Oklahoma State Assessment Test (OSAT) Early Childhood Education Practice Test

What is the key understanding a teacher should recognize when a preschool child shows written letters and indicates they wrote their name?

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.

Recognizing that print carries meaning is crucial for understanding a preschool child's development in literacy. When a child demonstrates that they can write their name, it signifies their awareness that written symbols represent something meaningful — in this case, their identity. This realization is a foundational concept in literacy development, as it highlights the connection between spoken language and its written form. The child’s ability to write their name indicates they have started to grasp that letters are not just marks on a page but have a purpose and represent specific sounds or words. This understanding is essential in early childhood education because it encourages further exploration of reading and writing, reinforcing the idea that they can convey thoughts and ideas through written language. While the other options relate to aspects of literacy development, such as fine-motor skills, the alphabetic principle, and phonemic awareness, they do not capture the core cognitive leap that occurs when a child recognizes that print carries meaning. The ability to connect letters and words to actual concepts in their world is foundational for all subsequent literacy skills.