D669: Early Literacy Methods
2026 OA STUDY GUIDE & 300+ PRACTICE QUESTIONS
Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, and the Science of Reading
The "Big Five" of Reading Instruction:
1. Phonemic Awareness: Manipulating sounds in spoken words.
2. Phonics: Linking sounds to letters (Grapheme-Phoneme correspondence).
3. Fluency: Accuracy, rate, and prosody (expression).
4. Vocabulary: Word meanings and usage.
5. Comprehension: Making sense of the text.
PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS VS. PHONEMIC AWARENESS
Q1: A teacher asks a student to identify the individual sounds in the word 'cat' (/k/ /a/ /
t/). Which specific skill is the student demonstrating?
A. Phonological awareness
B. Phonemic awareness
C. Phonics
D. Morphological awareness
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Phonemic awareness is a subcategory of phonological awareness that specifically deals with
the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.
WGU D669 Early Literacy OA Prep - Page 1
,THE SCIENCE OF READING - SIMPLE VIEW OF READING
Q2: According to the Simple View of Reading, reading comprehension is the product of
which two components?
A. Fluency and Vocabulary
B. Phonics and Phonemic Awareness
C. Word Recognition and Language Comprehension
D. Decoding and Sight Word Recognition
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer) states that Reading Comprehension = Word
Recognition x Language Comprehension. If either is zero, comprehension is zero.
PHONICS - DECODING STRATEGIES
Q3: A student is learning to read words by blending individual letter sounds together
to form a whole word. This approach to phonics instruction is known as:
A. Analytic Phonics
B. Synthetic Phonics
C. Embedded Phonics
D. Analogy-based Phonics
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Synthetic phonics involves teaching students to convert letters into sounds and then blend
the sounds to form recognizable words.
LITERACY ASSESSMENT - CONCEPTS OF PRINT
Q4: A kindergarten teacher observes a student holding a book upside down and
beginning to read from right to left. Which area of literacy development does the
teacher need to reinforce?
A. Phonemic awareness
B. Alphabet knowledge
C. Concepts of print
D. Fluency
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Concepts of print include understanding how books work (cover, title), directionality (left to
right, top to bottom), and the difference between letters and words.
WGU D669 Early Literacy OA Prep - Page 2
,VOCABULARY - TIERS OF WORDS
Q5: Which tier of vocabulary consists of high-frequency words that are found across a
variety of domains and are critical for reading comprehension (e.g., 'analyze',
'predict', 'contrast')?
A. Tier 1
B. Tier 2
C. Tier 3
D. Tier 4
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Tier 2 words are high-utility academic words found in many texts. Tier 1 are everyday
conversational words, and Tier 3 are domain-specific/technical words (e.g., 'photosynthesis').
PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS VS. PHONEMIC AWARENESS
Q6: A teacher asks a student to identify the individual sounds in the word 'cat' (/k/ /a/ /
t/). Which specific skill is the student demonstrating?
A. Phonological awareness
B. Phonemic awareness
C. Phonics
D. Morphological awareness
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Phonemic awareness is a subcategory of phonological awareness that specifically deals with
the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.
THE SCIENCE OF READING - SIMPLE VIEW OF READING
Q7: According to the Simple View of Reading, reading comprehension is the product of
which two components?
A. Fluency and Vocabulary
B. Phonics and Phonemic Awareness
C. Word Recognition and Language Comprehension
D. Decoding and Sight Word Recognition
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer) states that Reading Comprehension = Word
Recognition x Language Comprehension. If either is zero, comprehension is zero.
WGU D669 Early Literacy OA Prep - Page 3
, PHONICS - DECODING STRATEGIES
Q8: A student is learning to read words by blending individual letter sounds together
to form a whole word. This approach to phonics instruction is known as:
A. Analytic Phonics
B. Synthetic Phonics
C. Embedded Phonics
D. Analogy-based Phonics
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Synthetic phonics involves teaching students to convert letters into sounds and then blend
the sounds to form recognizable words.
LITERACY ASSESSMENT - CONCEPTS OF PRINT
Q9: A kindergarten teacher observes a student holding a book upside down and
beginning to read from right to left. Which area of literacy development does the
teacher need to reinforce?
A. Phonemic awareness
B. Alphabet knowledge
C. Concepts of print
D. Fluency
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Concepts of print include understanding how books work (cover, title), directionality (left to
right, top to bottom), and the difference between letters and words.
VOCABULARY - TIERS OF WORDS
Q10: Which tier of vocabulary consists of high-frequency words that are found across
a variety of domains and are critical for reading comprehension (e.g., 'analyze',
'predict', 'contrast')?
A. Tier 1
B. Tier 2
C. Tier 3
D. Tier 4
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Tier 2 words are high-utility academic words found in many texts. Tier 1 are everyday
conversational words, and Tier 3 are domain-specific/technical words (e.g., 'photosynthesis').
WGU D669 Early Literacy OA Prep - Page 4
2026 OA STUDY GUIDE & 300+ PRACTICE QUESTIONS
Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, and the Science of Reading
The "Big Five" of Reading Instruction:
1. Phonemic Awareness: Manipulating sounds in spoken words.
2. Phonics: Linking sounds to letters (Grapheme-Phoneme correspondence).
3. Fluency: Accuracy, rate, and prosody (expression).
4. Vocabulary: Word meanings and usage.
5. Comprehension: Making sense of the text.
PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS VS. PHONEMIC AWARENESS
Q1: A teacher asks a student to identify the individual sounds in the word 'cat' (/k/ /a/ /
t/). Which specific skill is the student demonstrating?
A. Phonological awareness
B. Phonemic awareness
C. Phonics
D. Morphological awareness
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Phonemic awareness is a subcategory of phonological awareness that specifically deals with
the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.
WGU D669 Early Literacy OA Prep - Page 1
,THE SCIENCE OF READING - SIMPLE VIEW OF READING
Q2: According to the Simple View of Reading, reading comprehension is the product of
which two components?
A. Fluency and Vocabulary
B. Phonics and Phonemic Awareness
C. Word Recognition and Language Comprehension
D. Decoding and Sight Word Recognition
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer) states that Reading Comprehension = Word
Recognition x Language Comprehension. If either is zero, comprehension is zero.
PHONICS - DECODING STRATEGIES
Q3: A student is learning to read words by blending individual letter sounds together
to form a whole word. This approach to phonics instruction is known as:
A. Analytic Phonics
B. Synthetic Phonics
C. Embedded Phonics
D. Analogy-based Phonics
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Synthetic phonics involves teaching students to convert letters into sounds and then blend
the sounds to form recognizable words.
LITERACY ASSESSMENT - CONCEPTS OF PRINT
Q4: A kindergarten teacher observes a student holding a book upside down and
beginning to read from right to left. Which area of literacy development does the
teacher need to reinforce?
A. Phonemic awareness
B. Alphabet knowledge
C. Concepts of print
D. Fluency
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Concepts of print include understanding how books work (cover, title), directionality (left to
right, top to bottom), and the difference between letters and words.
WGU D669 Early Literacy OA Prep - Page 2
,VOCABULARY - TIERS OF WORDS
Q5: Which tier of vocabulary consists of high-frequency words that are found across a
variety of domains and are critical for reading comprehension (e.g., 'analyze',
'predict', 'contrast')?
A. Tier 1
B. Tier 2
C. Tier 3
D. Tier 4
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Tier 2 words are high-utility academic words found in many texts. Tier 1 are everyday
conversational words, and Tier 3 are domain-specific/technical words (e.g., 'photosynthesis').
PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS VS. PHONEMIC AWARENESS
Q6: A teacher asks a student to identify the individual sounds in the word 'cat' (/k/ /a/ /
t/). Which specific skill is the student demonstrating?
A. Phonological awareness
B. Phonemic awareness
C. Phonics
D. Morphological awareness
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Phonemic awareness is a subcategory of phonological awareness that specifically deals with
the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.
THE SCIENCE OF READING - SIMPLE VIEW OF READING
Q7: According to the Simple View of Reading, reading comprehension is the product of
which two components?
A. Fluency and Vocabulary
B. Phonics and Phonemic Awareness
C. Word Recognition and Language Comprehension
D. Decoding and Sight Word Recognition
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer) states that Reading Comprehension = Word
Recognition x Language Comprehension. If either is zero, comprehension is zero.
WGU D669 Early Literacy OA Prep - Page 3
, PHONICS - DECODING STRATEGIES
Q8: A student is learning to read words by blending individual letter sounds together
to form a whole word. This approach to phonics instruction is known as:
A. Analytic Phonics
B. Synthetic Phonics
C. Embedded Phonics
D. Analogy-based Phonics
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Synthetic phonics involves teaching students to convert letters into sounds and then blend
the sounds to form recognizable words.
LITERACY ASSESSMENT - CONCEPTS OF PRINT
Q9: A kindergarten teacher observes a student holding a book upside down and
beginning to read from right to left. Which area of literacy development does the
teacher need to reinforce?
A. Phonemic awareness
B. Alphabet knowledge
C. Concepts of print
D. Fluency
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Concepts of print include understanding how books work (cover, title), directionality (left to
right, top to bottom), and the difference between letters and words.
VOCABULARY - TIERS OF WORDS
Q10: Which tier of vocabulary consists of high-frequency words that are found across
a variety of domains and are critical for reading comprehension (e.g., 'analyze',
'predict', 'contrast')?
A. Tier 1
B. Tier 2
C. Tier 3
D. Tier 4
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Tier 2 words are high-utility academic words found in many texts. Tier 1 are everyday
conversational words, and Tier 3 are domain-specific/technical words (e.g., 'photosynthesis').
WGU D669 Early Literacy OA Prep - Page 4
