Ages and Stages: Selecting the Right Activities

How are you at matching the right activity with the age or interests of your audience? This is especially important when working with children!

Following is a generalized overview of developmental stages children go through from kindergarten through high school and finally adults. Children develop at their own pace and all characteristics will not be observed in all children at the same age or at the same stage of development; however, the order of the stages does not change much. Use these as a starting point for selecting hands-on activities appropriate for your audience. Sources: National Park Service; Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation Best Practices; Child Psychology, Brian Sutton-Smith; and Adolescents Development and Relationships, Mollie S.Smart and Russell C. Smart.

Pre-School (ages 3-4) | Kindergarten - 3rd Grade (ages 5-9) | 4th - 6th Grades (ages 6-9) | 7th - 9th Grades (ages 13-15) | 10th - 12th Grades (ages 16 - 18) | Adults (ages 18+)

Pre-School

Three- to four year olds are discovering the world around them. They may be shy or eager but like to be reassured and helpful. Three- and four-year-olds need to be involved in a simple game, song or activity. For example, pretending to be animals and making animal homes is especially fun, or singing a song about animal babies. See the Kindergarten - 3rd Grade section for more ideas for 5 - 6 year olds.

Ages 3-5 (Pre-School/ Kindergarten)

Physical development:

• Very energetic and active
• Gross motor skills developing (running, jumping, bicycle riding)

Intellectual:

• Learning through senses
• Developing vocabulary
• Limited understanding of time
• Unexplainable fears
• Action precedes thought
• Short attention span

Social:

• Self-centered
• Varying degrees of independence
• Relationship with adults – most primary care person(s)

Suggested Activities:

• Storytelling, games, puppetry, nature walks, songs, finger plays

What they can do:

• Use crayons and scissors, write their name, like to handle larger objects - very tactile

Kindergarten – 3rd Grade

Five- to nine-year-olds are optimistic, eager, and excited about learning. They have short attention spans. Five-year-olds can sit still and listen for 10-15 minutes; nine-year-olds for 20-30 minutes. They still think and learn primarily by experience. Rather than simply giving instructions verbally, demonstrate the activity. They enjoy doing, want to be active, and are always in motion. They are more interested in working on a project than completing it. Children this age need rules to guide their behavior, information to make good choices and decisions, and consistency once the rule is established. Provide small group activities and lots of opportunity for them to be active.

Ages 6-9 (Elementary grades 1 - 3)

Physical development:

• Coordination improving
• Fine motor skills developing (writing, keyboarding)

Intellectual:

• Increased awareness of surroundings
• Active learning/hands-on
• Able to classify objects
• Understanding change
• Cause and effect
• Learning to follow directions

Social:

• Pair relationships – best friends
• Relationships with other adults
• Trusting
• Outgoing, busy
• Blaming and tattling common
• Believe things are alive and have feelings

Suggested Activities:

• Demonstrations, hands-on activities, structured role playing, guided discovery, scavenger hunts, cooperative learning, simulations

What they can do:

• Participate in organized sports, writing skills improving, complete sentences and paragraphs, imagination, simple rules for games, learn

Ages 10-12 (Upper Elementary grades 4 -6)

This is a period of slowed physical growth when a lot of energy goes into learning. Children 10-12 years old love to learn facts, especially strange ones, and they want to know how things work and what sources of information are available to them. They still think in terms of concrete objects and handle ideas better if they are related to something they can do or experience with their senses. They are beginning to move toward understanding abstract ideas. They still look to adults for approval and need guidance to stay on task and to achieve their best performance. They often are surprised at what they can accomplish, especially with encouragement from an adult.

Physical development:

• Wide variation in development
• Gross motor skills developed
• Fine motor skills steadily developing
• Tires easily

Intellectual:

• Concerned with things rather than ideas
• Attention span 15-20 minutes per method
• Ability to verbalize curiosities
• Begins to contrast present with past
• Able to draw conclusions
• Personal values and opinions beginning to develop

Social:

• Learning to cooperate; enjoy group activities
• Boys/girls segregate; regard each other as silly
• Competitive
• Sensitive- fear of not being liked

Suggested Activities:

• Hands-on activities, self-guided discovery, group discussions, hands-on activities, structured role plays, problem solving, group activities, simulations

What they can do:

• Sports related activities, can think about objects that are not in front of them, can write clearer, reason and problem solve

Ages 13-15 (Middle School or Junior High)

Youth 13-15 years of age are in a period characterized by much “storm and stress.” Although they look older, most remain emotionally and intellectually immature. Young teens move from concrete to more abstract thinking. They can be very self-conscious, and a smaller group usually is less intimidating. Help them get over inferiority complexes by concentrating on developing skills. They are ready for in-depth, longer learning experiences. They can begin to deal with abstractions and the future. Fitting in with friends is a controlling influence.

Physical development:

• Rapid growth and development
• Fine motor coordination
• Wide variation in developing maturity
• Onset of puberty

Intellectual:

• Interested in ideas
• Beginning to think abstractly
• Longer attention span
• Looking for new ways to do things
• Eager to contribute in small group discussions
• Needs guidance and focus for learning

Social:

• Tendency to question authority
• Self-conscious
• Easily embarrassed
• Needs approval
• Developing an interest in the opposite sex

Suggested Activities:

• Hands-on activities, self-guided discovery, group discussions, hands-on activities, structured role plays, problem solving, group activities, simulations

What they can do:

• Work in groups, write well, can organize information, think in the abstract, can learn in social situations

Ages 16-18 (High School)

High school students are future-oriented and can engage in abstract thinking. Teenagers continue to be group-oriented, and belonging to the group motivates much of their behavior and actions. They have more time constraints such as work, social ties, or sports interests. They want to help plan their own programs. Involve them in the planning process. Use the discussion method when working with them. Instead of providing detailed instructions for how to put something together, provide suggestions and several alternatives.

Physical development:

• Rapid physical changes
• Great diversity in strength and size
• Advancing sexual maturity
• Periods of high energy, periods of fatigue

Intellectual:

• Ability to think abstractly
• Full comprehension of historical time
• Concern for reasons and proof
• Desire to do something well
• Forms own opinions
• Most have not made the connection between learning and life's experiences

Social:

• Vulnerable
• Self-conscious and concerned about appearance
• Needs peer group support, fearful of "looking stupid"
• Fear of being singled out for attention
• Tendency to question authority
• Need to interact with adults as adults

Suggested Activities:

• Demonstrations, debates, open-ended discovery, open-ended role playing, open-ended
  discussions, problem solving, hands-on activities with real equipment

What they can do:

• Handle short lectures, think independently, think about the parts of a whole, argue a position, analyze information, synthesize and evaluate information.

Ages 18+ (Adults)

Physical development:

• Slow physical changes
• Great diversity in strength and size
• Advancing to Golden Age with limiting abilities

Intellectual:

• Ability to think abstractly
• Full comprehension of historical time
• Sensitive to multiple points of view
• Forms own opinions
• Eagerness to learn

Social:

• Secure in who they are and less inhibited
• Like the opportunity to interact with people that share their interests
• Speaks out on personal beliefs
• Vast experience base

Suggested Activities:

• Demonstrations, debates, open-ended discovery, open-ended role playing, open-ended
  discussions, problem solving, hands-on practice with real equipment.

What they can do:

• Handle lectures, think independently, think about the parts of a whole, argue a position, analyze information, synthesize and evaluate information, group discussions. Bring their own experience to the discussions.