School age kid: School-age children development Information | Mount Sinai

In high school, students learn:

• English (classic literature, essay writing, and critical analysis)
• Mathematics (algebra, geometry, calculus)
• Science (biology, chemistry, physics)
• Social studies (US history, world history, and civics) 

Some students can take advanced classes and prepare for work or college. High schools also have clubs, sports, work-study arrangements, and other activities. 

There are names for students in each grade:

• 9th grade: freshman 
• 10th grade: sophomore
• 11th grade: junior  
• 12th grade: senior

Secondary School

A secondary school is an alternative option to a high school. It covers grades 9th to 12th. It offers technical and vocational training, such as carpentry and automotive technology.

Post-high school education

After getting a high school diploma, students can go to college. Students need to find a college or university and learn the requirements. You will have to apply and pay tuition. If you need help paying for college or university, there are scholarships for immigrants and refugees.

Class placement

Students can be split up by their learning level in different classes. This is more common in middle school and high school when students attend classes by subject with different teachers. Some levels of classes are harder and some are easier. 

Class placement can be decided based on:

• How well the student understands English or their test scores
• Parent/guardian recommendations
• Standardized test scores
• Willingness to complete challenging assignments
• Student interest or motivation
• Teacher or counselor recommendation
• Samples of student work

The names of the classes sometimes describe the level of difficulty. The names can be different depending on the school.

• Classes that are easier or use easier English levels can be called:
  • Inclusion
  • Basic skills
• Classes at a typical level for the grade can be called:
  • Regular
  • Non-honors
• Classes at a higher or advanced level can be called:
  • Honors
  • GTE (Gifted and talented education)
  • Advanced Placement (AP)
  • IB (International Baccalaureate)

Grade level placement for students new to the USA

Grade level placement means deciding which grade a student will start in when they move to the USA. 

Students may take some tests before the start of the school year or at the very beginning of the school year. The tests might be written or with an adult reading the questions to the student. It can be different depending on the school.

Many refugee students may have missed school while they were in camp or fleeing their country. They may be at different grade levels than a typical American student of the same age. Some students might be at a high-grade level but do not speak English yet. Those students may have trouble in harder classes until they learn English better. 

If you think your child is in the wrong grade, you can talk to the teacher, principal, or the school staff who tested and placed your child.

• Ask, “What was your reasoning?” The school can help you understand their decision.
• Explain why you think the placement is wrong. They may be able to change the placement if they agree with your reasons.

More from USAHello

Primary school age 7–10 years

• Tags:
• Expert advice
• 7-12 years
• primary school age

Your baby has already met his first teacher and classmates, and is gradually mastering life in a new, “school” rhythm with lessons and first homework.

At the age of seven or ten, the leading activity becomes educational. How successfully the child adapted to learning depends on his subsequent success. In addition, there is a sharp jump in physical, intellectual and psychological development. Completely new social roles appear that were unknown to the child before.

Traditionally, I am a Parent giving ten recommendations to parents of children between the ages of seven and ten.

Development of a child at 7–10 years old

Physical development of a child

A child at the age of seven to ten years becomes strong, enduring and dexterous, and needs regular exercise. Understands and accepts the rules of team games and the requirements of the coach when playing sports. Easily performs sweeping movements. Subtle movements become clearer towards the end of primary school age.

Intellectual development of a child

At this age, children are already successfully mastering the school curriculum. In the lower grades, they learn to generalize and get acquainted with various abstract concepts, comparing and distinguishing them from each other. Toward the end of the period of primary school age, the child already knows how to independently reason, analyze, draw conclusions, becomes capable of reflection – an assessment of his internal state. He can, by an effort of will, focus on performing a certain task and think when it is necessary, and not only when he is interested in something or just likes it.

Psychological development of a child

A child at primary school age is aware of his belonging to society, and tries on many new roles: student, classmate, friend, citizen. He knows how and loves to communicate with adults and peers, taking into account not only his own interests, but also the interests of other people. Able to evaluate actions and events. Needs the support and approval of an adult: a teacher, a parent. Becomes more independent and proactive. At this age, the processes of excitation and inhibition begin to level off, and the child calms down more easily and reacts to failures more easily.

10 Tips for Parents of Primary School Children

As a Parent, I offer you ten tips for raising a child of primary school age that will help them navigate their new life successfully.

1. Get regular exercise and daily walks in the fresh air

A seven to ten year old child experiences a growth spurt. For harmonious development, it is necessary that a good physical activity be present in the life of a younger student on a regular basis: active walks, sports activities in sections or a dance circle. A child should spend at least one and a half to two hours a day in the fresh air.

2. Assess your child’s readiness for school work

Consult with a competent psychologist who will assess the child’s readiness for school. Not all children of the same age have the same level of psychophysical and emotional development. Some will be bored in the classroom because of the simplicity of tasks and requirements, while others may find it unbearably difficult. By knowing your child’s strengths and weaknesses, you will be better able to help him with his homework.

3. Pay attention to the relationship between the child and the main teacher

In primary school, the child continues to lay the foundation for his future personality. And what kind of teacher a younger student will get plays a big role in its development.

Temperament, appearance, even the pace of the teacher’s speech may not suit one child, and, on the contrary, will delight another.

For example, if your child withdraws into himself when his voice is raised, then he will most likely find it difficult to perceive a teacher with a loud voice. Or your child prefers to do everything “with feeling, with sense, with arrangement”, and the teacher is quick and active: these two temperaments can give rise to misunderstanding and learning difficulties. This does not mean at all that it is necessary to change the class: such situations rather show parents where it is necessary to additionally teach the child to communicate with people of different temperaments.

4. Awaken and encourage your child’s interest in reading

At the early school age, the child shows interest in reading and reads independently. Many parents believe that at this age the child should read everything on his own, but in this case, one should not be surprised that interest in reading may disappear.

Interest must be maintained. Go to libraries with your son or daughter, buy books together, exchange books with friends. Buy your child those books that fascinate him. Younger students have visual-figurative thinking, so it is important to choose books with good illustrations. To draw attention to a particular literature, proofread interesting episodes with an intriguing plot, funny puns, and poems. Be a role model and read for yourself at home.

If your child is interested in toy catalog descriptions, superhero comics, or fashion magazine articles, it’s a sign that you’re likely to have a thoughtful book lover in your middle school age.

5. Encourage your child to play and involve him in play

In early school age, play is still vital. Ideally, she accompanies the child at school and at home.

Children perceive information visually and through action; they are not able to hold their attention for a long time on words that are not supported visually or by action. The range of games is expanding, along with role-playing games, children are showing interest in games with clear rules: board games, team games and team sports.

In addition, the game helps to preserve the childish spontaneity, looseness, which are often lost under the yoke of new life circumstances and psychological experiences at the age of seven.

You can teach your child to play chess at home. This will develop logic in a younger student, develop strategic thinking and teach tactics.

6. Keep Your Son or Daughter Safe

Your child’s life is going through a lot of change and excitement. And you are his “main adult”. Make sure that a nutritious and healthy dinner, comfort, calm atmosphere, and sincere conversations await him at home. Be caring and support the child in external conflicts, but do not solve them for him.

7. Keep track of when your child goes to bed

A daily routine will help you avoid fatigue during the school period. Remember that an early rise requires an early sleep.

If your child is studying on the second shift, consider when it is more convenient and efficient for him to do his homework. Postpone additional classes in the first half of the day to free up the rest of the evening for relaxation and family communication, walks and games.

8. Strengthen the strong-willed and moral qualities of the child

At primary school age, willpower begins to strengthen, moral character traits are formed. The upbringing of the will and moral ideals should come not only from the side of the school, but also from the side of the family.

If you want your child to be goal-oriented, responsible, honest, responsive, fair, then teach him this by your own example.

9. Encourage independence in school and at home

Voluntary attention is formed in primary school age. The child, who has previously achieved the goals that adults set for him, learns to set goals on his own. Thus, the son or daughter learns to learn.

The same goes for self-service. A child at the age of seven or ten is able to control himself whether he brushed his teeth, whether he collected a briefcase, whether he did his homework. It is also important that the child has his own household chores and fulfills them.

10. Follow the child’s interests

Encourage the child’s interests and inventions. Rich imagination, interest in various areas of life often cannot find development or develop insufficiently in an overly theorized modern school, which is why it is so important for parents to support the child’s creative interests and guide him along the right path, revealing his abilities and talents.

Ekaterina Korobkova

Your family

Each person is individual, that’s why it’s not easy for two different people with a child to get along under the same roof. This test will help you look at your family from the outside and get some recommendations from the experts of the portal I am a parent.

Pass the test

The development of a school-age child

The psychology of children of primary school age is the period in which the main laying in the development of the child’s psyche is carried out, therefore it is important to monitor how the child develops, because successfully acquired knowledge, habits and moral attitudes will further form a full-fledged personality.

What is special about the child. Primary school age is defined from 6 to 10 years old, i.e. from the period of the child’s education in primary school. The child’s relationship with society changes, as he becomes a social subject with significant responsibilities, evaluating the child’s learning and activities. During this period, as a rule, the authority of an adult is lost. And the influence of peers, on the contrary, plays a very important role, the child begins to reason during this period, he has a vocabulary, he focuses his attention on more and more specific objects and situations, he knows how to independently distribute and switch, as well as be stable.

It should also be remembered that there is such a thing as a crisis of seven years. This is the period when the child is clearly aware of the significance of his own “I” and all experiences have meaning – he can accurately characterize the state – I’m angry, I’m hungry, I’m good, I’m kind, I’m evil, etc., and understand what it is exactly applies to him.

Crisis of seven years, the mannerism of the child is often expressed, that is, the child can show something of himself, or, on the contrary, hide something. May hide something from adults – for example, when he is ill or has some problems.

With the appearance of the status of a schoolchild, the child acquires some independence, he develops corresponding moral values, which he tries to adhere to. Children begin to realize their individuality, try to distinguish their uniqueness from the rest, often strive to lead in the society of their peers. This is also manifested in the fact that children are looking for themselves in hobbies, activities, circles, they participate in group forms of activity.

But due to a number of reasons, children often try to avoid failures, being motivated to achieve certain successes. Such behavior should be controlled by an adult, so that the guidelines for the behavior and actions of the child, in the future, do not lead to fear of a change in the attitude of others.

Thus, a schoolchild is very critical and reacts sharply to assessments from adults; a child of this age is emotionally unstable, he may experience frequent mood swings.

Developing memory in children

Memory is the perception of impressions that a person has about the environment, and, if possible, these impressions are fixed and, if necessary, reproduced. Memory is the basis of a person’s ability to perceive, store, reproduce the experience gained in the course of a person’s life.

The memory of schoolchildren is a kind of transition from involuntary and direct to voluntary and indirect memorization. Children between the ages of 6 and 14 actively develop rote memory for logical units of information that are unrelated.

The process of growing up a child entails the development of awareness in actions that are directed to accurate and high-quality memorization, as well as to accurately reproduce the material retained in memory. Children most often attach importance to impressions that are received by visual, auditory or motor means. Moreover, the younger the child, the more directly manifest feelings of dissatisfaction or pleasure from what he saw, did or heard. The pedagogical impact on children of primary preschool age is precisely based on these feelings.

At different ages of the child, other methods of memory management, with the help of which memory is improved during learning. A significant contribution to development, first of all, is made by parents and teachers.

Memory management techniques include:

• repetition. The child repeats each memorized word, and then repeats the words in groups;
• organization. The child remembers and establishes a relationship with words, with the help of associations;
• comprehension. Closer to 11 years old, the child can meaningfully repeat the remembered paragraph and draw conclusions from it;
• imaging. Remembering new information in a child will be much easier if you invite him to use some mental images that are similar in some features or non-existent features;
• search for information in memory. The child remembers some information, but still looks for several options to check the correctness.
• creating scripts. In order to keep regularly repeating events in the child’s memory, events can be organized as a set of scenarios.

Peculiarities of children’s psychology

Early preschool age is the most important period in a child’s life.
Features of children of primary school age, first of all, are due to the fact that during this period, their own “I” begins to be laid, self-consciousness develops. Enrichment with knowledge, at this age, contributes to the intensive development of intellectual abilities, self-realization and creative activity. Regarding physical development, this is the calmest age. There is a uniform increase in height and weight, endurance develops. The skeletal system is at the stage of formation.

This period is characterized by the improvement of the brain – that is, the development of the analytical and systematic functions of the cortex, changes in processes such as excitation and inhibition. The process of inhibition becomes more and more powerful, although the process of excitation still predominates, and younger students are highly excitable and impulsive.

The most important goal of a child is learning. The child seeks to acquire and assimilate new knowledge, skills, and also seeks to accumulate systematic information about the world around him, nature and society as a whole.

Raising a sense of self-worth in children

Raising children of primary school age is of great importance in their subsequent development as a person. The correct laying of moral values ​​and attitudes in life will bring the child, in the future, a strong foundation for his life. The task of parents is to correctly set the benchmarks.

For example, it is good if a child perceives his successes and failures, that is, objectively. The child must, first of all, be confident in his abilities, be a man of his word, who knows his own worth, on whom you can rely on everything. Increased self-esteem, or vice versa – reduced, will not be a good incentive to achieve certain results.
The correct upbringing of children of primary preschool age also implies a systematic emphasizing of merits. In other words, praise is the personal success of the child, which greatly stimulates the baby. Especially – if this is the praise of the parents.

Equally important is setting the right example for the child. After all, this age is the age of imitation. The child imitates people he respects. Most actions, negative emotions, harsh words or actions are the result of imitation. You should always remember this and set a good example.

It would be good to instill at this age to say the word “no” to actions that the child does not want to do. That is, those actions that will harm the child – cigarettes, booze, drugs.

It is important to instill in your child that the safest place on earth is his home. And also, the main responsibility of parents is to teach the child the elementary basics of safety. The child must be aware that not everything in the world is perfect and not all people are kind. Therefore, one should be extremely careful on the street, in everyday life. And if something happens, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

I would like to sum up that a lot of things parents should instill and educate in a child during the most crucial period in life. After all, this is the foundation for the rest of his life, laying at this age, will significantly soften the teenage period, and will also help develop a full-fledged personality in the child. The main thing is to give, if possible, as much time as possible to the child, to communicate with him, to help him, to know himself and those around him. Give him confidence in his own need and his place in this world.