UIC College of Education Content Test Prep

Correct Answer: B

What is Object Permanence? Object Permanence is the understanding that whether something can be seen or sensed, it still continues to exist in the mind and in the world. Between the ages of 18-24 months most infants will have a fully functional sense of object permanence. Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, studied object permanence in infants and determined it to be one of the most important accomplishments in infant development.

Best Response: D 

Jean Piaget

This question aligns with the idea that young children need lots of hands-on experiences manipulating actual objects in order to construct an understanding of number concepts. Once children build and internalize number sense, they can more readily shift to thinking about numbers in more abstract ways (number symbols, mental math, etc.) 

Correct Response: D.

According to Lev Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory of learning, social learning precedes development. Vygotsky noted that “Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people and then inside the child.” Additionally, he stated that often children will learn from a “More Knowledgeable Other”, as demonstrated in this scenario.  One child learns a new puzzle-solving strategy by observing another child use the strategy first.

Correct Response: C. 

Typical infant development follows a characteristic sequence of milestones as the infant brain and body mature. Of the milestones listed, smiling at familiar faces, turning the head to locate a sound, and making cooing sounds typically appear between 1-3 months of age, while the milestone of rolling over (either from stomach to back or back to stomach) is most often acquired between the ages of 4 and 7 months.

Correct Answer: B

When children engage in pretend or “make-believe” play, as when they play “house” and pretend to be parents; pretend to be fantasy characters; or use toys to represent real persons, animals or machines, etc. they understand that one thing can be used as a symbol to stand for something else. This is what is called Symbolic Representation. 

The symbolic nature of play moves from less to more advanced. These images offer a great visual for how the hypothetical and imaginary worlds of children’s play can move along a continuum from more concrete symbolism (toy phone) to abstract symbolism (banana as a phone or completely improvised phone).  As children move from the concrete to the abstract, their thinking becomes more and more imaginative and creative.

Correct Answer: C

The question requires applying knowledge of play modes for young children. It describes a state of parallel play, in which children are playing separately from others but with similar toys or in a manner that mimics their neighbor’s play.  

Correct Answer: D

Having children create a picture book of different bugs helps them understand how the visual representation of bugs in their book can convey information. It is also an ideal way to integrate science content and literacy goals. 

Correct Response: B

Creative thinkers apply their knowledge and experience in original ways to make discoveries and expand their understanding. By encouraging second graders to problem solve on their own and come up with unusual solutions to a variety of challenges presented to them, the teacher is helping them become independent thinkers who respond to new experiences with imagination.

Correct Response: C

Prekindergarten children are concrete learners who require direct experience with concrete objects to construct knowledge effectively. The opportunity to explore a concept with real materials and verbalize observations helps extend the depth of children’s understanding and promotes development of a meaningful vocabulary with regard to the targeted concept.

Correct Response: C

Preschool-age children learn best through direct physical interaction with concrete materials. In the situation described, the teacher applies knowledge of the way children learn by providing them with objects to use to test their ideas. Having the opportunity to place various objects on the surface of the water and observe and discuss the results will build the children’s understanding of what types of objects float and what types sink.

Correct Response: D 

A Developmental Screening is a brief assessment that can be administered by early childhood teachers to help identify if a child is on track with their early childhood developmental milestones. Such screenings can help identify children who may be at risk for delays in cognitive, motor, communication, or social-emotional development. Such delays can affect a child’s learning, growth, and development, and may require further evaluation and intervention.

Correct Response B. 

This question requires the examinee to recognize informal assessments and their applications in early childhood programs. Although more subjective than various other assessments, a rating scale is a quick, efficient way to gather information without disrupting learning. 

Using a rating scale over time would allow the teacher to monitor and document a child’s performance of specific skills and to provide timely intervention as necessary.

Assessment Focused Terms PDF

Correct Response: D. 

Fluent readers employ prosody (e.g., pitch, stress, timing) to interpret and convey the meaning of the text they are reading. A child who reads an author’s words with appropriate phrasing and expression is demonstrating key indicators associated with reading fluency.

Correct Response: C. 

Asking a kindergartner to write a title on a picture he or she has just drawn would provide the teacher with a variety of information. For example, this task would show whether the child understands that writing is different from drawing and that print is directional. It would demonstrate the child’s letter-formation skills. It would also be likely to provide information on the child’s understanding of letter-sound correspondence (e.g., if the child uses letters and words that correspond to the names of the objects in the drawing).

Correct Response: B

Rather than taking the lead in identifying the issue causing the conflict and determining best way to resolve it, the teacher can reinforce problem solving strategies and communication skills by asking the children to describe the problem as they perceive it then encourage the children to come up with viable solutions that they can both agree upon. When children take an active role in finding solutions to such conflicts, they will be more motivated to accept and apply the new resolution. 

Correct Response: A

Classroom routines create predictability in the learning environment and help children understand expectations and boundaries. When children know what to expect and how to perform various tasks and responsibilities, they gain confidence and security and tend to be less distracted and anxious. Routines allow children to focus more of their attention on the important task of learning.

Correct Response: B

One of an early childhood teacher’s key responsibilities is to promote young children’s growth as independent learners. By routinely providing children with opportunities to work with partners, make independent choices, and monitor their own activities, the teacher encourages children to assume responsibility for their own learning. Providing children with such opportunities on a regular basis promotes children’s development of independent habits of mind.

Correct Response: B 

This question requires the examinee to apply knowledge of supportive learning environments that promote students’ sense of competence and motivation to learn. Research has shown that children are motivated by high but realistic learning expectations. 

Differentiating instruction allows teachers to set learning expectations at the appropriate level for each student. Students who believe that they can achieve success through effort and persistence become self-confident, motivated learners.

Correct Response: C

At this age, infants may be able to speak a few words and most infants practice speaking by babbling nonsense words. Teachers and families play a critical role in developing language rich learning environments. Adding words or questions to what an infant is doing such as “you have the pink block” encourages communication and models language for the infant.

Correct Response: C

Young children’s oral language development follows a predictable sequence from less to more complex. The use of the grammatical morpheme ‘s to form a contraction of the words She and is represents a more sophisticated stage of oral language development than the constructed sentences in the other responses, which typically occur earlier.

Correct Response: C

This question is primarily about the print rich environment the teacher has created and the opportunities the children are given to use the text around them to further their literacy development. 

While it may be implied that the teacher also wants students to interact with each other, cooperative learning (option A) and student collaboration (option B) are not the primary purposes highlighted in the question scenario. The general idea of the role the classroom environment plays in supporting learning (option D) also does not go far enough to be the best answer.

Correct Response: A 

There are many strategies teachers can use to support ELLs as they build both receptive and expressive English language skills in the classroom.  Using gestures and visual cues, as well as using simple words or words with shared cognates (words in two languages that share a similar meaning, spelling and pronunciation such as the Spanish word información and the English word information) 

This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of basic concepts related to geometry. In geometry, the term area refers to a flat surface enclosed by lines. Outlining a student’s foot on graph paper enables students to explore the concept of area by counting the number of unit squares contained within the outline.


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Correct Answer: A

The recognition of geometric shape’s attributes (such as identifying the number of points and edges that make up a triangle) is necessary for the categorization aspect of this lesson. 

Correct Answer: B

The answer of 8 is found by subtracting 7 from 15.

* There will be questions on your test where you will be asked to identify which mathematical operation is being taught or reinforced based on the details of the scenario or activity in which the children are to engaged. 

Correct Answer: B 

Students will need to read the chart to find the quantities 8, 3, 5, 7, 2, and 10. If the students then order the numbers from least to greatest, getting    2 < 3 < 5 < 7 < 8 < 10, it will be easy for them to see how many fruits are preferred by fewer than 5 students, exactly 5 students, or more than 5 students. 

This question also relates to use of pictographs to help children gather and represent data. For young children, taking surveys of personal preferences or collecting data on personal items (such as types of shoes children are wearing) can be a meaningful and motivating way to engage them in mathematical thinking. 

Correct Response: D

In order to plan developmentally appropriate mathematics activities for a preschool-age child, a teacher needs to have a good idea of each child’s existing knowledge related to mathematical concepts (e.g., bigger and smaller, more than and less than, round and square, one-to-one correspondence). With a young child, the best way to make such a determination would be to observe and talk with the child as he or she interacts with various relevant materials

Correct Response: B

The use of drawings, tallies, and other graphic representations during instruction helps students visualize concepts. Such representations help students identify and focus on relevant information and support comprehension for students with diverse learning needs (e.g., visual learners, students with disabilities, English language learners). 

Correct Answer: A 

This question requires the examinee to apply knowledge of basic concepts of the life sciences. A vertebrate is an animal that has a backbone. Of the animals listed, the only one with a backbone is the hummingbird.

Correct Response: C

A Venn diagram is a kind of graphic organizer that uses overlapping circles to show relationships between two or more ideas, groups, or concepts.  The outer circles of a Venn diagrams are most often used to compare and contrast attribute  or data sets with the outer circles representing differences and the overlapping areas representing similarities.

Correct Answer: C

A chemical change occurs when a new substance is formed from one or more other substances. The other choices in this question represent examples of physical changes. 

Other examples where chemical changes occur include: baking a cake, burning wood, and the rusting of an iron nail.

Correct Answer: C 

The activity describes classification, which requires students to arrange or organize items according to class or category. 

Correct Answer: B

The described activity concretely illustrates the pathway of plant water transportation up the celery stalk.  

Correct Response: C

A slide is an example of an inclined plane or ramp.

In the photo are examples of  2 simple machines found on a playground- a lever (the see saw) and an inclined plane (the slide).

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/simple-machines-printables-1832412

Correct Response: B

Cause and Effect is a type of relationship between events whereby a cause (an action) creates an effect (an outcome). Cause and effect is considered to be the backbone of the scientific method; it drives everything from our hypotheses to our conclusions in an experiment. The job of the scientific method is to tell us if a cause (or action) produces an observed effect.  

In this example, the teacher is setting up an opportunity for children to observe the effect or outcome on the distance the toy car travels down the ramp when the children cause a change in the angle of the ramp. 

Correct Response: D

A Line graph (also known as a line plot graph) is a graph where data points are connected by lines to show how something changes in value either as time goes by or as something else changes. 

Line graphs use an X axis (horizontal) and a Y-axis (vertical) to plot two corresponding data points. It can also be referred to as a Line Plot Graph.  For this question, one axis would describe the various levels of incline of the ramp and the other would show the distance the toy car traveled from the end of each ramp.

Click “Supplemental Info” for a graphic example for this scenario.

Correct Response: D

The strategy of partnering the student with a peer will help the child establish a friendship and identify himself as a member of a group.  

Correct Answer: C

Interdependence is the social science concept of being dependent on each other for some of our needs.  Taking children on field trips to locations within the community allows them to be active learners in understanding this concept. The children begin to understand how people in the community rely on each other to provide certain services and goods. 

Correct Answer: C

Cultural identity is the sense of belonging to a group or groups that children first begin to develop through their relationships with family and community. Though the concept of ancestry and cultural heritage is too abstract for children at age three, children this age are already aware of the traditions and activities in which their families participate. Connecting cultural activities to ideas and experiences that are familiar to children builds on what they know to establish a foundation for eventually developing a broader understanding of who they are.   

Correct Answer: A

Reading a grade appropriate biography with a strong sequence of events then creating a human timeline depicting the events in chronological order.

Correct Response: A

In this scenario, it is best to respond to a child experiencing intense emotional dysregulation with a calm demeanor while also expressing understanding and validation of the frustration they might be feeling.

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.

Correct Response: D

Teachers’ arrangement of the classroom environment plays a key role in the children’s ability to move through the space safely, as well as in their ability to make safe and productive use of classroom materials. Wide-open spaces tend to encourage dangerous behaviors such as running through the classroom, and such spaces may additionally serve as sources of distraction that prevent children from interacting meaningfully, purposefully, and safely with the materials provided in the various learning centers.  

Correct Answer: D

Agility, balance, power, speed, coordination, and reaction time are all components of skill-related fitness. The wall-ball activity most closely addresses students’ eye-hand coordination. 

Correct Answer: D

Hopping on one foot is the best option for helping young children in this age range develop a sense of balance.

Correct Answer: C

Secondary colors are made by mixing two primary colors in equal measure.

COLOR TERMS

Primary Colors: Red, Yellow and Blue are considered the 3 Primary Colors

Secondary Colors: Made by mixing equal parts of primary colors. (Purple, Green, Orange)

Tertiary Colors: Made by mixing one primary color with half the saturation of a second primary color 

Complimentary Colors: Appear opposite each other on the color wheel

Image Source: https://www.color-meanings.com/primary-secondary-tertiary-colors/ 

Correct Answer: B

When responding to young children’s artistic creations, teachers must take care not to impose their own judgments or interpretations of the works. Even making complimentary statements (e.g., “Oh, that’s beautiful!” or “I love your picture!”) can have the unintended effect of prompting young children to begin seeking adults’ praise for their works rather than to continue their unselfconscious explorations of color, texture, gesture, and media. Neutral observations such as “You used so many different colors in your picture. Can you tell me about it?” are generally considered appropriate because they make no judgment and keep the focus on the child’s work rather than on the adult’s reaction.

Correct Response: D

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.

Correct Answer: C

When a teacher reads with expression, uses different voices for the characters, and models inflection and emotion, students are more likely to become engaged with the content, to better understand the literacy concepts used in the text and come to appreciate the dramatic arts in everyday life.

Correct Answer: C   

Tempo refers to the pace (how fast or slow) music is performed. See the handout called Exploring Musical Terms for more information on this topic area

Correct Response: B

According to the researchers, children’s minds are trained to categorize phonemes in their first language, which may conflict with phonemes used in English. For example, Spanish-speaking children may speak, read, and write ch when sh should be used because in Spanish, these two combinations produce the same phoneme (International Reading Association, 2001). 

It is important for teachers to understand the linguistic characteristics of a student’s home language, including the phonemes that exist and do not exist in that language so that they can better support the child’s phonemic awareness development in English. 

Correct Response: D. 

Fluent readers employ prosody (e.g., pitch, stress, timing) to interpret and convey the meaning of the text they are reading. A child who reads an author’s words with appropriate phrasing and expression is demonstrating key indicators associated with reading fluency.

Correct Response: B

Sound segmentation activities require students to isolate each constituent sound in a word. Moving each marker into its own box to represent each sound encourages the students to associate one marker with one sound, thus laying a conceptual foundation for students’ later association of individual letters with their sounds.

This scenario refers to the use of a teaching tool called Elkonin Sound Boxes. They support young or struggling readers to develop phonemic awareness skills by helping them to better hear and manipulate the smallest units of sound in words.

Correct Response: C

Segmenting individual sounds in words

Children’s phonological awareness skills follow a continuum of complexity. The most advanced level of phonological awareness is phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the understanding that words are made up of individual sounds, or phonemes, and the ability to manipulate those phonemes either by segmenting, blending, or changing individual phonemes within words to create new words.

Correct Answer: D  

Phonemic Awareness skills are necessary for matching words or pictures with beginning sounds. 

Option A (phonics) is incorrect because it involves understanding how letters combined to make sounds and words. Students are ready for phonics instruction after they have acquired a strong foundation of phonemic awareness. 

Option B (Vocabulary), involves building children’s receptive and expressive vocabulary or word knowledge, which is not the goal of this activity. 

Option C (letter recognition) is incorrect because this activity is not focused primarily on children identifying letters.

Correct Answer: B

Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently, such as to, two, and too.

Correct Response: C

This question reminds us to be familiar with the ways children use and teachers teach the various text features of non-fiction/informational books.

Text features are elements included in books that exist independently from the book’s main text. they are intended to enhance readers’ experiences with the text. Some examples of text features include table of contents, the index, and the glossary of terms. Students learn how to access various information in books more quickly and efficiently through the use of text features. 

Correct Answer: B

Inferential questions require students to use their background knowledge and the clues within the story to answer questions beyond what is explicitly stated in the text. 

Generally speaking, there are 3 types of Comprehension: Literal (understanding what is explicitly written or described in the text), Inferential (reading between the lines; understanding implied meaning based on the facts or details in a text), and Evaluative (the ability to analyze text or to explore the author’s intent, opinion or style)

Correct Response: C. 

Asking a kindergartner to write a title on a picture he or she has just drawn would provide the teacher with a variety of information. For example, this task would show whether the child understands that writing is different from drawing and that print is directional. It would demonstrate the child’s letter-formation skills. It would also be likely to provide information on the child’s understanding of letter-sound correspondence (e.g., if the child uses letters and words that correspond to the names of the objects in the drawing).

Correct Response: A

This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of strategies for fostering English language learners’ ability to speak for various purposes. If English language learners are unfamiliar with key words and concepts in a story, they will be unable to participate fully in a discussion about it. Conducting a prereading activity to explain the story’s vocabulary and link the content to the children’s existing knowledge will facilitate comprehension and, thus, active oral participation.

Correct Answer: B

This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of factors that influence children’s development of writing skills. The development of the fine-motor skills required for writing starts in babyhood, when children use a pincer grasp to pick up objects of interest. Preschool teachers can build on these skills by providing appealing activities with manipulative materials that support the further development of fine-motor strength and control.

Correct Answer: B

Spelling instruction in the early years includes the teaching of spelling patterns such as the CVC (consonant/vowel/consonant) pattern used to form words with short vowel sounds such as pop or tag, while the CVCe and CVVC patterns most often form words with long vowel sounds such as cake or read.

Correct Response: A

This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of concepts about print. Kima’s behaviors indicate that she makes a distinction between letters and pictures and that she recognizes that letters are used to represent spoken language.

Coordinate pull-out and classroom activities to help the student achieve individual goals.

This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of strategies for building collaborative partnerships with colleagues. A direct meeting would provide the best opportunity for the teachers to share their perspectives, explore potential solutions, and forge a common understanding of how to meet the student’s needs across domains.

This question requires the examinee to demonstrate the ability to apply skills and strategies for establishing and maintaining positive, collaborative relationships with families and for involving families in their children’s development and learning. Special learning experiences within the classroom present a unique opportunity to help families feel included in their child’s learning. It is important for teachers to ask families for input about what they would like their children to learn from special presentations so that each event’s usefulness is maximized. This outreach to families helps develop mutual respect and increased communication between teachers and families.

Keeping families informed about upcoming classroom events or field trips is an important part of home-school communication. Providing a monthly calendar or newsletter for each child to take home allows families to keep track of what is presently happening or soon to happen in the classroom and can be referred to throughout the month as needed.  Sending this information home each month via backpack is an accessible means of communication for most families.

Correct Answer: C

The IFSP is a family-focused plan that recognizes the family as a child’s greatest resource and primary decision maker.  

Program evaluations are essential to ensure that early childhood programs are providing the best quality services to children and their families. When conducting a comprehensive evaluation of an early childhood program, the team should begin by reviewing the program’s current philosophy, goals, and objectives.

This step must be done first to make sure that the program’s current content and services are aligned with then stated mission and vision of the program. This review will also help the program evaluation team determine if the current philosophy, goals, and objectives are still working for the program or if they need to be revised to meet current needs.

This question requires the examinee to recognize the responsibilities of early childhood educators. 

Transitions are especially sensitive moments for young children. The general education preschool teacher can facilitate a smooth transition by collaborating with the family and service providers in multiple ways (e.g., by learning about the child’s routines, communication modes, and favorite toys and foods; becoming familiar with the services the child has been receiving; arranging to meet the child beforehand).

To advocate for children, a teacher works with other educational professionals and/or representatives of community organizations to accomplish goals that are aimed at improving children’s educational experiences and their lives in general. By collaborating with an agency in the community to organize special health and wellness events, the teacher is advocating for children and their families to create a series of events that will likely have a long-term positive effect on the health of the children and their families. In this situation, the teacher seeks out the resources necessary to provide an experience for children and families that they would not have had otherwise.

According to the U.S. Department of Education website and overview of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Infants and toddlers, birth through age 2, with disabilities and their families receive early intervention services under IDEA Part C. 

Children and youth ages 3 through 21 receive special education and related services under IDEA Part B.

For more information on IDEA please go to: 

 https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/

Parent permission is necessary in order for a school psychologist or counselor to collect or conduct a diagnostic observation or assessment. 

Correct Response: A. 

The typical learning profile of children with Down syndrome includes strength in visual processing and visual memory skills. Jamie’s general education teacher should work closely with the special education teacher to determine whether this is the case with Jamie and, depending on Jamie’s specific learning profile, to develop instructional strategies that build on the learning strengths Jamie brings to the classroom.