{"id":136,"date":"2011-12-01T21:10:19","date_gmt":"2011-12-02T04:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/earlychildhoodintervention1sixtotwelve\/?p=136"},"modified":"2012-12-02T14:13:33","modified_gmt":"2012-12-02T21:13:33","slug":"cognitive-development-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention1\/2011\/12\/01\/cognitive-development-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Cognitive Development"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Children 6 to 8 years old continually develop and grow. <a title=\"The developmental area that involves thinking skills, including the ability to receive, process, analyze, and understand information.\">Cognitive development<\/a> (see full <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention2\/files\/2012\/12\/MCI_Glossary.pdf\">Glossary<\/a>) becomes increasingly complex as children continue to learn how to make sense of the world around them. This is also a busy time for picking up academic skills. Children are learning how to read, write, spell and perform simple mathematical operations. They are beginning to read simple books on their own, and delight in their ability to do so.<\/p>\n<p>Most children at this age can:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>group items together, based on <a title=\"For example, putting the blue triangles together.\">two or more characteristics<\/a>;<\/li>\n<li>group items together, based on function (for example, grouping a pen, a pencil and a piece of chalk as things we write with);<\/li>\n<li>pay continuous attention for at least 10 to 20 minutes;<\/li>\n<li>develop a <a title=\"For example: I want to buy this toy, but it is very expensive. Here is how I am planning to save up for it.\">simple plan<\/a>\u00a0in order to meet a goal;<\/li>\n<li>try to come up with ideas to solve common problems;<\/li>\n<li>use <a title=\"For example, will use a triangle and a square to create a house\">several shapes<\/a>\u00a0together in order to create something;<\/li>\n<li>state their current age, and how old they will be next year;<\/li>\n<li>know the difference between right and left;<\/li>\n<li>know which day of the week it is, and point to that day on a calendar;<\/li>\n<li>predict what will happen next in simple stories;<\/li>\n<li>identify and understand the value of most coins and bills (Fig. 1);<\/li>\n<li>understand the difference between day and night, and what activities are performed at these times;<\/li>\n<li>identify and understand the difference between the four seasons (Fig. 2);<\/li>\n<li>know which things are living and which are not;<\/li>\n<li>understand which happens <a title=\"Example: The first thing I did yesterday was to wake up in the morning, and the last thing was to go to sleep.\">\u201cfirst\u201d and \u201clast\u201d<\/a>\u00a0in sequential events;<\/li>\n<li>talk about how things are <a title=\"For example, going to the supermarket is similar as going to the toy store, but it is different than going to the playground.\">the same and how they are different<\/a>\u00a0;<\/li>\n<li>state the <a title=\"Example: Hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste.\">five senses<\/a>, and can tell difference between them;<\/li>\n<li>are starting to <a title=\"For example when the bell rings it means I need to go back to my classroom.\">learn via language and logic<\/a>, as opposed to learning via direct experience;<\/li>\n<li>draw some <a title=\"Example: pencils are for writing with, so I should bring a pencil to school.\">basic inferences <\/a>;<\/li>\n<li>tell the difference between <a title=\"Example: the fact is that this dog is brown, but in my opinion this dog is cute.\">fact and opinion<\/a>\u00a0;<\/li>\n<li>can identify objects by their uses (for example, know that chopsticks or forks are for used for eating);<\/li>\n<li>recognize that boys and girls are different and can tell what makes them different;<\/li>\n<li>play games with rules (Fig. 3)\u00a0and are usually quite good at understanding and following those rules (for the most part);<\/li>\n<li>understand the concept of \u201copposite\u201d (for example, big is the opposite of small);<\/li>\n<li>engage in simple and <a title=\"Logical thinking is starting about objects, people and events. For example a child will understand that her dog is a poodle, that a poodle is a dog, and that a dog is an animal.\">concrete operations<\/a> (see full <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention2\/files\/2012\/12\/MCI_Glossary.pdf\">Glossary<\/a>). Although they can represent some operations mentally, this representation is rooted in concepts that they can <a title=\"Example: to add correctly, most children this age will need actual objects that they can count, mental addition is a bit difficult for this age group.\">see, hear and feel<\/a>;<\/li>\n<li>look at a problem or situation from different angles. Piaget called this skill <a title=\"Example: a child looks at two containers, one is short and wide, the other long and narrow. The child knows that both containers have the same amount of water, despite the fact that it appears as if the longer container has more water. The child understands that the longer container is also narrower than the short wide container.\">decentration<\/a>. This ability will help children in developing the social skills that they will soon need to make and keep <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/earlychildhoodintervention1\/category\/1-3-what-is-development-social-and-emotional-development\/\" target=\"_blank\">friends<\/a>;<\/li>\n<li>understand that objects can fit into more than one category. For instance, a red triangle is a shape, but it can also fit in the category of \u201cthings that are red;\u201d<\/li>\n<li>pay \u201c<a title=\"The ability to concentrate on relevant sensory input while ignoring irrelevant input. For example, if they are busy playing a game with their friend they will ignore the TV sound from the other room.\">selective attention<\/a>\u201d (see full <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention2\/files\/2012\/12\/MCI_Glossary.pdf\">Glossary<\/a>) to information presented to them. That is, they are starting to recognize what information is relevant for a particular task and what information is not;<\/li>\n<li>draw detailed pictures of themselves (Fig. 4). The pictures now include a lot of body parts, such as a neck and fingers;<\/li>\n<li>understand \u201ccause and effect.\u201d For example, they now understand that they need to lock their bike, because if they don\u2019t, it might get stolen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.cdn.fotopedia.com\/flickr-3950937655-hd.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/images.cdn.fotopedia.com\/flickr-3950937655-hd.jpg\" alt=\"bills\" width=\"317\" height=\"210\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">Figure 1. Coins and bills<\/h5>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1265\/1136093061_3a578da8ba_m.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1265\/1136093061_3a578da8ba_m.jpg\" alt=\"four seasons\" width=\"240\" height=\"240\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">Figure 2. Four seasons<\/h5>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3091\/3191983364_0f3dcc1f28_m.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3091\/3191983364_0f3dcc1f28_m.jpg\" alt=\"games with rules\" width=\"240\" height=\"135\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">Figure 3. Games with rules<\/h5>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention1\/files\/2012\/01\/drawing.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-178\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention1\/files\/2012\/01\/drawing.jpg\" alt=\"drawing\" width=\"193\" height=\"290\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">Figure 4. \u00a0Detailed picture of family members<\/h5>\n<h4>Did you know?<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Children at this age are very curious and eager to learn. It is important to foster this curiosity and eagerness to learn by answering their questions, and giving them fun and fulfilling activities to engage in.<\/li>\n<li>Children at this age may start many projects but only finish a few. This is partly because they quickly lose interest in what they are doing, and partly because they may start with an idea for a project and end up with another idea altogether for the same project. This is perfectly typical behaviour at this age, and should not be seen as a cause for concern.<\/li>\n<li>Children at this age tend to ask a lot of \u201cwhy\u201d or \u201chow come\u201d questions. That is because they are starting to understand \u201ccausality.\u201d They are starting to understand that just because two things happen at the same time it doesn\u2019t mean that one causes the <a title=\"For example, at four years of age, Lucy used to think that her naps caused afternoons to happen, because her naps always took place in the afternoon. Now at age eight, she knows that naps and afternoons may be related, but they do not share a 'causal' relationship.\">other<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Children at this age have a well developed <a title=\"Theory of mind is a cognitive skill that develops when the child is around 4 years old. The child is able to have understanding of other\u2019s people perspectives and feelings.\">theory of mind<\/a>\u00a0(see full <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention2\/files\/2012\/12\/MCI_Glossary.pdf\">Glossary<\/a>). They are able to put themselves in someone else\u2019s shoes, and come up with an idea of what that person is thinking about, or how that person may be feeling.<\/li>\n<li>Children at this age are very concrete in the way they view the world. They need to experience things in order to understand them. It is therefore extremely important that they be provided with a lot of opportunities to play and experiment with everyday situations and materials.<\/li>\n<li>Children at this age are refining their discrimination\u00a0skills and delight in their ability to find objects that are hidden or embedded in larger pictures. Giving them games like \u201cWhere\u2019s Waldo\u00a0?\u201d (Fig. 5) is a great idea.<\/li>\n<li>Children at this age like to conduct simple experiments. They may put their shoes or their favourite toy in the freezer, just to see what happens.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/farm3.staticflickr.com\/2601\/4202407384_3cc8ccc6ae_m.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/farm3.staticflickr.com\/2601\/4202407384_3cc8ccc6ae_m.jpg\" alt=\"Where is Waldo?\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0Figure 5. Where is Waldo?<\/h5>\n<h5>see <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention2\/files\/2012\/12\/MCI_References.pdf\">References<\/a><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Children 6 to 8 years old continually develop and grow. Cognitive development (see full Glossary) becomes increasingly complex as children continue to learn how to make sense of the world around them. This is also a busy time for picking up academic skills. Children are learning how to read, write, spell and perform simple mathematical [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":430,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[429876],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2-2-six-to-eight-6-12-cognitive-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/430"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":327,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions\/327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/middlechildhoodintervention1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}