Certification Examinations for Oklahoma Educators (CEOE) Practice Exam

When a preschool child excitedly shares a drawing with letters and says, "I wrote my name," what key concept must the teacher recognize?

1. Showing diminished fine-motor control

2. Encoding based on the alphabetic principle

3. Applying phonemic awareness to writing

4. Recognizing that print carries meaning

The correct answer is: Recognizing that print carries meaning

The key concept that the teacher must recognize when a preschool child excitedly shares a drawing with letters and claims, "I wrote my name," is that print carries meaning. This statement reflects the child's understanding of one of the foundational concepts of literacy: that letters and written words symbolize ideas, objects, and names in the real world. In this scenario, the child’s act of writing their name demonstrates an awareness that the written form has significance beyond mere marks on paper. Recognizing that print carries meaning is crucial for early literacy development, as it's one of the first steps in understanding that writing can communicate thoughts and information. This understanding is essential for fostering a child's literacy skills, as it encourages them to engage with writing and reading as meaningful activities rather than purely mechanical tasks. By acknowledging this concept, teachers can support children's literacy development through activities that emphasize the connection between spoken language and its written representation. Other options, while related to aspects of early literacy skills, do not capture the primary concept in this context as directly as the understanding of meaning in print.