Book excerpt: Please note: This text was replaced with a seventh edition. This version is available only for courses using the sixth edition and will be discontinued at the end of the semester. Life Span Motor Development, Sixth Edition With Web Study Guide, uses the model of constraints in discussing reasons for changes in movement throughout the life span, Focusing on assessment more heavily than previous editions, this updated edition encourages students to examine how the interactions of the individual, environment, and task bring about changes in a person’s movements. The principles of motor development are presented in an accessible manner so that even readers with minimal movement science background will comprehend the material. A key component of the sixth edition is an improved web study guide featuring revised lab activities and better functionality. New to this edition, lab activity record sheets and questions are available as fillable documents so that students can complete and submit them electronically, resulting in increased efficiency and reduced paperwork for instructors. In several labs, guided assessments teach students to observe video and categorize movements accurately. These assessments cue students to look at particular parts of the movement and guide students through questions, answers, and feedback. Then students are provided opportunities for unguided assessments via video clips or live observation, putting into practice what they have learned in the guided assessments. There are also over 100 new video clips in the web study guide, including a comprehensive video diary of the motor development milestones in the first nine months of a baby’s life. Life Span Motor Development, Sixth Edition, contains several other updates that are appealing to instructors and students alike: • A new full-color interior provides for a more engaging presentation of the material. • Updated research includes Generation R studies and connections to fitness and motor skills. • An updated presentation package and image bank, plus a test package and chapter quizzes, are included. • An instructor guide includes recommendations on using the lab activities in the web study guide both in and out of class. • Multiple learning exercises that were previously part of the web resource have been moved to the book to allow the video-rich lab activities to occupy students’ learning time when they are online As in past editions, students understand how maturational age and chronological age are distinct and how functional constraints affect motor skill development and learning. It also covers normal and abnormal developmental issues across the full life span, especially in the formative years. The text shows how the four components of physical fitness—cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, flexibility, and body composition—interact to affect a person’s movements over the life span. It also describes how relevant social, cultural, psychosocial, and cognitive influences can affect a person’s movements. Significant updates focus on assessment, including new figures that help to explain in detail the functional constraints approach to assessment. Life Span Motor Development, Sixth Edition, not only provides students with the observational skills necessary for assessing motor development, but it also expertly ties the information to real life. The text continues to emphasize the application of motor development concepts to the real world by beginning each chapter with an example of a common experience and then revisiting that experience at the end of the chapter, allowing readers to apply the material to the example. The book also retains the objectives; running glossary; and key points, sidebars, and application questions throughout each chapter. Life Span Motor Development, Sixth Edition, encompasses the most current research in motor development. It is enhanced with practical online resources for instructors and students, making the concepts of motor development come alive. The text gives students a solid foundation not only for beginning their studies in motor development but also for applying the concepts to real-world situations.