1
WGU D669 Early Literacy Methods
OA Actual Exam 2026/2027 | Questions
with Verified Answers | 100% Correct |
Pass Guaranteed
Q001: A kindergarten teacher notices that several students struggle to identify the
individual sounds in spoken words such as /c/ /a/ /t/. Which pillar of reading should
the teacher focus on to address this skill?
A. Fluency
B. Phonemic awareness
C. Vocabulary
D. Comprehension
ANSWER: B
Detailed Answer: Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and
manipulate individual phonemes in spoken words. It is a sub-skill of phonological
awareness and is critical for later decoding success. Direct instruction in
segmenting and blending phonemes aligns with the Science of Reading and
prepares students for systematic phonics.
Q002: A first-grade teacher is administering a running record and records the
following miscue: child reads “pony” for “horse.” Which cueing system is the
child primarily using?
A. Visual
B. Semantic
C. Syntactic
D. Grapho-phonic
ANSWER: B
Detailed Answer: The substitution “pony” for “horse” maintains meaning
(semantic cue) because both words refer to similar animals. The miscue does not
, 2
match grapho-phonic features (initial letters differ) nor syntax (both nouns).
Running records help teachers understand which cueing systems students rely on
and plan targeted phonics or meaning-based lessons.
Q003: During small-group reading, a teacher asks students to “tap out” the sounds
in the word “ship” and then blend them together. Which instructional approach is
being used?
A. Analytic phonics
B. Synthetic phonics
C. Analogy phonics
D. Embedded phonics
ANSWER: B
Detailed Answer: Synthetic phonics teaches students to convert individual
phonemes into graphemes and then blend those sounds to form words. Tapping and
blending is a multisensory synthetic-phonics routine that builds decoding accuracy
and is supported by extensive research (NRP, 2000; Ehri, 2014).
Q004: A second-grade teacher wants to assess whether students can read high-
frequency words automatically. Which tool is most appropriate?
A. Phoneme segmentation fluency (PSF)
B. Dolch or Fry sight-word list
C. Informal decoding inventory
D. Running record with leveled text
ANSWER: B
Detailed Answer: Dolch and Fry lists contain high-frequency words that appear
often in texts. Automatic recognition of these words frees cognitive resources for
comprehension. Timed sight-word assessments directly measure fluency and
indicate whether students need additional practice with orthographic mapping of
irregular words.
Q005: A teacher plans a read-aloud of a complex narrative text. Before reading, she
activates students’ background knowledge and previews vocabulary. Which
comprehension strategy is she employing?
A. Monitoring
B. Summarizing
C. Previewing
, 3
D. Visualizing
ANSWER: C
Detailed Answer: Previewing (or pre-reading) prepares students by connecting
prior knowledge, setting a purpose, and introducing key vocabulary. This front-
loading increases engagement and comprehension, especially for English learners
and students with limited background knowledge (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan,
2013).
Q006: A kindergarten teacher is introducing the letter “m.” She shows the letter,
states the sound /m/, and has students feel the vibration in their throats while
saying it. Which characteristic of effective phonics instruction does this
demonstrate?
A. Explicit and systematic
B. Analytic only
C. Implicit and incidental
D. Whole-to-part
ANSWER: A
Detailed Answer: Explicit instruction directly teaches letter-sound relationships
with clear modeling and guided practice. Systematic means following a logical
scope and sequence. Multisensory techniques (auditory, tactile) enhance memory
and are especially helpful for students with dyslexia (IDA, 2022).
Q007: A first-grade teacher wants to build students’ oral language to support later
reading comprehension. Which activity is most effective?
A. Silent sustained reading
B. Rich interactive read-alouds with discussion
C. Worksheets on synonyms
D. Weekly spelling tests
ANSWER: B
Detailed Answer: Interactive read-alouds expose students to complex syntax and
vocabulary beyond decodable texts. Teacher-led discussion develops oral language,
background knowledge, and comprehension strategies—key predictors of later
reading success (Dickinson & Tabors, 2001).
Q008: A teacher administers a nonsense-word fluency (NWF) assessment. The
score measures which skill?
WGU D669 Early Literacy Methods
OA Actual Exam 2026/2027 | Questions
with Verified Answers | 100% Correct |
Pass Guaranteed
Q001: A kindergarten teacher notices that several students struggle to identify the
individual sounds in spoken words such as /c/ /a/ /t/. Which pillar of reading should
the teacher focus on to address this skill?
A. Fluency
B. Phonemic awareness
C. Vocabulary
D. Comprehension
ANSWER: B
Detailed Answer: Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and
manipulate individual phonemes in spoken words. It is a sub-skill of phonological
awareness and is critical for later decoding success. Direct instruction in
segmenting and blending phonemes aligns with the Science of Reading and
prepares students for systematic phonics.
Q002: A first-grade teacher is administering a running record and records the
following miscue: child reads “pony” for “horse.” Which cueing system is the
child primarily using?
A. Visual
B. Semantic
C. Syntactic
D. Grapho-phonic
ANSWER: B
Detailed Answer: The substitution “pony” for “horse” maintains meaning
(semantic cue) because both words refer to similar animals. The miscue does not
, 2
match grapho-phonic features (initial letters differ) nor syntax (both nouns).
Running records help teachers understand which cueing systems students rely on
and plan targeted phonics or meaning-based lessons.
Q003: During small-group reading, a teacher asks students to “tap out” the sounds
in the word “ship” and then blend them together. Which instructional approach is
being used?
A. Analytic phonics
B. Synthetic phonics
C. Analogy phonics
D. Embedded phonics
ANSWER: B
Detailed Answer: Synthetic phonics teaches students to convert individual
phonemes into graphemes and then blend those sounds to form words. Tapping and
blending is a multisensory synthetic-phonics routine that builds decoding accuracy
and is supported by extensive research (NRP, 2000; Ehri, 2014).
Q004: A second-grade teacher wants to assess whether students can read high-
frequency words automatically. Which tool is most appropriate?
A. Phoneme segmentation fluency (PSF)
B. Dolch or Fry sight-word list
C. Informal decoding inventory
D. Running record with leveled text
ANSWER: B
Detailed Answer: Dolch and Fry lists contain high-frequency words that appear
often in texts. Automatic recognition of these words frees cognitive resources for
comprehension. Timed sight-word assessments directly measure fluency and
indicate whether students need additional practice with orthographic mapping of
irregular words.
Q005: A teacher plans a read-aloud of a complex narrative text. Before reading, she
activates students’ background knowledge and previews vocabulary. Which
comprehension strategy is she employing?
A. Monitoring
B. Summarizing
C. Previewing
, 3
D. Visualizing
ANSWER: C
Detailed Answer: Previewing (or pre-reading) prepares students by connecting
prior knowledge, setting a purpose, and introducing key vocabulary. This front-
loading increases engagement and comprehension, especially for English learners
and students with limited background knowledge (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan,
2013).
Q006: A kindergarten teacher is introducing the letter “m.” She shows the letter,
states the sound /m/, and has students feel the vibration in their throats while
saying it. Which characteristic of effective phonics instruction does this
demonstrate?
A. Explicit and systematic
B. Analytic only
C. Implicit and incidental
D. Whole-to-part
ANSWER: A
Detailed Answer: Explicit instruction directly teaches letter-sound relationships
with clear modeling and guided practice. Systematic means following a logical
scope and sequence. Multisensory techniques (auditory, tactile) enhance memory
and are especially helpful for students with dyslexia (IDA, 2022).
Q007: A first-grade teacher wants to build students’ oral language to support later
reading comprehension. Which activity is most effective?
A. Silent sustained reading
B. Rich interactive read-alouds with discussion
C. Worksheets on synonyms
D. Weekly spelling tests
ANSWER: B
Detailed Answer: Interactive read-alouds expose students to complex syntax and
vocabulary beyond decodable texts. Teacher-led discussion develops oral language,
background knowledge, and comprehension strategies—key predictors of later
reading success (Dickinson & Tabors, 2001).
Q008: A teacher administers a nonsense-word fluency (NWF) assessment. The
score measures which skill?
