PSIA-AASI CHILDREN’S BASIC ACCREDITATION WORKBOOK

KNEE-HIGH KNOWLEDGE
(Originally published as PSIA-NW Workbook)
First Edition

Resources for discovering the answers to the questions and tasks found in
the workbook:
• PSIA, 1997. Alpine Entry-Level Guide for Children’s Instruction (AEG)
• PSIA-AASI, 2000. Children’s Instruction Handbook (CIH)
• PSIA-AASI, 1998. Snowboard Manual
• Your experience teaching children and teens.
The pages referenced in the parentheses will direct you where the answers
for each question in the workbook can be found. Some of the question
require you to supply examples. Feel free to use the examples found in the
manual and/or others from your own teaching experience.

Scoring:
To meet the minimum standard for this portion of the Knee-High Knowledge
part of the Children’s Accreditation Course you must complete the workbook
with 80% accuracy.

1. List the seven parts to “Your Responsibility Code” and give an example of
how to teach these to children: (CIH pg 8-9)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

2. Circle the phrases (may be more than one) that answer the following
question. When stopping your group on the mountain, avoid stopping: (CIH
pg 8-9)

a. in the middle of the run.

b. on the side of the run.
c. where blocking a trail junction.
d. at the bottom of a run.
e. below a roll in the terrain.
3. Circle all the correct answers to the following question: To make sure each
student is prepared to begin a safe, successful day, ask students or their
parents the following questions before beginning the lesson. (CIH pg 6)

a. Do you have the flu or a cold?

b. Did you eat breakfast today?
c. What types of activities do you do when you’re not here?
d. Have you ever had a hamster run away?

4. An equipment check is not necessary until students are ready to ride the
first lift. (CIH pg 7)

True False

5. List three safety rules children should know when riding on the lift. (CIH pg
9)

1.

2.

3.

6. The instructor should assess each students clothing prior to the start of the
lesson. List four important items of clothing each child should have. (CIH pg
7)
1.

2.

3.

4.

7. It is a good idea to have your students watch other people load the lift and
review lift procedures before they ride the lift. (CIH pg 9)

True False

8. The American Teaching System is built around three models: the Service
Model, the Skiing Model and the _________________ Model. (AEG pg 3)

9. Selecting appropriate terrain for your students impacts the outcome of

your lesson. (CIH pg 10)
True False

10. The Teaching Model consists of three of the following. Circle the correct
answers: (AEG pg 10)

a. the center line

b. student profile
c. instructor behavior
d. the fundamental skills
e. the learning partnership

11. List three examples of how you get to know your students and begin to
create a student profile. (CIH pg 11-22)
1.

2.

3.

12. List the four stages of the Teaching Cycle for children. What do you do at
each stage? (AEG pg 11)
1.

2.

3.

4.

13. Children require less verbal input and more movement experiences to
learn. (AEG pg 10-12)

True False

14. Circle all the correct answers to the following question. The instructor
should know their students’ skill level to: (AEG pg 10)

a. Set up tasks to develop skills.

b. Work on appropriate skill development.
c. Challenge students at their skill level.
d. Set up tasks for student success.

15. SKIERS: List the four fundamental skills. (AEG pg 13)

1.

2.

3.
4.

16. SNOWBOARDERS: List the two fundamental movements and the four
performance concepts. (AASI Snowboard Manual)
Fundamental Movements

1. 2.

Performance Concepts

1. 3.

2. 4.

17. Effective movement patterns may look different for children than adults.
(CIH pg 23 & 49)

True False

18. A child’s center of mass is located ____________ than an adult’s center of

mass. (CIH pg 15)

19. Side-to-side balancing movements in children are affected by: (AEG pg

14)

a. Speed
b. Turn shape
c. Stance width
d. All of the above

20. During early development, children tend to move the leg, torso and arm
of the _______________ side of the body together until they develop
_______________________ movements. (AEG pg 13)

21. How children feel is also referred to as affective. (CIH pg 12)

a. True False

22. If you have the opportunity to talk to the parents before a lesson, you
should share some basic organizational information. List some things you
should share with parents. (AEG pg 29-31)

23. At the end of the lesson, you should summarize the lesson with the
student and parents. List some things that you should share with parents.
(AEG pg 29-31)
24. Before students take their first chair ride what two things do they need to
be able to do to safely negotiate the terrain? (AEG pg 6)
1.

2.
25. When teaching beginners, the following are important: (AEG pg 17-18)
a. Pace lesson to the group
b. Cover every possible exercise
c. Play at least 10 games
d. Take time to help students master movements
e. Ride the chair lift to appease the parents

26. How children think is also referred to as affective. (CIH pg 11)

True False

27. List four aspects of children’s behavior that fall under affective
development. Describe one way you might address each of these when
creating your lesson environment. (CIH pg 12-21)

1.

2.

3.

4.

Choose one age group. Realize that these are generalities and that every
child is unique. At what age do we commonly see the following traits? (AEG
pg 25-26, CIH pg 13-21)

a. 3 to 6 years old
b. 7 to 12 years old
c. Teens

COGNITIVE (Thinking)
28. _________ I can separate fantasy and reality.
29. _________ I can only process one direction at a time.
30. _________ I am good at problem solving. Let me try.

AFFECTIVE (Feelings)
31. _________ I appear tough but actually, my self-esteem is fragile.
32. _________ I like to compete, but only if I can win.
33. _________ I like to be silly and want you to be silly, too.
PHYSICAL (The body)
34. _________ I move my body as a unit. Leg rotation is really hard.
35. _________ I make cross-lateral movements.
36. _________ My body is changing rapidly. I am often very awkward.

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word or words to complete the
sentence. (AEG pg 26-28)

37. Children need to be treated with ____________ and compassion.

38. When addressing children use gestures and _____________ language.

39. Keep _____________ simple, consistent and task related.

40. Be a (an) ___________________ listener.

41. Direct your students’ attention to key _____________ and body parts.

42. ______________ the child’s opinion.

43. Don’t ___________________ too much. Keep the group moving.

44. Don’t be ____________________. Avoid baby talk.

45. Use direct _______________ contact.

46. Wait for the whole group’s _________________ before giving directions.

47. Ask ___________________ to confirm that the children understand your

directions.

48. List five Key points to using reinforcement to build positive behavior.
(AEG pg 26-27)
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
49. List five Key guidelines to help students understand why their behavior is
inappropriate and to allow them to learn from the situation. (AEG pg 27-28)
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

50. What do you do when a child behaves inappropriately?

51. The parents’ expectations about what their child learns are not important
in planning your lesson. (AEG pg 29-31)

True False

PERSONAL TEACHING LOG #1

Group ___________ Name ________________________________

Age _________ Date ______________ Location _______________

1. Describe the conditions of the day: weather, snow, time, etc.

2. What was the ability level of the group at the beginning of the lesson? At
the end of the day?

3. What was your expected outcome of the lesson? What were the student’s
goals?

4. What activities, tasks or games did you choose to improve your groups
skills? Why?
5. How did you teach “Your Responsibility Code” to your students?

6. Explain one thing that went very well in this lesson. Explain one thing that
did not go well. Explain why.