Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
From baby to grown-up
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/growing-up/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/growing-up/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Everyone starts life as a baby and grows and changes.
- Babies learn skills step by step: head up, sit, crawl, walk.
- The stages of a human life: baby, child, teenager, adult, older adult.
- Everybody grows at their own pace.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Starter: show a doll or a baby-sized item. How big were you when you were born? |
| 10 min | Read the text together. |
| 15 min | How much have I grown? (paper strips in pairs) |
| 10 min | Play Newborn or later? or do the quiz. |
| 5 min | Share: something you can do now that you could not do as a baby. |
Materials for the experiment
- A roll of paper or string
- A metre stick or tape measure
- Scissors with round ends (for the teacher or with help)
- Sticky tape and a pencil
Safety: Only the teacher or a helper uses the scissors. Measuring is in pairs with a friend you choose; nobody has to be measured if they do not want to. Talk about growing, not about who is tallest: everybody grows at their own speed.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| Babies can't do anything at all. | Newborns can already grip a finger and suck; they learn other skills step by step. |
| Everyone grows at the same speed. | Every child grows at their own pace, and that is normal. |
| Grown-ups stop changing. | Adults keep changing too, through adulthood and older age. |
Worksheet answers
- Any drawing of a baby and of the child now.
- Me.
- Baby, child, teenager, adult.
Quiz answers
- How does every person start life? As a tiny baby. Everyone starts life as a baby.[1]
- What can a newborn baby already do? Hold on tight to your finger. Newborns have a grasping reflex: they grip a finger.[1]
- What do babies usually learn first? To hold up their head. Holding up the head comes before sitting, crawling and walking.[1]
- Which stage comes after child? Teenager. The stages are baby, child, teenager, adult and older adult.[1]
- Do all children grow at the same speed? No, everybody grows at their own speed. We are all different, so we grow at different speeds.[3]
Going further
Make a class timeline of the human life stages with pictures from magazines. Be sensitive: not every child has baby photos or knows their birth details, so use pictures or drawings rather than asking for personal photos.
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] Psychology 2e, 9.3 Stages of Development (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [3] Puberty (Health for young people) (Healthier Together, NHS North West London): reliability Medium-high
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/growing-up/sources/
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