I guess when I think of immature kids, what I am doing is comparing the kids to same age peers (and same-sex peers). So a second grader who behaves like a typical kindergartner in his ability to focus during lessons, attention span, play behavior with peers, etc. would be considered immature, especially if his behavior differs dramatically from the behavior of the other boys in the class (or girls, if the child was a girl). I also try to rule out other reasons for the behaviors, such as diagnosed ADHD or ADD, Aspbergers, speech delays, etc. A child with a special ed diagnosis may or may not also be immature, but what I see as immature behavior may also just be part of the disability (Aspbergers, for example, in terms of social skills).
One year I had a child who I considered very immature. Here are the things I noticed: he sucked his thumb when stressed, he cried frequently, his comments during class discussions were often off-topic and tended to be much more "me-centered" than was typical at that time of year for second graders, he could not play well with other children, especially in competitive games because if he was losing he would have a tantrum and quit or throw his pieces or cry (or all of the above), his handwriting looked like a kindergartner's writing (very poor fine-motor control), his attention span was very limited (more like a typical 4-5 year old), and he was much more literal in his thinking than the other children. Was this typical "boy behavior"? I don't think so. The other boys in the class did not behave like this, my experience with my own son and his friends did not match this child's behavior, and it was obvious he was struggling to meet the expectations of a second grade classroom in a way that even the "wiggly boys" did not. Just my experience, Robin _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
