Praxis Early Childhood Education flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Phonemic awareness

The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual phonemes in spoken words, such as blending /c/-/a/-/t/ into cat. It involves no printed letters and is a strong predictor of later reading success.

Alphabetic principle

The understanding that letters and letter combinations represent the sounds of spoken language. Children move from partial to full use of this principle as they learn to decode unfamiliar words.

Fluency components

Reading fluency combines accuracy, automaticity (appropriate rate), and prosody (expression). Fluent reading frees attention for comprehension rather than decoding.

Tier 2 vocabulary

High-frequency words that appear across many content areas, such as compare, describe, or predict. These are considered the most productive words for direct vocabulary instruction in early grades.

Invented spelling

A developmental stage in which children spell words using the sounds they hear, such as writing 'kt' for cat. It reflects growing phonemic awareness rather than carelessness.

Print concepts

Knowledge about how print works, including holding a book correctly, reading left to right and top to bottom, and distinguishing letters, words, and sentences.

Cardinality

The principle that the last number word said when counting a set names the total quantity in that set. It is a foundational counting concept developed in preschool and kindergarten.

Subitizing

The instant recognition of how many objects are in a small set, usually one to five, without counting them one by one. It supports early number sense and addition strategies.

Composing and decomposing numbers

Building numbers from parts and breaking them apart, such as 7 = 5 + 2 or 3 + 4. Fluency with combinations to ten is a key primary-grade mathematics benchmark.

Place value

The principle that a digit's value depends on its position. In 34, the 3 means three tens and the 4 means four ones.

Repeating versus growing patterns

A repeating pattern cycles a fixed unit such as AB or ABB. A growing pattern increases by a constant rule, such as 2, 4, 6, 8.

Square as rectangle

A square has four right angles and four equal sides, so it meets the definition of a rectangle. All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.

Scientific inquiry cycle

A process of observing, asking questions, predicting, investigating, recording data, and communicating conclusions. Young children practice simplified versions through hands-on exploration and discussion.

Characteristics of living things

Living things grow, need energy, respond to stimuli, and reproduce. Nonliving things lack all of these. Sorting living from nonliving is a common early science task.

Complete metamorphosis

A life cycle with four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Butterflies and beetles follow this pattern, unlike frogs, which hatch as tadpoles.

States of matter

Solids keep a definite shape and volume, liquids keep volume but take the container's shape, and gases fill their container. Water freezes at 0 and boils at 100 degrees Celsius at sea level.

Inference versus prediction

An inference explains what is happening now using evidence and reasoning. A prediction states what will happen next. Both rely on observation but differ in time orientation.

Five themes of geography

Location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region. These themes organize instruction about where things are and how people relate to their surroundings.

Map elements

A map typically includes a title, key or legend, compass rose, scale, and sometimes a grid. The compass rose shows cardinal directions north, south, east, and west.

Goods versus services

Goods are physical items that are made or grown, such as bread or furniture. Services are actions performed for others, such as teaching or repairing. Producers supply both to consumers.

Needs versus wants

Needs are things required for survival and well-being, such as food, water, and shelter. Wants are desirable but not essential, such as toys. This distinction introduces scarcity.

Expanding circles curriculum

An early social studies sequence that starts with the child and family, then moves outward to neighborhood, community, state, nation, and world.

Locomotor skills

Movements that travel from one place to another, including walking, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, galloping, and sliding. They form the base for games and sports.

Health-related fitness components

Cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition. These five components describe physical health rather than sport-specific skill.

Daily activity guideline

Children and adolescents should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each day, including activities that strengthen muscle and bone.

Handwashing duration

Washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds is the most effective routine for reducing spread of infectious illness in early childhood settings.

Elements of visual art

Line, shape, form, color, texture, space, and value. These building blocks are used to describe, create, and discuss works of art with young children.

Primary and secondary colors

In paint, primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. Mixing two primaries creates a secondary color: orange, green, or violet.

Instrument families

The four families are strings (violin, guitar), woodwinds (flute, clarinet), brass (trumpet, trombone), and percussion (drum, xylophone). Instruments are grouped by how sound is produced.

Process art

Art experiences that emphasize the child's exploration, choice, and sensory engagement rather than a predetermined product. Process art supports creativity and fine motor development.

Piaget's preoperational stage

Ages roughly two to seven, marked by symbolic thought, language growth, egocentrism, and difficulty with conservation. Children reason from appearance rather than logic.

Zone of proximal development

Vygotsky's term for tasks a child cannot yet do alone but can accomplish with guidance from a more capable person. Scaffolding provides temporary support within this zone.

Erikson's autonomy stage

Roughly ages one to three, when children assert independence through choices and self-care. Supportive adults foster autonomy; excessive restriction can produce shame and doubt.