Childhood Map

Discover the amazing things 5-year-olds are learning — from climbing and jumping to friendships, feelings, and first words on a page. Each skill comes with fun activities you can try together.

Physical & Motor 8 › Sensory 8 › Executive 7 › Cognitive 6 › Language 5 › Communication 5 › Emotional 5 › Social 6 › Self-Care 7 › Literacy 4 › Math 5 › Creative & Artistic 5 › World & Science 5 ›
by Robert Pankowecki
Cognitive & Intellectual Development

Thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, and concept formation abilities that underpin academic learning and understanding of the world.

Sources (7)
  • CDC/AAP Milestones
  • ASQ-3 (Problem Solving)
  • Piaget (Preoperational Stage)
  • Montessori (Mathematics, Cultural)
  • HighScope
  • Gardner (Logical-Mathematical, Spatial Intelligence)
  • Teaching Strategies GOLD (Cognitive Domain)
6 Subdomains
Problem-Solving & Reasoning › Symbolic & Representational Thinking › Classification & Concept Development › Memory & Recall › Attention & Focus › Curiosity & Approaches to Learning ›
Symbolic & Representational Thinking

Understanding that one thing can stand for another — the foundation for reading, math, and abstract thought.

Examples & Achievements

  • Uses a stick as a pretend sword or a box as a pretend car
  • Understands that a drawing of a cat represents a real cat
  • Recognizes that numerals represent quantities
  • Uses tally marks to keep score in a game
  • Creates a "map" of the classroom or playground

How to Measure

  • Engages in elaborate pretend play with object substitution (observed)
  • Matches numerals 1-10 to corresponding quantities
  • Draws a picture and explains what it represents
  • Teaching Strategies GOLD Objective 13 (symbolic thinking)
Sources (3)
  • Piaget
  • Vygotsky
  • Teaching Strategies GOLD

Childhood Map › Cognitive & Intellectual Development

Symbolic & Representational Thinking

Understanding that one thing can stand for another — the foundation for reading, math, and abstract thought.

Examples & Achievements

How to Measure

Sources