The Developing column on the continua addresses children’s development during the ages of 5, 6 and 7 years of age. We know that children process and assimilate information at different rates; thus, it is typical to see the skills listed in this column demonstrated by children in this age range.

Children who are currently operating in this column are able to work on new concepts with intent and increased perseverance. They are more capable of documenting their work and are starting to watch and listen to the varying ideas of others. They are well into expanding their number sense through deepened place value activities and beginning to learn formal algorithms to represent their work. The idea of assigning a value to an item (one block is worth 9) is becoming more familiar, yet they remain most comfortable seeing one block as representing the number one.

Socially, students at this level are working at a concrete level of understanding. They search for things to make sense and are starting to rely more on rules to guide their behavior and work.