3 Concrete operation 7-11 years
In the operational stage, they are young logical positivists who understand functional relationships because they are specific,
because they can test the problems out. During the concrete stage children exhibit some fragile ability to reason abstractly, especially
when the learning task is simplified. 4
Formal operation 11-16 years At this point, the adolescent is ability to think about their own
thinking the thoughts of others extremely important shift. This is what is meant by the term metacognition. This kind of self-
reflection allows for a wide-ranging stretch of the imagination. The opportunity for self-correction in problem solving is much greater.
Adolescent, however, are more likely to recognize that others` viewpoints are different from their own. It is though they
understand that others have different interests, knowledge, and ways of thinking than they have.
In this study, the fifth graders of elementary school ages range from 10-11 years old. Based on he Piaget’s work, they are between
concrete and formal operation. They leave concrete operation gradually and come to the formal operation. In conclusion, the fifth
graders need simple and concrete tasks.
c. Elementary school children
The years from six to twelve are remarkable ones Hamachek, 1979: 71. It is time for children to expand their personal
characteristics. Generally, they develop in for basic characteristics. As proposed by Hamachek 1979: 72-85, there four major characteristics:
physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development. 1
Physical development Actually, physical development during the elementary years is
primarily a move toward greater balance of proportion rather than a sheer increase in size. Children grow more slowly during their
elementary years that they did earlier or that they will in adolescence. As with height, weight increases are also slow and
fairly uniform at this age. In addition, considering the feedback that any person- young or- old- both gives and receives purely on the
basis of physical appearances, it is not difficult to see how children’s physical proportions can influence their feelings about
themselves simply by affecting how other people react to them. 2 Social development
Between the ages of six and twelve, children make major advances in their efforts to become competent social members of
their culture. They spend their time in broader community peer group. By the end of this growth period they are on set of
adolescence, with varying degrees of readiness to assume new and expanded responsibilities and relationship.
3 Emotional development Children between six and twelve are emotionally vulnerable.
They tend to uncritically absorb what they experience, see, and PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
hear. Their self-concepts are incompletely formed, which renders them more susceptible to the feedback they get from adults and
peers. If feedback is essentially negative and ego-deflating, then they will more likely develop low self-esteem feelings that nurture
a sense of inferiority. 4 Cognitive development
Children during this stage of growth are gluttonous learners. They learn everywhere and from everyone- from the gang, from
conversations at home either as participants or listener, from their reading, etc. They are hungry learner. They are curious, eager, and
enthusiastic learners. They learn best when they can participate in
concrete experiences. In conclusion, elementary school students have high energy level
so they need more activities such as moving and talking. They are responsive to opportunities for interacting with one another like in
games activities. They also need to be brave to take risks. Moreover, positive feedback is preferred since their self-concept has not been
formed well.
B. Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework of the research presents how the writer arranges the steps in developing the instructional materials. In designing instructional
materials, we can choose one of the experts` models or combine some of the PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
