The Eleven-Year-Old at School

Is your son bucking the classroom rules? Is your daughter becoming cliquish with her friends? Click on these links to find out how your eleven-year-old learns and behaves in the classroom.

Vision and Fine Motor Ability

Highly improved, more confident of skills; can explore delicate work (calligraphy, linoleum block printing, Japanese brush stroke); art an important vehicle to greater focus in reading, math.

May complain of headaches, only read for short periods of time; music (portable tapes, listening centers) may aid concentration

Handwork (weaving, braiding, sewing) often a favorite; may aid concentration and serve as emotional outlet for stress

Gross Motor Ability

Love challenge of competition; prefer team sports, improving ability to play as a team

Individual motor skills (throwing, catching, kicking) accelerate rapidly; likes to measure individual best

"Quiet time" in school day useful for physical rest, break from academics and social dynamics

Cognitive Growth

Scientific study, mathematical problem solving, invention, debate accentuate new abilities in deductive reasoning; hands-on learning still critical for most

Focus on self, imagining adult roles makes history, biography, current events exciting

Interest in rules (and challenging rules) makes board games, intellectual puzzles, brain teasers, even tests enjoyable, productive

Reasonably hard work usually challenges rather than defeats; need help with time-management skills, homework

Learns well in cooperative groups

Likes work that feels grown-up -- research, bibliography, interviews, footnotes, math skills

May show interest, facility in languages, music, mechanics; time to explore these areas important

Intellectual interest in older & very young people

Social Behavior

Desire to test limits, rules, an important developmental milestone, not personal attack on teacher; class meetings, peer meditation, student councils, cross-age tutoring highly effective

Teacher attitude, tone, sense of humor critical; prevent them from taking themselves too seriously

Inclusion/exclusion issues require changing structures to adjust social mix

"Saving face" important; not necessary for teacher to "win" arguments; provide private, physical space to think things over

From Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages 4-14 by Chip Wood, © 1997 by Northeast Foundation for Children (800) 360-6332. All rights reserved as permitted under the US copyright Act of 1976. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher.