1. Child Development Unit 1: The Study of Children
Test Your Knowledge
Use the note taking guide to
List the 5 main areas of child development and what you know about each area.
Bell Ringer

2. 5 Basic Areas of Child Development
Physical
a developmental process that refers to the physical growth of a person's body. This growth affects height, weight, and internal body systems.
Emotional
a development process that refers to the ability to experience, express, and control emotions
Social
a developmental process that refers to the way people relate to others around them
Intellectual
a developmental process that refers to the growth of the brain and the use of mental skills
Moral
developmental process that refers to the ability to know right from wrong.
Identify 5 basic areas of child development (physical, emotional, social, intellectual, moral). 1.4
You learned about each of these on your crossword puzzle.

3. THE STUDY OF HOW A CHILD GROWS
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
THE STUDY OF HOW A CHILD GROWS

4. Benefits of Studying Children
Learn why children feel, think, and act the way they do.
Discover caregivers importance.
Enjoy children more.
Learn about career opportunities.
Name reasons for studying child development. 1.3
To help you to understand why children act, feel and think the way they do.
To help you understand the importance of caregivers.
To gain skills so you will have the knowledge to take care of the needs of children at each stage of development.
To understand yourself and how you have developed into the person you are.
To build for the future: babysitting, teacher’s aide, career working with children or being a parent.
To help people learn how to provide the care and guidance
that can lead to a child’s healthy development
You will learn typical behaviors for each stage of childhood.
Determine goals for the study of child development

5. Childhood is known to be:
a period of rapid development.
A time of dependence on caregivers.
Preparation for adult life.

6. Childhood in the Past:
Consisted of hard work at an early age.

7. PLAY - fewer toys, homemade toys, no video games.
When children did play they had very few toys to play with. The toys they had were homemade.

8. School was held in small, one room schools with children of all ages and abilities.

9. Deadly diseases and poor nutrition was common.

10. Children dressed as miniature adults.

11. The one thing that has not changed
PARENTAL LOVE

12. Changing Times Toys children play with have changed dramatically over time. Do you think children learn more by playing with today’s toys? Explain your answer.
If you were a parent, which of the toys in the photo would you prefer your child play with? Which toy do you think children would prefer? Why?
Write your answers in the boxes on your note taking guide!

13. Effects of Environment
Give examples of what a child would experience in a nurturing vs., non-nurturing environment, List what happens to a child in each of these. Create a T-chart to record your ideas.
Bell Ringer

14. Brain Development
The brain develops connections between nerve cells that allow it to think & control the body in certain ways.
These connections can be encouraged by good nutrition and stimulation (any activity that arouses a baby’s sense of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell).
Babies who receive stimulation develop more quickly and have a more secure self-image.
Brain development can be enhanced by the attention, nurturing and the
opportunities to learn that a child is given.
Most connections occur between birth and three years of age.
Students will complete:
Workbook pages Describing Development and discuss it.

15. The Developing Brain: Neural Connections:
Babies learn a lot in the first three years of life. Newborn babies’ brains contain about 100 billion nerve cells, called neurons. Those neurons have about 50 trillion connections. These connections increase rapidly, and by the age of three, a child has twice as many connections as an adult. As a child matures, unused pathways are removed. This means that babies who live in an environment where they learn more will keep more connections. Science Inquiry: A stimulating environment is important for babies’ brains to develop to their fullest potential.
How would a stimulating environment lead to an increased number of neurological connections?
Babies learn more in a stimulating environment; more learning leads to an increased number of neural connections.
When is an optimal time for Leaning for a child?
Because of the huge number of connections being formed, the first three years of life are an optimal time for learning.
List the five senses then brainstorm at your table ways to stimulate an infant’s senses.
Specifically, sensory stimuli can include a range of experiences, including being physically held, swaddled, exploring a textured object (touch), tasting breast milk or a new vegetable (taste), smelling mother's breast or a rose petal (smell), looking at objects or people (seeing), listening to a parent's voice singing (hearing), or rocking in a swing (motion). All of these experiences occur naturally in the environment, and no special toys, tools, or technology are required to provide the range and variety of experiences a baby naturally seeks out for healthy development. In fact, "there is little scientific evidence that 'special stimulation activities' beyond normal growth- promoting experiences that are typical of most environments lead to advanced' brain development“.
How would a stimulating environment lead to an increased number of neurological connections?
Discuss this at your table and be ready to share your answer with the rest of the class.

16. Look over the worksheet and fill it in as you view the DVD (21 minutes)

17. Development follows five patterns Characteristics of Development:
Development is similar for everyone
It builds on earlier learning
Proceeds at individual rate
Different areas are interrelated
Development continuous throughout life
Development is similar for everyone.
Children go through the same stages in about the same order.
Example – Babies lift their head before they lift their body and stand before
they can walk.
Development builds on earlier learning. It follows a step-by-step pattern,
a sequence (children learn to walk before they run and speak words before they
speak in sentences).
Development proceeds at an individual rate.
The different areas of development are interrelated . Changes take place
in many areas at the same time.
Development is continuous throughout life. The rate of development
changes. Sometimes it is more rapid and sometimes less so.
Development never stops.

18. Influences of Heredity & Environment
Heredity (Nature) provides the foundation for personality.
Passing on of certain characteristics from earlier generations.
Environment (Nurture) is the people, places, and things that surround and influence a person.
Inherited traits can be reinforced or changed by what happens to a child in life.
Describe influences of heredity and environment. 1.6
Heredity is the passing on of certain characteristics from earlier generations.
Blood type, eye color, and hair color are some characteristics.
Heredity – provides the foundation for personality.
You may see a child who has similar traits to a parent – a quiet, studious
father and son, for example. These traits may have been mostly inherited.
Environment is the people, places, and things that surround and influence
a person. Your family, home, friends, and community are part of your
environment.
Inherited traits can be reinforced or changed by what happens to a child
in life. A child may be born shy but due to different experiences he or she may
or may not grow out of it.
In other words, environment makes a difference.

19. Heredity or Environment?
Blood type
Friends
Height
School
Weight
Hair color
Eye color
Temper
Intelligence
Home

20. Which has the stronger influence? Heredity or Environment?
Most scientists and philosophers agree that the two work together.
Give each table a toy appropriate for babies from eight to twelve months (This could be a picture of a toy).
Have each group determine how the toy could help a baby develop mental, physical, and social skills.
Each group should then share their ideas with the class.
May complete: Applying Behavioral Theories
HEREDITY
ENVIRONMENT
YOU

21. Write one sentence stating the conclusions the author draws.
The Role of Self-Esteem in Development
Self-esteem, or self-worth, is the value people place on themselves. Self-esteem plays a role in people’s ability to face and overcome the challenges of each developmental stage, including those of young childhood.
People with low self-esteem often feel that they are failing or constantly disappointing others. Researchers have found a link between low self-esteem and poor school performance, truancy, and criminal behavior.
A sense of self-worth is critical to children’s development. Children who feel good about themselves are more likely to show enthusiasm for learning, form friendships, and make healthy choices. Having a sense of self-worth can help children deal with life’s frustrations and disappointments, as well as its successes.
Good writing draws clear conclusions. Read the "The Role of Self-Esteem in Development“ to yourselves then write one sentence stating the conclusions the author draws.
Sentences will vary, but may be something similar to:
Children with positive a self-esteem are able to face and overcome life's challenges, whereas those with low self-esteem have difficulties. (Ask volunteers to share).
Write one sentence stating the conclusions the author draws.

22. Help Children Develop Self-Esteem
Give praise
Do not be overly critical
Set realistic goals
Encourage new activities
Model self-esteem
Be honest about mistakes
As parents we are often quick to point out the negative and forget to let children know when they are doing well!
Thumbs up if you have you experienced this?

23. Discuss and predict at your table:
Critical Thinking
Discuss and predict at your table:
What might happen to a child if her parent says, "Good job!" for every minor task the child completes.
Critical Thinking
Some people think it is possible for parents to overly praise their children.
Discuss and predict at your table:
What might happen to a child if her parent says, "Good job!“ for every minor task the child completes. Ask for volunteers to share predictions.
The child might not try to do better or reach their full potential if the Parents are giving praise for every minor task.
It might not mean anything to the child if they are getting it all the time. The child might just expect praise for whatever they do.

24. Roots or Wings?
One common saying states: “There are two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots; the other, wings”. Explain how this would relate to child development. Use a school aged child in your answer for examples.
Bell Ringer

25. THE INDIVIDUAL LIFE CYCLE
Death
Conception
Each stage has particular challenges called “developmental tasks”.

26. Each stage has challenges called “developmental tasks”.
Read the slide or page 18 of The Developing Child text and summarize the developmental tasks at each stage of life after childhood using the chart on the note taking guide.
Have students share out information and discuss.

27. Why We Observe Children:
To see their unique personality
To see how one stage leads to the next and understand development.
To adapt activities to meet the child’s needs.
To identify children who have special needs or disabilities.

28. Subjective vs. Objective How To Observe Young Children
Subjective – uses personal feelings and opinions rather than facts.
Objective – uses just the facts! What the observer saw and heard …nothing more!
Most research on young children is based on observation
Objective is much more valuable than subjective
Subjective is based on false assumptions and may be misleading

29. Guidelines for Observing Children
Record only the facts.
Record the facts in the order they occur.
Describe appearance and actions in accurate, vivid detail.
Record every detail without omitting anything.
Record speech exactly.
Do not interpret as you observe.
Do not record anything you do not see.
Use words that describe but do not judge or interpret.

30. What do you think these children are feeling?
1) Happy 2) Sad 3) Bored 4) Scared 5) Excited 6) Mad
What type of observing are we using here? Subjective
Why is it Subjective? Because It’s our opinion.
Remember not to read into what the child might be thinking or feeling when
observing children. Sometimes this might be difficult to do. Write only what you observe such as smiling, frowning, biting lip, hiding face with hands.
Research the types of observation records and summarize the content using the chart on the note-taking guide. Can use pages 22 &23 of text also.
Running record- Writing down for a set period everything observed about a particular person.
Anecdotal Record- The behavior recorded all has to do with the same issue (how a child behaved at lunch, on the playground, etc.)
Frequency Count- Tally of how often a certain behavior occurs.
Developmental Checklist- Identifies skills or behaviors that a child of a certain age should master – just check off the skills that you observe.

31. How to Interpret Observations:
The analysis an observer forms and expresses about what was observed is called an interpretation.
Anyone who observes children must maintain confidentiality to protect privacy.
Observations are usually short and for this reason your interpretation may not be accurate.
Have you ever observed something later to find out it was not what
you thought?
Show students a short video of some young children at play.
Or some other video.
Write a subjective and objective observation of the video clip.
Have a few students share their observations.
Discuss and compare the two observations. How did they differ?

32. Careers that involve working with children.
Child care professional
Teacher
Aide
Coach
Social worker
Foster parent
Video about Careers with Children
Assign: Working with Children – Occupational Interests to determine your strengths and values
Assign: Workbook pages 6 and 9