Select one of the four grade levels described in the text (early childhood, elementary, middle, or high school). Imagine that you are a new teacher at this grade level. In a one- to two-page essay, describe what it is like to teach the students at your grade level. Address the characteristics of physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and character development in your students

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary but may include:
Stage Physical Development Cognitive Development Emotional Development Social Development Character Development
Early Childhood Steady increases in height and weight, dramatic changes in appearance and abilities, boundless energy utilizing gross motor skills, fine motor skills progress, limited dexterity, rapid brain growth, healthiest time of life Piaget's preoperational stage, linguistic ability increases rapidly, progressively link thinking to language, understanding of organization and patterns begins, can learn simple strategies that are modeled, very intense brain activity, increased understanding of symbolism, potential vocabulary of 8,000 to 14,000 words by age 6, learn prerequisites for reading Self-concept develops and is influenced by family and society; most have positive, overconfident self-concepts; self-conscious emotions such as guilt and pride emerge; wide variety of emotions develop; most emotional ties are with family Relationships with adults centered on direction, care, and protection; relationships with peers centered on play and entertainment; first friendships are developed; types of play change from individual to cooperative over time; empathy emerges; become aware of other people's feelings Demonstrates heteronomous morality, begin to understand intentionality, aggression declines as language develops, beginning awareness that actions may cause others harm
Elementary School Coordination increases, use of physical skills becomes controlled, dexterity improves, steady growth in height and weight, significant differences in size among children, most illnesses are short-term Piaget's concrete operational stage, capable of active logical thought, beginning to be reflective about own thinking (metacognition), able to apply learning strategies, able to view situations from multiple perspectives, short-term memory capacity increases, understands number conservation, potential vocabulary of 13,000 to 20,000 words, learns to phonetically decode and to read aloud Begin to view themselves in terms of psychological traits, self-concept becomes more complex and differentiated, coping skills develop, emotional ties beyond family develop Increasingly concerned with making and keeping friends, becoming more assertive, groups are generally same gender, status hierarchies develop, capable of empathy toward people they don't know, awareness of social conventions and rules, realize that society has certain rules for behavior Demonstrate incipient cooperation, increased awareness of others' problems or suffering, growing recognition that one should try to meet other people's needs as well as one's own, experience guilt and shame over moral wrongdoing and conflict with self-interest
Middle School Onset of puberty leading to reproductive maturity, sudden growth spurts may change appearance, specialized gross and fine motor skills develop, some risk-taking behaviors exhibited Beginning of Piaget's formal operational stage, reasoning ability increasingly more abstract, increased ability to solve complex problems, increased ability to use varied learning strategies, use reading as a means of learning, often in state of self-absorption, improved capabilities for metacognition Perceive an "imaginary audience," belief that what happens is unique to them and shared by no one else, tend to be emotionally volatile, experience a drop in self-esteem, strong emotional ties with friends develop, frequent mood changes, begin to establish a sense of identity Conflicts with parents and other adults likely, may suffer identity crisis, peers become more influential than adults, popularity becomes very important, awareness develops of sexuality and gender-related relationships, aware that people may have multiple or conflicting intentions Strong sense of fairness, desire to help those less fortunate, experience roller-coaster emotions

High School Sexual
maturity is reached, girls complete growth spurt, boys continue to grow, large appetite accompanies rapid metabolic rate, high level of physical risk-taking activities exhibited Capacity for adult-like thought, reasoning ability matures with capabilities for abstract reasoning, realism plays a more active role in decision making, can discern which learning strategies are effective and when Sense of being invulnerable; may be prone to depression due to biological, environmental, or social causes; seek autonomy; sense of identity develops; self-consciousness of early adolescence decreases Identity crisis may lead to social dysfunction, same-gender groups increasingly give way to mixed-gender groups, search for autonomy leads to readjustment of relationships, conformity with others decreases, desire for self-reliance, gain a more sophisticated understanding of others and their motivations, often overwhelmed with demands of relationships Understand the need for rules to promote society, increased concern about fulfilling duty to benefit others, increased concern about abiding by rules