SLO's ch. 9 Flashcards
Describe ways in which children grow during
middle childhood and factors that influence
their growth.
The middle childhood years are characterized by slow and
steady growth. Weight is redistributed as baby fat disappears.
In part, growth is genetically determined, but societal
factors such as affluence, dietary habits, nutrition, and
disease also contribute significantly.
Outline the course of motor development in
middle childhood
During the middle childhood years, great improvements
occur in gross motor skills. Cultural expectations appear to
underlie most gross motor skill differences between boys
and girls. Fine motor skills also develop rapidly.
Summarize the main physical and mental
health concerns of school-age children
Adequate nutrition is important because of its contributions
to growth, health, social and emotional functioning,
and cognitive performance. Obesity is partially influenced
by genetic factors but is also associated with children’s
failure to develop internal controls, overeating, overindulgence
in sedentary activities such as television viewing,
and lack of physical exercise. Asthma and childhood depression
are fairly prevalent among children of school age.
Describe the sorts of special needs that may
become apparent in school-age children and
how can they be met.
Visual, auditory, and speech impairments, as well as
other learning disabilities, can lead to academic and social
problems
and must be handled with sensitivity and
appropriate assistance. Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder exhibit another form of special need.
ADHD is characterized by inattention, impulsiveness, failure
to complete tasks, lack of organization, and excessive
amounts of uncontrollable activity. Treatment of ADHD
by drugs is highly controversial because of unwanted side
effects
and doubts about long-term consequences.
Summarize the Piagetian view of cognitive
development in middle childhood
According to Piaget, school-age children enter the concrete
operational period and for the first time become capable of
applying logical thought processes to concrete problems
Explain how children develop cognitively in
middle childhood according to information
processing approaches
According to information processing approaches, children’s
intellectual development in the school years can
be attributed to substantial increases in memory capacity
and the sophistication of the “programs” children can
handle.
Summarize Vygotsky’s interpretation of
cognitive development during middle
childhood.
Vygotsky recommends that students focus on active
learning through child–adult and child–child interactions
that fall within each child’s zone of proximal
development.
Describe how language develops during
middle childhood
The language development of children in the school years
is substantial, with improvements in vocabulary, syntax,
and pragmatics. Children learn to control their behavior
through linguistic strategies, and they learn more effectively
by seeking clarification when they need it. Bilingualism
can be beneficial in the school years. Children
who are taught all subjects in the first language, with simultaneous
instruction in English, appear to experience
few deficits and attain several linguistic and cognitive
advantages
Explain how children learn to read
The development of reading skills, which is fundamental
to schooling, generally occurs in several stages: identifying
letters, reading highly familiar words, sounding out letters
and blending sounds into words, reading words with fluency
but with little comprehension, reading with comprehension
and for practical purposes, and reading material
that reflects multiple points of view.
Summarize what schools teach beyond the
basics in middle childhood
Multiculturalism and diversity are significant issues in U.S.
schools, where the melting-pot society, in which minority
cultures are assimilated to the majority culture, is being
replaced by the pluralistic society, in which individual cultures
maintain their own identities while participating in
the definition of a larger culture.
Describe how intelligence is measured and
what controversies arise from measuring it
Intelligence testing has traditionally focused on factors that
differentiate successful academic performers from unsuccessful
ones. The intelligence quotient, or IQ score, reflects
the ratio of a person’s mental age to his or her chronological
age. Other conceptualizations of intelligence focus on
different types of intelligence or on different aspects of the
information
processing task.
Describe how children with intellectual
disabilities and children who are intellectually
gifted are educated in middle childhood
In today’s schools, exceptional children—including
children with intellectual deficits—are to be educated
in the least restrictive environment, typically the regular
classroom. If done properly, this strategy can benefit
all students
and permit the exceptional student to
focus on strengths rather than weaknesses. Gifted and
talented children
can benefit from special educational programs,
including acceleration programs and enrichment
programs
