Sixth Grade (10-12)
Categories:
- physical development- I can do this one for both 6th and 7th grade (Josh)
- personal development- I can do this one for both 6th and 7th grade (courtney)
- social development- I can do this one for both 6th and 7th grade (Kayley)
- cognitive development
Social Development
Why they act the way they do?
What words come to mind when you think of sixth graders, children in the ages of 10-12 years old?
Most probably think of sixth graders being: reckless, accident prone, and having a lack of impulse control. It is normal for kids from the ages of 10-12 years old to be reckless due to the fact that the frontal cortex, the region of the brain that controls impulses, is not developed yet. It is also normal to find a large amount of the hormone dopamine, which encourages "thrill seeking", which doesn't help them when it comes to thinking things through.
Another reason that explains why kids that fall into this age group can seem disorganized and to act before they think is due to the development of of the prefrontal cortex of the frontal lobe, which is the location of cognitive control or executive function center. This part of the brain is in control of general intelligence like:
- controlling and managing emotions
- memory
- focus
Personal Development
Personal development as a 6th grader can come across in many different forms, a child maybe expressing more outgoing behavior, shyness, and even rebellion. all these are ways your child is trying to develop personally. some of the signs your child is going through some personal developments are:
-less affection shown to parents and more to friends.
-more focus on themselves not others
-making new friends, or parting from old friends
-experimenting with behaviors, roles and self image
What can you do to help?
As a parent or guardian of a child ages 10-12 your job is to let them develop at there own pace in their own time, this is a very confusing time for children personally, and they need to figure out who they are trying to be and who they want to be around, as a parent or guardian you should monitor their behaviors to ensure they are making good decisions, but your main job is to let them figure out who they need to be personally. Linked is an article written by Leslie Crawford, and in it she talks about the 6th grade identity crisis, it is a helpful read when questioning the do's and don'ts of helping a 6th grader develop personally.
Physical Development
Adolescent's bodies are rapidly changing within this age range. It is important that parents and educators are encouraging adolescents to learn about their new bodily changes. An educated adolescent leads to less confusion about their bodies. Ages 10, 11, and 12 will experience a growth spurt with significant weight gain, height gain, muscle growth, and genital maturation. The growth spurt begins earlier in girls but last longer in boys. Puberty happens within these ages, for boys testosterone and for girls estrogen. Puberty starts earlier in girls around age 9 and in boys around age 11.
Changes in the body
Skin becomes oilier and may develop pimples.
Sweating increases and may have body odor.
Hair grows under arms and on private parts and, in males, on face and chest
Body proportions change [hips widen in females, shoulders broaden in males].
Joints may ache due to rapid growth.
Resources
COGNITIVE Development
This is a period in children's lives where there is a major gap between the males and the females. Females typically enter puberty before males. The female brain fully myelinate at the age of 18 while while doesn't until around age 27.
Changes in thinking:
During early adolescence, the prefrontal cortex of the brain (the frontal lobe) does not develop as quickly as other regions. This region of the brain regulates mood, and plays a large part in planning, decision making, and controlling impulses.
Changes in reasoning:
When prompted by visual/auditory cues, early adolescents typically activate the amygdala (the region of the brain that controls “gut reactions”) rather than their developing prefrontal cortex. This causes early adolescents to have emotional responses to stimuli as opposed to adults who have more rational responses. As they progress from their early teen years, there should be a shift towards more rational behavior, but this may occur well into high school or college. Because of this development, adolescents problem solving skills and deductive skills have increase dramatically. Early adolescents can form a hypothesis and use their reasoning skills to determine an outcome. They can also use prior knowledge to help them reach a conclusion. This why it is important for teacher to engage the students with learning actives that help them develop their problem solving skills.
When presenting a variety of questions to middle school students they begin to use their reasoning skills and forming hypothesis. For example, if you asked an 11 year old sixth grader a question such as “Peggy has three kids. John is taller than Sam. Kevin is ¾ the height of Sam. Who is the tallest?” the child would have employ their cognitive thinking and might even draw pictures before coming to the conclusion that john is the tallest.
Changes in decision making :
Their are many benchmarks for students in the 6th grade. These students should be at a level to be responsible decision-making is the ability to make choices that are good for you, as well as for others. It means taking into account their ethical values as well as the wishes and perspectives of others when making decisions. This piece of social and emotional development takes all of the other social and emotional skills and brings them together. Being able to understand yourself, your actions, how your actions affect others, and what is socially acceptable all go into the responsible decision-making process. As the child enters adolescence, they will begin to make more choices on their own as your child tests boundaries and becomes more independent. Choices in middle school become more complex than they were in younger years. Your adolescent may have to decide whether or not to do their homework, join an extracurricular activity, or hang out with friends who are positive influences rather than those who aren’t. By continuing to be supportive, actively listening, and being there for them, parents can help your middle-schooler navigate hard choices and prepare them for future success.