Yardsticks
By Chip Wood
About the BookYardsticks is an excellent resource for parents in that it helps parents to understand how their children develop and what is typical of children at each year of development from ages four to fourteen.
Written by author Chip Wood, who has over 25 years of experience as an educator, this book addresses physical, social, language, and cognitive growth. It also addresses vision and fine motor ability, gross motor ability, and social behavior. In addition, it discusses reading, writing, social studies, science and math that is typical for students to be able to do at school at their age level. This book is interesting, well-organized and easy to read. It is a valuable source of information for parents as well as for teachers. |
Additional ResourcesAdolescence: The Survival Guide for Parents and Teenagers. Elizabeth Fenwick and Dr. Tony Smith. New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 1996
Ages and Stages: Developmental Descriptions & Activities, Birth Through Eight Years. Karen Miller. Chelsea, MA: Teleshare Publishing Company, 1985. Apprenticeship in Thinking: Cognitive Development in Social Context. Barbara Rogoff. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. |
Primary Grades (K-3)Kindergarten (5-6 years old)
· repeating things helps them learn · encouragement is important · can work quietly for 15 minutes at a time First Grade (6-7 years old) · games and artistic exploration are useful · can do a lot of work, but not concerned with quality of work · extremely sensitive; feelings easily hurt Second Grade (7-8 years old) · work quietly for longer periods of time · like to work alone or with a partner · want to finish work; want it to be perfect · frequent changes in friendships Third Grade (8-9 years old) · love to work in groups · work is organized but not very neat · get tired easily; may quit for a while and finish work later · gender issues become more important |
Intermediate Grades (4-6)Fourth Grade (9-10 years old)
· reading to learn instead of learning to read · takes pride in finished work; pays attention to detail · second chances are important · likes to negotiate · likes to choose own partners; cliques may begin Fifth Grade (10-11 years old) · highly productive with school work · eager to learn; memorization works well · enjoys being noticed and rewarded for efforts · basically cooperative nature · generally satisfied with their own ability Sixth Grade (11-12 years old) · interest in rules and challenging rules · reasonably hard work challenges rather than defeats · learns well in groups · saving face is important; doesn’t like to be embarrassed - likes work that feels “grown up” |
Middle School (7-8)Seventh Grade (12-13 years old)
· leadership qualities abound · can help each other with subject matter · both playful and serious · ceremonies, rituals and rewards are important; like to take part in planning · make time to listen to them Eighth Grade (13-14 years old) · often write better than they speak · self-evaluation of work is helpful to balance teacher evaluation · does not do as well in group work · highly critical of teachers · often mean to each other |