Deck 4: Planning and Implementing Effective Small-Group Activities

Question 1

A characteristic of good activity plan objectives are that they:

A) Are fun for children to do.
B) Describe child behavior/actions.
C) Relate to the theme of the day.
D) Describe how children will participate in an activity.

Answer 1

Describe child behavior/actions.

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of an appropriate activity plan objective as described in your text?

A) The adult will select appropriate materials for the children to use.
B) Children will think about seeds and leaves.
C) The child will feel good about his or her participation in the activity.
D) The child will put the story characters in sequence on the flannel board.

Answer 2

The child will put the story characters in sequence on the flannel board.

Question 3

The teacher has developed a counting activity in which children are counting shells. Which of the following statements of content best fit this activity?

A) Shells come in many colors.
B) Shells are sometimes large and sometimes small.
C) Shells were once the home of tiny animals that live in the ocean.
D) When counting, each object is counted only once.

Answer 3

When counting, each object is counted only once.

Question 4

What is a "teachable moment"?

A) A spontaneous learning opportunity for the child.
B) A short time interval between two scheduled activities.
C) A planned activity in which the teacher highlights what the children learned that day in a fun and meaningful way.
D) A brief teaching time when children and teachers plan what they will do next.

Question 5

Which of the following elements should you consider FIRST when developing an activity plan?

A) The materials available
B) The physical space in which the activity will take place
C) What theme the children are studying
D) The needs, strengths, and interests of the children

Question 6

Which of the following parts of the activity plan should reflect the concept of developmental direction?

A) The materials
B) The content
C) The objectives
D) The title

Question 7

Which of the following parts of the activity plan focuses on the effectiveness of your teaching?

A) The materials
B) The objectives
C) The procedures
D) The evaluation

Question 8

Which of the following parts of the activity plan includes ways to simplify the lesson to accommodate the needs of some or all of the children?

A) The content
B) The objectives
C) The procedures
D) The evaluation

Question 9

The short form of the lesson plan is suited for teachers who:

A) Are more experienced, and therefore need to record fewer details.
B) Are not provided paid time for lesson planning, and may be too busy to have time for the long form.
C) Work alone and do not need to communicate activity plans in detail to coworkers.
D) Have less experience writing plans and are writing simpler activities

Question 10

Which of the following strategies is a simplification of a fine-motor plan in which children will trace leaf shapes with markers?

A) Children use their fingertips to trace the leaves.
B) The children read a book about leaves.
C) The children use watercolors to paint within the lines of leaf shapes.
D) Children go outside and gather leaves and other things that grow on trees.

Question 11

A good name for an activity in which children become aware of beauty found in nature by exploring the properties of seashells would be:

A) "Under the Sea"
B) "Ocean Friends".
C) "Examining Seashells"
D) "Little Bits of Beauty"

Question 12

Your text described the concept of developmental direction. Which of the following is an example of concrete to abstract?

A) Arnold learns the concepts of tall and short by building towers of blocks and then applies this knowledge to identifying tall and short objects pictured side by side in photographs.
B) Hannah practices fine motor skills by cutting out paper shapes and then reciting the names of the shapes.
C) Carl learns the meaning of a word by memorizing a song and then using the same word in another song later.
D) Sarah sees and hears the teacher read the same story many times and then begins to pick out certain words in the text herself.

Question 13

Your text described the concept of developmental direction. Which of the following is an example of whole to part?

A) Arnold learns the concepts of tall and short by building towers of blocks and then applies this knowledge to identifying tall and short objects pictured side by side in photographs.
B) Hannah practices fine motor skills by cutting out paper shapes and then recites the names of the shapes.
C) Carl learns the meaning of a word by memorizing a song and then using the same word in another song later.
D) Sarah sees and hears the teacher read the same story many times and then begins to pick out certain words in the text herself.

Question 14

When children play games that require them to experience the concepts of inside, under, and next to, before having to apply those concepts on paper, the teacher is demonstrating awareness of what aspect of developmental direction?

A) Known to unknown
B) Simple to complex
C) Exploratory to goal directed
D) Accurate to inaccurate

Question 15

The children are using their own version of writing to reconstruct or describe events. What is the best description for this process?

A) Enactive representation
B) Practice
C) Acquisition
D) Symbolic representation

Question 16

Before going outside to plant seeds in the garden on the playground, Mr. Menendez models poking a hole in dirt with his finger, placing a seed in the hole, sprinkling dirt on top of the seed, and pouring a small amount of water over the newly-planted seed. He says things like, "What did I do first?" and "Are you ready to plant our seeds?" This is likely what kind of activity?

A) Planned demonstration
B) Spontaneous demonstration
C) Exploration
D) Direct instruction

Question 17

Ms. Demchik filled the water table and placed a set of eight-ounce plastic bottles on a nearby shelf. She put measuring cups and some plastic tubing in the water. As the children arrived, she invited them to play. She observed the children's explorations, then asked questions such as, "Which of these containers holds the most? How do you know?" She was prepared to accept any answer the children might give and to build on their answers with further questions and challenges. What activity type does the water table represent?

A) The water table was a direct instruction activity.
B) The water table was a problem-solving activity.
C) The water table was an exploratory activity.
D) The water table was a guided discovery activity.

Question 18

Of the following activity types, which one gives children the least control over what happens in the activity?

A) Demonstrations
B) Direct Instruction
C) Discussions
D) Guided Discovery

Question 19

To help children apply what they learned in Step 4 of a direct instruction sequence, what would the teacher say?

A) Look up here.
B) This is what you have to do first.
C) Make a circle.
D) Show me something that is NOT a circle.

Question 20

The children are playing in the pretend grocery store. After observing them for a few moments, the teacher enters the store. She asks an open-ended question and does some modeling to help the children focus more closely on the roles of customers and employees. What kind of activity is this?

A) Problem solving
B) Exploration
C) Demonstration
D) Guided discovery

Question 21

Name 3 reasons why teachers plan activities in advance.

Question 22

What is the role of the teacher in guided discovery activities?

Question 23

Why is it important to have a complete materials list as part of your lesson plan?

Question 24

What is wrong with lesson plans created at a central corporate office and distributed for use to centers across the country, to be used on a specific date?

Question 25

What are the essential steps in a scientific problem solving activity?

Question 26

According to your book, activity plans contain goals and objectives. Define each and describe how they relate to each another.

Question 27

All the parts of an effective activity plan are aligned with one another. Discuss what is meant by the concept of alignment and how it relates to the plans you write.

Question 28

Why is it important to sequence the objectives in your activity plan? What impact will this have on your teaching and on children's participation in the activity?

Question 29

Why are effective, thorough lesson plans so important? Be specific; discuss the pitfalls of ineffective planning.

Question 30

What are some of the teaching strategies you might employ when using direct instruction to teach children how to serve themselves family-style at lunch (Children sitting at the table, dishes passed around with each child serving him- or herself)? Give examples of things you might say or do.