CliffsNotes Praxis II: Elementary Education (0011, 0012, 0014) (CliffsNotes AP)

268 Pages·2009·4.43 MB·English

by  Judy L. Paris

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Praxis II:
® Praxis II:
®
Elementary Education (0011, 0012, 0014)
Elementary Education
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(0011, 0012, 0014)
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About the contents:
I
I
Introduction :®

E
(cid:127) How to use this book l
e
(cid:127) Overview of the exam m
e
(cid:127) Proven study strategies and test-taking tips n
t
(cid:127) FAQs a
r
y
Part I: Topic Area Reviews E
d
(cid:127) Reading/language arts (cid:127) Science (cid:127) Fine arts u
c Proven test-taking strategies
(cid:127) Mathematics (cid:127) Physical education (cid:127) Integrated subjects a
t
(cid:127) Social studies io Focused reviews of all exam topics
n

Part II: Three Full-Length Practice Exams
(
0 3 model practice exams (one per
(cid:127) Each practice exam includes the same number of multiple-choice and constructed-response 0
1
questions as the actual exam 1 Praxis II Elementary Education
,

(cid:127) Complete with answers and explanations for all questions 0 subject area assessment)
0
1
2
,

0
0
1
4
Jocelyn L. Paris is certifi ed in AZ Elementary Education (K-8) and NE Elementary Education (K-6). Judy L. Paris
)
holds certifi cates in Special Education K-12 (Deaf and Hard of Hearing K-12), K-8 Elementary Education, and
Early Childhood Education, as well as Administrative certifi cates in Supervisory, Principal (qualifi ed), and
Superintendent (qualifi ed).
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ISBN 978-0-470-25956-6 i
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(cid:127)

P
a Jocelyn L. Paris, M.Ed., and Judy L. Paris, M.Ed.
$23.99 US B r
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01_259566-ffirs.qxp 11/24/08 10:21 PM Page i
CliffsNotes®
Praxis II®:
Elementary Education
(0011, 0012, 0014) Test Prep
by
Jocelyn L. Paris, M.Ed.
and Judy L. Paris, M.Ed.
01_259566-ffirs.qxp 12/2/08 5:42 PM Page ii
About the Authors Authors’Acknowledgments
Jocelynhas had a colorful and enriching life centered on To Chip for always being in my back pocket; to Mabel for greeting
teaching. She graduated with a B.A. from the University of Arizona me each day with a smile and kisses; to Haley for PB&J sammies;
and obtained her Master’s in Elementary Education at Northern to Justin and Andrea for keeping me updated on the weather; to
Arizona University. She has taught preschool through high school Gram and Gramp for coupons and jokes; to Mom and Dad for sup-
age students ranging in all abilities from severe to profound men- porting and loving me; and to my students for keeping me young,
tally retarded to deaf to gifted to emotionally and behaviorally chal- making me old, listening to my stories, educating me, laughing at
lenged. Jocelyn has taught in a multitude of settings as well: public my jokes, and renewing my faith in the future. — Jocelyn L. Paris
school, charter school, residential school for the deaf and blind, pri-
vate school, and Montessori school. She also is author of Idioms,
To the most amazing educator I know, who awakes each day to in-
published by Butte Publications, Inc. Jocelyn loves to coach sports
still knowledge in our youth, who yearns for a beautiful tomorrow,
and has coached basketball, volleyball, and soccer for elementary
who strives to support the unfortunate, and who will make an enor-
through high school varsity teams. One of her true passions lies
mous difference to future generations....my Jocelyn. —Judy L.
with Camp Abilities, a fundamentally appropriate sports camp for
Paris
the Visually Impaired. She has been involved in these camps for the
past six years in Arizona, New York, and Alaska.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
For more than 35 years, Judyhas been professionally involved in
the field of education as a teacher, a special education director, a Editorial
superintendent, a consultant, an author, and a mentor and currently Project Editor:Kelly D.Henthorne
serves as adjunct faculty at several universities. She holds degrees
Acquisitions Editor:Greg Tubach
and certifications in special education, early childhood education,
elementary education, and educational leadership/administration. Production
She has presented a paper at Oxford and was named Teacher of the Proofreader: Leeann Harney
Year. Although retired from public education, she currently creates
plays for young children, develops college courses and exams, Wiley Publishing, Inc. Composition Services
teaches in summer enrichment camps, conducts professional devel-
opment workshops, and writes educational materials. It is because
of her desire for all children to be allowed to learn through discov-
ery, to be offered a variety of educational opportunities, and to
experience the world around that has led to her newest endeavor
ofdeveloping a children’s museum for her community.
CliffsNotes® Praxis II®: Elementary Education (0011, 0012, 0014) Test Prep
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Paris, Jocelyn L., 1977-
CliffsNotes Praxis II : elementary education (0011, 0012, 0014) test prep /
by Jocelyn L. Paris and Judy L. Paris.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-470-25956-6
1. Education, Elementary--United States--Examinations--Study guides. 2.
Teaching--United States--Examinations--Study guides. 3. National teacher
examinations--United States--Study guides. I. Paris, Judy L., 1950- II.
LB1762.P37 2008
370.76--dc22
2008046682
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Table of Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Format of the Exam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Multiple-Choice Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Multiple-Choice Format and Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Essay Writing 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Essay Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Time Frame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Content of the Exam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Frequently Asked Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Using this Study Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Overviews—General Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Elementary Education: Content Knowledge (0014). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (0011) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Knowledge and Understanding of Human Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Pedagogy/Learning Theories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Instruction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Assessment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
General Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Content Area Exercises (0012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Examination Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
PART I: INDIVIDUAL SUBJECT AREAS
Language Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Reading/Language Arts Content Knowledge (0014). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Understanding Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Text Structure and Organization for Reading and Writing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Literacy Acquisition and Reading Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Foundations of Literacy and Reading Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Language in Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Communication Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Reading/Language Arts Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (0011). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Standards Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Curriculum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Instruction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Assessment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Reading/Language Arts Content Area Exercises (0012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Mathematics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Mathematics Content Knowledge (0014). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Critical Thinking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Number Sense and Numeration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Algebraic Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Informal Geometry and Measurement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Data Organization and Interpretation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
02_259566-ftoc.qxp 11/24/08 10:21 PM Page iv
CliffsNotes PraxisII:Elementary Education (0011, 0012, 0014) Test Prep
Mathematics—Introduction to Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (0011). . . . . . . . . . 104
Standards Overview, Grades Pre-K to 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Standards Pre-K to 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Mathematics Content Area Exercises (0012). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Social Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Social Studies (0014). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
World History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
United States History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Political Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Anthropology, Sociology, and Psychology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Economics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Introduction to Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment (0011). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Curriculum Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Social Organizations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Social Structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
History, Geography, and Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Concepts and Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Classroom Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Content Pedagogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Instructional Strategies for Social Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Social Studies Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Social Studies Content Area Exercises (0012). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Science Content Knowledge (0014) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Prominent Scientific Laws. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Earth Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Physical Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Science as Inquiry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
History and Nature of Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Science Introduction to Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (0011). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Curriculum Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Strategies and Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Unifying Concepts and Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Science as Inquiry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Use of Materials and Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Model Building and Forecasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Analysis of Work-Assessment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Basic Principles of Health Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Content Specific Pedagogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Science Content Area Exercises (0012). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Integrated Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Physical Education Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (0011). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Developmentally Appropriate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Basic Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Assessment of Physical Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
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Table of Contents
Fine Arts Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (0011) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Arts Integration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Basic Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Instruction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Assessment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
PART II: PRACTICE EXAMINATIONS WITH ANSWER EXPLANATIONS
Practice Exam (0014) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Answer Explanations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Practice Exam (0011) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Answer Key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Answer Explanations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Practice Exam (0012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Essay 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Essay 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Essay 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Essay 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Historical Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
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Introduction
Although teaching is a rewarding profession, it is also a difficult one. Consistent re-evaluation of teaching methods and
ever-changing social attitudes toward education are always affecting the education profession. If you have made it this
far, you know that teaching requires you to consistently increase your knowledge of the field. The Praxis exam is just
one way to ensure that you have the core subject knowledge you will be teaching as well as the professional knowledge
(curriculum, instruction, and assessment) needed in this profession. Because you want to become the best teacher you
can be, you have decided to study for the Praxis examinations. All good teachers prepare and do their homework.
Pat yourself on the back as you have chosen an excellent study guide that will help you prepare for the Praxis II exam
and will be useful in your elementary classroom for years to come. You are in the final stage toward the acquisition of
your teaching certification/license. The elementary Praxis II exams are focused on broad content knowledge, instruc-
tional theories, strategies and methods, as well as a general understanding of elementary students. Ensuring that you are
successful on the Praxis II elementary exams is a positive move for your career.
Effective educators utilize content knowledge and apply principles to classroom structure, behavior management,
curriculum design, and assessments. Educators should seek current information on policies, research, and strategies.
Joining professional organizations, reading research studies, taking university courses, attending professional develop-
ment trainings, and subscribing to professional journals will help educators to improve student programs.
Children in elementary schools possess individual strengths and specific needs. It is the educator’s role to address both
in an appropriate manner so that all children may learn and develop into capable citizens. Teachers must be creative,
flexible, and confident as they work in educational settings providing activities to students who possess a wide range of
abilities. Working with elementary students can be stimulating yet demanding.
Getting Started
Whether you are a recent college graduate or an experienced teacher, taking the Praxis II exam meets certain state certi-
fication requirements. The final score on the exam will reflect what you have gained from teacher preparation courses
and from utilizing current teaching practices in the classroom. To prepare for the actual exam, you may also want to
review college texts, conduct Internet research, or visit the library.
Remember that the practice exams offered in this guide will provide you with information about the format and types of
questions on the Praxis II elementary exams. The content and questions in the practice exams and on the actual exams
may differ in both substance and difficulty. After completing a practice exam in this guide, use the answers and detailed
explanations for further study on these specific topics.
Format of the Exam
Each Praxis II exam provided in this guide is designed to help individuals evaluate general content knowledge regard-
ing the teaching of elementary students. Each of the elementary exams included here are slightly different in composi-
tion. Two of the exams are comprised of a set of multiple-choice questions, although the number of questions varies.
One exam includes essay exercisesthat require more detailed narrative answers. All of the exam questions are based
oninstructional situations, issues surrounding curriculum or assessment, or broad content knowledge pertinent to the
education of elementary students.
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CliffsNotes Praxis II:Elementary Education (0011, 0012, 0014) Test Prep
Three general topics are related to the elementary education Praxis II exams included in this study guide, and each has
an accompanying practice test. The specific code numbers and titles are listed here.
#0014 Elementary Education: Content Knowledge
#0011 Elementary Education: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
#0012 Elementary Education: Content Area Exercises
Multiple-Choice Questions
Multiple-choice questions include a stem(statement) and four answer choices, the correct answer being the key.The stem
may be written in one of these formats: question, statement, fill-in-the-blank,or least/except choices. The four answer
choices that follow the stem are identified by letter selections A, B, C, and D. The three distractorsmay be related to the
correct answer, but select only the best possible answer.
The multiple-choice questions are designed to test total knowledge of the subject material regarding elementary educa-
tion. These questions are factually written, so think carefully when making final answer selections.
In both the practice test and the actual exam, some of the multiple-choice questions may be based on a scenario that re-
sembles an actual classroom situation. Read the brief excerpt and think about how the posed questions should be answered
in reference to the information provided. Consider what an educator should do if placed in this particular circumstance.
Multiple-Choice Format and Strategy
To answer discrete multiple-choice questions correctly, strong reading skills are necessary. Reading with care to under-
stand the basic premise of the question while remaining confident in the knowledge of the area tested is essential. The
exam questions reflect the best practicesused in elementary education.
Prior to answering questions on the practice or actual exam, read and then reread each question. Think about your se-
lection before looking at the list of answer options. Check to see whether your selection is listed in the four choices,
which makes finding the best answer an easier task. If the information in the question is unknown, look at all of the op-
tions and use the process of elimination. Remove any choices that seem impossible or not probable, as that may help in
selecting a correct answer from fewer choices.
Types of multiple-choice formats:
Fill-in-the-Blank or Complete the Statement
This type of question offers information through a partial sentence that must be completed using one of the posed options.
Select the best option to complete the sentence, using facts and data about elementary education.
Question/Statement or Which of the Following?
This type of question asks a short question or delivers a statement that must be answered by selecting one of the four
options provided. The most frequently used question type on multiple-choice exams is the question that begins with
“Which of the following ....” To answer these, read the question carefully and think about all the options, choosing the
one that BEST suits the question.
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