Middle

Childhood Fact Sheet

Language

During the Middle Childhood Period, language skills advance. Children are
able to understand the meaning of about 10,000 words upon entering school. They
will use advanced conversational strategies, such as shading, changing the topic
during a conversation. Children during this period will use their skills to
communicate clearly for example when using the telephone. Semantic
development in middle childhood seems to rely heavily on the context of the
conversation and childrens ability to figure out the meaning of a word or phrase by
what another person intended to say, rather that a literal interpretation of word
choice (Baumann, Font, Edwards, & Boland, 2005: Cain, Oakhill, & Elbro, 2003), as
cited in Zembar, M., Blume, L., (2010) It is also during this period when children
become better at contributing to a conversation by asking questions.


Cognitive

According to the article, How to Encourage Cognitive Development in Middle
Childhood, Jean Piaget refers to Children in Middle Childhood as in the period of
cognitive development called concrete operational stage. It is during this period
that children become skilled at understanding logical and concrete information.
Cherry, K. (2016) At this age children are able to focus and understand things from
different viewpoints. During the middle childhood years, cognitive abilities such as
concentration and memory improve greatly. They are able to pay attention for a
longer period of time and their selective attention is also better during this period.
It is also during this period that they are able to remember information for a longer
period of time. This will be most helpful during classroom time when children need
to focus and pay attention to the lessons given by the teacher.


Physical

Due to the change in size, proportion and muscle strength in children during
the middle childhood period, it supports new gross-motor skills. Such changes are
running speed more that 18 feet per second. Children during this period displays
continuous, fluid skipping and sideways stepping. Children during this period also
increase their vertical jumping skills from 4 to 12 inches and broad jump from 3 to
over 5 feet and can accurately jump and hop from square to square. Children during
this period will begin to use their whole body for physical movement such as batting
or catching a ball. Skills that involve throwing, kicking speed, distance, and accuracy
are also advancing. Children also during this period will integrate previous skills
into more complex dynamic systems of action, which is mastering of motor skills as
they work as a system, separate abilities blend together to produce more effective
ways of exploring and controlling the environment. Berk, L. (2012)

Atypical Sign
A sign that a child is developing atypically during this period of development
would be the inability to involve their entire body in batting a ball. During this
period the childs balance and flexibility has improved. The improved flexibility and
balance supports refinements in running, jumping, hopping, and ball skills. Berk,
(2012)
Social Factor
Friendships are very important during this stage of development. As
children begin to spend more time with peers, it is important for them to fit in.
Fostering friendships is essential to building long lasting and meaningful
relationships. These influences are crucial to the social development of middle
childhood.
Cultural Factor
Environment is a huge influence in middle childhood development. The
childs environment should be language rich with the tools to enhance learning.
Tools that encourage exploration, hands on materials and visual items make a
difference in how children at this age learn and develop.

Play-Based Strategies
The family can have a game night at home. Playing board games will
influence cognitive learning. For example, if the family played Monopoly, the child
would have to count money and buy real estate. Great fun for the entire family and
the children will continue to learn.
 Another play-based strategy for the family is outdoor activity such as soccer
or basketball. Physical activity promotes healthy living. Physical activity not only
keeps the body healthy and fit, but it keeps the mind healthy as well. According to
various studies, physical activity affects brain structures and brain chemicals and
influences higher cognitive processes such as attention, learning and memory.
Brownrigg, (2006)

Strategy for families
During this period of time I would recommend to parents to encourage their
children to read because reading can improve cognitive abilities including helping
children expand their knowledge and language skills. Reading will help children
build an extensive vocabulary as well as build social skills by spending more time
with family.


Berk, L. E. (2013). Child development. Boston: Pearson Education

Brownrigg, M., (2006). Recreation in Middle Childhood. Retrieved from
http://www.nationalchildrensalliance.com/nca/pubs/2006/Recreation%20in%20
Middle%20Childhood%20-%20An%20Overview.pdf

Cherry, K. (2016) How to Encourage Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood.
Retrieved from verywell.com

Zembar, M., Blume, L., (2010) Language Development in Middle Childhood. Pearson
Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall. Retrieved from
https://www.education.com/reference/article/language-development-
middle-childhood/