Growing Up: Piaget’s Stages and Erikson’s Challenges

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Social Studies · Psychology
SP-PSYCH-008 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Growing Up: Piaget’s Stages and Erikson’s
Challenges
Social Studies · Psychology · Grades 10-11 · 50 minutes
Time needed
50 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student).
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Individual work with a partner check.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet
Goal for today: Students will describe Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development, match Erikson’s psychosocial
challenges to examples and explain why stage theories are guides, not strict rules.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Write on the board: DEVELOPMENT = how people change physically, mentally and socially across their lives.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk. The word bank and the table give students what they need.
Say this to start
Today you will look at two famous ideas about how people grow and change. Jean Piaget studied how children’s
thinking develops. Erik Erikson described challenges people face at different points in life. Both ideas describe stages,
but real people vary, so we will treat the stages as useful guides. Work through the worksheet in order. You may
compare answers with a partner at the end.
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance. Hand out the worksheet. Read the
definition on the board aloud.
Follow along.
5–15
Tell students to complete the Piaget table in Part A using
the word bank.
Write a key idea in each row.
15–27
Tell students to complete the Erikson matching in Part B
(questions 1–6).
Match each challenge to its example.
27–38
Tell students to answer questions 7–9 (multiple choice).
Apply Piaget’s stages to scenarios.
38–46
Tell students to answer question 10. Read the key answers
for the table and questions 1–9 aloud.
Write a short explanation and check their
work.
46–50
Collect worksheets and stack them for the teacher.
Hand in the worksheet.
If things go wrong
• If students ask about ages, remind them the ages are approximate and individuals vary.

SubstitutePlans.com
Social Studies · Psychology
SP-PSYCH-008 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
• If students say they are not sure about a match in Part B, tell them to look for the key word in each example,
such as plans, trust, identity or skill.
• If a student finishes early, use the early finisher list.
• If a student shares something that worries you, follow your school’s reporting procedure and tell the office
right away.
Early finishers
• Describe how a teacher might adapt a lesson for a child in the preoperational stage versus one in the
concrete operational stage.
• Choose Erikson’s remaining two challenges (intimacy vs. isolation and integrity vs. despair) and write what
you think each means in your own words.
Support and challenge
• Support: Provide the word bank in a list on the board and let students match the Piaget table with a partner.
• Challenge: Ask students to explain a limitation of stage theories using an example of two children who
develop at different speeds.
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: