Early Childhood Education (Birth to Grade 3)
Subtest 2 Sample Items
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Question 1
1. A preschool teacher notices that several four-year-olds have been showing an active interest in ocean
creatures. Children are playing with shells at the water table, painting whale pictures in the art center,
and watching fish in the classroom fish tank. The teacher decides to introduce one new ocean creature
each day during circle time by showing the class a picture of the creature, teaching its name, and telling
a few interesting facts about it. This activity would likely be most effective for promoting children's
skills in which of the following areas?
- vocabulary development
- metacognition
- short-term memory
- critical thinking
Answer to question 1
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0009) In this scenario, the
teacher is using the children's interest in ocean creatures to enhance their vocabulary development.
The teacher introduces new vocabulary using the children's prior understanding of ocean creatures and
connects the new vocabulary in a way that is meaningful. Explaining interesting facts and showing pictures
that depict new vocabulary allow children the opportunity to learn new words in a meaningful way.
Question 2
2. A group of three-year-olds is learning a new chant and finger play about a chipmunk that climbs up
a tree and then back down. Each child holds one arm straight up to be a tree and uses the opposite hand
to be the chipmunk running up and down the tree to accompany the chant. This activity would be most
effective for fostering children's emerging understanding of which of the following concepts?
- one-to-one correspondence
- spatial relations
- cause-and-effect
- object permanence
Answer to question 2
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0009) This activity promotes
understanding of spatial relations because it focuses on the positional words up and down
in the context of kinesthetic learning. By moving their hands and fingers to represent the chipmunk's
up and down movements, the children are provided with a developmentally appropriate learning experience
to grasp the orientation of themselves and objects in the three-dimensional world.
Question 3
3. A preschool teacher notices that children in the class often start elaborate projects but do not complete them. Which of the following teacher strategies would be most effective for fostering children's development of persistence in completing tasks?
- reminding children that they should not start a project unless they intend to finish it
- setting aside time regularly for children to work on unfinished projects and asking them if there are additional materials they need for project completion
- sending home any incomplete projects and materials so children can finish making them with their parents/guardians/caregivers
- providing children with stickers or other rewards when they complete a project
Answer to question 3
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0009) Supporting children in developing persistence, or "stick-with-it-ness," teaches them a skill that is essential for success in school and in life. By providing designated time for working on unfinished projects, the teacher is bringing children's attention to the importance of this activity. Through asking if children need additional materials, the teacher is removing obstacles to completion and teaching students the importance of communication to obtain what is needed. Over time, children will make progress in each project, and when finished, they will develop an understanding of the confidence and pride they feel when they carry a project through to completion.
Question 4
4. A toddler teacher wants to provide children with a learning environment that supports their ability
to construct understanding of relationships between objects. Which of the following strategies would
be most effective for this purpose?
- changing the classroom schedule regularly to foster toddlers' sense of curiosity
- making sure toddlers have access to toys that have been shown to have educational value
- providing toddlers with a wide variety of safe materials for free exploration and play
- inviting a series of guest presenters to lead the toddlers in arts and crafts activities
Answer to question 4
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0009) Providing a secure
environment with safe, developmentally appropriate objects that children can freely explore fosters
children's ability to grasp various relationships between objects, such as relative position (e.g.,
below and above) and relative size (e.g., larger and smaller).
Question 5
5. A preschool teacher is planning activities to teach children about the roles of people in a community. Based on observations of the children's interests, the teacher decides to begin by engaging children in activities related to jobs and various ways people work. The teacher has a conversation with the children about how they have a community within their classroom. Which of the following strategies would be most effective for the teacher to use to support children's understanding of relationships between people working in a community?
- asking children what jobs they would like to have when they become adults (e.g., teachers, doctors) and to draw pictures of themselves in these roles
- reading children books about different types of communities (e.g., cities, rural settings) and how jobs in these communities are the same or different
- inviting various community workers (e.g., nurses, firefighters) to visit the classroom to talk to the children and answer questions
- teaching children how to carry out jobs that can be done in the classroom (e.g., door holder, table setter) and assigning children classroom jobs on a rotating basis
Answer to question 5
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0009) Teachers can best extend children's thinking and learning by basing instruction on what the children already know and what they are currently experiencing. Children can learn about how people work and interact in the world by first understanding how those roles are applicable to them in their own lives. It is important for children to learn how they can contribute to a community as soon as they are able to do so. This promotes a sense of self-confidence in children, pride in and responsibility for their environment, and a greater understanding of their role in a community.
Question 6
6. A few three-year-old children are very anxious at the beginning of the first day in preschool. The children are crying and two are clinging to their parents/guardians/caregivers. The teacher would like to support the children in feeling more comfortable in this new setting. Which of the following actions would be most effective for the teacher to use in this situation?
- posting photographs of the children's parents/guardians/caregivers on a bulletin board in the classroom
- distracting the children while their parents/guardians/caregivers slip out of the room
- encouraging the children to introduce themselves to some of the other children in the class
- allowing the children's parents/guardians/caregivers to stay in the morning for the first week, reducing the length of their stay each day
Answer to question 6
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0010) Many young children develop separation anxiety, becoming upset and worried when their parents/guardians/caregivers leave them with new caregivers or teachers. It can take time for children to become comfortable and acclimate to a new daycare or classroom environment. Separation anxiety can be reduced by allowing a transition period in which parents/guardians/caregivers stay in the new environment for an amount of time agreed upon between teacher and parent/guardian/caregiver to help a child become comfortable.
Question 7
7. A preschool teacher is preparing the classroom for the start of the school year. The teacher has labeled cubbies for the children with their names, in which they will store their coats and other personal belongings. The teacher has also created a bulletin board labeled "Look What We Have Done" on which to hang children's artwork. Each day as the children arrive, the teacher plans to greet each child by name and facilitate a smooth transition to the classroom. These practices are likely to be most effective in creating a learning environment that promotes children's:
- cooperation and negotiation skills.
- sense of belonging and self-esteem.
- appreciation and respect for human differences.
- curiosity and exploration.
Answer to question 7
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0010) Providing individual
cubbies with name labels, putting up a bulletin board for students' work, and greeting each child by
name are specific, concrete strategies that a teacher can use to create a learning environment that
promotes the positive development of young children's sense of belonging and self-esteem.
Question 8
8. A teacher cares for several infants at a child-care center. One morning, the teacher is talking to the infants and notices that one of the infants needs a diaper change. The teacher carries the infant in need of the diaper change to the changing table on the other side of the room. Meanwhile, a second infant begins crying in a crib. Which of the following actions would be most appropriate for the teacher to take in this situation?
- putting the first infant back in the crib to wait for a diaper change and talking to the second infant until the crying stops
- leaving the first infant at the changing table and going over to pick up the second infant
- ignoring the second infant's crying while changing the first infant as quickly as possible
- talking to the second infant in a soothing voice while continuing to change the first infant
Answer to question 8
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0010) In the situation described, one child needs a diaper change—a need that requires prompt attention for health reasons. Thus, the teacher can safely attend only to the physical needs of that one child. However, the teacher shows knowledge of how to continue to provide affectionate care for the other child by talking to this child in a calming voice while taking care of the first child in an appropriate manner.
Question 9
9. Two preschoolers in a classroom's book corner reach for the same book at the same time. Neither child will let go of the book and they both begin to cry. Which of the following actions would be most appropriate for the preschool teacher to facilitate the children's social development in this situation?
- reminding the children that there is a "no fighting" rule and that each of them must now choose another activity center
- giving each child a chance to tell the teacher what happened and guiding them to think of possible ways to solve their problem
- removing the book and letting the children know that because of their behavior neither of them may look at it today
- gathering the whole class around the meeting rug, explaining the incident, and asking for suggestions from the other children
Answer to question 9
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0010) With guidance and assistance from adults, many preschoolers can begin learning to apply negotiation skills in disputes with other children. By asking each child to describe what happened and by guiding them to consider positive alternatives for solving the problem, the teacher in the scenario is supporting children in feeling heard by each other and by an adult. The teacher is also assisting the children by strengthening their awareness of possible responses in conflict situations.
Question 10
10. A third-grade student who has cerebral palsy and uses a speech output device to support communication attends a general education third-grade class at a new school. The student's third-grade teacher at the new school would like to encourage acceptance and development of friendships for the student. Which of the following actions would be most appropriate for the teacher to implement for this purpose?
- encouraging the students' classmates to try the communication device to learn how it works
- describing to the class how the student communicates with others and identifying students who share common interests with the student for partner work
- inviting the special education teacher to the class to provide information about cerebral palsy and how they can include the new student in the class
- creating a "buddy calendar" for the student to work with a different classmate on various school tasks each day
Answer to question 10
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0010) Children are naturally curious about similarities and differences between themselves and others. If the teacher provides information about the student's speech output device directly, the student's classmates will better understand the student's communication needs. Through matching the student with classmates who have similar interests for partner work, the students can recognize that even though they may have different styles of communication, they have similarities as well. Through recognition of and respect for similarities and differences, students can develop friendships with many peers.
Question 11
11. A four-year-old child has fine-motor delays. One day, as the preschool class prepares to go outdoors, the child insists on zipping up his jacket independently. However, after repeated unsuccessful attempts, the child becomes increasingly frustrated. Which of the following strategies would be most appropriate for the teacher to use in this situation?
- zipping up the child's jacket for him while comforting him by explaining that zipping is hard to do
- asking the child to watch how the teacher zips up another child's jacket
- helping the child get the zipper started and then letting him zip it up the rest of the way
- asking the child to take a break to calm down and then promising him that he can try again tomorrow
Answer to question 11
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0011) For young children, fine-motor skills such as tying shoes and zipping up one's coat can be challenging skills to develop, but they are essential skills to acquire because they affect a child's confidence and ability to navigate independently in the world. In the case of a child such as the one in this scenario, who has fine-motor delays, facilitating independence in this area is especially important. Assisting the child in getting started in zipping up his jacket creates the conditions that allow him to experience success, enabling him not only to gain experience in a key fine-motor skill but also to develop confidence in his ability to accomplish such tasks.
Question 12
12. A kindergarten teacher is concerned that a number of children in the class range from mildly to significantly overweight. The teacher has also noticed that during outdoor play time, most of these children do not join their classmates in active games, preferring instead to remain sedentary. The teacher has begun considering a variety of strategies to support all the children in the classroom to develop healthy lifestyles. Which of the following actions would be most appropriate for the teacher to include to achieve this goal?
- routinely integrating fitness concepts and movement activities into content-area instruction
- instituting a structured recess that begins with calisthenics followed by team or individual sports
- circulating among the students during recess and asking less-active students to join their more active peers
- organizing weekly relay races with prizes for all members of the winning teams
Answer to question 12
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0011) By developing a curriculum in which fitness concepts and movement activities are routinely incorporated into the content areas (e.g., counting while tossing a ball, skipping rope to rhymes, using the Olympic Games as a multidisciplinary theme), the teacher can support the children's enjoyment of physical activity, development of physically active habits, and awareness of the benefits of physical fitness.
Question 13
13. During times of transition, students in a kindergarten class are instructed by the teacher to carefully "hop like a bunny" between activities. This movement gives the students an opportunity for physical activity and:
- is embedded into the classroom routine.
- enhances perceptual skills.
- is attainable for all students.
- includes components of fine motor skills.
Answer to question 13
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0011) It is beneficial for early childhood teachers to design learning environments that provide the physical space and opportunity for gross motor skill development. Gross motor skills are actions of the muscles that are involved in the movement and coordination of the arms, legs, and other large body parts. Young children need frequent opportunities to develop gross motor skills in addition to the allotted recess or gym times. By integrating fun and physically active transitions between activities into the classroom routine, the teacher allows and encourages students to release energy in appropriate ways. When given outlets for physical activity between lessons, students are better prepared to pay attention and focus when it is necessary.
Question 14
14. During outside play time, an early childhood education teacher is teaching a group of children how
to play hopscotch. In this game, the children toss a small object onto a numbered space in a pattern
of rectangles outlined on the ground and then hop around the spaces to retrieve the object. Which of
the following skills will this game most likely promote for children?
- endurance
- strength
- flexibility
- coordination
Answer to question 14
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0011) Coordination is a necessary
skill for performing daily tasks such as carrying items, stepping up on a curb, and playing many kinds
of games. Teachers can introduce fun activities to promote these skills. Hopscotch requires children
to switch movement patterns frequently and rapidly, which promotes the development of both balance and
coordination.
Question 15
15. A new home daycare provider is preparing the area that will be used for a daycare program. The teacher
is arranging toys and furniture to accommodate children ages six months to two years old. Which of the
following aspects of a childcare environment is most important for the caregiver to consider first
when arranging the area?
- individual cubbies for each child's personal items
- open space for gross motor activities
- ample seating and furniture for each child
- designated areas for rest, play, and nourishment
Answer to question 15
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0011) A positive and effective
daycare environment provides a balanced schedule of playing, learning, feeding, and rest time. It is
most important for children in a daycare setting to have areas of their environment where they can sleep,
be nourished, and play with toys safely.
Question 16
16. Each day, an early childhood teacher provides an opportunity for children to listen and move to
recorded music. While the music plays, the teacher performs simple motions (e.g., tapping on knees,
walking forward) and encourages children to imitate these movements. One day the teacher notices that
two-year-old Charlie is standing up and rocking from side to side to the music. The teacher imitates
this motion and says, "Look, everyone. Charlie has a new motion for us to try. Let's try Charlie's motion."
In this situation, the teacher's actions will most effectively foster Charlie's development in which
of the following areas?
- problem-solving and critical-thinking skills
- flexibility and strength
- initiative and creativity
- cooperation and interpersonal skills
Answer to question 16
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0012) Giving children ownership
of their actions and recognition of their creativity increases their desire to learn and also supports
intellectual development. In this scenario, the teacher's focus on Charlie's unique way of rocking to
the music affirms his ability to be creative and show initiative. The teacher's promotion of a child's
initiative and creativity encourages him and other children to continue generating new ideas.
Question 17
17. A toddler teacher is sitting on the floor with an 18-month-old child. The child is holding her favorite teddy bear, and the teacher has a hand puppet that looks like a bear. The teacher is pretending that the puppet is the teddy bear's mother. "Come here, baby. It's time for a bath," the teacher says while moving the puppet closer to the teddy bear. The child giggles and puts the teddy bear behind her back. "No bath," she says. "Come out, baby. You can play with your ducky in the bathtub," the teacher says, smiling. "Okay, want ducky," says the child, as she takes her teddy bear from behind her back and gives it to the puppet. In this dramatic play experience, the teacher is facilitating the child's creative development primarily by:
- helping build and sustain the child's curiosity about the world.
- providing an environment for active physical exploration.
- supporting the child in age-appropriate risk taking.
- integrating adult support and affection.
Answer to question 17
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0012) In this pretend-play example, the teacher is fostering the child's initiative and creativity by building on her fondness for and interest in her teddy bear. In addition, the teacher is engaging with the child in a positive, affectionate manner, as evidenced by her use of developmentally appropriate language (e.g., her use of the word ducky), sitting on the child's level, and smiling at her.
Question 18
18. A preschool teacher wishes to reinforce children's individuality by encouraging them to experiment
with different roles. Which of the following practices when setting up the classroom would likely be
most effective for this purpose?
- providing multiple sets of crayons in the art center
- stocking the block center with blocks made from various materials in different sizes, colors, and shapes
- displaying books in the reading corner based on a particular theme
- making sure there is a variety of dress-up clothes and props in the dramatic play center
Answer to question 18
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0012) For young children,
clothes represent not only multiple adult roles, but also human qualities associated with those roles.
For example, dressing up as a doctor can help a child express caring and leadership. Having a variety
of dress-up clothes and props in the dramatic play area allows children to choose any role they wish
to play, fostering their sense of individuality and reinforcing those qualities they most admire in
themselves or seek to emulate in others.
Question 19
19. A toddler teacher wants to design musical activities that promote the children's development of
creative self-expression. Which of the following types of activities would be most developmentally appropriate
for children of this age?
- playing with shakers or rattles as they listen to music being played
- learning to play small stringed instruments such as ukuleles and toy guitars
- singing simple rounds such as "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"
- performing simple folk dances to music from various cultures and regions
Answer to question 19
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0012) Even as toddlers (and
earlier), children respond strongly to a musical beat. Using simple rhythm instruments such as shakers
and rattles permits toddlers' self-expression to music without requiring a more developmentally advanced
level of physical or cognitive skills.
Question 20
20. An early childhood teacher is arranging the daycare to include play opportunities for children. The teacher has included a sand table with buckets and shovels, a fantasy area with dress-up clothes and a pretend store, and a block area. The teacher's actions best demonstrate the understanding of which of the following important concepts related to daycare learning environments?
- Play areas should provide opportunities for children to explore their creative abilities.
- The availability of a variety of play areas will appeal to and engage all children.
- Play areas must be included that will improve children's gross motor abilities.
- Sharing is promoted among children by including limited numbers of materials in each play area.
Answer to question 20
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0012) This scenario describes
a learning environment in which children are able to explore and play in a variety of creative ways.
By providing children with open-ended activities that are conducive to creative play, children can explore
materials in ways that interest them. Pretend play enhances creativity and imagination, and promotes
children's self-esteem and initiative in play.
Question 21
21. A second-grade teacher wants to foster students' close observation of the characteristics of living
things. Which of the following activities would be most effective for this purpose?
- encouraging students to draw pictures of their pets or other animals in their neighborhood for a class
art show
- showing a short nature film every week about different ecosystems and the types of things that live
in them
- having each student adopt a tree in the schoolyard and write and illustrate a journal about it over
the course of the year
- providing 3-D imaging computer software that allows the students to view organisms' internal organs
and structures
Answer to question 21
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0013) Close observations
allow students to identify how something changes over time. Activities that enable students to regularly
observe natural phenomena (e.g., trees) over a period of time (e.g., a school year) and to record their
observations at various points in time (e.g., by making journal entries and illustrations) promote close
observation skills.
Question 22
22. Which of the following processes is an example of a physical change, as opposed to a chemical change?
- water evaporating
- wood burning
- leaves decomposing
- silver tarnishing
Answer to question 22
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0013) Two of the central concepts in physical science are physical changes and chemical changes. A chemical change is one in which the initial substance is changed into a new substance or substances and cannot be restored to its original form. For example, a piece of wood cannot be restored to its original form after it is burned to ashes. A physical change is one in which the initial substance changes form, but no new substances are created; thus, the substance can be restored to its original state. For example, water can be frozen to become a solid (e.g., ice) and then melted to return to its liquid state.
Question 23
23. In the spring, a kindergarten teacher sets up an incubator with hens' eggs in the science center. One of the teacher's objectives for this project is to build on the students' curiosity to increase their understanding of the natural world. Which of the following classroom activities would best support the achievement of this objective?
- asking each student to write or dictate a fictional story about the chicks' adventures on a farm with other animals
- holding a class vote to choose an appropriate name for each chick based on its coloration and markings
- meeting in small groups to let students hold the chicks and share their observations and questions about them
- assigning students to take turns being responsible for the classroom job of feeding and watering the chicks
Answer to question 23
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0013) Having the opportunity to meet with the teacher in small groups to hold the chicks and discuss them (e.g., their size, their weight, the warmth of their bodies, their natural behaviors, the similarities and differences between them) involves students in a wealth of authentic sensory and cognitive activities that promote their understanding of the natural world.
Question 24
24. An elementary school teacher could best use a seesaw on the school playground to teach physical
science concepts related to which of the following simple machines?
- lever
- fixed pulley
- inclined plane
- wheel
Answer to question 24
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0013) A playground seesaw,
which consists of a rigid plank that pivots on a fulcrum, is an application of the principle of the
lever. Whenever possible, early childhood teachers should relate concepts learned in class to the real
world. A seesaw represents a tangible, concrete example of a physical science concept, and students'
direct experience with seesaws promotes their understanding of that concept.
Question 25
25. A second-grade teacher is starting a unit on motion with students. The teacher conducts a discussion with the whole class, and they work together to create a large KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learned) chart representing their existing knowledge on the topic. The students have varying ideas about what creates motion in objects. Some students believe objects can move on their own at any time. Other students say objects have to be pushed to move. In which of the following ways could the teacher most effectively use this informal assessment to plan further learning experiences in this area?
- explaining theories of motion to the students and demonstrating for them what causes motion and the impact of motion on objects
- involving students in conducting an experiment on motion with an assortment of materials, including ramps and balls of different sizes
- showing the students a video that explains more clearly the concept of motion and the elements that affect it
- creating small groups of students who have varying opinions and encouraging them to prove their hypotheses on motion to each other
Answer to question 25
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0013) Teachers often use KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learned) charts to activate students' prior and existing knowledge on a topic. This practice is used as a formative assessment (an informal assessment conducted during the learning process to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student understanding). This strategy informs teachers of where misconceptions exist in student knowledge and also provides some information on how much accurate knowledge students already have about a topic. By engaging in a hands-on activity in which they experiment with various components of the topic, students can investigate for themselves what creates, sustains, and stops motion.
Question 26
26. A third-grade class will be participating in a schoolwide social studies fair. The teacher plans
to evaluate each student's performance using a scoring rubric. In order for this method to successfully
assess each student's performance, which of the following actions should the teacher take first?
- assigning letter grades to each section of the rubric
- grouping students according to their level of ability in social studies
- defining the qualities the students' projects must display to demonstrate proficiency
- developing different rubrics based on the types of projects planned
Answer to question 26
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0014) A rubric is a scoring
guide given to students that usually contains evaluative criteria, quality definitions for those criteria
at particular levels of achievement, and a scoring strategy. Students are able to refer to the rubric
to ensure their project meets the teacher's specific expectations.
Question 27
27. A third-grade teacher divides students into groups and gives each group a map of an imaginary island. The teacher has marked the island's physical features (e.g., forests, swamps, mountains, springs, beaches). The teacher tells the groups they have been shipwrecked and must determine how to survive (e.g., how to obtain food, what to use for shelter, where to live). After discussing various options and making their plans, the groups will take turns showing their maps and explaining why they made the decisions they did. This project would be most useful for promoting students' understanding of which of the following concepts?
- the relationship between geography and human settlement
- the effect of human activities on the nature of regions
- the relationship between climate change and human behavior
- the effect of limited resources on human interactions
Answer to question 27
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0014) The activity the teacher has chosen to implement requires students to identify the geographic features of an island and then determine how those features can be used to help a shipwrecked group of people survive over time in one place (i.e., how to form a human settlement on the island). This activity enables students to closely examine the relationship between geography and human settlement.
Question 28
28. A first-grade teacher makes a practice of involving students in decision making in the classroom.
For example, students help create rules at the beginning of the year. In addition, the teacher often
holds votes when there are choices to be made. One day after a vote has been taken, a girl tells the
teacher that the class always does what the boys want to do because there are more boys than girls.
On reflection, the teacher recognizes that there may be some truth to this statement. Which of the following
responses by the teacher would best foster the students' understanding of democratic ideals?
- using the situation as an occasion to teach the class about the importance of the principle of majority
rule
- telling the class that there has been an objection to the voting process and suggesting the use of
the secret ballot instead of a show of hands
- advising the girls to try to convince some of the boys to vote with them on issues that they especially
care about
- holding a discussion with the class to consider how to be fair to the minority as well as the majority
Answer to question 28
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0014) Democratic ideals,
which include people's right to govern themselves, individual liberty, and justice and equality under
the law, serve as the founding principles of the United States. Because majority rule could at times
limit or deny the rights of individuals in the minority, the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and
other laws were passed to protect individual rights. Discussing how to be fair to both the minority
and the majority within democratic society helps promote students' understanding of the democratic ideals
that serve as the foundation of the United States.
Question 29
29. A third-grade class will be going on a field trip to the Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior.
The children will have a chance to observe and talk to costumed guides who reenact the everyday activities
of the light keepers and their families in the 1920s. This visit would provide an especially useful
opportunity to help the students learn about which of the following civics concepts?
- contributing to a community
- resolving disputes peacefully
- conforming to societal rules
- making decisions democratically
Answer to question 29
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0014) Interacting with guides who reenact the daily activities of a unique 1920s-era community would provide students with the opportunity to better understand how individuals can actively contribute to a community. Witnessing the everyday activities of the past, which might include a variety of roles and responsibilities (e.g., repairing lighthouse equipment, obtaining and preparing food), can help foster in students a greater sense of the concept of community, or the sense of belonging to a group of people with shared interests and values.
Question 30
30. Which of the following actions by an early childhood teacher would be most effective for supporting young children's development of a sense of civic responsibility?
- providing frequent opportunities for each child to select his or her own activities
- involving the children in a vote to elect a group of class officers for the school year
- establishing the expectation that each child will help clean up at the end of an activity
- teaching the children to memorize the class rules and recite them in unison
Answer to question 30
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0014) The early childhood classroom is often a young child's first experience of a community larger than family and friends. The classroom community provides an excellent context for children to begin learning civic values such as taking personal responsibility for cleaning up after oneself to help keep the classroom tidy for everyone.
Question 31
31. A teacher asks first-grade students to spread out in a big room to do a movement activity to accompany a musical recording. The teacher tells the students that as the music becomes quieter and quieter, they should touch their knees and then the floor. Similarly, as the music becomes louder and louder, the students are to touch their shoulders and then reach up toward the ceiling. This activity would be most effective for developing an awareness of which of the following elements of music?
- tempo
- dynamics
- rhythm
- harmony
Answer to question 31
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0015) In this situation, the selected activity promotes students' focus on a central musical concept: the dynamics, or loudness and softness, of the music being played. The distinct physical actions the students are encouraged to perform for each type of dynamic promote students' learning by contrasting and emphasizing the difference between these dynamics.
Question 32
32. Which of the following visual arts activities would best promote children's understanding of the
art element of texture?
- painting over stencils with tempera paint to make large, colorful shapes on newsprint paper
- doing crayon rubbings on paper that has been placed over natural objects such as leaves or bark
- creating paper objects such as flowers and animals using origami paper-folding techniques
- drawing a shape on paper with white glue and then making a print of the shape after the glue dries
Answer to question 32
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0015) When a crayon is rubbed
on a piece of paper that has been placed over a textured object (e.g., a leaf, a piece of bark), the
crayon creates darker marks on the raised areas (e.g., the veins of the leaf) and lighter marks (or
no marks) on the recessed areas. This activity promotes the understanding of the concept of texture
by providing children with tactile, textured objects they can explore with and create.
Question 33
33. An early childhood teacher of three-year-olds would like to incorporate a music component into the
daily morning meeting. Which of the following children's activities would be most developmentally appropriate
for this age group?
- playing a range of musical instruments and explaining how tones of instruments can represent different
emotions (e.g., happy, sad, scared, angry)
- learning a new song each day and singing all the songs together at the end of the week
- moving their bodies to the contrasts in the music that they hear (e.g., stopping when the music stops,
moving faster when the music moves faster)
- listening to music with a variety of rhythms and varying music note measurements and learning how to
clap the rhythms that they hear
Answer to question 33
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0015) During the preschool
years, children are exploring various musical concepts with guidance from adults and on their own. In
this activity, the teacher is giving children the freedom to move to the music however they would like.
At the same time, the teacher is including a lesson on exploration and awareness of musical contrasts
by encouraging the children to base their movements on what they are hearing in the music.
Question 34
34. A first-grade teacher plans to engage students in a discussion about evaluating a well-known painting. Which of the following activities would be most developmentally appropriate for the teacher to conduct with the students?
- talking about different types of paint mediums (e.g., watercolor, oil, tempera, acrylic)
- identifying artistic elements used in the artwork (e.g., color, line, shape, texture)
- describing principles of visual art (e.g., repetition, pattern, contrast, balance)
- discussing which type of painting is their favorite (e.g., brush, finger, sponge, stamp)
Answer to question 34
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0015) First graders have usually experimented with multiple types of art mediums and projects and are typically developmentally ready to learn about the terminology and meaning of various elements used in artwork. Students can see these concepts applied by identifying them in famous artworks and can include them in their own art projects.
Question 35
35. Which of the following teacher actions would best promote a preschool classroom that encourages
children to explore a variety of art materials?
- instructing children in the proper use of a different art material each week
- posting children's artwork in the classroom, illustrating the use of numerous art materials
- making age-appropriate art materials accessible to children in various learning centers
- demonstrating to children how art materials can be used for a wide range of purposes
Answer to question 35
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0015) Providing children
with opportunities to explore age-appropriate art materials in open-ended activities is considered a
process-oriented approach to art instruction. Preschoolers benefit from a process-oriented approach
because it focuses on the child's exploration of the materials and not on the finished artwork. This
technique fosters children's self-confidence in art and encourages them to continue to discover art
materials without an expectation of a certain outcome.
Question 36
36. A kindergarten teacher is planning a unit on nutrition and the food groups. Which of the following activities would be most developmentally appropriate for students to work on during this unit?
- recording in a journal all of the foods and beverages they consume in a given week
- cutting out pictures of various types of foods from magazines and then gluing the pictures into categories
on a poster
- drawing a picture of a healthy meal and then writing a list of its ingredients
- spreading out their snacks on a table, determining who has the healthiest snack, and explaining why
Answer to question 36
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0016) Incorporating a hands-on activity such as cutting out pictures of various foods is developmentally appropriate when teaching this age group about nutrition and the food groups. Sorting pictures encourages students to understand how foods are alike and different, as well as to develop knowledge that food can be organized into certain groups.
Question 37
37. During indoor recess, a kindergartner tells her teacher that she is planning to do front somersaults
on a mat. Which of the following actions would be most important for the teacher to take in this situation
to promote the child's safety?
- ensuring that the student tucks her head into her chest while somersaulting
- determining whether the student participates in gymnastics classes
- pairing the student with a peer who likes somersaulting so that they can spot one another
- assisting the student in setting up the mat in a corner of the room
Answer to question 37
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0016) One of the most essential safety skills for students to learn before doing a front somersault is how to properly tuck their head into their chest in order to protect the neck.
Question 38
38. A kindergarten teacher wants to plan physical activities that will support students' ongoing development of locomotor skills. Which of the following movement activities would best serve this purpose?
- The teacher leads students in a repeated series of bends from the waist—first bending forward, then backward, then side-to-side.
- On a signal from the teacher, students twist and sway while standing inside hula hoops laid flat on the floor.
- The teacher asks students to take turns standing on a low balance beam for as long as it takes to say the word hippopotamus three times.
- When the teacher blows a whistle, students hop on one foot to a line ten feet away, then hop back on the other foot.
Answer to question 38
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0016) Locomotor skills are motor skills that involve traveling from one place to another. Asking students to hop across a distance to a marker and then hop back requires them to travel through space; this activity is therefore a locomotor activity that would support students' development of this type of skill.
Question 39
39. A second-grade teacher is concerned that students are eating only the starchy and sweet items in the lunches they purchase in the school cafeteria. They often choose sweetened drinks, and they throw away most of the fresh fruit and vegetables served. Many students then complain during the afternoon that they are hungry. Which of the following strategies would likely be most effective for the teacher to use to support students in making better food choices?
- designing a weekly health activity in which students learn about, prepare, and eat a wide range of
snacks that are tasty and nutritious
- assigning students to study a topic on a nutrition Web site each week, followed by a quiz every Friday
- collecting the students' uneaten food for a week to illustrate how much good food is wasted by just
one class in the school
- joining the students at lunchtime to point out poor food choices and to compliment students who are
eating balanced meals
Answer to question 39
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0016) Designing ongoing, hands-on health activities demonstrates an understanding of developmentally appropriate learning activities that actively engage young children. In addition, preparing a wide range of snacks will make it more likely that students will each discover new and healthy snacks that they like to eat. Finally, since students tend to be very interested in learning about their own bodies, ongoing discussions of how different types of foods affect their bodies (e.g., the calcium in milk helps build strong bones and teeth) is likely to engage their attention.
Question 40
40. Which of the following scenarios best portrays a second-grade classroom teacher promoting students'
development of a health-enhancing level of physical fitness?
- asking each student to describe their favorite physical activity at morning meeting
- allowing students to move around the classroom as needed during the day
- incorporating movement breaks for students throughout the day
- instructing the students to run one lap around the school at recess before they play
Answer to question 40
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0016) Second-grade students
should participate in at least one hour of physical activity each day. This activity can take place
during recess and physical education class, and can also be included throughout the day. Incorporating
physical activity breaks into the classroom routine conveys the message to the students that physical
activity is just as important as mental activity. These quick breaks also help students stay focused
and release excess energy.