CHAPTER 9
Multiple Choice
1. Piaget identified the sensorimotor period of development as
a. Between birth and age 5
b. Between ages 2 and 6
c. Between birth and age 2
d. After age 3
2. The three basic cognitive processes are
a. Attention, perception, memory
b. Phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, symbolic ability
c. Construction of reality, intentionality, problem solving
d. Focus, assimilation, accommodation
3. When young children learn to discriminate in shape, size, distance, and color, they are getting ready for
a. Object permanence
b. Symbolic representation
c. Short-term memory storage
d. Phonemic awareness
4. The 18– to 24-month-old toddler shows that he or she has the ability to think by showing
a. Intuitive ability and intentionality
b. Deferred imitation and pretend play
c. Concrete operations and formal operations
d. Acting out future scenarios
5. The child who uses simple manipulation in play by banging and throwing objects is showing
a. Intentionality
b. Intuitive ability
c. Imitation
d. Functional play
6. Children without disabilities begin to act out “what would happen if…” scenarios at about age
a. 1 or 1½ years
b. 2 or 3 years
c. 4 or 5 years
d. 6 or 7 years
7. In the preoperational stage, children can
a. Perform logical thinking and reasoning
b. Engage in symbolic, pretend play
c. Use processes for hypothesis testing
d. Decenter
8. _________, or ordering according to relative differences, is thought to be an early step towards understanding
number concepts.
a. Assimilation
b. Cognition
c. Object permanence
d. Seriation
9. Children with significant intellectual disabilities
a. Have short-term memory deficits and language problems
b. Have difficulty focusing and sitting still
c. Have difficulty solving problems and using symbolic play
d. Have significant motor problems and are talkative
10. When Frederick was 5 months old, he looked at his favorite ball, but when it rolled out of his view, he did not
search for it. Now at 9 months old moves around to search for it, reflecting the presence of:
a. Object permanence
b. Schema
c. Symbolic ability
d. Assimilation
True-False
1. Preschool programs should emphasize the direct instruction of reading with reading readiness activities.
2. A cognitive skill appropriate for a preschool child is symbolic representation.
3. The term “developmental delay” can be misleading because it implies that children will eventually “catch up”
to their peers who do not have disabilities.
4. Most teachers tend to teach predominately through talking.
5. Children are able to master rote memory almost from birth.
6. Object permanence is mastered in children without disabilities by the sensorimotor substage 3 at 5 to 8 months.
7. Children’s responses to questions during story telling time may be related to the types of story-telling practices
usual at home.
8. A good game for object permanence is peek-a-boo.
9. Symbolic play usually comes before functional play.
10. The most obvious characteristic of children with intellectual delay is their slower rate of development.
Short-Answer
1. Explain what Piaget meant with his explanation that cognitive development is a product of the interaction
between the environment and biological capacities.
2. Describe the three-stage model of literacy development offered by the Center for Early Literacy Learning.
3. Discuss how the beginning of intentionality starts with the sensorimotor substage 4 at about 8 to 12 months.
4. Discuss how the approach to development of literacy in which reading, writing, speaking, and listening are
viewed as interactive and interdependent.
5. Explain the “alphabetic principle” and state why it is so important that children understand this principle.
6. Identify 3 characteristics of children with significant intellectual disabilities.
7. For student with a significant intellectual disability, give 2 examples of how you would adapt an art activity
such as cutting, pasting, and gluing together a paper jack–o’-lantern.
8. Discuss 2 activities that you could do to embed the goal of, “will count up to three objects,” during snack time.
9. List two ways that you could help a child with an intellectual disability develop print awareness during cleanup
time.
10. Explain why teaching the concepts of “same” and “different” are essential to the development of mathematical
skills.
Comprehensive Essay
1. You are a teacher of young children. A parent comes to you and complains that all the children are doing is
“playing.” Write a dialogue of how you would respond to this parent. Be precise. Leave nothing to the
imagination.
2. Explain how you could teach matching, sorting, and seriation using a set of blocks.
3. For the above lesson, state how you would adapt it for a child with a hearing impairment, one with a visual
impairment, and one who has a motor impairment (cerebral palsy).
4. Outline at least four activities that will build phonological and phonemic awareness.
5. Give three examples of ways you would create the desire or need to perform intentional acts in young
children with disabilities. Be specific as to materials you would use and things you would do.
6. You want to develop deferred imitation in a child. Outline a lesson including a concrete sequence of en-route
steps of what you would do to reach the terminal objective.
7. How is problem solving different from academic learning? Give an example of each.
8. Give three examples of a teacher’s “staging” or contriving problems to be solved in the preschool classroom.
What would you set up for the problem and how would you present the problem to your class?
9. “School language” may be difficult for a child from a nonmainstream culture. Give three examples of some
problems that a child from a different culture may encounter in an American middle–class environment.
Identify the culture of the child or various children and tell why the problem occurs.
You are reading a book together while sitting in a comfortable, adult size chair with a child on your lap. The five-
year-old child has a speech and language impairment and can use two-word sentences. Write a dialogue based on
your favorite children’s book showing how you would use dialogic reading while incorporating the strategies of the
two acronyms P.E.E.R. and C.R.O.W.D.
Test Bank Answer Key