Which of the following statements do you think are true about children? Indicate with 'T' for true and for false. Give reasons for your choice.

a) Most primary school children are in the concrete operational stage.

b) To understand number, children must be able to classify and order.

c) Pre-operational thinking is characteristic of the primary school child.

d) The ability to conserve is fundamental to the development of mathematical thinking.

In this section we seem to have divided children very neatly into different stages of development, based on their ages. Does this mean that no 9-year-old has reached the formal operational stage, or that a 6-year-old can't be at the preoperational stage? Let's find out.