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Solution to MTTC Test (Lower
Elementary Test #120) exam
- A second-grade teacher is planning a unit on structure and properties of matter. Which of the following statements about scientific phenomena should be used as an anchoring phenomena for this grade? A. An ice cube melts in a glass but becomes solid again when the water is frozen. B. Shadows are much cooler than areas of ground where sunlight strikes. C. Some things cling to a balloon after it has been rubbed on a cloth. D. A match changes its appearance after it burns. - answer ✅✅ A. CORRECT. The phenomenon of frozen water melting and re-freezing is a good anchor because it is observable, accessible across cultures, requires additional instruction, relates to both structure and
properties of matter, and lends itself to investigations, including those related to temperature and phase changes. B. Shadows are engaging, observable phenomena; however, they are not examples of matter and therefore are not a good anchor for this unit. C. Items clinging to a balloon is an engaging and observable phenomenon; however, electric charge as a property of matter is beyond the scope of second-grade learning and therefore not an appropriate anchor. D. The change in a match after burning is an interesting and observable phenomenon; however, it would fit best in a unit on physical and chemical changes, rather than in an introduction to structure and properties of matter, and it would be more appropriate for older students than for second-grade students.
- A third-grade teacher plans a lesson on the beliefs and histories of the Anishinaabek tribes of Michigan. Which of the following activities would best promote students' understanding of the beliefs and histories of the Anishinaabek tribes of Michigan? A. investigating the traditional foods common to the Anishinaabek tribes of Michigan
immediate environment. The students note the following observations. -school buildings -playground equipment -trees and plants -cars in the parking lot -road work and construction -birds and squirrels Later, the teacher leads the students in dividing the list into two lists. This activity can best be incorporated into a lesson designed to help students reach which of the following understandings? A. A place can be described by either its absolute location or its relative location. B. A place includes both physical characteristics and human characteristics. C. The local community near the school differs from other communities.
D. The local community near the school is one part of a larger region. - answer ✅✅ A. The students are observing objects that can be used to describe relative locations, but that is not the focus of the exercise. B. CORRECT. The students are observing their environment to list objects that are both natural and made by people. C. The students are discussing what they see in their school community, but no other community is mentioned. D. While this is a true statement, none of the information gathered by the students would support that finding.
- A third-grade teacher plans a lesson on the three branches of government that will be based on student-centered activities involving classroom rules. The teacher will divide the class into three groups. The first group will be responsible for writing new rules for the class, the second group for determining how these rules will be upheld and enforced, and the third group for determining if the new rules violate or contradict any of the rules and norms previously established in the classroom. Which of the following topics in civics would be most effectively demonstrated in this activity? A. popular sovereignty B. checks and balances
A. having children vote on the most interesting farm activities and farm animals and graphing the results as a class B. asking children about what they know and want to know about farms and creating illustrations of the responses on a poster C. creating a Venn diagram with the children in which they record the similarities and differences between different types of familiar foods D. walking with children around the school grounds to observe animals and machinery to form a comparison with what they will see at the farm - answer ✅✅ A. Voting and graphing the results would be a good math activity to do after the field trip, but it would not be an appropriate way to activate the children's prior knowledge. B. CORRECT. Having a discussion and using visual models will help the children recognize and identify what they already know about farms and farmers. C. A Venn diagram will focus the children's attention on the types of food, not the roles of the farms and farmers in providing food for the community.
D. This activity could scaffold animals and machinery for the children, but it will not help them think about what they already know about farms.
- A kindergarten science classroom investigates changing the speed and direction of an object with a push or a pull. Which of the following activities most appropriately supports the students in analyzing and interpreting data? A. comparing different observations of what occurred B. distinguishing between opinions and evidence in an argument C. describing how specific images support a scientific explanation D. making valid claims to determine an optimal design solution to a problem - answer ✅✅ A. CORRECT. This investigation offers students the opportunity to observe how the speed and/or direction of an object changes with a push or a pull (e.g., pushing or pulling a toy car with various amounts of force). The descriptions of what they observed and the comparisons of different outcomes provide data that can be used for interpretation and analysis with the help of the teacher. B. The concept of change due to force is the focus of the lesson and, while opinions and evidence will be discussed, distinguishing them
D. defining and delimiting engineering problems - answer ✅✅ A. Third- grade students should not yet be learning about wave properties, which would include discussions of amplitude, frequency, and wavelength. Moreover, these properties only relate to weather tangentially. B. While weather is a naturally occurring phenomenon and so might be considered a natural resource, this concept is not helpful in designing solutions for a weather-related problem. C. CORRECT. Communicating with other students about their prototypes is an important part of the developing possible solutions portion of the engineering design process and aids in the development of ideas, including generating improvements. D. The students should have already completed defining and delimiting their current engineering problems because they are described as being at the point of making claims about how their prototypes work.
- Which of the following activities effectively integrates the patterns crosscutting concept into a first-grade space systems unit? A. recording information to describe how much light is available on a given day
B. providing evidence of objects only being seen when they are illuminated C. observing the sun, moon, and stars to predict daily and monthly events D. communicating solutions to reduce the amount of junk orbiting Earth - answer ✅✅ A. Examining only one day's data will not provide enough information to find a pattern because multiple data points are needed. B. Providing evidence in this way relates better to the crosscutting concept of cause and effect because being seen relies on the illumination of an object. C. CORRECT. By making observations and learning about the sun, moon, and stars, students can learn to recognize patterns, such as predicting the visible shape of the moon over time, as well as the positions of various celestial objects. D. Examining the amount of junk orbiting Earth relates better to scale, proportion, and quantity because it involves amounts of things.
- Prekindergarten children explore the concepts of sinking and floating by placing items in water. Which of the following supplies would best support this investigation?
regions of the world. Each group then creates a poster and presents its information to the class. Which of the following activities would best engage students in sense-making about climate regions during a whole-class follow-up discussion? A. identifying kinds of wildlife that are found in a climate region B. explaining which climate regions humans like to live in C. finding the hottest and coldest climate regions D. describing patterns about climate regions - answer ✅✅ A. Identifying specific kinds of wildlife in a climate region would provide students with the names of organisms in an area, but it would not deepen their understanding or sense-making as much as learning about specific adaptations exhibited by animals in a particular climate region. B. Humans live in a variety of climate regions throughout the world. Therefore, this activity does not add to sense-making about climate and climate regions. C. Finding the hottest and coldest climate regions is a fact-gathering activity that can add to student understanding about geography, but it does not deepen sense-making about climate and climate regions.
D. CORRECT. Climate regions have specific temperature, precipitation, and location patterns. An activity in which students learn about these patterns increases the likelihood of student sense-making about climate regions.
- A third-grade teacher designs a unit on inheritance of traits in living things. Students have already seen a diagram showing the flower color and plant height of several generations of pea plants. Which of the following activities would best use talk and group work to support student sense-making of the inheritance of traits? A. labeling the parts of various pea plants together with a partner B. making a model to explain the different plant heights and flower colors C. using the school library to conduct research on other common garden plants D. asking community members about their favorite fruits and vegetables and if those varieties can still be found today - answer ✅✅ A. Group talk is minimally supported with this action because the action can be completed independently.
designed to center on squirrels, not humans. Further, squirrels gathering nuts does not illustrate the relationship between human activity and the survival of plants and animals. B. Squirrels gathering acorns does not illustrate the concept of pollination, though it might be linked to reproduction and dissemination. Additionally, both pollination and the distribution of seeds, such as acorns, are topics for older students. C. The cycling of matter is too advanced a topic for pre-kindergartners, and squirrels gathering acorns does not illustrate this concept in a straightforward manner. D. CORRECT. Students have observed the phenomenon of squirrels collecting acorns. Using this question, the students' observations can be leveraged for students to make sense of animal behavior caused by seasonal changes.
- Students in a second-grade classroom have recently completed a series of lessons about the importance of recycling. Several students observed that their school lunchroom does not have any containers for recyclable materials. Which of the following activities would be most effective to promote students' ability to positively contribute to civic discourse on this issue?
A. conducting a classroom discussion about the most important reasons to recycle B. producing a poster to illustrate how food and materials can be properly recycled C. investigating the benefits that recycling has produced for the world's ecosystems D. preparing an appeal to the school principal about the usefulness of recycling bins - answer ✅✅ A. A classroom discussion would be a form of discourse, but it does not reach the level of civic discourse if it is only within the classroom. B. A poster would be civic engagement, but there is not explicit discourse involved. C. Investigating the benefits of recycling would help to ensure the students have understanding, but it is not civic discourse. D. CORRECT. By preparing an appeal, the students are considering both sides of the issue, and bringing the topic to the principal involves the greater school community.
D. Although this supplemental text describes factors that may help the survival of young animals, these factors are not behavior-based. A first-grade teacher divides the class into small groups. Each group is told that they have a certain amount of money to spend on a class party. Students must make choices related to the party, like whether they should buy or make food and whether or not they can get decorations. The teacher can best support students' understanding of this content by beginning the sequence with instruction on: A. voluntary exchanges taking place in the marketplace. B. balancing limited means with unlimited wants and needs. C. wants being met as a result of specialization and interdependence. D. distinguishing between producers and consumers of goods and services. - answer ✅✅ A. While the students are engaging in voluntary exchanges in the marketplace, the activity described is more about managing funds. B. CORRECT. This activity directly requires students to weigh their wants and needs for their party with the money allotted to them, their means.
C. The activity does not address specialization or interdependence. D. The students are playing the role of consumers in this activity, but they are not learning about the production of goods and services. A first-grade teacher plans a lesson on the ways in which people modify their physical environments. Which of the following student activities best serves the teacher's needs? A. Students explain how they choose what to wear based on the weather conditions. B. Students visit a wooded area after a heavy rain or snowfall and describe what they see. C. Students describe their favorite outdoor activities and where they go to partake in these activities. D. Students compare the plant life they find in a wooded area to the plant variety around a playing field. - answer ✅✅ A. This is an example of how humans can adapt to the environment, not how to modify their physical environment.
