In order to teach effectively, one should be aware of the uniqueness of each child—the combination of temperament, upbringing, strengths and weaknesses.

When teaching a group of children, however, it is not practical to cater for the complete spectrum of differences in personality and learning style. Yet, children of a particular age group share common characteristics, and it is important to be aware of these for the following reasons:

• Knowing the abilities and limitations of a certain age group helps to structure the content of a lesson for maximum effectiveness.
• The responsiveness of children is dependent on the presentation style. Teaching methods and media should therefore be geared to suit a particular age group.
• The personal characteristics of children develop rapidly as they grow up. These changes need to be acknowledged and catered for by teaching truths in way that keeps them relevant to the child.

Below is a downloadable chart of age-level characteristics from
4–14 years old. To download the file, click on the heading 'Age-level characteristics'