Student Writing Exercise/Activities
Middle Childhood

Physical and Cognitive Development

Debate: The Usefulness of Standardized Tests

Due Date: _________________________

Name: __________________________________________ ID# _______________________

Course: __________________________________ Course/Section # __________________

Research:

Although your instructor will assign one side of the debate to you to argue, your paper should cover both sides. Use books, journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles, and the internet to find information on the usefulness of standardized. Consider the points of view of the school system, the teachers, parents, and students. Consider the criticisms that the tests are biased in many ways and are given too much power in decision-making. Remember that your focus is on the use of standardized tests in the elementary and middle school grades.

Write a Reaction Paper:

Write a 4-6 page paper on your findings. Your paper should include an introduction, a summary of the main points in the debate over the usefulness of standardized tests in elementary and middle school grades, and a concluding summary paragraph.

Plan Your Presentation:

Meet with the other student(s) on your side of the argument Share your ideas and determine your strongest arguments. Decide who will give the presentation and make some notes.

Class Debate:

Each side will be given 5 minutes to present their side of the argument. Those arguing that standardized tests are useful and valuable will present their side first. There will be a 3 minute break after the two sides have presented their cases. During this 3 minute break the rest of the class will write individual a one page reaction papers describing their own position on the issue. The two groups will spend the 3 minutes outlining their rebuttal statements. Each group will have 3 minutes to give a rebuttal statement, with the those supporting the use of standardized tests presenting first.

Class Vote:

When the debate has ended the class will vote on their position on the use and value of standardized tests.

Research: Childhood Physical and Cognitive Concerns

Due Date: _________________________

Name: __________________________________________ ID# _______________________

Course: __________________________________ Course/Section # __________________

Your instructor will assign one of the following childhood physical and cognitive concerns for you to research:

attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

visual impairment deafness and hearing impairment
asthma HIV/AIDS
learning disabilities mental retardation

Use a wide range of sources to help you understand the problem and its affects. Medical resources written for lay readers will be helpful along with articles in magazines and items on the internet. There are organizations that specialize in helping children and their families cope with these problems and they often have brochures and videotapes that would provide useful information for this assignment. There may be a local chapter of a key organization in your area -- check the phone book and/or the internet for addresses and phone numbers.

What do I turn in?

You will turn in a 5-7 page paper which gives the frequency of the concern, warning signs and symptoms, explains any known causes of the problem, how the problem is treated, how this concern may affect a child'

s school environment, and what parents can do to help the child. The names, addresses, and phone numbers of organizations in your area that provide assistance to parents and children facing this problem should also be listed.

Specifics of the paper:

Psychosocial Development

Debate: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Single Parenting

Due Date: _________________________

Name: __________________________________________ ID# _______________________

Course: __________________________________ Course/Section # __________________

The debate here is over benefits and/or disadvantages of single parenting. Consider the viewpoint of the single parent (whether the mother or the father) and the viewpoint of the child or children involved.

Research:

Although your instructor will assign one side of the debate to you to argue, your paper should cover both sides. Use books, journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles, and the internet to find information on the advantages and disadvantages of single parenting. You can interview people who are single parents or who grew up in single parent homes for their thoughts on this.

Write a Reaction Paper:

Write a 4-6 page paper on your findings. Your paper should include an introduction, a summary of the main points in the debate, and a concluding summary paragraph.

The paper:

 Plan Your Presentation:

Meet with the other student(s) on your side of the argument Share your ideas and determine your strongest arguments. Decide who will give the presentation and make some notes.

Class Debate:

Each side will be given 5 minutes to present their side of the argument. Those arguing that has greater disadvantages will present first. There will be a 3 minute break after the two sides have presented their cases. During this 3 minute break the rest of the class will write individual a one page reaction papers describing their own position on the issue. The two groups will spend the 3 minutes outlining their rebuttal statements. Each group will have 3 minutes to give a rebuttal statement, with the those arguing against single parenting presenting first.

Class Vote:

When the debate has ended the class will vote on their position on the issue: (1) the advantages of single parenting outnumber the disadvantages or (2) there are more disadvantages to single parenting than advantages.

Interviews: Competition in Middle Childhood

Due Date: _________________________

Name: __________________________________________ ID# _______________________

Course: __________________________________ Course/Section # __________________

The goal of this project is to acquaint you with a long running debate over the benefit and/or harm of competition among children.

Gather Data: Gather Data:

Interview four coaches and/or parents of children involved in competitive activities and four children who participate in competitive activities. These activities could be teams sports, such as soccer, baseball, or football, or individual sports such as track, gymnastics, or even beauty contests.

Write out a series of questions ahead of time. Take a tape recorder or plan to take notes on the interview. Ask the adults explain how they feel about the positive and negative aspects of competition. Ask what they do to minimize the negative aspects of competition. Ask the children what they like and dislike about their sport. Ask whether they feel pressure to win.

Write up Your Observations:

Write a 6 - 8 page paper about your interviews. Begin by introducing the topic and telling the reader which types of competition your paper will focus on. The body of the paper should present the adults' views and the children's views on competition. The conclusion of the paper should give an overall summary of the arguments for and against children's involvement in competitive activities.

The paper:

Volunteer Work: Helping Children

Due Date: _________________________

Name: __________________________________________ ID# _______________________

Course: __________________________________ Course/Section # __________________

Arrange to spend some time helping children between the ages of 6 and 12 year old. You can do this through a volunteer office at your college or university, or by calling various agencies you can find listed in a phone book. Some suggestions would be to help in an after-school program, a literacy program, or help children with special needs.

Write About Your Experience:

This paper will be written in stages. It is designed to help you process your thoughts about your experience.

  1. Before the Experience: Describe what you think the children and the environment will be like. Obviously you are just guessing, but how do you imagine the location, the supervisors, and the children to be.

  2. After the Experience: Describe the physical environment in which you volunteered. Was it a pleasant place to be? Describe the child or children you worked with. How did the child or children respond to you?

  3. Your Impressions: Did you enjoy yourself? Do you think you will ever try something like this again? Is there anything the agency or the supervisors could have done to make your experience better?

The paper:

Survey: Self Description

Due Date: _________________________

Name: __________________________________________ ID# _______________________

Course: __________________________________ Course/Section # __________________

Interviews:

Interview four male and four female children between the ages of 6 and 10 years old about their self-concept.

  1. Ask them to describe themselves. This may be a difficult concept and you may need to elaborate by asking something like "Suppose I know someone else you age and I want to tell them about you. What should I say?"

  2. Ask them "If you could change anything about yourself what would you change?"

Analyze Your Data:

First consider each child individually.

  1. What was the main focus for each child? For example, did a particular child emphasize physical characteristics? material possessions? personality traits? relationship factors?

  2. Were the descriptive terms mostly positive, negative, or neutral?

  3. Based on your observation, would you say the child'

    s descriptions were fairly accurate or do you sense the child was imagining himself or herself to be someone else while answering the questions?

Secondly, consider the children in groups.

  1. Did you notice any gender differences?

  2. Did you notice any age differences?

Write up Your Report:

  1. Introduction: Introduce the topic of self concept in middle childhood.

  2. Participants: Give the age and sex of the eight children.

  3. Methodology: Explain how you surveyed the children

  4. Results: Give answers to the questions listed under the heading Analyze Your Data.

  5. Conclusions: What did you learn about self-concept through this investigation?

Specifics of the paper:

Project: Children's Books About Divorce

Due Date: _________________________

Name: __________________________________________ ID# _______________________

Course: __________________________________ Course/Section # __________________

Gather Data:

Visit your local library or bookstore to look at children's books written for children about divorce. Pick out three books to read and analyze. You should pick books that are written to help children understand and cope with divorce in their own family.

Analyze the Data:

Answer the following questions for each of the three books:

  1. Summarize the basic plot of the story.

  2. Is divorce presented in a way children between the ages of 6 and 10 years old could understand? Is the story too complex or too simple?

  3. Are emotions addressed in a way that helps the child?

  4. Are the issues of cause or blame addressed in a way that helps the child?

  5. What main points would an alert child get from this book?

  6. Is the story gender biased or culturally biased?

  7. Would you recommend this story to a child in a divorcing family?

Write up Your Results:

Your paper should have an introduction discussing what children can learn about divorce from reading these stories. The body of the paper should describe the three stories using the first five questions listed above. The conclusion should include an evaluation of the stories (questions six and seven).

The paper:

Research: Adjusting to School

Due Date: _________________________

Name: __________________________________________ ID# _______________________

Course: __________________________________ Course/Section # __________________

The goal of this project is the explore what parents and teachers can do to encourage a smooth transition into first grade for their child and what to do for the child who develops a school phobia.

Gather Data:

Gather information on the topics of adjusting to first grade and school phobia by searching through books on parenting, journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles, and using the internet.

Write up Your Findings:

You should incorporate your findings into a paper with the following sections:

  1. Introduction: Introduce the topics of adjusting to first grade and school phobias.

  2. Expectations: Highlight the challenges and expectations placed on a child who is new to the first grade classroom.

  3. Encouraging a Smooth Transition: Describe what parents and teachers can do to make the transition to first grade as painless as possible.

  4. School Phobia: Describe what parents and teachers can do to help when the child is particularly resistant and/or scared of the first grade classroom.

  5. Conclusion: Summarize your main points and emphasize the importance of a successful first grade year.

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