UNIT 4 The Primary Schooler

“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the
future in.”

-Deepak Chopia, Indian Physician and Author

- Heidi Grace L. Borabo, Ph.D.

INTRODUCTION

Middle childhood is the stage when children undergo so many different changes
– physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively. This is the stage between 6 to 12
years old. Children in this stage receive less attention than children in infancy or early
childhood. The support of the family and friends of the child is very important during
this phase of development.
Physical Development of the

MODULE 11 Primary Pupil

- Heidi Grace L. Borabo, Ph.D.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this Module, you should be able to:
• Describe the different physical characteristics of early school-aged children in
your own words.
• Enumerate ideas on how you can apply the concepts in this module in the
teaching-learning process.

Physical Development involves many different factor, height, weight,

appearance, visual, hearing and motor abilities. Primary school children undergo many
different changes as they go through this stage of development This could be caused
by different factors; both natural and environment.
ACTIVITY
Observe at least three (3) primary school children (Grade 1 to 3). Describe the
physical characteristics of these children and write them down below.

Height

Child and Adolescent Development

 Weight

Balance

Speed

Coordination of
Movements

ANALYSIS
1. Based on the observations you have made, what can you conclude about the
general physical characteristics of children in their primary school years?

2. What are the necessary skills that will help them to be physically ready for primary
schooling?

Child and Adolescent Development

ABSTRACTION/GENERALIZATION
Physical growth during the
primary school years is slow but
steady. During this stage, physical
development involves: (1) having
good muscle control and
coordination, (2) developing eye-
hand coordination, (3) having good
personal hygiene and (4) being
aware of good safety habits.
Height and Weight
In this development stage,
children will have started their
elementary grades, specifically
their primary years – Grade 1 to 3
This period of gradual and
steady growth will give children
time to get used to the changes in
their bodies. An average increase
in height of a little over two inches
a year in both boys and girls will
introduce them to many different
activities that they can now do with
greater accuracy.
Weight gain averages about 6.3 pounds a year. Most children will have slimmer
appearance compared to their preschool years because of the shifts in accumulation
and location of their body fats. A child’s legs are longer and more proportioned to the
body than they were before.
A number of factors could indicate how much a child grows, or how much
changes in the body will take place:
• Genes
• Food
• Climate
• Exercise
• Medical Condition
• Diseases / Illness

Child and Adolescent Development

Bones and Muscles
Childhood years are the peak bone-producing years. This is the best time to
teach children of good dietary and exercise habits to help them have strong, healthy
bones throughout their lives. Many lifestyle factors, like nutrition and physical activity,
can substantially influence the increase of bone mass during childhood.
Because children’s bones have proportionately more water and protein-like
materials and fewer minerals than adults, ensuring adequate calcium intake will greatly
help them in strengthening bones and muscles.
Motor Development
Young school-aged children are gaining control over the major muscles of their
bodies. Most children have a good sense of balance. They like testing their muscle
strength and skills. They enjoy real-life tasks and activities. They pretend and fantasize
less often because they are more attuned with everything that is happening around
them.
Children in this stage love to move a lot – they run, skip, hop, jump, tumble, roll
and dance. Because their gross motor skills are already developed, they can now
perform activities like catching a ball with one hand, tying their shoelaces, they can
manage zippers and buttons.
Performing unimanual (require the use one hand) and bi-manual (require the
use of two hands) activities becomes easier. Children’s graphic activities, such as
writing and drawing, are now more controlled but are still developing. They can print
their names and copy simple designs, letters and shapes. They hold pencils, crayons,
utensils correctly with supervision.
Motor development skills include coordination, balance, speed, agility and
power.
Let us look into the definitions of the different motor skills. Coordination is a
series of movement organized and timed to occur in a particular way to bring about a
particular result (Strickland, 2000). The more complex the movement is, the greater
coordination is required. Children develop eye-hand and eye-foot coordination when
they play games and sports. Balance is the child’s ability to maintain the equilibrium
or stability of his/her body in different positions. Balance is a basic skill needed
especially in this stage, when children are very active. During this time, children have
improved balancing skills. Static Balance is the ability to maintain equilibrium in a
fixed position, like balancing on one foot. Dynamic Balance is the ability to maintain
equilibrium while moving (Owens, 2006). Speed is the ability to cover a great distance
in the shortest possible time while agility is one’s ability to quickly change or shift the
direction of the body. These skills are extremely important in most sports. Power is
the ability to perform a maximum effort in the shortest possible period.
All these motor skills are vital in performing different activities, games and
sports. Development of these skills may spell the difference between success and
failure in future endeavour of the child.

Child and Adolescent Development

BIG IDEAS
1. Complete the graphic organizer below and share your output in class.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

(Factors affecting (Basic Motor

Physical Development) Skills)

SYNAPSE STRENGTHENERS

TITLE:
REFERENCE/S:

Read more on the Physical Development of primary schoolers. Focus on the

current issue on children about “obesity” and write a short article about it.

Child and Adolescent Development

REFLECTION
!

From this Module on the Social-Emotional Development of

Intermediate Schoolers, I learned that.