Content Exam Subtest 1 (Language And Literacy) –
Questions With Comprehensive Solutions
Reading research conducted using scientific-based research methods has
identified which of the following areas as one of the five essential components
of an effective reading instruction program?
A) Vocabulary development
B) Letter formation
C) Oral language development
D) Spelling skills Right Ans - A) vocabulary development
In 2000, based on a review of years of scientific-based research, the National
Reading Panel identified the following five essential components of an
effective reading instruction program: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency,
vocabulary, and text comprehension. The five components are interrelated;
they cannot be taught in isolation, though at certain stages of reading
development one may be emphasized more than another. Ongoing research
has continued to affirm and support the Panel's findings in the years since it
was originally published.
The sentences below are from an elementary student's creative writing piece.
The student's spelling in this excerpt is representative of the student's overall
spelling performance.
The children new they wood get in truble. The lessens were esey for them to
lern. (The children knew they would get in trouble. The lessons were easy for
them to learn.)
The student's spelling is most characteristic of students in which stage of
spelling development?
a) semiphonetic stage
b) phonetic stage
c) transitional stage
d) morphophonemic stage Right Ans - c) transitional stage
The spelling characteristics above are typical for a child who is in the
transitional spelling stage. The student has moved beyond the phonetic
spelling stage and is familiar with more sophisticated orthographic rules and
,conventions (e.g., -le in trouble, ey in they). The student recognizes that each
syllable should contain a vowel, although does not always add these letters
accurately, and is familiar with the rule of consonant doubling (e.g., "lessens").
Which of the following actions by an elementary teacher best demonstrates an
awareness of the interconnections among literacy skills across the
curriculum?
a) giving students time for rereading their content-area textbooks and
discussing the material with their classmates
b) setting aside a weekly time slot for students to visit the school library and
check out content-area texts the teacher has put on hold for them
c) providing students with opportunities to read an write about fiction and
nonfiction texts related to concepts they are studying in content-area lessons
d) obtaining multiple copies of each content-related classroom library book so
that more students have access to grade-level informational texts Right
Ans - c) providing students with opportunities to read and write about fiction
and nonfiction texts related to concepts they are studying in content-area
lessons
Effective literacy instruction emphasizes the importance of reading and
writing in all content areas. By including both fiction and nonfiction texts in
content-area instruction, the teacher helps emphasize the interconnections
between different areas of the curriculum, while integrating reading and
writing activities into content-area lessons also helps students make
connections between the literacy skills they are developing in language arts
lessons and the literacy skills that support their achievement in other content
areas.
An entering-level English language learner has acquired grade-level literacy
skills in the home language. Which of the following features of the home
language would be most likely to support the transfer of basic literacy skills
from the student's home language to English?
a) the home language's writing system is alphabetic as in English
b) the vocabulary of the home language shares some cognates with English
c) the home language includes several phonemes found in English
d) the syntax of the home language is similar to that of English Right Ans -
a) the home language's writing system is alphabetic as is English
,English is an alphabetic language, and reading English is based on the
alphabetic principle. According to the alphabetic principle, letters and letter
combinations represent the speach sounds of a language, and there are
systematic and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken
words. The development of "basic literacy skills" in English is dependent on a
student's development of the alphabetic principle. Thus, an English language
learner who has already developed the alphabetic principle in the home
language will be at a great advantage in learning basic literacy skills in
English.
Several fourth-grade students have accurate decoding skills but need work on
building automaticity and improving reading rates. The teacher would like the
students to read a wide range of texts to strengthen these fluency skills. Which
of the following text types would be most appropriate for the teacher to
provide for the students for this purpose?
a) decodable texts
b) predictable texts
c) independent-level texts
d) complex academic texts Right Ans - c) independent-level texts
According to research, it is best practice for the teacher to expose students
often to a wide variety of texts written at their independent level of the
purpose of improving reading automaticity and rate (rate = speed and
accuracy). This reading practice assists students in learning how to read and
process information quickly, aiding in text comprehension as less time is
required for interpretation of the material they are reading.
A fifth-grade teacher regularly incorporates technology in instruction for
various purposes. In an upcoming lesson, the teacher would like to promote a
collaborative classroom environment by having students post a written
response to an assigned text in which they reflect on connections they make to
the text as they read. The teacher wants students to read and reply to their
classmates' reflections but would like to be able to screen the responses
before students post them. Which of the following forms of technology would
best achieve the teacher's goals for this activity?
a) a class website
b) a group email
c) a social network
d) a group blog Right Ans - d) a group blog
, A group blog allows members of a group-in this case, the class-to publish their
work with ease, as well as read and respond to other members' work. This
interaction among the students fosters a collaborative environment. The
teacher can use an approval process with a group blog to make sure that
nothing is posted prior to the teacher's review and to ensure that the
students' comments are friendly and supportive.
A second-grade teacher is planning to read aloud a narrative text to students.
Which of the following approaches to conducting the read-aloud would best
strengthen students' oral language development, thereby promoting the
developmental process of reading acquisition?
a) asking students to select three unfamiliar words they hear as they listen to
the story and use them in oral sentences
b) having students use think-pair-share to orally answer a question related to
the story's main idea
c) having students take turns rereading the story aloud after the teacher has
modeled reading it expressively
d) asking students to write a short response to a question about the story's
main idea and share it aloud Right Ans - b) having students use think-pair-
share to orally answer a question related to the story's main idea
A think-pair-share sets up conversations between students, thereby
supporting oral language development. A think-pair-share activity is
composed of three steps: (1) Students are given time to think about the
answer to a question. (2) Students discuss their thoughts with a partner. (3)
Partners share their ideas with the entire group. In addition to strengthening
students' oral language development, text-based discussions such as this
support students' development of academic language, vocabulary, and reading
comprehension.
Which of the following questions would be most appropriate for a first-grade
teacher to ask as part of a lesson on phonemic blending?
a) What letter begins the word fish?
b) What word am I trying to say: /f/ /i/ /sh/?
c) What whole word does /f/ ... /ish/ make?
d) how many sounds do you hear in the word fish? Right Ans - b) What
word am I trying to say: /f/ /i/ /sh/?
Questions With Comprehensive Solutions
Reading research conducted using scientific-based research methods has
identified which of the following areas as one of the five essential components
of an effective reading instruction program?
A) Vocabulary development
B) Letter formation
C) Oral language development
D) Spelling skills Right Ans - A) vocabulary development
In 2000, based on a review of years of scientific-based research, the National
Reading Panel identified the following five essential components of an
effective reading instruction program: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency,
vocabulary, and text comprehension. The five components are interrelated;
they cannot be taught in isolation, though at certain stages of reading
development one may be emphasized more than another. Ongoing research
has continued to affirm and support the Panel's findings in the years since it
was originally published.
The sentences below are from an elementary student's creative writing piece.
The student's spelling in this excerpt is representative of the student's overall
spelling performance.
The children new they wood get in truble. The lessens were esey for them to
lern. (The children knew they would get in trouble. The lessons were easy for
them to learn.)
The student's spelling is most characteristic of students in which stage of
spelling development?
a) semiphonetic stage
b) phonetic stage
c) transitional stage
d) morphophonemic stage Right Ans - c) transitional stage
The spelling characteristics above are typical for a child who is in the
transitional spelling stage. The student has moved beyond the phonetic
spelling stage and is familiar with more sophisticated orthographic rules and
,conventions (e.g., -le in trouble, ey in they). The student recognizes that each
syllable should contain a vowel, although does not always add these letters
accurately, and is familiar with the rule of consonant doubling (e.g., "lessens").
Which of the following actions by an elementary teacher best demonstrates an
awareness of the interconnections among literacy skills across the
curriculum?
a) giving students time for rereading their content-area textbooks and
discussing the material with their classmates
b) setting aside a weekly time slot for students to visit the school library and
check out content-area texts the teacher has put on hold for them
c) providing students with opportunities to read an write about fiction and
nonfiction texts related to concepts they are studying in content-area lessons
d) obtaining multiple copies of each content-related classroom library book so
that more students have access to grade-level informational texts Right
Ans - c) providing students with opportunities to read and write about fiction
and nonfiction texts related to concepts they are studying in content-area
lessons
Effective literacy instruction emphasizes the importance of reading and
writing in all content areas. By including both fiction and nonfiction texts in
content-area instruction, the teacher helps emphasize the interconnections
between different areas of the curriculum, while integrating reading and
writing activities into content-area lessons also helps students make
connections between the literacy skills they are developing in language arts
lessons and the literacy skills that support their achievement in other content
areas.
An entering-level English language learner has acquired grade-level literacy
skills in the home language. Which of the following features of the home
language would be most likely to support the transfer of basic literacy skills
from the student's home language to English?
a) the home language's writing system is alphabetic as in English
b) the vocabulary of the home language shares some cognates with English
c) the home language includes several phonemes found in English
d) the syntax of the home language is similar to that of English Right Ans -
a) the home language's writing system is alphabetic as is English
,English is an alphabetic language, and reading English is based on the
alphabetic principle. According to the alphabetic principle, letters and letter
combinations represent the speach sounds of a language, and there are
systematic and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken
words. The development of "basic literacy skills" in English is dependent on a
student's development of the alphabetic principle. Thus, an English language
learner who has already developed the alphabetic principle in the home
language will be at a great advantage in learning basic literacy skills in
English.
Several fourth-grade students have accurate decoding skills but need work on
building automaticity and improving reading rates. The teacher would like the
students to read a wide range of texts to strengthen these fluency skills. Which
of the following text types would be most appropriate for the teacher to
provide for the students for this purpose?
a) decodable texts
b) predictable texts
c) independent-level texts
d) complex academic texts Right Ans - c) independent-level texts
According to research, it is best practice for the teacher to expose students
often to a wide variety of texts written at their independent level of the
purpose of improving reading automaticity and rate (rate = speed and
accuracy). This reading practice assists students in learning how to read and
process information quickly, aiding in text comprehension as less time is
required for interpretation of the material they are reading.
A fifth-grade teacher regularly incorporates technology in instruction for
various purposes. In an upcoming lesson, the teacher would like to promote a
collaborative classroom environment by having students post a written
response to an assigned text in which they reflect on connections they make to
the text as they read. The teacher wants students to read and reply to their
classmates' reflections but would like to be able to screen the responses
before students post them. Which of the following forms of technology would
best achieve the teacher's goals for this activity?
a) a class website
b) a group email
c) a social network
d) a group blog Right Ans - d) a group blog
, A group blog allows members of a group-in this case, the class-to publish their
work with ease, as well as read and respond to other members' work. This
interaction among the students fosters a collaborative environment. The
teacher can use an approval process with a group blog to make sure that
nothing is posted prior to the teacher's review and to ensure that the
students' comments are friendly and supportive.
A second-grade teacher is planning to read aloud a narrative text to students.
Which of the following approaches to conducting the read-aloud would best
strengthen students' oral language development, thereby promoting the
developmental process of reading acquisition?
a) asking students to select three unfamiliar words they hear as they listen to
the story and use them in oral sentences
b) having students use think-pair-share to orally answer a question related to
the story's main idea
c) having students take turns rereading the story aloud after the teacher has
modeled reading it expressively
d) asking students to write a short response to a question about the story's
main idea and share it aloud Right Ans - b) having students use think-pair-
share to orally answer a question related to the story's main idea
A think-pair-share sets up conversations between students, thereby
supporting oral language development. A think-pair-share activity is
composed of three steps: (1) Students are given time to think about the
answer to a question. (2) Students discuss their thoughts with a partner. (3)
Partners share their ideas with the entire group. In addition to strengthening
students' oral language development, text-based discussions such as this
support students' development of academic language, vocabulary, and reading
comprehension.
Which of the following questions would be most appropriate for a first-grade
teacher to ask as part of a lesson on phonemic blending?
a) What letter begins the word fish?
b) What word am I trying to say: /f/ /i/ /sh/?
c) What whole word does /f/ ... /ish/ make?
d) how many sounds do you hear in the word fish? Right Ans - b) What
word am I trying to say: /f/ /i/ /sh/?
