Development of ages

5-7
By: Amber Brown and Alysa Reeves
Characteristics

Children between the ages 5-7 are talkative, imaginative, and great at exploration
Focus on:
Right now rather than the future
Show feelings through laughs, smile, and tears
Competitive but cooperative with friends
In a classroom setting, they are eager to learn
Development

Developmental delay- a noticeable lag in a particular aspect of development

Children falling behind in multiple subjects
They have the opportunity to catch up at this age
Each childs development is different, but needs to be recognized and tended to.
In a classroom, teachers set the tone, which impacts students learning skills
If a teacher has a hateful attitude in classroom, the students will mirror that
emotion.
Gross-Motor Skills

Defined as: physical skills

Swinging across the bars at recess, throwing a ball, making a swing fly as high
as it will go
Visual-motor Coordination: that act of matching body movements with what is
seen
Jumping rope or catching a small ball
Fine-motor Skills

Defined as: hand-eye coordination and dexterity (skillful use of hands and fingers)
Writing
Going from writing individual letters to writing sentences
Self-care skills
Handling spoons and forks to eat, buttoning and zipping clothing
Cognitive Development

Defined as: development in terms of information processing, language learning, and

perceptual skill

At this age, they are fueled by their curiosity and desire for independence, BUT have
limited attention span when in a classroom atmosphere.

A lesson needs to be precise and interactive. They learn best through experiences,
rather than explanations at this point in time.

Visual learners****
Thinking Skills

Referring to: problem solving, planning, and decision-making

Jean Piagets idea of conservation refers to the fact that something can remain the
same, even if it appears different. For example, a tall skinny bottle vs. a short fat bottle.
Even though they will hold the same amount of liquid, they think the taller bottle will
hold more

Able to:

Understanding a sequence of steps for a process

Tell jokes (mix words and logic)
Social-Emotional Development

Defined as: developing feelings of competence by learning and mastering new skills

Like to feel grown up and often boast about their abilities

Parents and teachers play a vital role in providing the encouragement children need
Peer Relationships

Choose their friends and best friend

Sharing secrets, sticking up for each other, choosing partners, and playing together
become prominent elements of their friendships
In elementary school, boys usually play with boys and girls usually play with girls
Self-Concept

Defined as: ones own assessment of himself or herself

Abilities, successes, failures, and comments

Self confidence helps to keep meeting new challenges and mastering additional skills
Moral Development

Right vs. wrong

Understand the fact that something is either right or wrong but bases decisions on
rewards and/or punishments

For example, six-year-olds may decide not to steal candy from a store because of fear of
being caught.