RICA Subtest 1 questions and answers
2026\2027 A+ Grade
The primary formats for phonemic awareness are:
- correct answer oral blending and segmentation.
A kindergarten teacher implements the following lesson:
Teacher: What are the sounds in the word "sit"?
Student: /s/ /i/ /t/
Teacher: Good. The new word is "pit". What sound changed "sit" to "pit"?
Student: /p/
The phonemic awareness lesson above is an example of:
- correct answer substituting an initial consonant sound
As an additional support to her five students struggling with the phonemic awareness lesson during
whole group instruction, a kindergarten teacher uses Elkonin boxes with colored tiles. As the teacher
says a word, the student moves a tile in a box for each sound they hear in the target word. The teacher
calls on each student to tell her the sounds they hear in the word while touching the colored tiles. This
strategy should enhance understanding of identifying sounds because:
- correct answer it uses a kinesthetic technique that allows the student to use a hands-on approach for
identifying sounds in a word.
An example of a phonemic awareness assessment is:
- correct answer medial phoneme substitution.
During the first week of school, a kindergarten teacher assesses each student by asking a series of
questions after handing them a book:
Where is the front cover of the book?
Use your finger to show me where I will begin reading on this page.
Use your finger to show me the direction I need to read.
, Point to the title of the book.
Show me how to turn the page.
Where is the beginning of the story?
Where is the end of the story?
The teacher implemented this assessment to determine the students' skills in the area of:
- correct answer concepts about print.
A kindergarten teacher conducts small group instruction with six students that is designed using letter
cards. The lesson is introduced in the following way:
Teacher: In my hand I have a deck of letter cards for the alphabet that have two letters, plus a line that
indicates that a letter is missing. As I flip the cards in the deck, I want you to name the missing letters on
each card.
The intervention lesson will support students becoming more proficient in the area of:
- correct answer letter naming.
A kindergarten teacher notices that two of his students are having difficulty identifying the letters p and
q. The best strategy for helping the students distinguish the two letters is:
- correct answer practicing letter formation during hands-on activities, such as tracing letters in sand.
A first grade teacher is designing lessons to focus on the alphabetic principle for small group instruction.
An effective lesson will be:
- correct answer the teacher segments a CVC word. For each sound in the word the students place a
corresponding letter card on the mat. After placing the letter cards on the mat, the students blend the
sounds to say the word.
A kindergarten student writes about his trip over winter vacation while working in the writing center
during Independent Workshop. The entry states:
I wnt to the mntns and plyd in the sno. It ws fn.
The student's writing displays an example of:
- correct answer phonetic spelling.
A kindergarten teacher groups her students in pairs and gives them each an alphabet card. (One has an
uppercase letter; the second student has the same lowercase letter.) She provides each pair with a tic-
tac-toe grid and they have to play tic-tac-toe, writing the letter they were assigned.
2026\2027 A+ Grade
The primary formats for phonemic awareness are:
- correct answer oral blending and segmentation.
A kindergarten teacher implements the following lesson:
Teacher: What are the sounds in the word "sit"?
Student: /s/ /i/ /t/
Teacher: Good. The new word is "pit". What sound changed "sit" to "pit"?
Student: /p/
The phonemic awareness lesson above is an example of:
- correct answer substituting an initial consonant sound
As an additional support to her five students struggling with the phonemic awareness lesson during
whole group instruction, a kindergarten teacher uses Elkonin boxes with colored tiles. As the teacher
says a word, the student moves a tile in a box for each sound they hear in the target word. The teacher
calls on each student to tell her the sounds they hear in the word while touching the colored tiles. This
strategy should enhance understanding of identifying sounds because:
- correct answer it uses a kinesthetic technique that allows the student to use a hands-on approach for
identifying sounds in a word.
An example of a phonemic awareness assessment is:
- correct answer medial phoneme substitution.
During the first week of school, a kindergarten teacher assesses each student by asking a series of
questions after handing them a book:
Where is the front cover of the book?
Use your finger to show me where I will begin reading on this page.
Use your finger to show me the direction I need to read.
, Point to the title of the book.
Show me how to turn the page.
Where is the beginning of the story?
Where is the end of the story?
The teacher implemented this assessment to determine the students' skills in the area of:
- correct answer concepts about print.
A kindergarten teacher conducts small group instruction with six students that is designed using letter
cards. The lesson is introduced in the following way:
Teacher: In my hand I have a deck of letter cards for the alphabet that have two letters, plus a line that
indicates that a letter is missing. As I flip the cards in the deck, I want you to name the missing letters on
each card.
The intervention lesson will support students becoming more proficient in the area of:
- correct answer letter naming.
A kindergarten teacher notices that two of his students are having difficulty identifying the letters p and
q. The best strategy for helping the students distinguish the two letters is:
- correct answer practicing letter formation during hands-on activities, such as tracing letters in sand.
A first grade teacher is designing lessons to focus on the alphabetic principle for small group instruction.
An effective lesson will be:
- correct answer the teacher segments a CVC word. For each sound in the word the students place a
corresponding letter card on the mat. After placing the letter cards on the mat, the students blend the
sounds to say the word.
A kindergarten student writes about his trip over winter vacation while working in the writing center
during Independent Workshop. The entry states:
I wnt to the mntns and plyd in the sno. It ws fn.
The student's writing displays an example of:
- correct answer phonetic spelling.
A kindergarten teacher groups her students in pairs and gives them each an alphabet card. (One has an
uppercase letter; the second student has the same lowercase letter.) She provides each pair with a tic-
tac-toe grid and they have to play tic-tac-toe, writing the letter they were assigned.
