Guidance Plans, Building the Environment, and Assessment

Which statement matches how the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) describes guidance plans (指導計画)?

1. Once a guidance plan is made, follow it as written even if the children's interests change
2. Guidance plans are separate from the curriculum, and each teacher may write them freely on the day
3. Based on the curriculum, make balanced, organised and developmental guidance plans and guide flexibly in line with the children's activities
4. Only a yearly plan is needed; weekly and daily plans are, as a rule, not made

In the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領), which periods are given as examples of a long-term guidance plan?

1. Year, term, month, etc.
2. Year and term only (month counts as short-term)
3. Week, day, etc.
4. Term, month, week, etc.

For short-term plans (weekly, daily, etc.), what does the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) especially ask teachers to keep in mind?

1. Divide the day into a detailed timetable so the same activity happens at the same time every day
2. Do not link them to the long-term plan, and build the week mainly around preparing for events
3. Fill the day only with whole-class activities chosen by the teacher, leaving out activities children choose
4. Consider children's daily rhythm so that activities with continuity of awareness and interest fit into the natural flow of kindergarten life

Which statement matches the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) on setting concrete aims and content in a guidance plan?

1. Follow the order of primary school subject units and bring forward content to be learned before school entry
2. Look ahead at children's developmental process, consider continuity of life and seasonal change, and set them according to interests and actual development
3. Reuse last year's plan for the same age group, so the same aims and content are set every year
4. As a rule, set aims and content in order of how often parents have requested them

Which statement matches the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) on guiding events (行事) such as sports days?

1. More events make children's experiences richer, so add as many as possible to the yearly plan
2. Give variety and richness to daily life, let children take part happily and actively, select events after weighing their educational value, and avoid burdening children
3. Give priority to plenty of rehearsal time so that the performance looks polished for parents
4. Events are outside the curriculum, so they are run separately and not placed in guidance plans

Which description matches the 'overall plan' (全体的な計画) that the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) asks kindergartens to make?

1. Centred on guidance plans, linked with the budget and staff work schedules, and made by the head alone
2. Made separately from the curriculum, covering only activities held after curriculum hours such as extended care
3. Centred on the curriculum of the primary school the children will enter, with events and health plans fitted to it
4. Centred on the curriculum, linked with plans for activities after curriculum hours, the school health plan, the school safety plan, etc.

For whom do the Nursery Care Guidelines (保育所保育指針) say an individual plan (個別的な計画) should be made when creating guidance plans?

1. Children under 3
2. Children aged 3 and over
3. 5-year-olds in the year before primary school
4. Children who stay about 4 hours a day

Which statement matches the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) on using audiovisual materials and computers?

1. To prepare for primary school, set a fixed time every day for getting used to operating devices
2. Since direct experience matters, kindergartens are forbidden to use any information devices at all
3. Since direct experience matters in early childhood, use them to supplement experiences hard to get in kindergarten life, linked with children's experiences
4. Because raising animals and plants takes effort, it is recommended to replace observing living things with videos

What kind of environment-building does General Provisions Part 1 of the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) require of teachers?

1. Let children play freely by leaving the environment untouched and letting things take their course
2. Build the environment in a planned way, based on understanding and anticipating each child's behaviour
3. Hand out only materials chosen by the teacher so that every child does the same activity
4. Set up the environment at the start of the year and keep the same layout all year

Five-year-olds are building a station with blocks and say they want a longer track, but the corner of the room has no more space. Which response best fits the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領)?

1. Since this was not in the plan, bring tidy-up time forward and move on to another activity
2. The teacher builds a long track as a model and instructs the children, one by one, to copy it
3. Because of space limits, tell them to play within the current track and leave the environment as it is
4. Value the children's ideas and rebuild the environment, such as giving more space or materials, so the play can continue

On safety in kindergarten life, what do the General Provisions of the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) list as a point to note when organising the curriculum?

1. With all staff cooperating, value children's self-directed activity while taking care with the grounds and buildings and adapting guidance
2. To prevent accidents, avoid play children choose themselves and allow only safe activities the teacher directs
3. The head alone handles safety; class teachers focus on teaching and stay out of safety matters
4. Remove every piece of play equipment with any risk at all and keep the yard as a flat open space

Which statement matches the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領)'s point about the language environment when making guidance plans?

1. Teach language mainly in a fixed 'Language' period, with the whole class doing the same thing at once
2. To prepare for school, set practice time so that every child can read and write all hiragana before leaving
3. Since language ability and thinking develop together, prepare a language environment throughout kindergarten life and enrich language activities
4. The language environment is to be built mainly around English signs and materials for early foreign-language learning

In the 'Health' (健康) area of the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領), what is suggested so that children's interest also turns to outdoor play?

1. To prevent injuries, shorten outdoor play time and centre activities indoors
2. Measure motor ability and let children with better records use equipment first
3. Choose a particular sport and have children drill it until they master the skill
4. Arrange the yard and play equipment with children's movement paths in mind

Which statement matches what the General Provisions of the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) list, as a point to note when organising the curriculum, about care for children just after they enter kindergarten?

1. Especially when 3-year-olds enter, work closely with families and take full care over children's daily rhythm and safety
2. So that children get used to group life quickly, build the day around whole-class activities from the very first day
3. Treat children who enter on turning 3 with the same plan as those who entered at the start of the year, ignoring when they joined
4. Contact with families encourages dependence, so keep contact with parents to a minimum just after entry

Which are given in General Provisions Part 6 of the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) as examples of local resources to use actively so children gain rich life experiences?

1. Pre-school materials and programmes offered by local cram schools and lesson classes
2. Local nature, people including older adults and children of other ages, local events and public facilities
3. Advertising materials for local companies' products and their sales promotion events
4. Textbooks of the local primary school and the teaching materials used in its lessons

Which roles does the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) give as examples of what teachers do to encourage children's self-directed activity?

1. A consistent role as manager and assessor
2. A director who leads all activities at once
3. Various roles, such as understander and co-worker
4. An observer who watches without getting involved

Which statement about children's concrete activities is a basic point for making guidance plans in the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領)?

1. Note that activities change in many ways in the flow of daily life, and give the support children need to develop activities themselves in a desirable direction
2. If an activity strays from the plan, the teacher speaks up at once and brings it back to the planned activity
3. Leave the development of activities entirely to the children; the teacher gives no support and only records results
4. To keep activities from changing, fix detailed steps in advance and tell children to follow them

Which statement about children's experiences is a point to note for guidance plans in the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領)?

1. To give varied experiences, prepare a different activity every day, kept separate from the previous day's activity
2. Active, interactive and deep learning is for primary school onward and is not considered in kindergarten plans
3. Give priority to the number of experiences and avoid children spending a long time on one kind of play
4. Consider that moving experiences give rise to the next activity, so each experience links with others and kindergarten life becomes fuller

Activities happen individually, in groups and as a whole class. Which statement matches the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) on this?

1. Make whole-class activity the norm and allow individual or group activity only in free time
2. Build cooperation among all the kindergarten's teachers and give suitable support so each child can fully satisfy their interests and wishes
3. Each class teacher supports only their own class; teachers of other classes do not get involved
4. Group activities start only in the oldest class; 3- and 4-year-olds do only individual activities

For children with disabilities and others, the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) asks kindergartens to make and use two plans. Which description is correct?

1. The individual teaching plan is for long-term support with outside agencies; the individual education support plan sets daily teaching content
2. Both plans are made by medical institutions, and the kindergarten carries out the training in them as written
3. The individual education support plan is for long-term support with outside agencies; the individual teaching plan is for grasping each child's state and using it in teaching
4. Both are required only for children with a disability certificate and are not made for other children

Which statement matches the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) on helping children who have difficulty acquiring the Japanese needed for daily life adapt to kindergarten?

1. Until they can converse in Japanese, keep them out of class group activities and let them spend time alone
2. To speed up learning Japanese, ask children and parents not to use their first language at kindergarten
3. Leave it to the class teacher's own judgement, handled individually and not as a kindergarten-wide effort
4. Take care that they can feel safe and express themselves, and adapt teaching content and methods to each child in an organised, planned way

Two 4-year-olds, A and B, are arguing over one tricycle. There is no danger. Which response best fits the 'Human Relationships' (人間関係) area of the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領)?

1. Take the tricycle at once, give it back to the child who had it first, and suggest other play to the other child
2. Accept each child's feelings, add words that help them notice the other's feelings, and support them in reaching a compromise
3. Fighting is undesirable, so separate them and tell each to play alone in a different place
4. To build their problem-solving, never say anything however long the argument lasts

Which describes 'assessment based on understanding children' (幼児理解に基づいた評価) in the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領)?

1. Deepen understanding of children while reflecting on the teaching process, grasp each child's strengths and potential, and use this to improve teaching
2. Rank children against each other in the class and give priority guidance to those ranked lowest
3. Set fixed standards and grade each child's achievement against them on a three-level scale for parents
4. Assess only once at the end of kindergarten, with the aim of reporting the results to primary school

Which statement matches General Provisions Part 4-4(2) of the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) on carrying out assessment?

1. Assessment is based on the class teacher's impressions alone and is not shared with other staff
2. As assessments are personal information, as a rule they are not handed over to the next teacher or to primary school
3. Find ways to raise validity and reliability, work in an organised and planned way, and hand the content over properly to the next year or to primary school
4. To raise reliability, give a common test across the kindergarten regularly and assess children by their scores

Which describes the link between assessment and improvement in General Provisions Part 4-2 of the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領)?

1. Assess the guidance plan only once at the end of the year and, as a rule, do not change it during the year
2. Assess the teaching process appropriately in line with children's actual state and changes in their circumstances, and keep improving the guidance plan
3. Only the results of children's activities are assessed; the teacher's environment-building and support are not
4. Leave assessment of the teaching process to outside experts and write next year's plan according to their findings

When using the 'images of children by the end of early childhood' (幼児期の終わりまでに育ってほしい姿, the '10 images') in the final-year entry of the Kindergarten Child Guidance Record (幼稚園幼児指導要録), what does the MEXT study group's material say to keep in mind?

1. Grade the level of achievement for each of the 10 items on an A, B, C scale
2. Tick the items achieved by the end of kindergarten and send the list to primary school
3. From age 5, teach the 10 items one at a time in order and record the results item by item
4. They are not goals to be reached and are not taught one by one, so do not write the entry item by item

Which is correct about making and sending guidance records (指導要録) under the Enforcement Regulations for the School Education Act (学校教育法施行規則)? (For kindergartens, read 'principal' as 'head of the kindergarten'.)

1. The principal makes them, and when a child goes on to the next school, sends an extract or copy to that school's principal
2. The class teacher makes them and sends the original to the primary school the child goes on to
3. The board of education makes them and gives the original to parents at the end, to hand in to the primary school
4. Making them is optional; if made, they are sent to primary school with the parents' consent

Under the Enforcement Regulations for the School Education Act (学校教育法施行規則), how long must guidance records be kept?

1. Both enrolment records and guidance records for 5 years
2. Guidance records for 20 years; enrolment records for 5 years
3. Enrolment records (entry, graduation, etc.) for 20 years; the rest for 5 years
4. Both enrolment records and guidance records permanently

Which statement matches General Provisions Part 6 of the Course of Study for Kindergarten (幼稚園教育要領) on school evaluation (学校評価) at kindergartens?

1. School evaluation is limited to safety checks of buildings and equipment, so it is done separately from evaluating the curriculum
2. Since organising, carrying out and improving the curriculum is the core of education and management, carry it out linked with curriculum management
3. Curriculum management is the head's job alone, so other staff do not take part in school evaluation
4. School evaluation uses only parent survey results and does not include staff reflection

Which statement about self-evaluation by nursery staff matches the Nursery Care Guidelines (保育所保育指針)?

1. Pay full attention not only to children's activities and their results but also to their emotional growth, motivation and process of engagement
2. As a rule, turn children's results into numbers and evaluate by comparing them with nearby nurseries
3. A nursery's own evaluation results must not be made public
4. Self-evaluation is done by the head; nursery teachers do not evaluate their own practice