WorksheetsEarly Childhood MOCA Practice
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 10mins
As a kindergarten teacher observes the class during the first few weeks of school, the teacher notices differences in the students' behaviors. One student prefers to work alone, while another enjoys working with a friend or in a small group. A third student is most interested in the mathematics center, while a fourth is constantly moving and gesturing. The teacher is witnessing behavior that illustrates the learning theories of:
Erik Erikson
E.D. Hirsch
Abraham Maslow
Howard Gardner
In his developmental theories, Jean Piaget sought to explain which of the following?
how internal needs, desires, and conflicts interact to influence personality development
how maturation, activity, and interpersonal experiences interact to influence cognitive development
how caregiver responsiveness influences social and emotional development
how guidance from knowledgeable others influences intellectual development
Which of the following informal assessment tools would be most useful for documenting a preschool child's ability to perform specific skills?
An Interview
A running record
A worksheet
A rating scale
Which of the following would be a second-grade teacher's best strategy for promoting all students' sense of competence and motivation to learn?
emphasizing homogeneous grouping to minimize comparisons between students who perform at different levels
offering praise for the completion of work regardless of a student's level of effort or the quality of the final product
differentiating instruction to present each student with tasks that can be achieved with persistence
creating frequent opportunities for friendly competitions such as spelling bees and math bees
Four-year-old Kima draws a picture of a girl. She then writes the letter K all around the edges of the paper, remarking, "This is my name. It says Kima." This behavior suggests that Kima has attained some understanding of:
The student has knowledge of the alphabetic principle.
The student has some understanding of concepts about print.
The student is beginning to build a sight-word vocabulary.
The student is beginning to develop phonemic awareness.
In a class of three year olds, which of the following would be the teacher's best strategy for fostering the development of the fine-motor skills prerequisite for writing?
providing children with thick pencils to use to trace the outlines of letters and shapes
engaging children in art activities such as fingerpainting and making prints of their hands in plaster
involving children in singing activities in which they clap the rhythms of the songs
engaging children in activities such as doing fingerplays and playing with interlocking blocks and beads
A four-year-old preschooler demonstrates minor delays in motor skills development. Teachers can best promote improvement in the child's motor abilities by using which of the following approaches?
defining a set of motor skills goals toward which the child will work using a programmed daily sequence of motor activities
arranging to have the child spend time each day working one-to-one with a teacher or other staff member on motor skills exercises
pairing the child with a classmate with strong motor abilities who can serve as a model during motor activities
encouraging the child to take advantage of opportunities in the preschool environment to engage in enjoyable motor activities
In terms of student safety, which of the following features of a school playground should a kindergarten teacher be most concerned about?
The surface below the climbing structure consists of packed earth.
The platform at the top of the slide is five feet high.
The playing area includes a blacktop made of asphalt.
The swings do not provide back support or seat belts.
A small group of six-year-olds is listening as their teacher reads a story about two rabbits who are having a party. An illustration shows the two rabbits just sitting down to a plate of 10 cookies when a third rabbit walks in. Which of the following would be the teacher's best strategy for integrating mathematical content into this reading activity?
asking if the children can think of a way for the rabbits to share the cookies equally
asking the children how many cookies would be left if one were taken away
asking the children to count how many cookies the rabbits have altogether
asking if any of the children can explain the difference between even numbers and odd numbers
Which of the following animals is classified as a vertebrate?
Earthworm
Jellyfish
Hummingbird
Butterfly
Which of the following represents a third-grade teacher's best strategy for integrating art with the study of local history?
posting pictures of notable historical figures when teaching a lesson on important events and issues in local history
looking at local historical paintings and comparing features of daily life in earlier times, such as clothing and transportation, with those of today
contacting local organizations, such as the town offices and the historical society, to obtain brochures and other materials to use in a collage
distributing cardboard templates of historical images, such as log houses or horses and buggies, for students to use to create scenes from the past
As part of a unit on early America, second graders are learning a folk song. As the students learn the song, the teacher points out that the verses of the song tell a story, while a chorus that repeats itself alternates with the storytelling parts. The teacher is integrating music and social studies in a way that promotes students' understanding of the musical element of:
Meter
Dynamics
Melody
Form
Which of the following would be the most effective way for a third-grade teacher to promote students' comprehension of a new chapter they are about to begin reading in their science textbook?
having students skim the chapter, write down any unfamiliar words, and look up the words in a dictionary
helping the class generate a chart of what they know about the subject and what they would like to learn
assigning students to small groups in which the members take turns reading sections of the text out loud
holding a brief discussion of the word identification strategies the class has learned and listing the strategies on the board
A third-grade teacher would like to help students learn to use structural analysis as one strategy for identifying unfamiliar words in reading selections. To address this goal, the teacher should provide students with instruction in:
understanding common roots and affixes.
using context cues.
using scanning to preview texts.
understanding common patterns of text organization.
As part of the regular daily schedule, a second-grade teacher reads a story aloud and discusses it with the class. Several students are English language learners, and the teacher wants to use the discussions to promote and extend these students' oral language skills. Which of the following would be the teacher's best strategy for achieving this goal?
holding the discussions in two sessions, one for the English language learners and the other for native English speakers
using the discussions as a regular opportunity to give feedback on the English language learners' progress in English language production
meeting with the English language learners beforehand to preteach key vocabulary and make connections to their prior knowledge
asking the English language learners to repeat the teacher's questions in statement form as a preface to their responses
In young children's oral language development, which of the following constructions would typically emerge last?
"More juice."
"Put in box."
"I can jump."
"He's playing."
One student in a second-grade class is academically talented and gifted. The second-grade teacher's best strategy for promoting this student's motivation to learn would be to:
arrange for the student to tutor classmates who are less academically advanced.
allow the student to go to the library media center during lessons focused on lower-level concepts or skills.
differentiate assignments to permit the student to address the content at an appropriate level of complexity.
increase the number of pages for the student to read or problems to solve for given assignments.
A preschool teacher would like to know more about a young child's social skills. Which of the following assessment procedures would best provide this information?
observing the child at play during recess
reviewing a functional skills rating scale completed by the child's parents/guardians
reviewing a behavior checklist completed by the child's parents/guardians
observing the child drawing a self-portrait
A young child with developmental delays has an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). The child will soon turn three, at which point he will enter a general education preschool program. Which of the following is a key responsibility of the general education preschool teacher in this situation?
obtaining permission to review the child's complete medical history in preparation for the child's entry
informing the families of other children in the program of the child's upcoming enrollment
working closely with the child's family and service providers to promote a smooth transition
submitting a formal request for a paraprofessional to provide support in the child's preschool classroom
After being referred for screening by her preschool teacher, a five year old has recently been identified as having a language impairment. Which of the following is the primary role of the preschool teacher as a member of the multidisciplinary team developing an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for this child?
drafting the initial text for the IEP based on the discussions and conclusions of the team
describing the child's present level of performance in the classroom
determining whether services should be provided in the classroom
interpreting the results of the assessment or screening tools that were used to diagnose the child
