Developmental Characteristics of First Graders
Every child’s development is unique. Although children develop through a generally predictable sequence of milestones, we cannot say exactly when a child will reach each and every stage. Every child has his or her own timetable. The characteristics below are offered only as a reference to give you a better understanding of your child. Feel free to contact your pediatrician and/or your child’s school if you have any questions.
- Perpetual motion; squirming while sitting, gesturing while talking, runs, tumbles, throws
- Gaining control of fine motor activities
- Enjoy testing muscle strength and skills. Love to skip, run, tumble, throw, catch, and dance to music.
- Developing a good sense of balance. Most can stand on one foot and walk on a balance beam.
- Can catch balls, tie shoelaces, manage buttons and zippers
- Sloppy; in a hurry
- Noisy in a classroom
- Developing the ability to copy designs and shapes
- Learning to distinguish left from right
- Engages in oral activities (teething)--chews pencils, fingernails, hair
Social and Emotional Development
- Beginning to think about how they look in the eyes of others and are self-conscious
- Moody; friendly and enthusiastic at times and rebellious and irritable at other times
- Wants to make friends, but can be bossy and not understand why friendship is rebuffed
- Can be very competitive
- Fascinated by rules
- Sometimes a “poor sport” or dishonest; may invent rules
- Sensitive to criticism; thrive on encouragement
- Strong desire to perform well, do things right
- Generally enjoy caring for and playing with younger children
- Tend to prefer playmates of the same sex
- Can be helpful with small chores
- Have a strong need for love and attention from parents and teachers
- Determine what is “good” and “bad” based on parents’ and teachers’ opinions. Beginning to develop a moral sense (such as understanding “honesty”).
- Views things as right or wrong, wonderful or terrible, with very little middle ground
- May reverse printed letters (b/d)
- Increased problem-solving ability
- Attention span still short, but long enough to enjoy more involved stories
- Love to ask questions
- Learn best through discovery and active involvement with people and materials
- Interested in real life tasks and activities; want to make “real” jewelry, take“real” photographs, and create “real” collections
- Extremely rapid expansion of speaking and listening vocabulary
- Can begin to understand time and days of the week
- Beginning to understand past when tied closely to the present
- Sometimes carry on “collective monologues,” two children playing together and talking, but carrying on separate monologues
- Use language and words to represent things not visible
- Great differences in the size and abilities of children may affect self-concept
- Large muscles in arms and legs are more developed than small muscles
- Learning to use small/fine muscles
- Long arms and legs may give gawky, awkward appearance
- When tired, may not want to rest
- Sometimes tense
- Many physical hurts, real and imagined
Social and Emotional Development
- Touchy; may say or think, “Nobody likes me.”
- Love to talk, even exaggerate
- Work hard to please teachers, parents, and other adults
- Sensitive to adult evaluation
- More independent, but still relies heavily on the teacher
- More emphasis on fairness
- Likes structure; dislikes changes in school routines
- Compare self to others; can be self-critical
- Establishing friendships becomes very important, although they often lack the skills necessary to do so
- View things as right or wrong, wonderful or terrible, with very little middle ground
- Seek a sense of security in groups, organized play, and clubs
- More serious and less impulsive than first graders
- Realize that there are many things that need to be learned, sometimes leading to less confidence than in first grade
- Begin to reason logically and organize thoughts coherently
- Most thinking is done about actual physical objects; difficulty handling abstract reasoning
- Often makes decisions based on influence of others instead of by reasoning
- Develop more skill in reading
- Want to assume more responsibility
- May reverse printed letters (b/d)
- Speaking and listening vocabulary expanding at a very rapid pace
- Like to collect, organize, and sort things
- Longer attention span
- Learn to evaluate what they do
- Need closure, want to complete assignments
- Like to work slowly
- Want work to be perfect; erase constantly
- Need manipulatives to learn effectively
- Like to know how things work
- Egocentric, but beginning to understand others’ perspectives
Reference: "GCISD - Curriculum Guides and Developmental Characteristics." 2002. Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. 7 Dec. 2007 .