CHAPTER 4

CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDENTS

You may already be familiar with children of the ages with whom you will be working. Or you may not have had much interaction with a seven year-old since you were in second grade yourself. In this next section are descriptions of children of different ages from, The Child from Five to Ten (Gesell, Ilg, & Ames, 1977).

Having knowledge about what is typical of children of various ages can help you gauge your reactions to student behavior. If a child behaves in a particular manner but you know that behavior is developmentally appropriate, then you are less likely to overreact to the child, which might cause a problem with discipline. This chapter attempts to let you know what is normal for children of various ages. This should also give you a certain comfort level in knowing what to expect of your students before that first meeting with them.

The following table describes the expected ages of first through fourth graders. The charts that follow are labeled only by one age. You will need to keep in mind that seven year-olds could be in the first or second grade, for example.


First Graders . . . . . . . . . . . . Six to Seven Year-olds
Second Graders . . . . . . . . Seven to Eight Year-olds
Third Graders . . . . . . . . . . . Eight to Nine Year-olds
Fourth Graders . . . . . . . . . . . Nine to Ten Year-olds



  • Six years old is an age of transition. While the child might have been confident and robust last year, he is likely to be hesitant and indecisive as a six year-old.
  • He is often inconsistent in conduct, being very good at times and very bad at other times--wide swings of behavior.
  • The six year old always wants to win but also wants to be loved best.
  • He does not lose gracefully.
  • Parties with six year-olds are high spirited and chaotic. (Remember this at Halloween time!)
  • The six year-old likes social routines and a certain amount of sameness but also constant activity.
  • They like to manipulate scissors, glue, and markers but may be less interested in the product than the process.
  • His shoes, if he tied them himself, are often too loosely tied. He likes to take off his shoes and often has trouble keeping track of them.
  • Girls this age are prone to giggling.
  • Sixes love praise and do not like to be corrected so it has to be done judiciously.
  • The sounds that storms make can be very terrifying to six year-olds.
  • Even minor injuries can be catastrophic to the six year-old.
  • Some six year-olds are very afraid of being late to school.
  • Sixes are very possessive of their belongings.
  • When a six year-old is resistant to what you want to do, the best way to deal with him is to give him several choices of things to do. You provide the choices and they are all things you want him to do. It gives him some sense of control to be able to select the order in which they will be done.
  • Most six year-olds like school and this is not likely to change until the end of the year, if they have had lots of failure during the year.
  • Six year-olds bring lots of stuff to school from home. They especially like to show it to their teachers.
  • They like possessions but are careless about them.
  • The six year-old responds well to praise.
  • The six year-old can print lower case letters but often reverts to capitals.
  • It is very common for the child of this age to reverse letters and numbers.
  • Children this age can leave a task incomplete and return to it the following day.
  • Children this age are beginning to know left and right on themselves but cannot distinguish left and right on another person.
  • Some days six year-olds could not be more fun. Other days, they could be. They could be lots more fun, in fact.

  • Seven year-olds are a relief after six year-olds.
  • Seven is an assimilating age when children have periods of calmness and self-absorption. It is a pleasant age.
  • Seven year-olds are good listeners. They take in more than they give out.
  • Seven year-olds are good guessers and they stick to their guesses, even when challenged.
  • Seven year-olds are very fond of their teachers, like to be near them, touch them, may fall in love with them.
  • Seven year-olds use their erasers so much that it sometimes appears that they write in order to have something to erase.
  • At seven children begin discriminating between bad and good.
  • They don't like cheaters or liars but take pencils and other articles from others without thinking of that as stealing.
  • The seven year-old likes time limits. If someone doesn't tell him when to stop, he may continue a task forever. He perseveres.
  • The seven year-old can be very sensitive to disapproval, to the point of tears.
  • The seven year-old is easily distracted by things or thoughts. At times, he seems deaf because he is so engrossed in what he is doing.
  • He can get very tired, especially in the afternoon.
  • The seven year-old does not like to be wrong and can get very angry with himself when he makes a mistake.
  • His desire to be perfect is so great that he may take home only 100% papers.
  • The seven year-old is conscientious and takes responsibilities seriously.
  • He is not too crazy about trying new situations on his own. He wants and needs the support of a familiar person with him when he tries something new.
  • When something does not please a seven year-old, he is likely to withdraw rather than make a scene.
  • The seven year-old can spend long periods of time by himself.
  • Sevens are beginning to doubt Santa's existence but hate to give it up.
  • Seven year-olds love riddles (with our disabled readers, this may be delayed a year or so).
  • The seven year-old has a messy desk because he likes to accumulate things.
  • He is not a good messenger between home and school.
  • Children this age cannot copy easily from the blackboard to their paper.
  • He tends to like to read fast.
  • His spelling is usually behind his reading ability.
  • Seven year-olds like to plan their day, sometimes with paper and pencil.
  • Seven year-olds are more even and steady than they were a year ago.

  • The eight year-old is more active than the seven year-old. He speeds about and is expansive.
  • The eight year-old gets his feelings hurt very easily and shows this by crying.
  • He likes to collect things and loves to look at catalogs.
  • Although he likes to eat, he also has food dislikes and will not budge from them.
  • The eight year-old is generally not sick as often as children younger than him.
  • Eight year-olds do not have a very good sense of their abilities. They tend to think that they are better than they really are.
  • The eight year-old tends to be very dramatic verbally and exaggerates (e.g., "I've answered that a million times!").
  • He likes things that he thinks of himself.
  • Reward systems work well with children this age and they tend to be almost obsessed about money. They love it.
  • Eight year-olds tend to prefer to play with children of their own sex and they do not play well alone, as seven year-olds do.
  • The eight year-old loves to catch the teacher making a mistake and likes her to admit the error with good humor.
  • He likes to be given directions but may have to have them repeated.
  • He doesn't always do things right away and often makes excuses.
  • The eight year-old is interested in things that happened in the far past. Boys especially like dinosaurs.
  • The eight year-old wants to be treated as an adult and can get offended if he thinks he is being condescended to.
  • The teacher is less important to the eight year-old than she was to the seven year-old. He wants her to be part of the group, rather than someone to idolize.
  • Children this age like teachers who are factual and businesslike but can have a good time.
  • Eight year-olds begin to have secret clubs but they usually do not last long.
  • Eight year-olds are impatient with slow children. Speed is a big thing for children this age.
  • This is the age at which children begin to prefer reading silently to reading orally.
  • Reversals in writing are rare at this age.
  • The eight year-old is more worldly than children who are younger.

  • Self motivation is the dominant characteristic of the nine year-old.
  • He likes to perfect his skill and will do things over and over in order to become perfect at a skill.
  • The nine year-old likes to plan in advance and be told the steps that he should follow in order to do something.
  • He often is not very motivated by allowances or money.
  • The nine year-old is relatively well-organized and likes to assess himself and others.
  • He can be very accurate in his estimates of other people so do not try to fool a nine year-old.
  • The nine year-old can accept blame if he is at fault.
  • The nine year-old is speedy like the eight year-old but his speed is under control and less noticeable.
  • He is persistent and likes to complete what he plans. He can tolerate interruptions, however.
  • Nine year-olds are loyal and devoted friends. They stand by their friends. Usually they tend to have one special friend.
  • Many nine year-olds love to read. They may even get up early in the morning in order to have time to read.
  • Children this age like school but have difficulty remembering to take to school the things that are needed for a special project or activity.
  • One of the favorite complaints of the nine year-old is that he doesn't have a good memory.
  • At this age, he may not only prefer to read silently but he may even hate to read in front of the class.
  • Nine year-olds like to order things by mail and to write business letters.
  • Nine year-olds either love or hate math.
  • Nine year-olds often have good intentions but may fail to carry them out.
  • Nine year-olds sometimes have annoying habits such as rotating a leg, crossing ankle to knee, jiggling leg, humming, singing, whistling, blowing.
  • The nine year-old wants to succeed.
  • The nine year-old often thinks his teacher is wonderful or awful.
  • He wants the teacher to be reasonable.
  • Boys shout and girls whisper and giggle.
  • Children of this age have an increasing interest in magazines.
  • The nine year-old needs to know his own progress and to be given individual assistance apart from the class.
  • The nine year-old can use a dictionary easily.
  • Usually the nine year-old prefers cursive writing to manuscript.
  • The nine year-old is less concerned with good and bad and more concerned with right and wrong than younger children.
  • Children at this age may return to incorrect grammatical usage.

  • The ten year-old is well-balanced, content, and comfortable.
  • He can take things in stride.
  • The ten year-old can do two things at once with ease. For example, he can talk and work at the same time.
  • Ten year-olds often love food and eat lots of it.
  • Most are extremely careless about clothing.
  • Headaches and stomachaches are common tensional outlets.
  • They can be revengeful and like to get even when they feel they have been wronged.
  • Ten year-olds are generally easy-going and matter of fact.
  • Often boys especially like to use bad words and tell dirty jokes--often related to elimination.
  • Children at this age often have poor posture, especially when eating.
  • At this age, children may pay more attention to teacher than to parents.
  • Children who are ten tend to appreciate firmness.
  • Ten year-olds can be quite disdainful of outgrown activities.
  • By this age there is much variation in reading behavior and tastes.
  • Few ten year-olds read magazines.
  • Things that annoy ten year-olds about their teachers are that they talk too much, give no time for questions, or show favoritism.
  • They don't like to be picked or nagged at. This means that teachers should be careful in what they choose to criticize.
  • Ten year-olds cannot plan their own work and need schedules.
  • Fairness is very important to the ten year-old.
  • Ten year-olds feel they are never at fault. They try to assign blame to someone else.



CLOSING THOUGHTS

These age characteristics are not included for you to memorize or even be overly concerned about. They are listed so that you can have some sense of what is typical and what is not, when to make an issue of something and when to ignore and proceed. For example, if you are dealing with a ten year-old who constantly blames others for everything that happens, you will probably waste your time if you try to reform him. What he is doing is in the nature of the ten year-old. He will outgrow that behavior and reach another developmental stage soon. It is something that will take care of itself and you need not be worried about it.

Other items have been included so you will have some sense of what might be successful with your particular child. For example, ten year-olds are not usually fond of magazines but have varied reading interests. Therefore, find what they like and find reading material that fits. Don't be determined that they will like Sports Illustrated for Kids because they are likely not to.

One thing you should keep in mind is that because some of your students may be slow intellectually, they may also be behind developmentally. Therefore, a nine-old that you have may behave more like an eight year-old.

These are generalizations and all children may not fit. They are merely presented as guidelines for your reference.


Any subject can be taught effectively in some

intellectually honest form to any child at any

stage of development.

--Jerome Seymour Bruner

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