Mcghee's stages of humor development

Child Development Observation

Child Development Observation #2
[WLOs: 1, 3] [CLOs: 2, 4]
As you discovered in Week 2 of the course, formally observing childrens’ behavior is an important step in determining their current stage of development and enhancing our ability to support and foster growth in areas where children may not excel. Chapters 7 and 8 of your textbook describe stages of physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language development in children 4 – 5 years of age and 6 – 8 years of age. Use the textbook in addition to the video provided with the instructions for this assignment as resources.

To prepare for this assignment,

Refer to the Week 2 Instructor Guidance for further tips and examples that will support your success with this discussion.
Review Chapters 7 and 8 of your textbook.
Review 10 Effective DAP Teaching Strategies (Links to an external site.).
Review and download the Week 3 Exemplar Template.
Choose one of the below age ranges and corresponding video to use for this assignment.
Age Range

Corresponding Observation Video

Corresponding Developmental Checklist

Early Childhood: 4 – 5 Years of Age

Samantha and Sara Building Towers and Castles (Links to an external site.)

Developmental Checklist: 4 To 5 Years

Early Childhood: 6 – 8 Years of Age

Asia and Lyric Building a Road Together (Links to an external site.)

Developmental Checklist: 6 To 8 Years

In your three- to four-page paper or six- to eight-slide Power Point Presentation,

While watching your chosen video, complete the sections of the corresponding developmental checklist that you observed, including the summary section.
Note: You will not be able to complete all sections, so many will no doubt be left blank and you do not have to complete the whole checklist.
Be sure to include this as the first page of your assignment (after your title page).
Discuss the typical development that you observed in the child (i.e., the areas that you were able to check off on the checklist).
Explain any developmental concerns you have for this child based on your observation (i.e., the areas that you were not able to check off on the checklist).
Explain, based on your observation and your desired future professional role, how you might support this child using developmentally appropriate practices.
What are some developmentally appropriate activities you can do with this child that will support at least two different developmental domains?
What are one or two considerations or suggestions that should be included into the classroom environment to support the needs of the child?

The Child Development Observation #2 assignment

Must be three to four double-spaced pages in length or six to eight slides in length (not including title and references pages, but including the completed observation checklist) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)’s APA Style (Links to an external site.) resource.
Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of paper
Student’s name
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Date submitted
Must use at least two scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
To assist you in completing the library research required for this assignment, view this Help! Need Article. (Links to an external site.) tutorial, which can help you find a good starting place for your research.
The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
To assist you in completing the library research required for this assignment, view this Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial, which introduces the Ashford University Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips..
Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.
Review the Writing Center’s Grammarly (Links to an external site.) page before you submit your written assignment; set up a Grammarly account (if you have not already done so), and use Grammarly to review a rough draft of your assignment. Then, carefully review all issues identified by Grammarly and revise your work as needed.
Required Resources
Text
Groark, C. J., McCarthy, S. K., & Kirk, A. R. (2014). Early child development: From theory to practice. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Chapter 7: Early Childhood Development (4–5 years)
Chapter 8: Early Childhood Development (6–8 years)
Multimedia
Colorado Department of Education. (2015, February 2). Asia and lyric building a road together (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/768LalhqnRw

This video shows two children engaged in an activity together and will assist you in your Child Development Observation #2 assignment this week.
Accessibility Statement
(Links to an external site.)Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Colorado Department of Education. (2015, February 3). Samantha and sara building towers and castles (Links to an external site.)[Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/XdUx3iHNuhs

This video shows two children engaged in an activity together and will assist you in your Child Development Observation #2 assignment this week.
Accessibility Statement (Links to an external site.)
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Web Page
Lego. (n.d.). Why is play so important? (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from https://www.lego.com/en-us/family/happy-play-moments/4-play-is-important

On this webpage, the author provides information about considerations for play that may assist you in your Importance of Play: Interactive Newsletter discussion this week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policy

Creatas Images/Creatas/Thinkstock

“Be who you are and say what you feel. Because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

Dr. Seuss

Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter you will be able to:

ሁ Summarize why the age range of 6–8 years has been referred to as “the age of reason.” ሁ Explain how the combination of emerging motor and social-emotional skills, along with growth patterns at this age, enhance children’s participation in team sports.

ሁ Explain why new contexts like school, sports, and friendships at this age make it important that children have better concentration, attention, short-term memory, and other executive functioning skills.

ሁ Describe the differences among self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. ሁ Compare and contrast Erikson’s description of this stage of development with Freud’s latency period.

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Chapter Outline Chapter Overview

8.1 Physical Growth and Motor Development in 6–8 Year Olds

8.2 Brain Growth and Cognitive Development in 6–8 Year Olds

8.3 Communication Development in 6–8 Year Olds

8.4 Social-Emotional Development in 6–8 Year Olds

8.5 Self-Help Development in 6–8 Year Olds

8.6 Developmental Red Flags and Where to Get Help

Summary and Resources

Chapter Overview Typically children in this stage of early childhood, ages 6–8, are faced with many challenges that were not apparent earlier, but they have many more sophisticated skills to deal with these challenges. The opening quotation, widely attributed to Dr. Seuss, is complex but meaningful. By the end of this early childhood period, 8 year olds demonstrate the complex thinking and communication skills needed to understand the “tricky” wording in the quotation and typi- cally would be able to discuss and debate what this quote means. Better grounded self-esteem and an increased vocabulary help children ages 6–8 to “[b]e who [they] are and say what [they] feel.” In particular, the importance of friendships and being selective about which peers are better friends starts to dominate the 8-year-old child’s social world, giving real meaning to the idea that “those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” This aware- ness of peers, developing friendships, and a desire to be part of a social group becomes more important at this stage, as does moral development. In some cultures, including U.S. culture, school becomes the central context for development, and for some children, sports play a large role in developing self-esteem and confidence.

Erickson was one of the few major theorists who recognized the importance of this stage of development. He thought that children should attain a “sense of industry” at this time and that, if they did not develop the necessary skills for their new contexts of school, friendships, and sports, they would develop a “sense of inferiority” (Eccles, 1999). Other theorists, includ- ing Freud and Piaget, saw development at this age as a time of latency or stability, a time of little change and a time primarily for waiting to make more substantial changes during ado- lescence, the next developmental stage (Eccles, 1999).

Developmental skills of children ages 6–8 allow them to be more independent than before and responsible for their actions. They are in a stage that should be helping them to prepare for adulthood rather than just waiting for adolescence. However, they begin to look and behave more like adolescents. They can reflect on their own thoughts and develop ideas. They make significant progress in academic skills, such as reading and math, that are necessary later in life. Because of these advances, caregiver expectations for this age group must be appropriate. Caregivers and educators need to recognize the challenges and responsibilities in their daily interactions with these children, since this is a time when adults can have lifelong influences on the children in their care. Caregivers and educators can have a positive effect on children’s attitudes toward future learning and can provide healthy encouragement and examples for children’s participation in their own health and advancement.

Chapter Overview

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Section 8.1 Physical Growth and Motor Development in 6–8 Year Olds

At this age, children are more independent in formulating goals and in completing tasks. They want to adhere to social norms and are able to demonstrate behaviors that adults value, such as patience, cooperation, respect, compassion, and empathy for others, and they are becom- ing morally responsible. This is part of the reason why historically this age was referred to as the “age of reason.” They have some ability to reflect, reason, and use logic, and rather than behaving positively so that they are not caught being “bad,” children are beginning to show signs of a conscience. Thus they are capable of taking responsibility for their own actions.

This stage of early childhood is a significant time for children to hone the skills that build healthy social relationships. Physically they are bigger, stronger, and more agile than before. Cognitively they begin to understand that the world around them matters and affects them. They can use language to converse, to entertain, and to communicate complex ideas and thoughts. Developmentally they are also able to take care of themselves with more advanced daily living skills in bathing, eating, and dressing.

8.1 Physical Growth and Motor Development in 6–8 Year Olds

Significant change can be observed in the realms of physical growth and motor development during ages 6–8. Noticeable differences can be seen in a child’s overall body structure, weight, height, and head circumference. This physical growth links to children’s motor development and skills, which continue to advance and become more refined at this time.

Physical Growth At this age children’s bodies change noticeably in size, shape, and proportion. By the time they are 6 years old, they are about 47 inches tall and weigh 50 pounds (Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention, 2012). Their skeletal structure is maturing, as is apparent in the length- ening of the legs and trunk, thereby fitting what had been the proportionately larger head of the younger child. Large muscles of the arms and legs are becoming more developed, allowing children to do better in athletics and team sports. Additionally, this is a time of large variances between the size and capabilities of children, which feeds into their developing self-concept. Gender differences can play into this, with girls being slightly shorter and lighter than boys.

Although it is recognized that both heredity and environment account for differences in body size, obesity is more common at this time than it was during ages 4 and 5 and should be moni- tored carefully. Nutrition, activity, and experiences continue to influence the development of children ages 6–8. For instance, children begin to develop dental cavities and other problems if their nutrition and dental hygiene are not adequate. They lose their deciduous, or “baby,” teeth (see Chapter 6), and adult teeth emerge. Also, the brain is continuing to develop through myelination (building a sheath around the axons of neurons) and by the pruning of synapses that are not being stimulated.

Weight

At ages 6–8, weight gain is typically steady, at about 6.5 pounds per year for both boys and girls (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013b). Although nurture (the quantity and quality of food available) and nature (genetics) continue to have an influence on children’s growth and weight gain (Charlesworth, Wood, & Viggiani, 2011), their bodies change considerably due to

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Section 8.1 Physical Growth and Motor Development in 6–8 Year Olds

an increase in fat tissue. Weight gain and its rate are argued to be more accurate when mea- suring body mass index (BMI). Body mass index is the ratio of weight to height (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2003). A BMI over the 95th percentile for age and sex is considered obese; a BMI between the 85th and 95th percentiles is considered overweight. See Table 8.1 for facts on childhood obesity.

Table 8.1: Childhood obesity facts in the United States

• The childhood obesity rate has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years.

• The percentage of children ages 6–11 years who were obese increased from 7 percent in 1980 to nearly 18 percent in 2010. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents ages 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5 percent to 18 percent over the same period.

• In 2010, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

• Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors. Obesity is defined as having excess body fat.

• Overweight and obesity are the result of “caloric imbalance”—too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed—and they are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Overweight and obesity: Data and statistics. Retrieved from http:// www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html.

Health and nutrition are important to healthy outcomes for children at all ages. Yet the period from ages 6 to 8 is considered to be about the healthiest in a person’s life. At that time, immu- nities are present and generally an active lifestyle is emerging but, in most cases, unhealthy habits have not yet been adopted. Therefore, it is a good time to target prevention of risky health behaviors through direct instruction and modeling of healthy behaviors.

Height and Head Circumference

Height differences among children ages 6–8 can be as much as 4–5 inches, but most children typically grow about 2–3 inches each year (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013b). Most children have periods of rapid growth spurts and then times of little growth. Bone age is the most useful indicator of physical maturation. For example, lower-income status correlates with delays in bone age, and girls demonstrate a faster rate of growth than boys. Body shapes at this time generally look more mature because of longer arms and legs and because posture is typically more erect. Head circumference continues to enlarge until sometime soon after this period, at about age 10, when it reaches 96 percent of adult size.

Motor Development Motor development at this age is characterized by growth spurts, weight gain, and improve- ments in athletic abilities. Children at ages 6–8 can run faster and have better balance than when they were younger, so they can kick and catch a ball using the new skills they have. They can also learn to a ride bike and to skate. Yet gender differences exist by this age. Typically, girls are more agile and have better fine motor skills, whereas boys are bigger and more pow- erful with greater muscle mass (Green, 2010). Green (2010) posits that these differences are likely influenced by the amount of participation and practice within gender-typical activities.

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http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html
Section 8.1 Physical Growth and Motor Development in 6–8 Year Olds

Regardless of the gender differences in development, this is a time when children often enjoy competitive and physically challenging team games like soccer and basketball. It is a good time to encourage active participation in sports for health and wellness reasons as well as for social development. Good sportsmanship and fair play can be taught at this time because of timely advances in social-emotional and moral development, as well as the need for good peer relationships.

Some concerns are associated with this period of social and physical integration of new skills and aspirations. For instance, there has been much controversy over the physical dangers, especially for head trauma, in sports like football. It has been reported that 7 year olds can sustain hits of the same force that adult players do (Eldred, 2013). Yet even with these con- cerns, children continue to play football and other contact sports. This should serve as a reminder to educators, caregivers, and parents that most team sports and other physical activities involve some level of risk, so special precautions should be taken. Those precau- tions include the use of better helmets and less hitting for sports like football. However, care- givers must also consider that even physical activities with less direct contact (like bicycle riding) require safety equipment such as helmets and elbow and knee pads.

TIPS ON KIDS AND BICYCLE SAFETY Safe Riding Tips • Wear a properly fitted bicycle helmet. • Adjust your bicycle to fit.

• Check your equipment, especially handlebars, tires, and brakes. • See and be seen by wearing neon or other bright colors. • Control your bicycle by keeping at least one hand on the handlebars. • Watch for and avoid road hazards such as potholes, broken glass, gravel, puddles,

leaves, and dogs. • Avoid riding at night.

Rules of the Road—Bicycling on the Road • Go with the traffic flow. • Obey all traffic laws. • Yield to traffic when appropriate. • Be predictable by riding in a straight line and signaling your moves to others. • Stay alert at all times. • Look before turning. • Watch for parked cars.

Sidewalk Versus Street Riding • Children less than 10 years old are better off riding on the sidewalk. • For anyone riding on a sidewalk:

Check the law in your state or jurisdiction to make sure sidewalk riding is allowed. Watch for vehicles coming out of or turning into driveways. Stop at corners of sidewalks and streets to look for cars and to make sure the drivers see you before crossing.

• Enter a street at a corner and not between parked cars. Alert pedestrians that you are near by saying, “Excuse me,” or, “Passing on your left,” or use a bell or horn.

Source: Adapted from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2006). Kids and bicycle safety. Retrieved from www.nhtsa.dot.gov.

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www.nhtsa.dot.gov
Section 8.2 Brain Growth and Cognitive Development in 6–8 Year Olds

Some children naturally prefer using their newfound physical skills for more individual- oriented athletic activities like bike riding, martial arts, dancing, swimming, track, or tennis. These sports often involve a level of “team” spirit but allow the child to focus on individual abilities in a different way than do conventional team sports. Overall, both types of sports can provide children the feeling of belonging to a community of athletes and peers. The choice is based on the child’s comfort level, but adults should be mindful that the support provided by parents and caregivers plays an important role in the child’s growing self-esteem.

In understanding the fine motor improvements in children ages 6–8, awareness of the inte- gration among all developmental domains and progress in each is important. For example, because children are assisted by enhanced concentration and patience (see sections on cog- nitive and social-emotional development), their fine motor skills become more refined. They can complete more details in their drawings and cut more accurately with scissors. At this age, children typically can write even smaller and with more precision, within lines and with more consistent spacing and placement. This skill is improved even further because hand preference is now established, and children use either the left or the right hand for writing.

8.2 Brain Growth and Cognitive Development in 6–8 Year Olds

During the ages of 6–8, cognitive development is continuing, as is growth and development of the brain. This development is demonstrated by skills that build on what has occurred during previous stages, with characteristic advancements particular to these years.

Brain Growth The later years of early childhood bring about the continuation of specific brain functioning that helps to advance the cognitive processes. As described in Chapters 6 and 7, many of the neurons are connected and significant pruning has occurred by the end of age 5. However, the brain continues to advance through further pruning and by continuing to add a fatty coat- ing on the axons. This coating, called myelination, is necessary for more efficient sending of signals between the neurons. Young brains continuously refine the way information is pro- cessed, and myelination, in fact, continues throughout life.

Specifically, myelination focuses on the frontal cortex during this time. Synaptic pruning con- tinues, especially in the frontal and prefrontal cortices. This process decreases the density of synapses, leaving the remaining neurons more stable (Sowell, Thompson, & Toga, 2007). Additionally, brain activity changes its patterns at about this time. These activities are mea- sured by an EEG (electroencephalogram), and findings indicate that up to about preschool age, children have more brain activity that is characteristic of sleep states even when they are awake. Gradually these activities, known as theta activity, settle to approximately the same quantity as the alpha activity. Alpha activity provides the ability to sustain attention. By around age 7 or 8 years, alpha activity takes over and dominates these brain activity patterns.

These changes suggest that children are now able to think in a more complex manner, help- ing them to solve problems, plan ahead, set goals, control their attention, and inhibit some impulses. These behaviors are generally different from what is observed in the preschool years, demonstrating the link between brain development and behavior.

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Section 8.2 Brain Growth and Cognitive Development in 6–8 Year Olds

Cognitive Development Cognitive abilities increasingly improve and become more developed at this age. With regard to Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, this is the period in which children transition from the preoperational stage (ages 2–7 years) into the concrete operational stage (ages 7–11 years). The preoperational stage is based on the child’s understanding of basic sym- bolic representations, in which something can stand for something else. Egocentrism is also characteristic of the preoperational stage, in which children can understand things only from their own perspective. Also, children in the preoperational stage focus on only one aspect of an object or a situation, which has been termed centration.

Within the concrete operational stage, logical reasoning can now be applied but only to con- crete things that can be seen, and abstract ideas cannot yet be understood. This means that children within this stage learn better through hands-on activities. The operations that are easier now include categorizing the same objects in a variety of classifications like function, size, shape, and color. However, abstract and theoretical viewpoints and discussions are still too advanced. Though children cannot yet think in abstract terms, the important concept of conservation is achieved during this stage. Conservation is the understanding that qualities of physical objects do not change when they are moved around or arranged differently. Addi- tionally, children in this stage begin to be less egocentric (Rains, Kelly, & Durham, 2008), and decentration is also now possible, in that children can now focus on more than just one aspect of an object or a situation (as compared to centration in the previous stage). Children also begin to have the understanding of reversibility, in which they are able to think backward through the steps of an action (Olorunfemi-Olabisi & Tayo-Olajubutu, 2013).

Based on the stages within Piaget’s cognitive development, a child’s understanding of death goes through a series of stages. In children ages 6 and 7, the concept of object permanence is present, but the characteristics of egocentrism and their more concrete understanding lead them to think that death happens only to older people and will not happen to them. By around the age of 8, children have a more adultlike understanding of death (Speece, 1995).

This is also the time in which children have better attention spans and selective attention, both of which help them tune out distractions. This is a valuable skill for this stage, since homework and classroom learning play an important part in academics. Also assisting in aca- demic and social learning is children’s increased abilities to concentrate and use short-term memory. These abilities make it easier for children to process information more quickly and to think about more than one thing at a time. With these improved thinking skills, children ages 6–8 are better able to plan ahead. It is at this age that children acquire the ability to have directions provided only once and then proceed to complete the task without additional cues or direct instruction, a capability that can be attributed to developments in working memory. Children at this age become increasingly skilled in all of these areas of executive functioning (see Chapter 2) (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2011). Nevertheless, children’s increased use of technology and media (including the use of computers, smart- phones, and tablets) can contribute to problems in the realm of attention (American Academy of Pediatrics, n.d.).

As stated in Chapter 6, technology and interactive media are a large part of children’s lives, even in early childhood. Children ages 6–8 have the developmental skills needed in all domains to make use of technology. However, they still need adults’ active involvement rather than their reactive supervision (Plowman & Stephen, 2005). At this age, they can

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Section 8.2 Brain Growth and Cognitive Development in 6–8 Year Olds

share e-books and digital files as well as conduct videoconferencing to strengthen their newfound friendships. They can use websites and search engines to follow up on intellec- tual interests and other broader interests such as team sports, simple cooking demonstra- tions, world cultures, or craft projects. A wide range of age-appropriate educational soft- ware can supplement learning of academics through math and literacy games as well as through other interactive games that explore science and social studies. In addition, chil- dren ages 6–8 can use digital cameras, scanners, and most computers independently. These skills can inspire creativity and provide new ways of learning. However, these opportunities for learning must be monitored carefully so that the type and duration of technological use are age appropriate and well-balanced with other relationship- and skill-building activities.

The implication for teachers and other caregivers of this age group is to provide projects that require planning and action. These activities can include the beginning of lifelong hobbies like scrapbooking and photography. It is also a good time to encourage competitions in team proj- ects and to set aside time to talk about feelings and perspectives of others. Effective teaching of children in this stage of early childhood should include positive reinforcement of skills that provide successful experiences regarding academics. Cooperative learning techniques that use small group work and positive individual feedback help to supportively shape each child’s self-esteem.

MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND EARLY CHILDHOOD: A 2ND GR ADER AND TECHNOLOGY

Paul comes home from 2nd grade looking forward to doing his science project. He can pick his own topic and is eager to use the Internet to find information about astronomy. Yesterday he figured out ways to produce 3-D planets that move

around each other. His teacher is progressive and sensitive to Paul’s interests by giving him the opportunity to use a classroom computer with which to present his project. So Paul is anxious to get started.

However, at this age Paul has a problem balancing his enthusiasm for both astronomy and technology with other important activities that invest in physical skills, theatre arts, and other ways that will help to build and maintain peer relationships. His parents are proud of his frequent but intense ambition to produce his class projects but are also concerned that he is becoming a loner and isolates himself from peers by the type of tasks he prefers. They met with his school counselor, who made several recommendations on how to integrate his interests and skills with peer interactions. Hearing that he, once again, is immersed in a class project, his parents plan a sleepover for him so that he and a few friends can view and digi- tally document the stars after hamburgers and hot dogs and a game of stick ball. Paul has also agreed to help his 6-year-old neighbor, Peggy, put together a play about Pilgrims with her friends; Paul will be the “cameraman.”

Johner Images/Getty Images

▶ Activities like cooking allow children to practice planning and cooperative learning.

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Section 8.3 Communication Development in 6–8 Year Olds

In addition, theoretical views of how children learn can be identified. Vygotsky’s approach of scaffolding in teaching and caregiving (see Chapter 3) is helpful at this develop- mental stage. To complement the growth of positive self- esteem (covered later in this chapter), caregivers can use scaffolding as they subtly decrease the amount of direct instruction given based on a child’s current skills (pro- viding enough assistance for the child to accomplish the step just beyond his or her current skill level). Caregivers can offer fewer corrections so that the child is permitted to learn by thinking and acting more and more indepen- dently. According to Vygotsky, children are also able to learn vicariously by observing others and imitating skills and behaviors that produce desired outcomes for others (also discussed in Chapter 3). See Table 8.2 for a summary of cognitive skill development at this age.

Table 8.2: Cognitive development for 6–8 year olds

Enjoy planning and building

Expand speaking and listening vocabularies (possibly doubling them)

Show a stronger interest in reading

Increase problem-solving abilities

Have longer attention spans

Enjoy creating elaborate collections

Able to learn difference between left and right

Can begin to understand time and the days of the week

Source: Oesterreich, L. (2004). 6–8 years: Ages and stages. Retrieved from http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications /PM1530H.pdf.

8.3 Communication Development in 6–8 Year Olds At ages 6–8, children typically have an increased vocabulary and a better understanding of grammar and word use. They can entertain adults with the spontaneous use of new descrip- tive words that add flair to the nouns and verbs they had before. If they have developed empa- thy (see the social-emotional section of this chapter), they can process, use, and appreciate sarcasm and irony by the end of this period (Nicholson, Whalen, & Pexman, 2013). They know opposites and enjoy playing word games using rhymes and homonyms, words that sound the same but have different meanings like wear and where. They can repeat long sentences

share e-books and digital files as well as conduct videoconferencing to strengthen their newfound friendships. They can use websites and search engines to follow up on intellec- tual interests and other broader interests such as team sports, simple cooking demonstra- tions, world cultures, or craft projects. A wide range of age-appropriate educational soft- ware can supplement learning of academics through math and literacy games as well as through other interactive games that explore science and social studies. In addition, chil- dren ages 6–8 can use digital cameras, scanners, and most computers independently. These skills can inspire creativity and provide new ways of learning. However, these opportunities for learning must be monitored carefully so that the type and duration of technological use are age appropriate and well-balanced with other relationship- and skill-building activities.

The implication for teachers and other caregivers of this age group is to provide projects that require planning and action. These activities can include the beginning of lifelong hobbies like scrapbooking and photography. It is also a good time to encourage competitions in team proj- ects and to set aside time to talk about feelings and perspectives of others. Effective teaching of children in this stage of early childhood should include positive reinforcement of skills that provide successful experiences regarding academics. Cooperative learning techniques that use small group work and positive individual feedback help to supportively shape each child’s self-esteem.

MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND EARLY CHILDHOOD: A 2ND GR ADER AND TECHNOLOGY

Paul comes home from 2nd grade looking forward to doing his science project. He can pick his own topic and is eager to use the Internet to find information about astronomy. Yesterday he figured out ways to produce 3-D planets that move

around each other. His teacher is progressive and sensitive to Paul’s interests by giving him the opportunity to use a classroom computer with which to present his project. So Paul is anxious to get started.

However, at this age Paul has a problem balancing his enthusiasm for both astronomy and technology with other important activities that invest in physical skills, theatre arts, and other ways that will help to build and maintain peer relationships. His parents are proud of his frequent but intense ambition to produce his class projects but are also concerned that he is becoming a loner and isolates himself from peers by the type of tasks he prefers. They met with his school counselor, who made several recommendations on how to integrate his interests and skills with peer interactions. Hearing that he, once again, is immersed in a class project, his parents plan a sleepover for him so that he and a few friends can view and digi- tally document the stars after hamburgers and hot dogs and a game of stick ball. Paul has also agreed to help his 6-year-old neighbor, Peggy, put together a play about Pilgrims with her friends; Paul will be the “cameraman.”

Johner Images/Getty Images

▶ Activities like cooking allow children to practice planning and cooperative learning.

gro81431_08_c08_167-188.indd 175 4/24/14 12:54 PM

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1530H.pdf
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1530H.pdf
Section 8.3 Communication Development in 6–8 Year Olds

and define words by function, for example, explaining the use of a fork. Although articulation problems are common at this age, speech should be intelligible, with the child able to say all vowels and most consonants. At times, children in this age group may make a few grammati- cal mistakes when talking and may stutter temporarily.

In general, children at age 8 are speaking in complex and compound sentences that are basi- cally grammatically correct. They can tell stories and use simple reading and writing for social uses and they can carry on conversations. Also, some children become experts in texting, using instant messaging, and making video calls (such as with Skype or Apple’s FaceTime) with access to cell phones and other devices. Thus, cell phone use and accessibility in class- rooms is an issue for early childhood professionals.

See Table 8.3 for a breakdown of communication skills by age and type of skill.

AT ISSUE: CELL PHONES AND SCHOOLS: DO THEY MIX? The benefits and drawbacks of children having cell phones in the classroom have been debated passionately from both points of view. As time goes on, the argument grows stronger on the side of allowable use when restricted by clear

policy and limited by time and place. This tipping of the scales is a result of several factors: the increased accessibility of cell phones for children and decreased inequities that favor students from more aff luent families; concerns over safety and violence in schools; decreased cost and improved programs for cell phones; and improved academic information on the Internet.

As cell phone use has grown so widespread, parents who desire a greater sense of safety for their children have pushed for allowing cell phones in school, believing that they can be in touch with their children immediately in the case of school or home emergencies (Lenhart, Ling, Campbell, & Purcell, 2010). School officials also recognize several advantages to allow- ing students to bring and use cell phones. These school advantages include lower school costs when children have their own devices rather than using equipment in a computer lab, school administrators and teachers can focus on teaching rather than enforcing “no tolerance” poli- cies, and children with extended illnesses can benefit from the use of FaceTime or Skype to participate in classroom discussions, thus saving the cost of home-visiting teachers.

In addition to these advantages to parents, administrators, and teachers, children also per- ceive benefits from the use of cell phones in the classroom. For instance, they can receive immediate feedback from their teachers without embarrassment, and they can capture notes without the distraction of note-taking. Also, cell phones have multiple features that are appli- cable to the school curricula, such as mobile apps, access to the Internet for research, an elec- tronic thesaurus and dictionary, and a calculator, eliminating the additional weight associated with personal computers, dictionaries, and calculators.

Finally, to address what opponents raise as concerns about the use of cell phones in the class- room, some policies have proven to be effective. The most useful policy has been the profes- sional development of teachers in effective educational application of cell phones, including limiting children’s use to specific activities and times of day to decrease the likelihood of cheating, and clear rules specifying no texting of friends or playing games during class time.

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Section 8.3 Communication Development in 6–8 Year Olds

Table 8.3: Communication development by age

Skill Type 6 Years 8 Years

Listening (receptive)

Remembers simple instructions and information

Follows two- to three-step directions in a sequence

Listens attentively in group situations; under- stands and remembers complex information

Follows complex directions

Speaking (expressive)

Is easily understood

Answers complex “yes/no” questions with ease

Tells and retells stories and events in a logical order

Expresses ideas with a variety of complete sentences

Uses most parts of speech (grammar) correctly

Asks and responds to “wh” questions (who, what, where, when, why)

Stays on topic and takes turns in conversation

Starts conversations

Speaks clearly with an appropriate voice

Asks and responds to many types of questions

Participates in conversations and group discus- sions with easy verbal volleys

Uses varied vocabulary and elaborate descrip- tions in speaking

Summarizes a story accurately in accordance with grammatical rules and varied vocabulary

Asks, answers, and can discuss in detail “wh” questions (who, what, where, when, why)

Stays on topic, adds more descriptive words, and can entertain with language

Participates fully and appropriately in conversations

Reading (receptive)

Identifies all sounds in short words

Blends separate sounds to form words

Is beginning to use meaning clues in single sentences

Matches spoken words with print

Knows how a book works (e.g., read form left to right and top to bottom in English)

Identifies letters, words, and sentences

Reads grade-level material aloud with some stopping

Has a sight vocabulary of 100 common words

Comprehends the general plot in short stories

Demonstrates full mastery of basic phonics

Uses word analysis skills when reading

Uses clues from language content and structure to understand what is read

Rereads and self-corrects less frequently

Uses acquired information to learn about new topics

Asks questions regarding reading material

Reads grade-level materials fluently both silently and aloud

Predicts and justifies what will happen next in stories

Compares and contrasts stories

Writing (expressive)

Expresses ideas through simple writing

Prints clearly

Begins each sentence with capital letters and uses ending punctuation

Spells frequently used simple words correctly

Writes a variety of short and simple stories, journal entries, or letters/notes

Includes details in writing

Writes clearly in cursive

Can plan, organize, revise, and edit

Spells simple words correctly, corrects most spelling independently, and uses a dictionary to correct spelling

Writes stories, letters, simple explanations, and brief reports

Source: Reprinted with permission from American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.b). Your child’s communication: first grade. Retrieved from http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/firstgrade.htm. © 2014 American Speech-Language- Hearing Association. All rights reserved.

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http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/firstgrade.htm
Section 8.3 Communication Development in 6–8 Year Olds

Development of Humor The development of humor is closely related to the advanced language and cognitive skills of children ages 6–8 (Price, 2007). Humor can be used as a communication tool, as a cop- ing mechanism, or in other practical applications in teaching children at this age. It is believed to develop in stages, as do the main child development domains. Paul McGhee’s research in the area of comprehension of humor describes humor as the “violation of cog- nitive expectancies” either through novelty or incongruities (McGhee, 1971). Thus he sep- arated humor into two categories, that of novelty humor and incongruity humor. Novelty humor involves perceiving something new and unfamiliar as funny or entertain- ing. Novelty humor includes common occurrences such as a cat’s licking its own fur, which may elicit laughter from a child who is observing it for the first time. Incongruity humor deals with absurd, unexpected, or inappropriate jokes and situations. For example, young children often go through phases where they find the sounds the body makes (e.g., burping) humorous.

McGhee’s model of humor development begins with the first two stages, stage 0 or “prehumor” and stage 1, in infancy when the child is able to notice concrete incongruities (see Table 8.4 for examples that describe each of the stages). Stage 2 is evident when the toddler demonstrates incongruities non- verbally, followed by stage 3, when 4 and 5 year olds produce incongruity verbally. Incongruity in early childhood often means being silly (McGhee, 2002). At ages 6–8, the silly quality of humor diminishes because children can understand more complex humor. Therefore, by stage 4, the last stage in McGhee’s model, children begin to prefer humor that offers not only an incongruity but also an answer to the incongruity.

Table 8.4: Paul McGhee’s stages of humor development

Stage Characteristics and Examples

Stage 0: Laughter without humor (prehumor)

Children exhibit smiles and laughter.

Stage 1: Laughter at the attachment figure

Children demonstrate an increasing awareness of interpersonal surroundings and participate in social humor with a parent or other attachment figure through games such as peek-a-boo.

Stage 2: Treating an object as a differ- ent object

Children begin producing “jokes” nonverbally by performing incongruous actions such as wearing a food bowl as a hat or pre- tending to talk into a shoe.

© Getty Images/Jupiterimages/Goodshot/Thinkstock

▶ In early childhood, children are able to understand more complex humor that involves incongruity.

(continued)

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Section 8.4 Social-Emotional Development in 6–8 Year Olds

Stage Characteristics and Examples

Stage 3: Misnaming objects or actions and playing with words

Once children’s vocabulary hits a critical point, they can extend incongruity humor to misnaming objects or actions. Children at this stage often enjoy calling things by their opposite name— cold as hot, boy as girl. As children’s verbal competence grows, they are less dependent on objects as the source of humor. They may experiment with rhyming words, made-up silly words, and other humorous play that does not directly link to concrete objects within reach.

Stage 4: Riddles and jokes Children begin to understand that humor has meaning—that jokes must evolve from something absurd into something that makes cognitive sense. They often start memorizing riddles and jokes and using them as a means of initiating social interactions with peers and adults.

Source: Adapted from Cunningham, J., & Scarlett, W. G. (2004). Children’s humor. In Children’s play (p. 105). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Copyright © 2004 Sage Publications. Reprinted by permission.

8.4 Social-Emotional Development in 6–8 Year Olds The social-emotional domain of development at this age begins to take major leaps toward approximating more adolescent-like feelings. Since this stage of early childhood brings about better and more refined motor, cognitive, and language skills, it is common for children to be proud of their many new accomplishments and their newfound independence. A child’s belief that he or she has the skills and abilities needed to achieve goals is referred to as self-efficacy, which can be initiated and fostered during these years (National Association of School Psy- chologists, 2010). Children at this age often feel confident and competent and may overesti- mate their abilities in many areas of development. Characteristic of the earlier years of this age range is an optimistic impression of self, thereby bringing self-esteem to an all-time high. Self-esteem refers to a person’s attitude about himself or herself, based on how the person evaluates his or her own worth.

In developing their social selves, children begin to notice their peers’ skills and com- petencies. Children’s comparisons with peers’ abilities begin during this period, bringing about more realistic beliefs about themselves. These sets of beliefs are called self-concepts. Children with realistic self- concepts generally have higher self-esteem and engage in less risky health practices in the future (Mann, Hosman, Schaalma, & de Vries, 2004).

Toward the end of this age range, around ages 7 and 8, when children are becom- ing more realistic in their self-concepts, they are greatly influenced by how others

© monkeybusinessimages/iStock/Thinkstock

▶ Children with realistic self-concepts generally demonstrate higher self-esteem.

Table 8.4: Paul McGhee’s stages of humor development (continued)

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Section 8.4 Social-Emotional Development in 6–8 Year Olds

respond to them, including parents, teachers, and peers. Therefore, in addition to providing guidance for emerging skills at friendship formation, children need appropriate discipline and structuring of behaviors.

Friendships with peers outside of the family and with siblings are important at this stage. During these years, however, children are still learning the art of cooperation and sharing, which means that relationships are often awkward and tumultuous. Skills develop in this domain through trial and error with peers, and most children feel the pull of peer pressure. This pull is especially strong because opinions of peers matter now more than ever before. This makes some children prime targets for bullying. Bullying is repeated, directed, and intentional physical or verbal behavior that is meant to be harmful to an individual perceived as weak and vulnerable. Bullying behavior includes threatening, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group knowingly and mali- ciously (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.).

Also typical of ages 6–8 is children’s preference for playmates of the same age and sex. These children learn by observing and talking with each other, thereby helping to decrease the ego- centric way of thinking and feeling that is characteristic of younger children. Consequently, children begin to understand viewpoints and opinions of others and can consider that their way is not the only way.

Furthermore, as seen in Chapter 3, Erikson’s stage of development for children ages 6–8 is industry versus inferiority, which continues into puberty. Children begin persevering more deliberately in tasks and attend to activities and completion of a product more than ever before. This theory points to the need for adults to provide positive experiences, opportuni- ties for success, and encouragement in learning in order to avoid the opposite of an industri- ous child, which would be a child with feelings of inferiority.