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TM TM AZ-SG-FLD036-02 36 Early Childhood Education As of March 2013, this test is delivered as a computer-based test, and consists of 100 selected-response questions. See www.aepa.nesinc.com for current program information.

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TMTM

AZ-SG-FLD036-02

36 Early Childhood Education

As of March 2013, this test is delivered as a computer-based test, and consists of 100 selected-response questions.

See www.aepa.nesinc.com for current program information.

Readers should be advised that this study guide, including many of theexcerpts used herein, is protected by federal copyright law.

Copyright © 2006 by National Evaluation Systems, Inc. (NES®)

"AEPA," "Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments," and the "AEPA" logo are registered trademarks ofthe Arizona Department of Education and National Evaluation Systems, Inc. (NES®).

"NES®" and its logo are registered trademarks of National Evaluation Systems, Inc.™

TABLE OF CONTENTSField 36: Early Childhood Education

PART 1: GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE AEPA® AND TEST PREPARATION

AN OVERVIEW OF THE AEPA........................................................................................... 1-1

Test Development ProcessCharacteristics of the AEPATest AdministrationHow AEPA Test Scores Are Computed and Reported

HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE TESTS ................................................................................... 1-3

Study the Test ObjectivesFocus Your StudiesIdentify ResourcesDevelop Study TechniquesAnswer the Practice QuestionsReview the Sample Answer Sheet and Written Response BookletTest DirectionsSample Answer SheetSample Written Response Booklet

WHAT TO EXPECT THE DAY OF THE TEST........................................................................ 1-12

The Morning of the AdministrationAt the Test Site

SAMPLE TEST OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS .................................................................. 1-13

Organization of the Test ObjectivesQuestion Formats and StrategiesSelected-Response-Question FormatsPerformance Assignment FormatsEvaluation of the Sample Written Performance Assignment Response

PART 2: FIELD-SPECIFIC INFORMATION

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 2-1

TEST OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................................. 2-2

PRACTICE QUESTIONS ...................................................................................................... 2-7

ANSWER KEY ..................................................................................................................... 2-36

PREPARATION RESOURCES............................................................................................... 2-40

STUDY GUIDE ORDER FORM

PART 1:GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUTTHE AEPA® AND TEST PREPARATION

Part 1 of this study guide is contained in a separate PDF file. Click the link below to view orprint this section:

General Information About the AEPA and Test Preparation

Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-1

PART 2:FIELD-SPECIFIC INFORMATIONField 36: Early Childhood Education

INTRODUCTION

This section includes a list of the test objectives, practice questions, and an answer key for the selected-response questions.

Test objectives. As noted earlier, the test objectives are broad, conceptual statements that reflect theknowledge, skills, and understanding an entry-level educator needs to practice effectively in Arizona schools.The list of test objectives for each test field is the only source of information about what a specific test willcover and therefore should be studied carefully.

Practice questions. The practice questions for the selected-response and performance assignment sectionsincluded in this section are designed to give you an introduction to the nature of the questions included in theAEPA tests. The practice questions represent the various types of questions you may expect to see on an actualtest; however, they are not designed to provide diagnostic information to help you identify specific areas ofindividual strength or weakness or to predict your performance on the test as a whole.

When you answer the practice questions, you may wish to use the sample answer sheet and sample WrittenResponse Booklet provided in Part 1 to acquaint yourself with these materials. Use the answer key locatedafter the practice questions to check your answers. A sample response is provided immediately following thewritten performance assignment. The sample response in this guide is for illustrative purposes only. Yourwritten response should be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrasedfrom some other work.

To help you identify how the test objectives are measured, the objective statement to which the questioncorresponds is listed in the answer key. When you are finished with the practice questions, you may wish togo back and review the entire list of test objectives and descriptive statements for your test field.

Preparation resources. The list of preparation resources has been compiled to assist you in finding relevantmaterials as you prepare to take the Early Childhood Education test. This list is to be considered not ascomplete, but as representative of the kinds of resources currently available. There may be other materials thatmay be helpful to you in preparing to take the test.

You may also wish to consult a representative from an Arizona educator preparation program in your arearegarding other potential resources specific to this field. Keep in mind that the use of these materials does notguarantee successful performance on the test.

2-2 Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide

TEST OBJECTIVES

Field 36: Early Childhood Education

SUBAREAS:

1. Child Development and Learning2. Communication, Language, and Literacy Development3. Learning in the Content Areas

CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING

0001 Understand human growth and development and how to use this understanding to promote learning anddevelopment in all domains.

For example: identifying characteristics, processes, and progressions of typical and atypicalcognitive, physical, motor, social, emotional, and language/communicative development;recognizing ways in which development in any domain (e.g., cognitive, social, language/communicative) may affect development and performance in other domains; demonstratingknowledge of how specific factors may affect development; understanding that developmentalvariations among children may affect learning in given situations; demonstrating knowledge of theimportance of considering children's ages and developmental characteristics when designing andevaluating learning opportunities; recognizing the role of play in children's development;recognizing learning opportunities and environments for promoting developmental progress;recognizing behaviors and factors that affect individual, family, and community health and safety;and demonstrating familiarity with the principles of nutrition.

0002 Understand factors that may affect children's development and learning and use this knowledge to createlearning environments that support all children's progress.

For example: recognizing factors (e.g., biological, social, emotional, cognitive, behavioral,physiological, gender, linguistic, environmental, familial, cultural, economic) that may affectchildren's development and learning; recognizing the effects of the home environment (e.g., natureof the expectations of parents/guardians, degree of their involvement in a child's education) onchildren's learning; recognizing how current and prior learning experiences outside the home(e.g., interactions with caregivers and teachers, prior successes and challenges, peer interactions)may affect children's self-concepts, perceptions, motivation, and attitudes about learning;recognizing cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity and their significance for childdevelopment and learning; demonstrating awareness of types of exceptionalities and theirimplications for learning; and understanding how community characteristics (e.g., socioeconomicprofile, opportunities for out-of-school educational experiences, availability of communityresources) may affect children.

0003 Understand integrated curriculum design that reflects the ways children construct knowledge.

For example: demonstrating understanding of the holistic nature of children's learning;demonstrating knowledge of the benefits of integrated curriculum and its role in promotingchildren's learning; knowing how to use children's interests and experiences to generate ideas andconcepts for investigation and study; demonstrating knowledge of how to construct integratedlearning experiences that reflect learning standards across the curriculum and support children'sprogress; and applying knowledge of strategies for integrating curriculum in literacy, mathematics,science, social studies, and the arts to promote children's learning.

Early Childhood Education

Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-3

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE, AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT

0004 Understand communication and language development in young children.

For example: demonstrating knowledge of characteristics, processes, and progressions in thedevelopment of receptive and expressive language and speech; demonstrating knowledge of factorsthat influence children's communication and language development; demonstrating knowledge ofhow children convey meaning through nonverbal and verbal communication; identifying ways topromote children's communication and language development; identifying ways to promotevocabulary development and the use of vocabulary knowledge in new contexts; recognizing waysfor developing increasingly complex language and vocabulary to express thoughts and feelings,describe experiences, interact with others, and communicate needs; and demonstrating knowledgeof methods for motivating children to use oral language to communicate (e.g., telling and retellingstories through play, pictures, illustrations, props, and other materials).

0005 Understand second-language acquisition and how to facilitate the English language development of youngchildren with diverse linguistic backgrounds.

For example: recognizing characteristics, processes, and progressions of second-languageacquisition in young children; analyzing factors and issues affecting the learning experiences ofchildren with a home language other than English (e.g., age, prior experiences); identifying strategiesand techniques for promoting the English language development of children with diverse linguisticbackgrounds; demonstrating knowledge of methods for ensuring that the home language of eachchild is respected and the natural propensity of all children for acquiring language is fostered;understanding the importance of collaborating with families to set and accomplish language-learning goals; and recognizing ways to create a language-rich environment that encourages allchildren to learn to communicate effectively.

0006 Understand the development of concepts about print and how to create a learning environment topromote emergent literacy.

For example: recognizing characteristics, processes, and progressions of the development ofconcepts about print (e.g., interest in print, awareness that print carries meaning, book-handlingskills, letter recognition); understanding the importance of collaborating with families to promoteliteracy development; recognizing relationships between young children's emergent literacy andfactors such as enjoyment of stories and awareness of environmental print; identifying strategies andtechniques for promoting children's emergent literacy and development of concepts about print;recognizing methods for promoting children's interaction with print in varied and meaningfulcontexts; recognizing the importance of and strategies for creating a print-rich environment;demonstrating knowledge of strategies for encouraging children's enjoyment of and positiveattitudes toward literacy; and demonstrating knowledge of high-quality children's literature(e.g., genres of children's literature, elements of story, equity issues).

Early Childhood Education

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0007 Understand foundations of reading development.

For example: demonstrating knowledge of factors affecting children's reading development(e.g., teacher modeling, read-alouds, reading practices in the home, enjoyment of reading);recognizing strategies for promoting phonological awareness (hearing and discriminating therhythm and sounds of speech) and phonemic awareness (manipulating the smallest units of speech);demonstrating knowledge of phonics skills (association between sounds and written letters), ortho-graphic awareness, semantic and syntactic cueing systems, and other word identification skills(e.g., sight words, high-frequency words); identifying ways for promoting vocabulary developmentand the use of vocabulary knowledge in new contexts; identifying appropriate strategies forpromoting reading fluency; demonstrating knowledge of literal, inferential, interpretive, andevaluative comprehension skills and strategies for promoting children's development of theseskills; and recognizing strategies for facilitating comprehension before, during, and after reading(e.g., predicting, self-monitoring, questioning, rereading, engaging in dialogue, reflecting).

0008 Understand writing processes and how to create effective learning opportunities for promoting youngchildren's writing skills.

For example: recognizing the characteristics, processes, and progressions of writing development;analyzing factors that affect young children's development of writing skills (e.g., access to writingmaterials, opportunities to write, fine-motor development); demonstrating knowledge of strategiesfor helping children develop and apply writing skills and for promoting children's interest andengagement in writing for different purposes and audiences; recognizing the reciprocal relation-ships between children's writing and reading experiences; understanding factors affecting spellingdevelopment (e.g., visual processing, recognizing patterns of speech sounds, word knowledge); anddemonstrating knowledge of methods for supporting children at each stage of writing development.

LEARNING IN THE CONTENT AREAS

0009 Understand mathematics concepts and skills.

For example: recognizing, interpreting, and using mathematical terminology, symbols, andrepresentations (e.g., cardinal and ordinal numbers; properties of real numbers; base numbersystems; fractions, decimals, and percents); demonstrating knowledge of number sense andnumerical operations; demonstrating understanding of fundamental concepts of algebra andgeometry; demonstrating understanding of patterns, relations, and functions (e.g., recognizingand analyzing patterns in numbers, shapes, and data; the translation of problem-solving situationsinto expressions and equations involving variables and unknowns); recognizing standard andnonstandard measurement instruments and units; demonstrating knowledge of procedures forsolving problems involving length, area, angles, volume, mass, and temperature; identifyingmethods for collection, organization, and analysis of data; and applying mathematical logicand reasoning to analyze and solve problems in real-world contexts.

0010 Understand how to facilitate learning for young children in the area of mathematics.

For example: recognizing characteristics, processes, and progressions in children's mathematicaldevelopment, including intuitive and emergent numeracy; demonstrating knowledge of factorsthat affect young children's mathematical development; understanding the importance of collabo-rating with families to promote children's mathematical development; recognizing the roles ofexploration, active engagement, inquiry, and questioning in building knowledge, language, andconcepts related to mathematics; demonstrating knowledge of learning experiences for promotingunderstanding of mathematics concepts and acquisition of mathematics skills; demonstratingknowledge of strategies for encouraging children to develop positive attitudes toward mathematics;and demonstrating knowledge of strategies for encouraging the use of mathematical concepts andskills in everyday life.

Early Childhood Education

Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-5

0011 Understand science content and inquiry processes and how to facilitate science learning for youngchildren.

For example: demonstrating knowledge of basic concepts in physical, life, and earth science;applying knowledge of scientific processes (e.g., observing, hypothesizing, experimenting);recognizing the roles of exploration, active engagement, inquiry, and questioning in buildingknowledge, language, and concepts related to science; demonstrating knowledge of learningexperiences for promoting understanding of science concepts and acquisition of science skills;demonstrating knowledge of strategies for encouraging children to develop positive attitudestoward science; and demonstrating knowledge of strategies for encouraging the use of scienceconcepts and skills in everyday life.

0012 Understand social studies content and skills and how to facilitate social studies learning.

For example: demonstrating knowledge of basic concepts in geography, history, civics, andeconomics; demonstrating knowledge of social studies skills (e.g., mapping, research); recognizingthe roles of exploration, active engagement, inquiry, and questioning in building knowledge, lang-uage, and concepts related to social studies; demonstrating knowledge of learning experiences forpromoting understanding of social studies concepts and acquisition of social studies skills; demon-strating knowledge of strategies for encouraging children to develop positive attitudes toward socialstudies; identifying strategies for using everyday and current events to promote understanding ofsocial studies concepts; and demonstrating knowledge of how to promote children's use of socialstudies skills (e.g., conflict resolution, community building) in a variety of settings.

0013 Understand the visual and performing arts and how to facilitate young children's learning in andappreciation of the arts.

For example: demonstrating knowledge of basic concepts and skills (e.g., creating, appreciating) invisual arts, music, movement, and drama; recognizing the roles of exploration, active engagement,inquiry, and questioning in building knowledge, language, and concepts related to the arts;demonstrating knowledge of learning experiences for promoting arts concepts and skills;demonstrating knowledge of strategies for supporting children's creativity and for encouragingchildren to develop positive attitudes toward the arts; demonstrating knowledge of activities andresources for promoting aesthetic appreciation; recognizing the role of the arts in promoting self-expression, creative thinking, and a healthy self-concept; and recognizing the role of the arts as away for children to express and understand knowledge and ideas in other curricular areas.

Early Childhood Education

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DISTRIBUTION OF SELECTED-RESPONSE ITEMS ON THE TEST FORM

Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-7

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Field 36: Early Childhood Education

1. A three year old and a four year old havebeen competing for opportunities to ridethe swing. Both children are capableof seating themselves in the swing andpushing it. Which of the followingresponses from their preschool teacherwill best serve to foster the children'ssocial problem-solving skills?

A. suggesting that the children taketurns using the swing and deter-mining who should use the swingfirst

B. asking the children to explain thesituation and helping them decidewhat to do

C. redirecting the children to differ-ent activities and keeping themseparated until their attention isrefocused

D. reminding the children that arguingis against class rules and making theswings off limits to them for the restof the day

2. A three year old washes her hands andsays aloud, "you do soap, now water, godry hands." According to Lev Vygotsky'stheory of development, the child isdemonstrating:

A. initiative, which allows her to begindeveloping higher-level independentthinking skills.

B. egocentric thinking as a means tounderstand a skill by relating it toherself.

C. sequencing, which allows her toarrange parts of a story into a logicalprogression.

D. private speech as a means forturning shared knowledge intopersonal knowledge.

3. A traumatic experience of violence is mostlikely to have a negative effect on a child'sdeveloping sense of:

A. autonomy.

B. self-confidence.

C. belonging.

D. security.

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4. For children in good health, dietary fatsfunction primarily to help the body:

A. store energy.

B. build tissue.

C. assimilate nutrients.

D. regulate temperature.

5. A baby who has difficulty imitating facialexpressions will also have considerabledifficulty learning to do which of thefollowing activities?

A. eating solid foods

B. speaking

C. crawling

D. grasping objects

6. Some young children with autism spec-trum disorder benefit from participatingin play groups with children from generaleducation classrooms. Which of the fol-lowing is the best rationale for includingchildren with autism in these play groups?

A. Inclusion helps autistic childrenlearn to identify social cues throughpeer interaction.

B. Inclusion helps autistic childrenbecome comfortable in unstructuredenvironments.

C. Inclusion helps autistic childrenfunction effectively in the absenceof adult supervision.

D. Inclusion helps autistic childrenexpress themselves through fantasyand dramatic play.

Early Childhood Education

Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-9

7. Which of the following would best fosteryoung children's motivation to learn?

A. activities related to their variousinterests

B. rewards keyed to their academicsuccess

C. goals set on the basis of their currentabilities

D. competitions designed to highlighttheir skills

8. Which of the following strategies wouldbe the most appropriate way for a pre-school teacher to create a classroomenvironment that celebrates children'sculturally diverse backgrounds?

A. maintaining a bulletin boardshowing pictures of children fromdiverse cultural backgroundsinvolved in classroom-typeactivities

B. ensuring that learning materials usedwith the children are reflective oftheir diverse cultural backgrounds

C. presenting lessons throughout theyear that involve preparing andeating foods from various cultures

D. listing holidays and other specialcelebrations from a variety ofcultures and religions on theclassroom calendar

9. Kelly is a four year old who has mildcognitive delays. She attends preschoolfor five half days each week. A specialeducation teacher comes to the classroomto work with Kelly three times per week.Her preschool teacher is beginning a unitthat involves new concepts related tonutrition. He is planning to introduceseveral concepts during large-group circletime, then provide follow-up activities forsmall-group centers. In this situation, thepreschool teacher can most appropriatelyaddress Kelly's learning needs by:

A. including her in all lessons to thefullest extent possible.

B. sending home information about thenew concepts to her parents so theycan review the concepts with her.

C. asking the special education teacherto work with her individually.

D. preparing a separate set of lessonsdesigned to promote Kelly's skills inmeeting her basic physical needs.

Early Childhood Education

2-10 Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide

10. A new kindergarten teacher has beenassigned to a rural school. The school hasa high proportion of students living inpoverty, many of whom have had limitedexperiences outside their homes. Childrenreared in these circumstances are morelikely to be engaged by learning projectsthat:

A. focus on essential skills for readingand mathematics.

B. involve unfamiliar cultures andlocations.

C. explore characters and ideaspopularized in the mass media.

D. relate closely to their immediateenvironment and community.

11. At the beginning of the school year, asecond-grade teacher finds that severalstudents have not retained some of theskills they learned in first grade. Whichof the following factors is likely to havethe greatest impact on a student's abilityto retain learned academic skills over theextended break?

A. the manner in which the skills weretaught

B. the number of activities the studentwas given to practice the skills overthe break

C. the time of year during which theskills were taught

D. the degree of adult to student inter-action in using the skills over thebreak

12. Compared to preschoolers who stay athome, those in high-quality daycaretypically learn to interact with caregiversand peers in which of the following ways?

A. They are more polite so they canelicit empathic responses fromothers.

B. They are more verbal whenexpressing their needs to others.

C. They are more passive so they avoidconfrontations with others.

D. They are more compliant whentrying to meet the expectations ofothers.

13. Outside of the home, which of the fol-lowing is the most significant factor inshaping a seven-year-old child's way ofthinking about his own and other people'sethnicities?

A. society's general perception of hisethnic group

B. the extent of his familiarity withvarious ethnic traditions

C. the nature of his friends' and peers'views of diversity

D. the extent of his participation indiversity-awareness activities

Early Childhood Education

Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-11

14. Mrs. García, a second-grade teacher, hasplanned a unit on apples for her students.During the unit, students diagram the partsof an apple, follow a recipe for makingapplesauce, graph their favorite types ofapples, read various books about JohnnyAppleseed, chart Johnny Appleseed'stravel across the United States on a map,and keep journals of all their appleexperiences. Which of the followingdescribes the main benefit of this typeof curriculum unit?

A. Integrating many subject areashelps students make meaningfulconnections with the academiccontent.

B. Using varied, high-quality literatureas part of a curriculum unit pro-motes a love of reading.

C. Planning a variety of lessons on onetheme is an effective strategy foraddressing all learning styles in theunit.

D. Selecting food as a topic for curric-ulum integration motivates thestudents to actively participate inlessons.

15. A four-year-old preschool child hasreturned recently from a month-longtrip. During the trip she visited hergrandparents who live in another country.In which of the following ways canher teacher best incorporate the child'sexperiences into the preschool classroom'sactivities?

A. asking the child to bring photos anditems from her trip to talk aboutduring circle time

B. creating a thematic unit on "WhereOur Families Come From" andincluding the child's trip in the unit

C. asking the child's family to bring atraditional food for the class to tryduring a "Foods We Eat" activity

D. reading aloud folk tales from severalcountries, including the country thechild visited

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16. Use the circle-time discussion in a preschool class below to answer the question that follows.

Teacher: Look outside. What's the weather like today? Martin, please come up and find thepicture to put on the weather chart for today.

Martin: It's windy and sunny.

Teacher: It is windy out today and it's sunny too. You found two pictures for the weather chart.

Anna: My brother has a windsock he made at school.

To open new opportunities for studentlearning, it would be most effective forthe teacher to ask which of the followingquestions?

A. Can you bring the windsock in toshare with all of us?

B. What does your brother's windsocklook like?

C. Would you like to make a windsockduring craft time?

D. What do you think a windsockdoes?

17. Several first-grade students excitedly pointout to their teacher a new bird's nest withvisible eggs. The teacher could mosteffectively incorporate this situation intomeaningful classroom instruction by:

A. having the students draw pictures ofthe bird's nest during their art class.

B. reading a couple of stories aboutbirds to the students during readingtime.

C. keeping a tally on the chalkboard ofhow many days go by until the eggshatch.

D. asking the students to write dailyobservations of the nest in theirjournals.

Early Childhood Education

Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-13

18. As part of a unit on gardening, teachers inthe toddler classroom are planning a seriesof thematic activities. These will includeteaching some simple songs, selectingseveral big books to read during storytimes, digging and planting an outdoorgarden, measuring and graphing plantgrowth, and harvesting and preparingvegetables to eat. Using such a widevariety of garden-themed activities bestaddresses which of the following aspectsof child development?

A. Young children have very shortattention spans and need to period-ically change activities in whichthey participate.

B. Young children develop criticalsocial skills through engaging indifferent kinds of interactions.

C. Young children benefit fromlearning activities that engageand stimulate each of their senses.

D. Young children need a highlystructured program to preparethem for future academic work.

19. Which of the following third-gradecurriculum plans would be best suitedto integrating the state's learning standardsin literacy, science, and social studies?

A. a unit that concentrates on the useof characterization and setting inhistorical fiction for children

B. a unit that looks at connectionsamong history, ecology, and culturein the American Southwest

C. a unit that compares and contrastsindigenous cultures from North,Central, and South America

D. a unit that requires students to createa performance based on fables theyread in class

20. In the art corner of a kindergarten class-room, a teacher initiates a learning activityin which students make drawings usingmarkers in their favorite colors. Then,they discuss the drawings and their colorchoices. This activity builds students'content knowledge, promotes their manualdexterity, and fosters most significantlywhich of the following aspects of theirsocial and emotional development?

A. their sense of self-awareness

B. their sense of sense memory

C. their sense of self-management

D. their sense of independence

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21. A two-and-a-half year old is showingsigns of a language delay. She producesonly a few, single-syllable words, and herpronunciation is much more difficult tounderstand than that of her peers. Herlanguage delay is likely to have beeninfluenced most significantly by:

A. having a brother who is ninemonths old.

B. having had her grandmother movein with the family.

C. having had frequent ear infections inthe past 18 months.

D. having changed child-care providersthe previous year.

22. Two three-year-old children are playing atthe sand table. One child reaches over andgrabs a toy shovel from next to the otherchild, who yells at the first child to returnit. To promote the children's vocabularyrelated to thoughts and feelings, theteacher's best response to this situationwould be to:

A. explain to the children that they willbe separated because they are notable to play together and share toys.

B. help the children talk through theirconflict and come to a solution thatsatisfies them both.

C. talk to the children about respectingeach other and not taking toys theother is using without asking.

D. ask each child to bring more toysto the sand table to ensure that theywill have more choices of toys.

23. A kindergarten teacher observes that achild in his class has difficulty expressingherself orally and uses a limited vocabu-lary. Which of the following strategieswould likely be most helpful in develop-ing the child's expressive communicationand vocabulary?

A. encouraging the child to participatemore while singing songs duringcircle time

B. having the child listen to a variety ofstories on tape in the listening center

C. engaging the child in regular con-versations and having her dictatestories and ideas

D. conducting more frequent sharingtimes and discussions with thewhole class and small groups

Early Childhood Education

Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-15

24. In a kindergarten classroom, the teacherhas set out several wordless books for thechildren to look at. Periodically, she asksone of the children to "read" the book toher. Asking the children to participate inthis activity will be most effective as away to:

A. develop the children's oral languageskills.

B. expand the children's interest indifferent literary genres.

C. stimulate the children's interest inillustrations.

D. further the emergence of thechildren's decoding skills.

Use the information below to answerthe two questions that follow.

A two-year-old boy is sitting in a high-chair. As he says, "Swing," to hiscaregiver, he turns and points toward thedoor. When the caregiver picks up theboy and carries him to the door, he pointsto a swingset in the yard. The caregiveropens the door and puts the boy down, andhe walks eagerly toward the swingset.

25. In this exchange with his caregiver, theboy has conveyed meaning by usingwhich of the following?

A. overextension

B. recursion

C. holophrase

D. underextension

26. In this situation, the caregiver could bestpromote the boy's communication andlanguage development by:

A. reminding him to use words toexpress his needs.

B. engaging him in conversation aboutthe swing.

C. waiting for him to ask to be takenoutdoors.

D. asking him simple yes or no ques-tions about the swing.

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27. The families of young children who arelearning English as a new language aresignificantly more likely to collaboratewith teachers when they:

A. believe it is important that theirchildren receive a quality education.

B. have had positive learningexperiences during their ownyears in school.

C. have ongoing opportunities toprovide input into their children'seducation.

D. recognize the link between theirchildren's education and theiroccupational future.

28. When learning English, which of thefollowing language skills do youngchildren from diverse languagebackgrounds typically master first?

A. speaking with other children whileplaying

B. sorting different objects based ontheir colors

C. following directions for completingan activity

D. recognizing which words in a listrhyme

29. A first-grade teacher has an EnglishLanguage Learner in her class whosehome language is Russian. The teachermakes it a practice to have the class countobjects and say the names of the monthsand days of the week in Russian. Thispractice is most likely to promote:

A. development of the English Lan-guage Learner's oral proficiencywhen using English.

B. better understanding of the cultureand heritage of the English Lan-guage Learner among all students.

C. interactions between the EnglishLanguage Learner and studentswhose home language is English.

D. respect for and knowledge of theEnglish Language Learner's homelanguage among all students.

30. When English Language Learners reachthe early production stage of second-language acquisition, they are typicallymost comfortable performing which of thefollowing language tasks?

A. responding verbally to open-endedquestions

B. speaking in single words or two-word phrases

C. using social language in theclassroom

D. speaking in compound or complexsentences

Early Childhood Education

Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-17

31. A three-year-old child speaks bothSpanish and English at home. In casualconversation with the teacher, her fatherexpresses mild concern that his daughtersometimes mixes up vocabulary betweenlanguages. Which of the following wouldbe the teacher's best response to thefather?

A. encouraging him to speak English tohis daughter at home so that she canfocus on learning one language

B. asking him to begin a daily lognoting any language use issues thatcome up with his daughter at home

C. reassuring him that bilingualchildren often shift betweenlanguages at this age

D. informing him that the schoolcan provide a formal languageassessment for his daughter

32. Yuri, a four year old whose homelanguage is not English, is enteringpreschool. To plan effective Englishlanguage instruction, it is most importantfor his teachers to understand that:

A. Yuri may switch back and forthbetween his home language andEnglish during a conversation.

B. Yuri's home language will notinterfere with his learning ofEnglish.

C. Yuri's home language has not yetbecome fully developed.

D. Yuri will learn English more readilyif he is given meaningful activitiesthat require him to use English.

33. A three year old recognizes a word ona sign for a fast-food restaurant andunderstands that people go inside thatbuilding to eat. This is an example ofa child making meaning from whichof the following?

A. an illustration

B. language experimentation

C. environmental print

D. a sound-symbol relationship

34. Which of the following would contributemost to encouraging third-grade students'enjoyment of and positive attitude towardreading?

A. providing students opportunities toperform choral readings

B. tracking the number of books eachstudent reads during the year

C. ensuring that the class reads a newbook at the same time

D. allowing students to choose theirown books from the library

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35. While preparing her preschool classroomfor the first day of school, a teachercreates a classroom grocery store inthe dramatic play area. She stocks theclassroom store with a variety of familiaritems (e.g., cereal boxes, milk cartons)and labels other objects in the classroom.Which of the following is likely to be theprimary benefit of this classroom design?

A. The use of familiar objects willmake the children feel comfortableand at home in their classroom.

B. Students' self-esteem and motivationto learn to read will increase as theydiscover that they already knowmany words in the classroom.

C. Experience with print in theirenvironment will help childrendevelop an understanding of thepurpose and functions of print.

D. The use of food items in the grocerystore center will enhance children'sawareness of good nutrition.

36. Which of the following book topics wouldmost likely be included in the genre ofmodern fantasy for early elementarychildren?

A. a girl who runs in the OlympicGames

B. a boy who finds a talking pencil

C. a girl who becomes a famousscientist

D. a boy who has trouble with bullies

37. Use the text below to answer thequestion that follows.

The big dog has a nose.The big dog has a tail.The big dog has a bone.What color is the big dog?

This text would be most effective to usewith emergent or early readers for whichof the following reasons?

A. Text that focuses on conceptsfamiliar to most children is likelyto further schema development.

B. Text with repetitive phrasessupports fluent reading by providingmultiple opportunities to practicereading and recognizing words.

C. Text that engages readers' attentionby asking questions contributes toa long-term interest in reading.

D. Text that is composed of sentencesusing a specific number of wordsallows readers to build confidencein their reading skills.

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Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-19

38. A preschool teacher hands a four-year-oldchild an open book and says to the child,"Please show me where to start reading."By making this request, the teacher ismost likely to gather information about thestudent's skills in which of the followingareas?

A. word identification

B. directionality of print

C. letter recognition

D. sentence building

39. A first-grade student is reading a new textaloud to his teacher. The text reads: "It isvery cold and snowing hard. Can you tellwhat season it is? Yes, it is winter." Thechild says window instead of the wordwinter. The teacher repeats what the childread aloud, as he said it, then asks if thismakes sense. The teacher is encouragingthe child to use which of the followingcueing systems?

A. syntactic

B. pragmatic

C. graphophonic

D. semantic

40. A second-grade teacher reads aloud to theclass often, from a wide variety of genresand with great expression. This activityprimarily helps students to:

A. learn what fluent reading soundslike.

B. draw conclusions and makegeneralizations about texts.

C. learn to identify unknown words.

D. distinguish between fact, fantasy,and opinion.

41. Which of the following strategies coulda teacher use most effectively to helpemergent and early readers betterunderstand and use semantic cues?

A. covering up various words in a bigbook text and having students usemeaning to guess the hidden words

B. presenting a rime such as an, andhaving students create variouswords by inserting different onsets

C. reading a nursery rhyme aloud andprompting students to clap itsrhythmic pattern

D. introducing a memory game andshowing students how to matchidentical words

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42. A first-grade teacher stocks the classroomlibrary with a variety of reading materials(e.g., magazines, alphabet books, illus-trated encyclopedias) in several genres(e.g., fairy tales, nursery rhymes, fiction)and for many reading levels. This strategywill support students' reading developmentprimarily because it encourages:

A. self-monitoring.

B. reading fluency.

C. vocabulary development.

D. independent reading.

43. A teacher reading a big book to her classcovers up a word at the end of a sentenceand asks the students to predict what theword will be. Which of the followingskills does this strategy address?

A. phonemic awareness

B. contextual word identification

C. sequencing

D. sight word recognition

44. A first-grade teacher shares an activitywith emergent readers in the class called"Hink Pinks." In this activity, the childrencome up with rhyming pairs of words suchas goat-boat, pat-cat, and map-tap. Thechildren use letter and word-family cardsto form the pairs and then read each pairaloud. This activity will most likelypromote the children's ability to:

A. identify final consonants.

B. substitute onsets with commonrimes.

C. segment words into phonemes.

D. match graphemes to phonemes.

45. Which of the following materials shoulda first-grade teacher include in the writingcenter to best encourage the students towrite for various audiences?

A. a variety of pictures and storystarters

B. individual student journals andblank books

C. picture dictionaries and an alphabetchart

D. different sizes and types of paper,envelopes, and cards

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Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-21

46. A child at the phonetic stage of spellingdevelopment usually writes:

A. letters for every sound heard withina word.

B. random letters with no letter-soundcorrespondence.

C. words based on how they lookrather than on how they sound.

D. two or three letters to representwhole words.

47. A first-grade teacher wants his studentsto spell certain high-frequency wordscorrectly in their writing. The mosteffective tool the teacher could use toachieve this goal is:

A. an editing checklist.

B. personal dictionaries.

C. a word wall.

D. regular spelling tests.

48. Which of the following activities wouldmost likely promote preschool children'sunderstanding of the role of writing ineveryday life?

A. using writing materials in dramaticplay

B. creating letter shapes in clay or yarn

C. watching videos about the alphabet

D. illustrating a story that is read aloudin class

49. A kindergarten teacher acts as a scribe forhis students by writing their stories anddescriptions as they dictate them. Heprompts the children to read the wordsthey have written, and to point to eachword as they go. The children are giventhe opportunity to illustrate their storiesand they are then added to a book ofstories so that everyone in the class canread all the stories. Which of the follow-ing concepts about writing developmentwould provide the best rationale for usingthis series of literacy activities?

A. An early exposure to print andlanguage is a predictor of successfor emergent writers.

B. A beginning writer often uses singleletters and marks to represent com-plete thoughts.

C. A reciprocal relationship existsbetween reading and writingdevelopment.

D. A young child develops writingfluency when given frequent oppor-tunities to read.

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50. A class of first-grade students is growingplants in their classroom. Which of thefollowing writing activities would besthelp them describe the scientific conceptsthey are learning as their plants grow?

A. labeling a drawing of a plant theyare growing and indicating the nameand function of each part

B. reading a book about how plantsgrow and writing a response tothe book in their journals

C. finding three facts about the plantthey are growing and writing aparagraph about those facts

D. keeping a notebook in which theydraw a picture and write abouthow the plant changes each week

51. Student R has four fewer pencils thanstudent S, and student T has twice as manypencils as student R. If student S has npencils, which of the following representsthe number of pencils that student T has?

A. 2n

B. n – 4

C. 2n – 4

D. 2(n – 4)

52. Use the diagram below to answer thequestion that follows.

x + 6

x

The rectangle above has sides of length xand x + 6. If the perimeter of the rectangleis 32, what is the value of x?

A. 20

B. 5

C. 26

D. 13

53. A circular pie graph has been divided intofour different sized sections. The anglesformed by three of the sections are known.Which of the following procedures couldbe used to calculate the angle of the fourthsection?

A. subtracting each known angle from90 and multiplying by 4

B. subtracting the sum of the threeknown angles from 100

C. subtracting the sum of the threeknown angles from 180

D. subtracting the sum of the threeknown angles from 360

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Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-23

54. The wholesale price of a reference book is$50. A retail store initially sells the bookfor 20% less than the wholesale price andlater reduces the price by an additional15%. Which of the following representsthe final price of the book?

A. $50 × 0.65

B. $50 × 0.80 × 0.85

C. $50 – $50 × 0.20 – $50 × 0.35

D. $50 – $50 × 0.20 × 0.15

55. Which of the following inequalities isaccurate?

A. 7021 > 3.25

B. 65% > 2736

C. 49 < 0.40

D. 50% < 0.051

56. An adult is watching a two year old playwith a set of colored blocks. Which ofthe following questions would be mostappropriate to ask a child of this age tohelp promote her emergent numeracydevelopment?

A. "How many blocks do we have ifwe pick two red blocks and threeblue blocks?"

B. "What is the difference between theblocks in these two piles?"

C. "Can you pick out the blue blocksand build a tower with them?"

D. "Can you count after me as we putaway the blocks?"

57. Which of the following would be the mosteffective way for a teacher to introducebasic geometric shapes to preschoolchildren?

A. Draw and label different geometricshapes on the chalkboard.

B. Have groups of children colordifferent geometric shapes withcrayons.

C. Describe the differences betweendifferent geometric shapes.

D. Have groups of children formdifferent geometric shapes withtheir bodies.

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58. A kindergarten teacher plans an activityin which students use pieces of stringto measure the heights of their favoriteclassroom toys and compile the resultsin a graph. The design of this activitysuggests that the teacher recognizes:

A. the significance of identifyingprogressions in the students'mathematical development byassessing their measurement skills.

B. the value of motivating the studentsto learn mathematics by encour-aging friendly competition amongthem.

C. the importance of promotinga positive attitude towardmathematics by engaging thestudents in hands-on activities.

D. the relevance of developingstudents' critical-thinking skillsin mathematics by using objectsfamiliar to them.

59. A kindergarten teacher places six objectson a table and asks the children in theclass to tell her how many objects are onthe table. Most of the children recite thenumbers in order while pointing at themrandomly, and many of the children counthigher than six. This activity indicatesthat the children are most likely develop-mentally ready to be introduced to whichof the following math concepts?

A. one-to-one correspondence

B. pattern recognition

C. sorting and classifying

D. estimation

60. Using grocery advertisements from localnewspapers, a third-grade teacher has hisstudents brainstorm a shopping list. Hegives the students a monetary budget limitto use in planning the shopping trip. Stu-dents work in groups to make calculationsbased on these limits and create finalshopping lists. The teacher then guidesstudents through a discussion of the deci-sions they made while trying to followtheir shopping budget. This type ofactivity would be most effective foraccomplishing which of the followinggoals?

A. using mathematics to improvestudents' collaborative skills

B. promoting positive attitudes amongstudents regarding mathematics

C. giving students opportunities tolearn mathematical terminology

D. helping students apply mathematicalconcepts in everyday situations

61. A first-grade teacher notices that severalstudents are having difficulty with simplearithmetic operations. Which of thefollowing would be the most effectiveway to help these students?

A. Give them extra problems topractice at home.

B. Spend some class time reviewingmath facts.

C. Have them work with students whounderstand the concepts.

D. Use concrete examples to modelhow to solve the problems.

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Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-25

62. Which of the following activities wouldbe most effective in helping preschoolersbegin to develop science-inquiry skills?

A. sorting and categorizing a collectionof shells based on their shapes andcolors

B. identifying different animals onposters on display around theclassroom

C. coloring in outlines of a varietyof leaves using photographs of theleaves for reference

D. exploring blocks made of differentmaterials by seeing if they sink orfloat in water

Use the information below to answerthe two questions that follow.

A teacher has second-grade students rolla ball down a ramp and mark how far itrolls. To illustrate a basic principle ofscience that the students can apply intheir everyday lives, the teacher has thestudents repeat the activity several times,increasing the angle of the ramp eachtime. The students observe that when theychange the angle of the ramp the distancethe ball rolls also changes.

63. Changing the angle of the ramp as theactivity is repeated will most likely helpthe second graders develop an appreci-ation for which of the following principlesof science?

A. the importance of experimentaldesign

B. the relationship between cause andeffect

C. the significance of data collectionprocedures

D. the link between gravity and anobject's motion

64. Which of the following would be the mosteffective way for the students to organizeand present the data showing the relation-ship between the angle of the ramp and thedistance that the ball rolls?

A. a number line

B. a circle graph

C. a frequency histogram

D. a line graph

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65. Which of the following is primarilyresponsible for the large-scale movementof continents over the earth's surface overlong periods of time?

A. erosion and weathering of mountainranges

B. shifting of tectonic plates

C. expansion and contraction ofglaciers

D. impacts of meteors striking Earth

66. A second-grade teacher is planning alesson on earth science and wants toinitiate the lesson with an activity thatwill be intrinsically motivating for thestudents, while helping them developscience-inquiry skills. Which of thefollowing activities would mosteffectively achieve these two goals?

A. Students watch a video on thegeologic history of the earth andparticipate in a question and answerperiod.

B. The teacher supplies students witha set of mixed-rock types and hasthem categorize the samples basedon their characteristics.

C. The teacher reads a story aloudabout the eruption of MountVesuvius, and students drawor write about the story.

D. Students collect rock samples onthe playground, examine them usingmagnifying glasses, and describewhat they see.

67. Which of the following activities wouldprovide the best opportunity for third-grade students to apply critical-thinkingskills in science?

A. constructing graphs to compare datafrom two separate investigations

B. identifying problems in the way anexperiment was carried out

C. sharing the results of a scientificinvestigation with the class

D. discussing ideas for possible scienceprojects

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Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-27

68. Use the information below to answerthe question that follows.

A student places a ball of clay into a cupof water and marks on the outside of thecup the height to which water rises. Thestudent carefully removes the ball of clayfrom the cup and rolls it into a shortcylinder and again places the clay in thecup of water and measures the height ofthe water.

The activity described above would bemost effective for helping childrenunderstand that:

A. the weight of an object is unchangedby a change in its shape.

B. the density of an object remainsconstant even under differentconditions.

C. the volume an object occupies isconserved when its shape changes.

D. the mass of an object is a fixedattribute that is unchanged byphysical circumstance.

69. One morning, a group of kindergartenstudents come into class talking excitedlyabout the fire trucks they saw on theirway to school. The teacher decides to usethe event as the basis for a lesson aboutcommunity and the people who keepcommunities safe. Which of the followingbest explains why this would be aparticularly effective opportunity forexploring this topic?

A. Young students are very concernedabout their personal safety and arelikely to find any learning activityrelated to the topic particularlyinteresting.

B. Students who saw the fire trucksare likely to have little troublevisualizing what the teacher istalking about.

C. Young students tend to be highlymotivated when engaged in learningactivities based on subject matterthey can relate to their personalexperience.

D. Students who saw the trucks arelikely to have a great deal to sayabout the people who keepcommunities safe.

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70. A kindergarten teacher reads a story to theclass about a child who learns about thevalue of cooperation while performing achallenging task. Which of the follow-upactivities described below would best addto the students' understanding of theconcept of cooperation?

A. reading another story about peoplehelping others that takes place in adifferent context

B. having students draw pictures of anexample of cooperation described inthe story

C. asking students to describe waysthat they help or are helped byothers in school or at home

D. having students brainstorm adefinition of cooperation in theirown words

71. Which of the following is the bestillustration of the concept of absolutelocation?

A. Phoenix is located midway betweenEl Paso and Los Angeles.

B. Phoenix lies west and south of theTonto National Forest, fifty milessoutheast of the Roosevelt Dam.

C. Phoenix lies in a saucer-shapedvalley along the Salt River in thesouth-central part of Arizona.

D. Phoenix's map coordinates arelat 33° 45' N, long 112° 08' W.

72. An early childhood teacher organizes hisclassroom into distinct spaces that aredesignated as quiet areas, active areas,learning centers for specific subjects, andspaces for individual and group activities.Some of the spaces are used at theteacher's direction, others are availableto students at different times of the day.Learning to use these spaces appropriatelyand cooperatively on a daily basis willbe most helpful in promoting studentunderstanding of which of the followingsocial studies skills or concepts?

A. the construction and use ofmental maps

B. the need for rules and theconsequences of breaking them

C. the concept of opportunitycosts

D. the interactions that take placewithin a community

73. Which of the following situations bestillustrates the principle of due processof law?

A. The U.S. Senate approves apresidential appointment to theSupreme Court.

B. The judge in a criminal trialappoints a lawyer to represent adefendant who cannot afford one.

C. The U.S. House of Representativesenacts a bill to establish a newdistrict court.

D. A local citizens' committee mountsa referendum campaign to repeal astate law.

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Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-29

74. A first-grade teacher reads aloud a storyabout a fictional family that participated inthe Spanish settlement of New Mexicoterritory. After asking students questionsabout the family's hopes and experiences,the teacher reads a second story about aPueblo family that interacted with Spanishsettlers of Santa Fe and asks similar ques-tions. This learning activity can best beused to promote which of the followingsocial studies learning objectives?

A. understanding patterns of changeand continuity

B. identifying the physical features ofa region

C. becoming aware of different culturalperspectives

D. recognizing how people affect anenvironment

75. Which of the following types ofmovements would be most effectivefor helping four-year-old childrendevelop a sense of balance?

A. squatting with feet parallel

B. jumping from side to side

C. stretching towards the ceiling

D. hopping on one foot

76. Which of the following aesthetic activitieswould be most effective for promoting themusical interests of one- to three-year-oldchildren?

A. participating in singing and dancinggames

B. singing songs in a group

C. playing simple instruments

D. manipulating objects that producesound

77. After four-year-old Lola makes a paintingof green snow, she asks her teacher fora response to her work. Which of thefollowing teacher responses would bemost effective in fostering Lola's self-expression and positive self-concept?

A. "Green snow is much more creativethan plain white snow!"

B. "How is your painting differentfrom other pictures of snow?"

C. "Tell me what you were thinkingabout when you made this picture."

D. "Have you ever seen green snow inreal life?"

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78. Three-year-old children typically acquirewhich of the following music appreciationskills first?

A. recognizing whether music is beingplayed loudly or softly

B. knowing whether a song is simpleor difficult for a musician to play

C. recognizing whether the notes in amelody are moving higher or lower

D. knowing whether a song is beingsung by many people or just a few

79. A second-grade teacher plans an artactivity in which students make paintingsusing white tempera paint on black paper.This activity is most likely to help stu-dents develop their understanding ofwhich of the following principles ofdesign?

A. variety

B. contrast

C. repetition

D. unity

80. A kindergarten teacher spends ten minuteseach day reading fiction to her students.In which of the following ways could theteacher best use this reading activity tohelp students develop an appreciation forthe dramatic arts?

A. ending each day's reading at a pointthat leaves students wondering whatwill happen next

B. encouraging students to respondvocally during exciting momentsin the reading

C. interpreting the dialogue and narra-tion of the books with expressionand emotion

D. asking students to use the books'illustrations to imagine how thestories would look onstage

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Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-31

Below are the directions for the Early Childhood Education performance assignment.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE PERFORMANCE ASSIGNMENT

This section of the test consists of a performance assignment. The assignment can be found on the nextpage. You are asked to prepare a written response of approximately 2–3 pages on the assigned topic. Youshould use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response for the assignment.

Read the assignment carefully before you begin to work. Think about how you will organize your response.You may use any blank space in this test booklet to make notes, write an outline, or otherwise prepare yourresponse. However, your score will be based solely on the version of your response written in WrittenResponse Booklet B.

As a whole, your response must demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge and skills of the field. Inyour response to the assignment, you are expected to demonstrate the depth of your understanding of thecontent area through your ability to apply your knowledge and skills rather than merely to recite factualinformation.

Your response will be evaluated based on the following criteria.

• PURPOSE: the extent to which the response achieves the purpose of the assignment

• SUBJECT MATTER KNOWLEDGE: accuracy and appropriateness in the application of subjectmatter knowledge

• SUPPORT: quality and relevance of supporting details

• RATIONALE: soundness of argument and degree of understanding of the subject matter

The performance assignment is intended to assess subject knowledge content and skills, not writing ability.However, your response must be communicated clearly enough to permit scorers to make a valid evaluationof your response according to the criteria listed above. Your response should be written for an audience ofeducators in this field. The final version of your response should conform to the conventions of editedAmerican English. This should be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied orparaphrased from some other work.

Be sure to write about the assigned topic. Please write legibly. You may not use any reference materialsduring the test. Remember to review your work and make any changes you think will improve your response.

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Below is the scoring scale for the Early Childhood Education performance assignment.

SUBJECT TESTS—PERFORMANCE ASSIGNMENT SCORING SCALE

ScorePoint Score Point Description

4The "4" response reflects a thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.• The purpose of the assignment is fully achieved.• There is a substantial, accurate, and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge.• The supporting evidence is sound; there are high-quality, relevant examples.• The response reflects an ably reasoned, comprehensive understanding of the topic.

3The "3" response reflects an adequate knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.• The purpose of the assignment is largely achieved.• There is a generally accurate and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge.• The supporting evidence is adequate; there are some acceptable, relevant examples.• The response reflects an adequately reasoned understanding of the topic.

2The "2" response reflects a limited knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.• The purpose of the assignment is partially achieved.• There is a limited, possibly inaccurate or inappropriate, application of subject matter knowledge.• The supporting evidence is limited; there are few relevant examples.• The response reflects a limited, poorly reasoned understanding of the topic.

1The "1" response reflects a weak knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.• The purpose of the assignment is not achieved.• There is little or no appropriate or accurate application of subject matter knowledge.• The supporting evidence, if present, is weak; there are few or no relevant examples.• The response reflects little or no reasoning about or understanding of the topic.

U The response is unrelated to the assigned topic, illegible, primarily in a language other thanEnglish, not of sufficient length to score, or merely a repetition of the assignment.

B There is no response to the assignment.

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Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-33

Practice Performance Assignment

81. Read the information below; then complete the exercise that follows.

Justine is a four-year-old child experiencing typical development whose home language is English. Afterspending time at the language arts center, she asks Ms. Moran, her preschool teacher, to look at thewriting sample shown below.

Ms. Moran responds to the writing sample by saying, "I am really glad you shared this with me! Please,tell me about your writing." Justine says the following.

"The sun is falling down because it's night time at my house and the sky is blue and very orange."

Using your knowledge of young children's writing development, write an essay in which you discussJustine's writing and methods Ms. Moran can use to support Justine's further progress in learning to write.In your essay:

• discuss characteristics of two writing skills that Justine has demonstrated in her writing sample;

• identify one of the writing skills that Justine will likely acquire next in the progression of her writingdevelopment;

• describe two instructional strategies that would promote Justine's development of the writing skill youidentified; and

• explain why each of the two instructional strategies that you described would be effective.

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Sample Performance Assignment Response: Score Point 4

Justine has used two writing skills in this writing sample. Those two writing skills are theforming of letters and the ability to recognize that there is a relationship between the spokenword and writing. Although all her letters do not exactly resemble the alphabet, all thecharacters she wrote represent letters or numbers or are at least close representations ofEnglish letters. She has clearly been practicing forming these characters on paper. Therecognition of the relationship between the spoken word and writing is very important to afour-year old's development. Justine understands that the words she speaks can be placed onpaper for others to see.

The next writing skill that Justine will likely acquire will be making sound-letter connectionsto form the correct letters for what she is trying to say and the related skill of leaving a spaceto delineate different words. At this stage, Justine may just use inventive spelling, perhaps onlyforming the correct first letter of a word, which would be provided by the teacher. She maypractice tracing with the "Dot Form" of the letters. The next step will be to make theconnection between the letters and sounds and the groups of letters that make words.

One instructional strategy that would promote Justine's development would be to teach herletter sounds by tracing the "Dot Form" of the letters that she said. The teacher would make alist of several words with that same sound so that Justine could relate the word beginning tothe sound. Then the teacher would ask Justine to list other words she knows with that sound.The teacher would not worry about spelling at this time, just the beginning sounds. Thisstrategy would initiate Justine's recognition of sound to written letters. It will help her tobegin recognizing the first sound of words and continue to practice writing those letters. Shewill begin to associate that words are separated by spaces in language and also by the firstletter of each word.

The second activity would build upon the recognition that groups of letters form words andthose words have spaces between them. The teacher will explain the need for spaces betweenwords and how she can use her finger to physically indicate those spaces. By incorporating herpractice using the "Dot Form" of her words, Justine can be shown how to use her index fingerbetween each new beginning letter for each new word. The teacher will model this withJustine's sentence about the sun. The teacher will then have Justine practice saying her wordsone by one, write each word and place a finger for the space after each word until she hascompleted the sentence. After she has done her first sentence, Justine would be asked to comeup with another sentence that she would practice using her beginning letter, invented wordspelling and her "finger space." This activity would be effective because Justine is learning thatwords have a beginning and an end that is denoted by spaces that she must create. She willlearn that a writer's job is to help the reader understand where words begin and end. She willalso be learning the beginnings of sentence structure in that words and spaces make up asentence.

(continued on next page)

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Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-35

Sample Performance Assignment Response: Score Point 4 (continued)

Allowing Justine to trace the words she developed will help her begin to spell as well asrecognize sounds, beginnings and endings and the importance of spaces in writing. After somepractice, Justine will begin to put spaces in between her invented words without using herfinger.

2-36 Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide

ANSWER KEY

Field 36: Early Childhood Education

QuestionNumber

CorrectResponse

Objective

1. B Understand human growth and development and how to use this understanding to promotelearning and development in all domains.

2. D Understand human growth and development and how to use this understanding to promotelearning and development in all domains.

3. D Understand human growth and development and how to use this understanding to promotelearning and development in all domains.

4. A Understand human growth and development and how to use this understanding to promotelearning and development in all domains.

5. B Understand human growth and development and how to use this understanding to promotelearning and development in all domains.

6. A Understand human growth and development and how to use this understanding to promotelearning and development in all domains.

7. A Understand factors that may affect children's development and learning and use thisknowledge to create learning environments that support all children's progress.

8. B Understand factors that may affect children's development and learning and use thisknowledge to create learning environments that support all children's progress.

9. A Understand factors that may affect children's development and learning and use thisknowledge to create learning environments that support all children's progress.

10. D Understand factors that may affect children's development and learning and use thisknowledge to create learning environments that support all children's progress.

11. D Understand factors that may affect children's development and learning and use thisknowledge to create learning environments that support all children's progress.

12. B Understand factors that may affect children's development and learning and use thisknowledge to create learning environments that support all children's progress.

13. C Understand factors that may affect children's development and learning and use thisknowledge to create learning environments that support all children's progress.

14. A Understand integrated curriculum design that reflects the ways children constructknowledge.

15. B Understand integrated curriculum design that reflects the ways children constructknowledge.

16. D Understand integrated curriculum design that reflects the ways children constructknowledge.

17. D Understand integrated curriculum design that reflects the ways children constructknowledge.

18. C Understand integrated curriculum design that reflects the ways children constructknowledge.

19. B Understand integrated curriculum design that reflects the ways children constructknowledge.

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Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-37

QuestionNumber

CorrectResponse

Objective

20. A Understand integrated curriculum design that reflects the ways children constructknowledge.

21. C Understand communication and language development in young children.

22. B Understand communication and language development in young children.

23. C Understand communication and language development in young children.

24. A Understand communication and language development in young children.

25. C Understand communication and language development in young children.

26. B Understand communication and language development in young children.

27. C Understand second-language acquisition and how to facilitate the English languagedevelopment of young children with diverse linguistic backgrounds.

28. A Understand second-language acquisition and how to facilitate the English languagedevelopment of young children with diverse linguistic backgrounds.

29. D Understand second-language acquisition and how to facilitate the English languagedevelopment of young children with diverse linguistic backgrounds.

30. B Understand second-language acquisition and how to facilitate the English languagedevelopment of young children with diverse linguistic backgrounds.

31. C Understand second-language acquisition and how to facilitate the English languagedevelopment of young children with diverse linguistic backgrounds.

32. D Understand second-language acquisition and how to facilitate the English languagedevelopment of young children with diverse linguistic backgrounds.

33. C Understand the development of concepts about print and how to create a learningenvironment to promote emergent literacy.

34. D Understand the development of concepts about print and how to create a learningenvironment to promote emergent literacy.

35. C Understand the development of concepts about print and how to create a learningenvironment to promote emergent literacy.

36. B Understand the development of concepts about print and how to create a learningenvironment to promote emergent literacy.

37. B Understand the development of concepts about print and how to create a learningenvironment to promote emergent literacy.

38. B Understand the development of concepts about print and how to create a learningenvironment to promote emergent literacy.

39. D Understand foundations of reading development.

40. A Understand foundations of reading development.

41. A Understand foundations of reading development.

42. D Understand foundations of reading development.

43. B Understand foundations of reading development.

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2-38 Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide

QuestionNumber

CorrectResponse

Objective

44. B Understand foundations of reading development.

45. D Understand writing processes and how to create effective learning opportunities forpromoting young children's writing skills.

46. A Understand writing processes and how to create effective learning opportunities forpromoting young children's writing skills.

47. C Understand writing processes and how to create effective learning opportunities forpromoting young children's writing skills.

48. A Understand writing processes and how to create effective learning opportunities forpromoting young children's writing skills.

49. C Understand writing processes and how to create effective learning opportunities forpromoting young children's writing skills.

50. D Understand writing processes and how to create effective learning opportunities forpromoting young children's writing skills.

51. D Understand mathematics concepts and skills.

52. B Understand mathematics concepts and skills.

53. D Understand mathematics concepts and skills.

54. B Understand mathematics concepts and skills.

55. A Understand mathematics concepts and skills.

56. D Understand how to facilitate learning for young children in the area of mathematics.

57. D Understand how to facilitate learning for young children in the area of mathematics.

58. C Understand how to facilitate learning for young children in the area of mathematics.

59. A Understand how to facilitate learning for young children in the area of mathematics.

60. D Understand how to facilitate learning for young children in the area of mathematics.

61. D Understand how to facilitate learning for young children in the area of mathematics.

62. D Understand science content and inquiry processes and how to facilitate science learning foryoung children.

63. B Understand science content and inquiry processes and how to facilitate science learning foryoung children.

64. D Understand mathematics concepts and skills.

65. B Understand science content and inquiry processes and how to facilitate science learning foryoung children.

66. D Understand science content and inquiry processes and how to facilitate science learning foryoung children.

67. B Understand science content and inquiry processes and how to facilitate science learning foryoung children.

68. C Understand science content and inquiry processes and how to facilitate science learning foryoung children.

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Early Childhood Education

Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-39

QuestionNumber

CorrectResponse

Objective

69. C Understand social studies content and skills and how to facilitate social studies learning.

70. C Understand social studies content and skills and how to facilitate social studies learning.

71. D Understand social studies content and skills and how to facilitate social studies learning.

72. D Understand social studies content and skills and how to facilitate social studies learning.

73. B Understand social studies content and skills and how to facilitate social studies learning.

74. C Understand social studies content and skills and how to facilitate social studies learning.

75. D Understand the visual and performing arts and how to facilitate young children's learning inand appreciation of the arts.

76. D Understand the visual and performing arts and how to facilitate young children's learning inand appreciation of the arts.

77. C Understand the visual and performing arts and how to facilitate young children's learning inand appreciation of the arts.

78. A Understand the visual and performing arts and how to facilitate young children's learning inand appreciation of the arts.

79. B Understand the visual and performing arts and how to facilitate young children's learning inand appreciation of the arts.

80. C Understand the visual and performing arts and how to facilitate young children's learning inand appreciation of the arts.

2-40 Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide

PREPARATION RESOURCES

Field 36: Early Childhood Education

The resources listed below may help you prepare for the AEPA® test in this field. These preparation resourceshave been identified by content experts in the field to provide up-to-date information that relates to the field ingeneral. You may wish to use current issues or editions to obtain information on specific topics for study andreview.

Child Development

Online Sources:

Arizona Early Learning Standards.http://www.azed.gov/earlychildhood

Arizona Early Childhood Education Standards.http://www.azed.gov/earlychildhood/preschool/standards.asp

National Association for the Education of Young Children.http://naeyc.org

Journals:

Childhood Education, Association for Childhood Education International.

Young Children, National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Other Resources:

Cole, M., Cole, S., and Lightfoot, C. (2004). The Development of Children (5th ed.). New York, NY: WorthPublishers.

Morrison, G. S. (2006). Early Childhood Education Today (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Morrison, G. S. (2005). Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:Prentice Hall.

Woolfolk, A. E. (2003). Educational Psychology (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Early Childhood Education

Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide 2-41

Language Arts

Online Sources:

Arizona Early Learning Standards: Arizona Reads.http://www.azed.gov/azreads

International Reading Association.http://reading.org

National Council of Teachers of English.http://www.ncte.org/elem

Journals:

Language Arts, National Council of Teachers of English.

The Reading Teacher, International Reading Association.

Other Resources:

Lyons, C. A. (2003). Teaching Struggling Readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Norton, D. E. (2004). Multicultural Children's Literature: Through the Eyes of Many Children (2nd ed.). UpperSaddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Ruddell, R. B. and Ruddell, M. R. (2004). Teaching Children to Read and Write: Becoming an EffectiveLiteracy Teacher (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Tompkins, G. E. (2001). Language Arts: Content and Teaching Strategies (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:Prentice Hall.

Learning in the Content Areas: Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and the Arts

Online Sources:

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.http://www.nctm.org

National Science Teachers Association.http://www.nsta.org/elementaryschool

National Council for Social Studies.http://www.socialstudies.org/standards

Early Childhood Education

2-42 Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments Study Guide

Journals:

Mathematics Teacher, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Science and Children, National Science Teachers Association.

Social Education, National Council for the Social Studies.

Other Resources:

Alter, G., Larson, B. E., Monson, J., and Morgan, J. (1999). Social Studies Content for the Elementary SchoolTeacher. New York, NY: Prentice Hall.

Campbell, P. S., Scott-Kassner, C., and Kassner, K. (2003). Music in Childhood: From Preschool ThroughElementary Grades (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Schirmer/Thomson Learning.

Howe, A. C. (2001). Engaging Children in Science (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Kassing, G. and Jay, D. M. (2003). Dance Teaching Methods and Curriculum Design. Champaign, IL: HumanKinetics Publishers.

Lind, K. K. (2004). Exploring Science in Early Childhood Education (4th ed.). Clifton, NY: Thomson DelmarLearning.

O'Daffer, P., Charles, R., Cooney, T., Schielack, J., and Dossey, J. A. (2004). Mathematics for ElementarySchool Teachers (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Addison Wesley.

Schirrmacher, R. (2005). Art and Creative Development for Young Children (5th ed.). Clifton, NY: ThomsonDelmar Learning.

Seefeldt, C. and Galper, A. (2005). Active Experiences for Active Children: Social Studies (2nd ed.). NewYork, NY: Prentice Hall.

Seefeldt, C. (2004). Social Studies for the Preschool/Primary Child (7th ed.). New York, NY: Prentice Hall.

Van de Walle, J. A. (2003). Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally (5th ed.).Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.