Stages of Development

Human development is divided into stages by age: infancy (0-2), early childhood (2-6), later childhood (6-12), adolescence (12-19) and adulthood. CTET Paper 1 concerns later childhood, roughly Classes 1-5, a stage of steady physical growth, rapid concept building and strong peer influence.

The five stages in brief

Later childhood — the CTET stage

Because Paper 1 certifies teaching for Classes 1-5, later childhood (also called the gang age or the elementary school age) is the stage to know in detail.

• Physical — growth is slow and even; body proportions steady; energy is high and children need movement, not long sitting.
• Cognitive — the child can reason about concrete objects, classify, seriate and conserve. Abstract examples fail; real objects work.
• Social — same-sex groups form, rules of games matter enormously, and peer approval starts to outweigh adult approval.
• Emotional — emotions become less explosive and more controlled than in early childhood; fear of failure and of ridicule appears.
• Moral — the child obeys rules because they are rules and expects strict, equal punishment for all.

Growth in later childhood

Height and weight rise slowly and evenly through Classes 1-5, roughly 5-7 cm and 2-3 kg a year, so the class looks physically uniform. Girls often begin their growth spurt near the end of Class 5, a year or two before boys. Milk teeth are replaced during this stage, which is why speech may change briefly around Classes 2-3.

What a teacher does with this

Three classroom decisions follow directly from the stage:

• Use concrete material — bundles of sticks for place value, real coins for money — because concrete reasoning is the stage's strength.
• Use group work and games with rules — the gang tendency becomes an asset instead of indiscipline.
• Protect children from public comparison; at this stage a sarcastic remark before peers does lasting damage to effort.

✗ Class 4 children can follow a purely verbal explanation of fractions.  |  ✓ Class 4 children need paper folding or a chapati cut into parts before the symbol 1/2 means anything.

Frequently asked questions

Which stage of development do CTET Paper 1 students belong to?

Later childhood, about 6 to 12 years, covering Classes 1 to 5 and the start of the middle years. It is marked by slow steady growth, concrete logical thinking and strong same-sex peer groups.

Why is later childhood called the gang age?

Because children of this stage form tight same-sex groups with their own rules, codes and loyalties. Belonging to the group and following its rules becomes more important than pleasing an adult.

What is the main difference between early and later childhood?

Early childhood thinking is egocentric, imaginative and tied to appearance; later childhood thinking is logical about concrete things, and social life shifts from parallel play to organised group play with rules.