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Descriptive Statements:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the elements, principles, characteristics, tools, technologies, and materials of music and approaches for creating developmentally meaningful and culturally relevant music experiences.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the elements, principles, characteristics, tools, technologies, and materials of drama, creative movement, and dance; and approaches for creating developmentally meaningful and culturally relevant drama, creative movement, and dance experiences.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the elements, principles, characteristics, tools, technologies, and materials of the visual arts and approaches for creating developmentally meaningful and culturally relevant art experiences.
- Recognize connections between the arts and effective approaches for integrating the arts with other areas of the curriculum and with everyday activities.
Sample Item:
A first-grade teacher is planning an art activity in which students will explore texture.
Which of the following activities would best foster students' understanding of this visual
art concept?
- easel painting
- sketching
- crayon rubbing
- cutting and pasting
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
C. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of the
elements and materials of the visual arts. Crayon rubbing is a process in which a sheet
of paper is placed over a textured material (e.g., tree bark, a piece of screening).
The surface of the paper is then rubbed with a crayon, and the resulting image captures
the textural qualities of the material beneath.
Descriptive Statements:
- Demonstrate knowledge of basic principles and practices of personal, interpersonal, and community health and safety relevant to children.
- Apply knowledge of strategies and procedures for promoting children's health and safety in the learning environment and strategies for promoting children's understanding and application of health and safety principles and practices.
- Demonstrate knowledge of various types of age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate motor skills and physical activities; indicators that a child may be experiencing difficulties in motor skills development; and skills, techniques, and safety practices for engaging children in a variety of physical activities.
- Apply knowledge of how to plan activities for children, including integrating health and safety principles and physical activities with other areas of the curriculum and with everyday activities; strategies for modifying activities to address individual needs; and strategies for promoting young children's social skills, self-confidence, and enjoyment of movement and physical activities.
Sample Item:
In terms of student safety, which of the following features of a school playground should
a kindergarten teacher be most concerned about?
- The swings do not provide back support or seat belts.
- The surface below the climbing structure consists of packed earth.
- The platform at the top of the slide is five feet high.
- The playing area includes a blacktop made of asphalt.
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
B. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of basic
safety practices relevant to children. To minimize the potential for injury from a fall,
the surface beneath playground climbing structures should consist of a material that will
absorb an impact. Wood chips or rubberized materials have been proven effective for this
purpose, while nonabsorptive surfaces, such as packed earth, statistically increase the
chance of serious injury.
Descriptive Statements:
- Demonstrate knowledge of basic concepts, processes, and skills related to the various areas of mathematics (e.g., number sense, operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, data analysis, probability).
- Identify characteristics of and processes in children's mathematical development and indicators that a child may be experiencing difficulties or demonstrating advanced abilities in mathematics.
- Apply knowledge of approaches for determining children's current mathematical knowledge and vocabulary; identifying their individual needs; and providing differentiated instruction that follows a logical progression, builds on previous learning, challenges children appropriately, and is well integrated across grades and developmental levels.
- Demonstrate knowledge of developmentally appropriate learning experiences and resources, including technology, for promoting children's understanding of foundational concepts and acquisition of mathematical skills, knowledge, and vocabulary.
- Apply knowledge of approaches for integrating mathematical content with other areas of the curriculum and with everyday activities.
- Demonstrate knowledge of rationales and strategies for involving families and other professionals in young children's mathematical development.
Sample Item:
A first-grade teacher is working with a group of students in mathematics. The teacher asks the students to represent the number 73 using connecting cubes on the place value mat. This activity primarily supports the development of which of the following concepts?
- comparing two numbers
- understanding number composition
- applying the addition operation to numbers
- counting on from a set number
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
B. At this stage of a child's understanding of numeracy, he or she should begin to master fundamentals of our base-10 number system (i.e., that a two-digit number can be represented by amounts of tens and ones). This knowledge supports the development of more complex comparisons of numbers, place value, skip counting, and calculation.
Descriptive Statements:
- Demonstrate knowledge of basic concepts of culture, geography, U.S. and world history, economics, and civics for children and the relationships between the areas of social studies.
- Demonstrate knowledge of processes, skills, technologies, and resources used in exploring and understanding social studies content and phenomena.
- Demonstrate knowledge of developmentally appropriate learning experiences and resources for promoting children's understanding of basic social studies concepts and acquisition of social studies skills, knowledge, and vocabulary.
- Apply knowledge of approaches for integrating social studies content with other areas of the early childhood curriculum and with everyday activities.
- Demonstrate knowledge of human diversity and strategies for promoting children's appreciation and understanding of and respect for all people.
Sample Item:
Which of the following represents a third-grade teacher's best strategy for integrating
art with the study of local history?
- contacting local organizations, such as the town offices and the historical
society, to obtain brochures and other materials to use in a collage
- posting pictures of notable historical figures when teaching a lesson on
important events and issues in local history
- distributing cardboard templates of historical images, such as log houses or
horses and buggies, for students to use to create scenes from the past
- looking at local historical paintings and comparing features of daily life in
earlier times, such as clothing and transportation, with those of today
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
D. This question requires the examinee to apply knowledge of approaches
for integrating the social studies and arts curricula. One traditional function of visual
art has been to record and interpret features of a time or place. Local historical
paintings provide a wealth of opportunities for students to compare today's world with
that of the past, as well as to examine artists' use of art elements and principles to
convey a mood or theme.
Descriptive Statements:
- Demonstrate knowledge of basic concepts of the life sciences, physical sciences, and Earth and space sciences for children.
- Demonstrate knowledge of processes, skills, technologies, and resources used in exploring and understanding science content and phenomena.
- Demonstrate knowledge of developmentally appropriate learning experiences and resources for promoting children's understanding of basic concepts and acquisition of science skills, knowledge, and vocabulary.
- Apply knowledge of approaches for integrating science content with other areas of the early childhood curriculum and with everyday activities.
Sample Item:
A second-grade teacher is preparing a pre-teaching activity to introduce a science unit about sound. Which of the following activities is most effective in building students' background knowledge related to the topic of sound?
- assigning students to read short biographies of scientists who studied sound
- helping students visualize the nature of sound using a tuning fork and water
- watching a video about recent developments in sound-recording technology
- dividing the class into two groups to play the game, "Guess That Sound"
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
B. By providing a hands-on opportunity to investigate sound using a tuning fork and water, the teacher makes properties of sound concrete and observable for the students and helps support both accessing and building background knowledge about the topic. An additional activity would be for the teacher to introduce content specific vocabulary terms, such as sound wave, vibration, and energy, to support students' access and understanding for later instruction.
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