Exam: 405560RR FOUNDATIONS OF CURRICULUM
1. The story of preschool teacher Cathy presented in your text demonstrates which point about
observation, record keeping, and assessment?
A. They require a good deal of specialized knowledge and equipment.
B. They’re really one synchronous process.
C. They take up a good deal of time.
D. They’re a series of formal, independent steps.
2. Early childhood educator Fawnia Farley wants to use a running record observation to assess one child at the site. To be successful, on what should she focus?
A. Collecting detailed descriptions of the child’s behavior at 10-minute intervals
B. Capturing a variety of the child’s work samples
C. Making quick, brief notes that she will write up immediately after the observation period
D. Taking notes with whole, complete sentences because these will serve as her report
3. Erik Erikson’s theory suggests that warm, responsive caregiving routines help infants establish
A. basic trust.
B. transitions.
C. a primary caregiving system.
D. a sense of independence.
4. Jeannie Thomas has just begun a career in the early childhood setting. Her first job is as a teacher for Two year-olds at a community preschool. For what reason is Jeannie most likely to leave this job and,
perhaps, leave the field of early childhood education?
A. There are frustrations in dealing with parents and administrators.
B. There are too many other people competing for jobs.
C. The work is hard, and the pay is low with few or no benefits.
D. The job becomes too easy and is no longer stimulating.
5. In her family day care setting, Dawn Evans makes sure that the children have daily experiences that stretch their minds and bodies, recognize their feelings, and help them develop social skills. With which element of daily structure are Dawn’s goals concerned?
A. Providing for need fulfillment
B. Providing choices
C. Education
D. Emphasizing the whole child
6. The following are three descriptions of interactions between an early childhood provider and children. In which of the scenarios is the early childhood provider showing respect to the child or children?
Scenario 1: When the three-year-olds don’t come to circle time after he asks them, Mr. Alejandro picks
them up and places them in their seats.
Scenario 2: Ms. Beeman is holding eight-month-old Betsy in her arms when another teacher comes up and
says, “How is Betsy doing today?” Ms. Beeman looks at Betsy and says, “It seems like you’re feeling good today, aren’t you Betsy?”
Scenario 3: When meeting the new group of four-year-old preschoolers, program director Dr. Cray says,
“Oh, aren’t you all so cute!”
A. Scenarios 1, 2, and 3
B. Scenarios 2 and 3
C. Scenarios 1 and 2
D. Scenario 2
7. Three-year-old Jeoff goes to preschool at a large, school-like program. His friend, Misha, attends a
smaller program in one of the neighborhood homes. Research suggests that Jeoff will
A. be more likely than Misha to have one-on-one contact with an adult.
B. make more of his own decisions about how to spend his time than Misha will.
C. spend more time waiting around than Misha will.
D. be more likely than Misha to have an adult close by to provide scaffolding.
8. Of the following areas in Abbie’s preschool, which is aimed at helping promote the development of fine motor skills?
A. The outdoor area with climbing equipment
B. The indoor area with climbing equipment
C. The tumbling area
D. The bead stringing area
9. Which of the following best describes the cultures that influence the early childhood program?
A. The home cultures of the children
B. The home cultures of the children and the providers
C. The early childhood culture of the provider
D. The home cultures of the children, the providers, and the early childhood culture of the provider
10. Which quality of the social-emotional environment describes children’s need to have consistency in the
people around them to feel safe, secure, and comfortable?
A. Nurturance
B. Responsiveness
C. Protection
D. Continuity
11. Marvelous Babies Day Care has a policy of never putting a baby down by herself or himself with a bottle. Three of the following are possible reasons behind this policy. Which is not a reason for this policy?
A. Doing so would cause babies to miss out on the intimacy of the feeding process.
B. Doing so would place children at greater risk for choking.
C. Doing so would hamper the child’s development of motor skills.
D. Doing so would make infants more prone to develop ear infections and tooth decay.
12. Of the following areas in Ms. Melanie’s four-year-old preschool classroom, which is considered an
interest center?
A. The area used for cleaning up after painting and other messy art activities
B. The space where the class aquarium is located
C. The space where children eat their snacks
D. The outdoor climbing equipment
13. What is the first step in planning an early childhood education environment?
A. Finding out the state regulations and licensing standards
B. Obtaining adequate liability insurance
C. Deciding how the environment will reflect program goals and values
D. Planning how the environment will match children’s interests, developmental levels, and needs
14. Instead of toilet-training her son at 18 months of age as her mother recommends, Melissa is waiting
until her son is emotionally ready to begin toilet learning. How will Melissa know when her son is
emotionally ready?
A. He’ll understand when to use the toilet.
B. He’ll understand how to use the toilet.
C. He’ll express a willingness to use the toilet.
D. He’ll be able to hold on for a period of at least an hour.
15. According to the text, a synchronous process of observation, record keeping, and assessment
accomplishes all but one of the following goals. Which would not be accomplished?
A. Such a process helps children gain continuity and make connections in their activities.
B. Such a process allows adults to gain insight into the way children’s understanding works and where their interests lie.
C. Such a process helps children make connections and gain continuity in their mental processes.
D. Such a process allows adults to understand children’s internal motivation for completing activities.
16. According to the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, a developmental milestone for a nine month old infant is being able to
A. play patty cake.
B. spontaneously scribble with a writing instrument.
C. grasp an object with the forefinger and thumb.
D. grasp an object by the palm.
17. Which age group is least likely to benefit from a structured circle time?
A. Preschool children
B. Toddlers
C. School-aged children
D. Infants
18. In terms of cognitive developmental milestones, two-year-old Asha can be expected to do three of the
following. Which would she not be expected to do?
A. Arrange objects into categories and name the categories
B. Make comparisons and see relationships between two objects
C. Communicate effectively with short sentences
D. Identify when another child is in distress and express some sympathy
19. Passages between one place and another or one activity and another are called
A. separations.
B. routines.
C. transitions.
D. synchronous interactions.
20. As a project for her early childhood education class, Pauline designs a sample developmental checklist
for gross-motor skills for four-year-olds. Pauline should include all but one of the following in her
developmental checklist. Which should she not include?
A. Child can stack 10 blocks.
B. Child is able to balance on one foot.
C. Child can catch a ball with both hands.
D. Child can walk up and down stairs alternating feet.
21. Four-year-old Dewayne has difficulty making transitions while he’s at day care. All but one of the
following will likely help Dewayne with this difficulty. Which would probably not help?
A. His provider avoids pushing him into transitions, allowing him to take his time.
B. His provider prepares Dewayne for transitions by letting him know before they occur.
C. His provider varies his routines so that he can’t predict upcoming transitions.
D. His provider allows enough time for transitions between activities.
22. The Americans with Disabilities Act indicates that inclusion is a
A. right.
B. practice that’s best implemented through mainstreaming.
C. privilege.
D. desired goal to be achieved whenever possible.
23. Generalizing from the developmental milestones presented in the text, one can predict that fifteen month old Katrina will have mastered all but one of the following gross-motor
skills. Which is she not
likely to have mastered?
A. Walking backward
B. Standing alone
C. Walking alone
D. Jumping
24. Preschool teacher Fred Dupree sees group time as an opportunity to focus on the whole child. With this
perspective, Fred is most likely to do which of the following during group time?
A. Use the time to offer music activities, movement activities, cognitive games, storytelling, and reading out loud
B. Use the time for teaching or discussion
C. Use the time to give children practice in sitting, listening, and participating in a group in preparation for kindergarten
D. Use the time to talk about issues related to culture, race, gender, and abilities
25. Frank Ford is planning the environment for his daycare center. Frank is sure to have places where the
children can move about freely inside, as well as places where they can have down time to relax or play
quietly. With which dimension of the learning environment are Frank’s plans concerned?
A. Soft/hard dimension
B. Intrusion/seclusion dimension
C. Mobility dimension
D. Simple/complex dimension
26. All but one of the following are recommended for the feeding of infants and toddlers. Which is not a recommended practice?
A. Toddlers should be allowed to help with their feeding process as well as with food preparation as their skills allow.
B. Young children in day care centers must be fed while sitting in highchairs.
C. Introduce only one new solid food at a time to infants.
D. Once an infant is mobile, allow him or her to have messy meals and time to explore different types of foods.
27. Juanita Martinez works in a college-based child care program. Each day, part of Juanita’s job is to jot
down things that have happened with each child (such as snippets of conversation, poems the child made
up, and a story the child told). To facilitate this activity, Juanita carries around 3 x 5 index cards. Which method of recordkeeping is Martinez utilizing?
A. Event sampling
B. Anecdotal records
C. Running record observation
D. Journaling
28. Which of the following statements about the use of journals as a record keeping device is false?
A. Journals can be used for infants and toddlers as well as for preschool and school age children.
B. Journals are best described as a two-way tool because both parents and early childhood professionals contribute to them.
C. In addition to drawings or photographs, journals usually contain anecdotal records; however, they rarely include running records or incident reports.
D. When children are able to write, they should be encouraged to contribute to their journals.
29. Compared to his two-year-old cousin Nathan, three-year-old Jacob is more likely to
A. have developed the judgment to avoid unsafe behavior.
B. be pushy in asserting his independence.
C. experience a decrease in confidence.
D. be cooperative and easy to get along with.
30. All but one of the following early childhood professionals are engaging in a physical-care routine. Which is not engaging in a physical-care routine?
A. Mr. Alex helps two-year-old Abner use his fork and spoon.
B. Mr. Carlos helps one-year-old Chrissy make a transition at arrival time.
C. Ms. Denise helps four-year-old Donnie zip his coat before going outside to the playground.
D. Ms. Brenda changes six-month-old Becky’s diaper.
