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DR 2: Children are effective learners
⇣ Indicator: COG—Children show cognitive competence and problem-solving skills through play and daily activities
⇣ Measure 22: Memory—
Child stores, retrieves, and uses information about both familiar and unfamiliar events, past experiences, people, and things
	Descriptors	Examples
8	Communicates memories about a sequence of related events that happened in the past	Retells a story by telling the main events (“When Jack sold the cow and then planted the beans, the beans grew so tall.”). Puts three or four pictures or parts of a story in sequence. Acts out a scenario of “The Mighty Ducks” movie in dramatic play.
7	Communicates memories about an infrequent event that happened in the past	Tells about a trip to the zoo. Remembers that a firefighter came and talked to class. Answers a question such as, “What did we do yesterday that was different?”
6	Communicates one or two key details about familiar people, surroundings, things, or events that were experienced at an earlier time	Asks about several items that were in the water table or sandbox but might not be there now. Tells adult that she had a pumpkin cookie for snack in the morning. Imitates a funny thing his dog did in the morning.
5	Actions demonstrate memory of simple routines	Without being told: Sits down for afternoon snack after free play. Puts on paint smock before starting to paint. Goes to cubby to get coat when adult says, “It’s time to go outside.”
4	Looks for objects or people in familiar places	Looks for favorite toy in its usual location. Goes to the door to look for adult.
3	Shows awareness that familiar people or things still exist when they are not physically present	Seeks favorite toy when it rolls under the couch and out of sight. Pulls adult’s hand away when caregiver is hiding face during Peek-a-Boo.
2	Attends to people, things, and their features	Alternates attention between two objects or people. Takes toy out of mouth, examines it, and then continues mouthing it. Inspects adult’s face by touching different parts. Stops moving to listen to musical toy.
1	Orients to auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli	Quiets to sound. Quiets to touch.

Measure 22 — COG 1

Memory

Child stores, retrieves, and uses information about both familiar and unfamiliar events, past experiences, people, and things

Memory involves the ability to attend to and recall objects and events and to act on the basis of these recollections. Several types of memory develop during the early childhood years. These include short-term memory (also called “working memory”), which is memory for temporarily storing and thinking about information, and “event memory,” which refers to memory for past events, both familiar and unfamiliar. Across infancy and early childhood, children are increasingly able to remember more things for longer periods of time and to communicate what they remember to others.

Newborn infants briefly orient to sounds, sights, and touch. Soon, however, infants begin to attend to people and objects in the environment for longer periods of time. They are also increasingly able to interact with people and objects. They begin to form memories from their experiences and will anticipate that something that has occurred will occur again in a similar situation. For example, once an infant discovers that batting a hanging toy or mobile makes it move, she will use the same action on a different hanging toy. Older infants demonstrate increasingly stable memories for familiar people or things. They are able to remember that things still exist even when they are no longer physically observable. For example, if an older infant sees a favorite toy being hidden under a blanket, she will lift the blanket to find the toy.

Toddlers remember the location of familiar objects and will search for these objects in their usual location. They react to changes in familiar games and may be surprised or upset when objects do not function in usual ways. The behaviors of toddlers show that they remember familiar routines. For example, they might sit down for an afternoon snack after free play, if this sequence of events is familiar to them. Older toddlers typically can remember at least several steps in familiar, simple routines, and they demonstrate this by carrying out these routines with little or no prompting.

Young preschoolers are increasingly able to remember objects, events, and sequences of events. They know the sequence of events in their daily routines and can anticipate what comes next. If asked, they can recount some of the steps or events in a routine sequence and will often object if steps are skipped or completed out of order. The developing language skills of young preschoolers, as well as their memory, enable them to communicate a few key details of what they remember about people, things, or events. For example, in the afternoon, a child might tell an adult what he ate for his morning snack. Preschoolers are also beginning to remember and communicate things they have been told. For example, a child might tell her teacher, “My aunt is picking me up today.”

Older preschoolers are able to remember and tell about an infrequent event that happened in their past. They can remember and respond to questions about a field trip that occurred the week before or can tell about an experience in great detail without being asked. Older preschoolers are able to recount sequences of related events from a past experience or from something they have heard. For example, a child might re-tell or act out a simple story in pretend play.

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