Our eight and nine year old students are in what Piaget calls the Concrete Operational Stage (Cole, Cole & Lightfoot, 2005). This means that our students in a period of declining egocentrism, meaning that they can communicate effectively about more complex topics and ideas, and they also can begin to look outside themselves to think about the perspectives of others (Cole, et al., 2005). According to Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, our students are in the Conventional Stage of morality. They see themselves in relation to the group, are aware of shared feelings and expectations, and care for others (Kohlberg, 1976, as cited in Cole, et al., 2005). In his book on child development, Wood states that at the age of eight and nine, it is appropriate for students to begin looking beyond their community by learning about the world, racial and ethnic diversity, and other cultures (1997). Therefore, a unit focused on another culture, China, is developmentally appropriate.
It is important for our students to experience this lesson on geography because they worked on their neighborhood mapping skills in second grade and this builds upon their total understanding of mapping. It is important for students to have a concept of where continents are located in the world, how far they are away from each other, just like it was important for them to learn about the 5 boroughs that immediately surround them. It is also important for our students to make connections between the geography that they are learning about in China and the people and culture that grow out of the country. This study of geography will open up our discussion about culture and how different types of land or environments help to influence and create the culture and ways of being of the people that live within these boarders.
Meg and Pam,
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