Age 8 Takeaways

Incoming 3rd graders are typically eight years old, each progressing through a range of characteristics that should be considered. When thinking about 3rd grade lessons, keep in mind the typical abilities and characteristics of not only eight year olds, but how those needs change as they transition to nine.
Favorite Themes for children this age:
  • ​Our Neighborhood, our community (interdependence)
  • Community institutions (bank, newspapers, radio, etc.)
  • Long ago or far away (but not both) 
  • Nature topics (trees, rocks, animals, etc.)
  • Cultural and racial diversity
Yardsticks is a fantastic resource that offers age-by-age characteristics of typical child development. These general indicators are helpful to be aware of as you develop curriculum and help children grow. I have included characteristics that I find helpful when thinking specifically about art curriculum, but there is much more included for each age. I highly recommend reading the entire book.​

Drawing on decades of educational experience and a wealth of research, Yardsticks invites every adult who teaches or cares for children to celebrate the incredible developmental journey that occurs from ages four through fourteen. Combining easy-to-access information about the cognitive, social-emotional, and physical characteristics unique to each age with practical advice for how to apply this knowledge, Yardsticks offers parents and educators a foundation for helping children grow and thrive.
Cognitive Growth:
Eight Year-Olds Growth Patterns -
  • have limited attention span but do become engrossed in the activity at hand; love to socialize at the same time
  • Industrious, impatient, and full of ideas; work quickly and often take on more than they can handle
  • Can use manipulatives to explain their thinking and problem solving in concrete ways
  • Beginning to master handwriting, handcrafts, computers, and drawing
In the Classroom - 
  • Vary industrious, but often exaggerate their own ability and have trouble knowing their limits; more short assignments, rather that a few long ones, build confidence through success in small doses
  • Enjoy responsibility, although they do not always successfully complete tasks
  • Care about both the process and the product of school work; want their peers' approval as much as their teacher's
  • Usually organize work well, though tend to be sloppy; some need the teacher's help with organizational strategies
  • Showing increasing interest in rules, logic, how things are put together, how things work, the natural world and classification
  • Can handle increasingly complex tasks but tire easily; may give up but soon want to try again