Chapter 7

Question 1

Childhood obesity

Answer 1

In a child, having a BMI above the 95th percentile, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 1980 standards for children of a given age.

Question 2

pester power

Answer 2

the ability to get adults to do what they want, which includes pestering their parents to buy calorie-dense snacks that are advertised on television or that other children eat.

Question 3

Asthma

Answer 3

A chronic disease of the respiratory system in which inflammation narrows the airways from the nose and mouth to the lungs, causing difficulty in breathing. Signs and symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing.

Question 4

How does growth during middle childhood compare with growth earlier or later?

Answer 4

Middle childhood is a time of slow and steady growth, unlike the rapid growth of infancy and of puberty.

Question 5

Why is middle childhood considered a healthy time?

Answer 5

Children have fewer diseases, and are more cautious about poisons, streets, and other dangers.

Question 6

How does physical activity affect the child’s development?

Answer 6

Physical activity improves strength, internal organs, and the brain.

Question 7

How do fine motor skills interact with academic skills?

Answer 7

Fine motor skills are needed for many academic skills, including reading and writing.

Question 8

What seems to be the effect of learning to play a musical instrument?

Answer 8

Parts of the brain develop more rapidly.

Question 9

What are several reasons some children weigh more than the norm?

Answer 9

Some are genetically destined to be big children, some are overfed, and some move less and watch television more.

Question 10

What are the short-term and long-term effects of childhood obesity?

Answer 10

The immediate effects may be reduced friendship and lower self-esteem. The long-term effects include stress on the body organs, especially the heart.

Question 11

Why is asthma more common now than it was 50 years ago?

Answer 11

Many of the conditions that make breathing more difficult are part of modern life, including times spent indoors, carpets and bedding, roaches, air pollution.

Question 12

Concrete operational thought

Answer 12

Piaget’s term for the ability to reason logically about direct experiences and perceptions.

Question 13

Classification

Answer 13

The logical principle that things can be organized into groups (or categories or classes) according to some characteristic that they have in common.

Question 14

Seriation

Answer 14

The concept that things can be arranged in a logical series, such as the number sequence or the alphabet.

Question 15

Working memory

Answer 15

Memory that is active at any given moment.

Question 16

Knowledge base

Answer 16

A body of knowledge in a particular area that makes it easier to master new information in that area.

Question 17

English language Learners (ELLs)

Answer 17

Children in the United States whose proficiency in English is low — usually below a cutoff score on an oral or written test. Many children who speak a non-English language at home are also capable in English; they are not ELLs.

Question 18

Bilingual education

Answer 18

A strategy in which school subjects are taught in both the learner’s original language and the second (majority) language

Question 19

ESL (English as a Second Language)

Answer 19

A U.S. approach to teaching English that gathers all of the non-English speakers together and provides intense instruction in English. Students’ first languages are never used; the goal is to prepare them for regular classes in English.

Question 20

Immersion

Answer 20

A strategy in which instruction in all school subjects occurs in the second (usually the majority) language that a child is learning.

Question 21

Why did Piaget call cognition in middle childhood concrete operational?

Answer 21

Because children can understand and apply (operate) things that they can experience and see (concrete).

Question 22

How does Piaget’s description explain how children learn math?

Answer 22

Piaget described children’s grasp of conservation, change, seriation, and logic, all of which underlie manipulation of numbers.

Question 23

How does Vygotsky explain cognitive advances in middle childhood?

Answer 23

Vygotsky emphasized mentoring and scaffolding, as children use language and observation to master the concepts values by their culture. In addition, responsive adults find each child’s zone of proximal development, and help the child learn the next concept or skill.

Question 24

Why does memory improve markedly during middle childhood?

Answer 24

Children develop and learn to use memory techniques, with a better understanding of what needs to be remembered and how to do it.

Question 25

How and why does the knowledge base increase in middle childhood?

Answer 25

The knowledge base increases as children read, listen, and observe, especially in school.

Question 26

What is characteristic of vocabulary development between the ages of 6 and 10?

Answer 26

Vocabulary continues to increase, becoming more precise, with better understanding of prefixes, suffixes, and other grammatical devices.

Question 27

How does a child’s age affect the understanding of metaphors and jokes?

Answer 27

Gradually during middle childhood, the understanding of analogies and puns increases, which helps them grasps metaphors and jokes.

Question 28

Why would a child’s linguistic code be criticized by teachers but admired by friends?

Answer 28

Friends use slang, gestures, and emotional expressions, unlike the formal language favored by teachers.

Question 29

What factors in a child’s home and school affect language learning?

Answer 29

Children benefit from a language-rich environment, with adults who listen to them and talk with them. This can occur at home and/or at school

Question 30

What methods are used to teach children a second language?

Answer 30

Immersion (when children are surrounded by the new language and must sink or swim), bilingual education (when first and second languages are taught alternatively), and in a separate class designed to teach the second language (for English, this is called ESL.).

Question 31

How and why does low SES affect language learning?

Answer 31

When parents have low education, and when schools have unskilled teachers, and when neighborhoods are too dangerous for children to socialize with many other adults, children have fewer opportunities to learn language.

Question 32

Hidden cirriculum

Answer 32

The unofficial, unstated, or implicit patterns within a school that influence what children learn. For instance, teacher background, organization of the play space, and tracking are all part of the hidden curriculum — not formally prescribed, but instructive to the children.

Question 33

growth mindset

Answer 33

learning develops with effort, with one person’s growth likely to advance another’s. Mistakes are “learning opportunities”; sharing ideas and strategies does not diminish one’s own education — quite the opposite.

Question 34

fixed mindset

Answer 34

the belief that ability is determined early on, perhaps at conception, so failure is evidence of inborn inadequacy. People compete to prove they are smarter than the others.

Question 35

Trends in Math and Science Study (TIMSS)

Answer 35

An international assessment of the math and science skills of fourth- and eighth-graders. Although the TIMSS is very useful, different countries’ scores are not always comparable because sample selection, test administration, and content validity are hard to keep uniform.

Question 36

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

Answer 36

Inaugurated in 2001, a planned five-year cycle of international trend studies in the reading ability of fourth-graders.

Question 37

Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

Answer 37

An international test taken by 15-year-olds in 50 nations that is designed to measure problem solving and cognition in daily life.

Question 38

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

Answer 38

An ongoing and nationally representative measure of U.S. children’s achievement in reading, mathematics, and other subjects over time; nicknamed “the Nation’s Report Card.”

Question 39

How does the hidden curriculum differ from the official school curriculum?

Answer 39

The official curriculum is set by the school authorities and is usually written. The hidden curriculum is not formally expressed, but teaches the children via the physical space, the composition of the classes, the choice of teachers, and so on.

Question 40

What are the TIMSS, the PIRLS, and the PISA?

Answer 40

These are all standardized, internationally given tests of school subjects and cognitive strategies.

Question 41

Which nations score highest on international tests?

Answer 41

Generally, nations in East Asia.

Question 42

What discipline methods work best in schools?

Answer 42

Induction works better than physical punishment or suspension.

Question 43

Why do nations differ in teaching religion, language, and cooperation?

Answer 43

Some nations need adults to speak many languages, to tolerate many faiths, and to work together. Other nations do not prioritize these values, primarily for historic reasons.

Question 44

Comorbid

Answer 44

Refers to the presence of two or more unrelated disease conditions at the same time in the same person.

Question 45

Neurodiversity

Answer 45

The idea that each person has neurological strengths and weaknesses that should be appreciated, in much the same way diverse cultures and ethnicities are welcomed. Neurodiversity seems particularly relevant for children with disorders on the autism spectrum.

Question 46

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Answer 46

A condition characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or by hyperactive or impulsive behaviors; ADHD interferes with a person’s functioning or development.

Question 47

specific learning disorder

Answer 47

A marked deficit in a particular area of learning that is not caused by an apparent physical disability, by an intellectual disability, or by an unusually stressful home environment.

Question 48

Dyslexia

Answer 48

Unusual difficulty with reading; thought to be the result of some neurological underdevelopment.

Question 49

Dyscalculia

Answer 49

Unusual difficulty with math, probably originating from a distinct part of the brain.

Question 50

dysgraphia

Answer 50

difficulty in writing.

Question 51

autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Answer 51

A developmental disorder marked by difficulty with social communication and interaction — including difficulty seeing things from another person’s point of view — and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.

Question 52

least restrictive environment (LRE)

Answer 52

A legal requirement that children with special needs be assigned to the most general educational context in which they can be expected to learn.

Question 53

response to intervention (RTI)

Answer 53

An educational strategy intended to help children who demonstrate below-average achievement in early grades, using special intervention

Question 54

individual education plan (IEP)

Answer 54

A document that specifies educational goals and plans for a child with special needs.

Question 55

Should traditional IQ tests be discarded? Why or why not?

Answer 55

Different opinions may all be correct, as long as the answer reflects the uses and nature of IQ tests.

Question 56

What is the difference between ADHD and typical child behavior?

Answer 56

Different opinions may all be correct, as long as the answer reflects the uses and nature of IQ tests.

Question 57

What do dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia have in common?

Answer 57

Each of these refers to an unusual difficulty with a basic academic skill, probably originating in the brain, not in education.

Question 58

What are the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder?

Answer 58

Impairments in social skills, in language, and in play patterns. In addition, many children with ASD have sensory problems. For example, noises may be particularly aversive.

Question 59

Why has ASD increased in the past decades?

Answer 59

Many possibilities, among them more awareness in doctors, better education in schools, more chemicals in the environment, and expanded definition.

Question 60

How might the concept of neurodiversity affect education for special children?

Answer 60

It might allow people to understand that children are diverse in their brains and behavior, with unusual pattern not necessarily bad. Difference is not deficit! This might change education to use the children’s unusual strengths, not merely to focus on what is hard for them.

Question 61

What is the difference between mainstreaming and inclusion?

Answer 61

In mainstreaming, children with differing educational needs are educated with the other children, in inclusion they are included with the other children, but given special services within the class.

Question 62

What are the arguments for and against special classes for gifted children?

Answer 62

The argument for is that such children may need to be challenged rather than slowed down by the average child. The argument against is that gifted children need to learn how to interact with other children, who themselves may learn from the gifted children.