CHAPTER 13
Chapter 13 True/False Questions
Circle T if the statement is true; circle F if the statement is false.
T F 1. The quality of basic movements in a creative dance experience can be altered by
changes in stops, pathways, and effort.
T F 2. By age 7, most children can perform a mature tripod grip on a pencil and write with the
fingers moving quickly and easily.
T F 3. Routine health practices that are taught during early childhood tend to remain as
practices.
T F 4. American children are very fit as a result of play before and after school.
T F 5. Fundamental motor skills are basic movements on which games or other more complex
movements are formed.
T F 6. Discussion of alcohol should be left to the upper grades to introduce unless a child
brings the topic up.
T F 7. Children enter programs knowing how to wash their hands properly and how to use
toilet tissue appropriately.
T F 8. Since academic learning is so important in the primary grades, teachers should strictly
limit time spent in primarily physical activity.
T F 9. Children from three to five year olds have considerable difficulty in judging the speed of
a moving object.
T F 10. All children between three and eight readily and accurately understand spoken
directions in a classroom in which they are engaged in center activities with normal
conversation going on.
Chapter 13 Multiple Choice Questions
Circle the best answer.
11. Which motor skill would you expect children to be able to perform earliest?
a. Throwing
b. Catching
c. Kicking
d. Galloping
12. Kathleen, age seven, holds the small ball in both hands in front of her before swinging
forward, then backward with one hand and balancing on well-separated feet. As her arm swings
forward and across her body, she rotates and leans into the throw. She moves the foot from the
back to a forward position as she follows through the body movement and maintains her balance.
What word best describes this movement?
a. Bilateral
b. Ipsilateral
c. Unilateral
d. Contralateral
13. Which of the perceptual motor skills are most closely associated with understanding how
“left” and “right” directions are to be carried out?
a. Balance
b. Directional awareness
c. Temporal awareness
d. Figure ground awareness
14. Which of the perceptual motor skills are most closely associated with deciphering letters
from words?
a. Balance
b. Directional awareness
c. Temporal awareness
d. Figure ground awareness
15. At what age can you expect 90% of the children to use a three-point grip on a writing utensil
comfortably?
a. About 3
b. About 4
c. About 5
d. About 6
e. About 7
16. What is typical health content as described by the Michigan Model for Comprehensive
Health at the preschool level?
a. Bicycle safety
b. Effects of tobacco advertising
c. Hand washing routine
d. Effects of illegal drugs on physical tasks
17. Which strategies are best for teaching motor skills?
a. Coaching and demonstration.
b. Experimentation, followed by correction.
c. Telling children to try harder.
d. Waiting for the motor skill to emerge.
18. Which is the best approach to teaching health, nutrition, and safety for preschool children?
a. Develop themes related to health topics.
b. Send home information to the parents and let them teach it.
c. Incorporate this content into most other activities and routines.
d. All of the above
19. Which of the following outcomes is not a benefit of physical activity?
a. Promotes changes in the structure of the brain.
b. Drains off excess energy of the children.
c. Leads to proficiency in the neuromuscular skills.
d. Assists in the development and refinement of perceptual abilities involving vision,
balance and tactile sensations.
20. What is necessary for the child to acquire fundamental motor skills?
a. Children acquire motor skills as an expected outcome from maturation.
b. Efficient, smooth motion is achieved through play in the neighborhoods without much
attention.
c. Maturation, instruction or learning by observation, and opportunities for practice are
necessary.
d. Qualitative differences in the ways children move exist among middle-income children
and Head Start children.
21. If a youngster were having difficulty with figure ground perception, what would be an
unlikely behavior?
a. The child accidentally bumps into other children during vigorous play.
b. The child would be able to discern quickly one game from a tightly filled cupboard of
similar games.
c. The child would not be able to trace the bird in a “hidden picture” inside another drawing.
d. The child would not be able to identify the theme a violin is playing within a chamber
orchestra.
22. Which writing implement would be the best choice for a young or inexperienced child?
a. Felt point marker or pen
b. Crayon covered with paper
c. Crayon uncovered with paper
d. A colored #3 pencil
23. Which is the least mature grip on a writing implement?
a. Tripod grip with fingers well away from the tip.
b. Tripod grip with implement resting on the index finger, near the tip.
c. Full hand grasp with the thumb toward the point.
d. Full had grasp with the thumb away from the point
24. What can the regular classroom teacher do to promote appropriate weight in young children?
a. Plan the program so that all children have at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day,
including ordinary movement from place to place.
b. Provide accurate information to parents regarding meal planning and nutrition for
children.
c. Cooperate with the family in monitoring types of snacks and other meals at the school.
d. All of the above
e. This is not a function of the classroom teacher.
25. Which strategy of structuring activities is most likely to be effective?
a. A group of twenty children line up so that the teacher can see them skip and offer
suggestions.
b. The teacher plans an activity in which all of the children are skipping as best they can.
c. The teacher plans 4 or 5 activities for 20 children in centers, providing on the spot
coaching and encouragement as she moves from center to center.
d. The teacher sets up a skipping race between the boys and the girls.
26. Mr. Nowaske intended to provide an opportunity to practice balance with a moderate level
of challenge for a six-year-old group of children. Which of the following activities do you think
is the best choice? Direct the children to:
a. Walk to the center backwards, turn, leap twice and return backwards on a balance beam
12” off the floor.
b. Walk forward and turn around on a balance beam 3” off the floor.
c. Walk forward and turn around on a taped line on the floor.
d. Walk forward, squat down, turn around, and return backwards on a balance beam 3” off
the floor.
e. None of these would be a moderate challenge for this age group.
Chapter 13 Short Answer Questions
Give a short, concise answer to each statement.
27. Describe some strategies that would support the development of perceptual motor skills.
Give examples.
28. Why should early childhood educators be concerned with the fundamental motor skills?
29. Mr. Pesek brought his own lunch to school each day. It included a half peanut butter and
jelly sandwich, several cookies, and sometimes an ice cream bar. There were never
vegetables included because he just did not like them. He ate with the children at lunch. Is it
likely that this would have any effect on the children and if so, how?
30. Why should games for young children be noncompetitive?
31. What safety risks should the teacher keep in mind when children are climbing on a climbing
frame? Give some examples of what guidance would be necessary to help children remain
safe.
32. What three components are necessary for children to learn any motor skill?
Chapter 13 Essay Questions
Give complete responses to each statement.
33. Sketch out a daily schedule that would support children’s health and fitness for a child care
center where children spend not less than 8 hours a day. Explain how each component would
relate to child health and fitness.
34. Describe an activity that would contribute to the purpose of “learning and practicing sound
nutritional habits and healthy polite eating behaviors”.
35. What is the relationship between literacy and the physical domain? Between the social and
physical domains?
Chapter 13:
Short Answer: Give a short, concise answer to each statement.
Essay: Give complete responses to each statement.
