels in children with
ADHD.
 Overprescribing Ritalin?

U.S. doctors prescribe Ritalin for ADHD more frequently. Some

experts argue the drug is overprescribed.
If a child is suspected of having ADHD
or a learning disability, it is important
that she or he be evaluated by a
specialist.
Teachers & parents should be alert to
the possibility that speech, auditory,
and visual problems may be impacting
a child (grades, friendships, etc.)
Intellectual Development in Middle Childhood: Piagetian
Approaches to Cognitive Advances
The school-age child enters the CONCRETE
OPERATIONAL STAGE, the period of cognitive
development between 7 and 12 years of age,
Characterized by the active, and appropriate use of
logic.
Children at this stage can easily solve conservation
problems—logic used over appearance.
 (for example whether the amount of liquid stays the
same although poured into different shaped
containers)
(more about Piaget’s views of intellectual
development)
Because they are less egocentric,
they can take multiple aspects of a
situation into account, a process
known as DECENTERING
They attain the concept of
reversibility, realizing that a stimulus
can be reversed, returning to its
original form.
Decentering &
Reversibility
decentering
So, during middle childhood, cognitive advances
continue and the development of concrete
operational skills becomes more established.

Children at this stage can

understand such concepts as
relationships between time and
speed…
 At the beginning of the concrete operational stage, kids
reason that the 2 cars on these routes are traveling the
same speed even though they arrive at the same time.
Later, they realize the correct relationship between speed
& distance.
 Despite the obvious advances
that occur during the concrete
operational stage, children still
experience a big limitation in
their thinking: They are still
tied to concrete physical
reality!
(no understanding of
abstract/hypothetical/logic)
A brief critique of Piaget’s views of
intellectual development
Piaget is criticized for underestimating
children's abilities and for exaggerating the
universality of the progression through the
stages.
Research suggest that Piaget was more
right than wrong.
Cross-cultural research increasingly implies
children universally achieve concrete
operations, and that training with
conservation tasks improves performance.
Conservation Training
Rural Aborigine
children trail
their urban
counterparts in
the development
of their
understanding of
conservation;
with training,they
catch up.
Information Processing in Middle Childhood
Children become increasingly able to handle
information because their memories improve.
MEMORY is the process by which information is
initially encoded, stored, and retrieved.
Encoding is the process by which information is
initially recorded in a form usable to memory.
The information must be stored, or placed and
maintained in the memory system.
Information must be retrieved, located and brought
into awareness.
(Information Processing in Middle Childhood, continued )
During middle childhood, short-term
memory capacity improves significantly.
META-MEMORY, an understanding about
the processes that underlie memory emerge
and improve during middle childhood.
Children use control strategies, conscious,
intentionally used tactics to improve
cognitive functioning.
Children can be trained to use control
strategies and improve memory.
Vygotsky's Approach to Cognitive Development
& Classroom Instruction

Vygotsky's approach has been particularly

influential in the development of several
classroom practices.
Classrooms are seen as places where
children should have the opportunity to try
out new activities.
Specifically, Vygotsky suggests that children
should focus on activities that involve
interaction with others.
(Vygotsky's Approach, continued)

Cooperative learning is a strategy used in education

that incorporates several aspects of Vygotsky's theory
(kids work together to achieve goals).
Reciprocal teaching, a technique where students are
taught to skim the content of a passage, raise
questions about its central point, summarize the
passage, and finally, predict what will happen next,
help lead students through the zone of proximal
development.
 Significant success rates with raising reading
comprehension levels
Language Development
During Middle Childhood
Vocabulary continues to increase during the school
years.
School-age children's mastery of grammar
improves.
Children's understanding of syntax, the rules that
indicate how words and phrases can be combined
to form sentences, grows during childhood.
Certain phonemes, units of sound, remain
troublesome (j, v, h, zh).
(Language Development
During Middle Childhood, continued)
School-age children may have difficulty decoding
sentences when the meaning depends on intonation,
or tone of voice.
Children become more competent in their use of
pragmatics, the rules governing the use of language
to communicate in a social context.
Language helps children control their behavior.
One of the most significant developments in middle
childhood is the increase in METALINGUISTIC
AWARENESS, an understanding of one's own use of
language.
(Language Development
During Middle Childhood, continued)

 BILINGUALISM is the use of more than one

language.
English is a second language for more than
32 million Americans.
Being bilingual may have cognitive
advantages.
greater cognitive flexibility
greater metalinguistic awareness
may improve scores on IQ tests
(Language Development
During Middle Childhood, continued)
The effectiveness of language immersion programs
where subjects are taught in a foreign language show
mixed results.
 All subjects in a school taught in a foreign language!
~Benefits include increased self esteem
~Negative results common when minority groups
immersed in English only programs
~Positive results when children (especially majority
group children) are learning languages not spoken
by the dominant culture
The Ebonics Controversy

Issues revolving around Ebonics (derived from

combo of ebony and phonics), or Black
English, or African American Vernacular
English raises important issues that are social
as well as linguistic.
The word/concept has been in use since the 1970’s, but
mainstreamed by the Oakland school district

 They declared Ebonics a distinctive language,

ordered initial instruction to be in Ebonics for
those speaking it
 With a month, the board revoked its decision due
to national controversy; the board said they never
meant students to learn anything other than
standard English, but had wanted recognition that
African American students may need instruction
to make the leap from Ebonics at home to
standard English.
(The Ebonics Controversy, continued)

 Linguists debate: a dialect of standard English?

Or a language of it’s own with rules, etc.?
~Most educators/linguists would agree that any
nonstandard English is not an inferior form of
language, but a different one.
The controversy raises important issues about
development: social & linguistic!
Schooling in Middle Childhood
School marks the time when society formally
attempts to transfer its body of knowledge,
beliefs, values, and accumulated wisdom to new
generations.
In the U. S., a primary school education is both a
universal right and a legal requirement.
More than 160 million of the world's children do
not have access to education.
Close to a billion people (2/3 of them women)
are illiterate throughout their lives.
The Plague of Illiteracy
(Schooling in Middle Childhood, continued)

In developing countries, females receive

less formal education than males.
In developed countries, women still receive
less education than men on average,
particularly in science & technology topics.
~Why?
-Widespread cultural & parental biases
favoring males over females
When are kids ready for school?

Recent research suggests that age is

not a critical indicator of when children
should start school.
Some research suggests that delaying
children’s entrance into school based on
age may actually be harmful!
~Developmental readiness is a better
measure (family support, etc.)
Reading: Learning Meaning

 Development of reading skill generally occurs in

several broad, frequently overlapping stages.
Stage 0
 lasts from birth to the start of first grade
 children learn the essential prerequisites for
reading, including identification of the letters in the
alphabet, writing their names, and reading a few
words.
(stages of reading development, continued)

Stage 1
 first and second grade

 is the first real reading, but it is largely

phonological decoding skill where children

can sound out words by sounding out and
blending letters
(Development of reading skill, continued)
Stage 2, typically around second and third
grades, children learn to read aloud with
fluency.
Stage 3 extends from fourth to eighth
grades where reading becomes a means to
an end and an enjoyable way to learn.
Stage 4 is where the child understands
reading in terms of reflecting multiple points
of view.
(summary table in text)
Still Another View of intelligence
Howard Gardner suggests there are 8 distinct intelligences
(that work together at times).
 Musical intelligence
 Bodily kinesthetic intelligence
 Logical mathematical intelligence
 Linguistic intelligence
 Spatial intelligence (See summary
 Interpersonal intelligence table in text)
 Intrapersonal intelligence
 Naturalist intelligence
 Below Intelligence Test Norms: Mental
Retardation
MENTAL RETARDATION, defined as a
significantly subaverage level of
intellectual functioning that occurs with
related limitations in two or more skill
areas, is found in approximately 1 to 3
percent of the school-age population.
Mentally retardation is typically
measured by IQ tests.
(Mental Retardation, continued)

a. 90 percent are classified as MILD

RETARDATION, where IQ is in the
range of 50 or 55 to 70.
b. can reach 3rd to 6th grade level in
school
c. can hold jobs and function
independently
(Mental Retardation, continued)

a. 5 to 10 percent are classified as

MODERATE RETARDATION, where IQ is
from 35 or 40 to 50 or 55.
b. slow to develop language and motor skills
c. generally cannot progress beyond 2nd
grade
d. capable of training and social skills but
typically need supervision
(Mental Retardation, continued)

a. Those with SEVERE RETARDATION,

IQs ranging from 20 or 25 to 35 or 40,
and PROFOUND RETARDATION,
where IQ is below 20 or 25 are the
most limited.
b. no speech
c. poor motor control
d. need 24-hour care
Above Intelligence Test Norms: The
Intellectually Gifted
3 to 5 % of school-age children are GIFTED
AND TALENTED, who show evidence of
high performance capability in areas such
as intellectual, creative, artistic,
leadership capacity, or specific academic
fields.
Contrary to stereotypes, research shows
that highly intelligent people also tend to
be outgoing, well adjusted, and popular
 Above Intelligence Test Norms, continued
 Two approaches to educating the gifted and talented
exist.
ACCELERATION, where special programs allow
gifted students to move ahead at their own pace,
even if this means skipping to higher grade levels.
ENRICHMENT is an approach through which
students are kept at grade level but are enrolled in
special programs and given individual activities to
allow greater depth of study in a given topic.
Mainstreaming: Ending Segregation by
Intelligence Levels
Public law 94-142 (the Education for all Handicapped
Children Act) requires that children with special needs
receive a full education in the least restrictive
environment (the setting most similar to that of children
without special needs).
Supporters of mainstreaming point out that special
needs children must ultimately function in a “normal”
environment, and greater experience with their peers
will help with this