.MTTC Test (Lower Elementary Test #118)
Questions and Correct Answers
1. A third-grade teacher notices that students are struggling to spell previously learned high-
frequency words during daily journal-writing. Which of the following word learning artifacts
would be most helpful to incorporate in the classroom for these students?
A. sentence starters
B. online dictionaries
C. thematic word lists
D. interactive word walls
A. Sentence starters are used as a scaffold to support students' ability to analyze, understand,
and write about content.
B. Online dictionaries are best used for looking up the meaning and usage of words.
C. Thematic word lists focus on words that are content-specific rather than on high-frequency
words.
D. CORRECT ANS. Interactive word walls are used to help students recognize high-frequency
words and as an easy reference for students when spelling these words.
2. A teacher selects a variety of texts for the classroom library that reflect the diverse cultures
represented in the class and school community. An important rationale for the teacher's
practice is that it will enable all students to:
A. make text-to-self connections with reading materials.
B. access a variety of texts written about similar topics.
C. locate books that appeal to their personal interests.
D. choose a book at their independent reading level.
,A. CORRECT ANS. When selecting texts for a classroom, the teacher should choose texts that
allow students to see themselves and identify with the characters.
B. Texts that represent diverse cultures may be written in many different genres on a variety of
topics.
C. Selecting high-interest texts is a good practice, but these texts may not necessarily reflect
diverse cultures.
D. Selected texts that reflect diverse cultures do not need to be at students' independent
reading level.
A teacher should provide students with direct and specific vocabulary instruction primarily
when the target words:
A. appear in high frequency throughout grade-level texts.
B. represent complex concepts that are unfamiliar to students.
C. are likely to be encountered in typical everyday interactions.
D. relate to integral concepts that are part of students' daily lives.
A. The teacher should pick Tier Two or Tier Three words that students can learn and use in their
writing and conversation, which are not usually words that appear frequently.
B. CORRECT ANS. When a teacher provides vocabulary instruction, the target words should be
words that are less familiar and that will support students' learning of the content areas.
C. Students will already know and understand the words that are encountered in everyday
interactions, so vocabulary instruction should be focused on expanding students' knowledge
and understanding of words.
D. The words chosen for vocabulary instruction should be new words to students and not
related to concepts that are an integral part of the students' daily lives.
4. A teacher wants to evaluate students' literacy interests, with the goal of promoting the
students' literacy motivation and engagement. Which of the following questions would be most
helpful for the teacher to ask for this purpose?
A. "Why do you think that reading is either important or unimportant?"
,B. "What did you like and dislike about the last few books you have read?"
C. "Do you enjoy reading for pleasure, or do you only read your assigned work?"
D. "What do you do when you are reading and come to a word you don't know?"
A. This question is asking about the importance of reading and not about the students' reading
interests.
B. CORRECT ANS. This question directly gets to the heart of the students' reading interests,
which supports their motivation to read and engagement.
C. This question is a general question asking if the students like reading, and it does not get in
depth about what they like to read.
D. This question is about reading strategies that the students use and not about their reading
interests.
5. Which of the following instructional strategies would most effectively promote kindergarten
students' development of print concepts?
A. tracking text from left to right and line to line with a finger while reading to students
B. guiding students to segment the individual sounds of one-syllable words in a text
C. previewing the illustrations in a text with students before beginning a read-aloud
D. reading a text aloud to students and then having them read the text chorally
A. CORRECT ANS. Concepts of print is an awareness of how print works; left-to-right
directionality and one-to-one matching when reading are examples of print concept skills.
B. Sound segmenting supports students with decoding words when reading and encoding words
when writing.
C. Previewing illustrations builds background knowledge and supports making connections
when reading a story to students, but this practice does not include instruction in the print on a
page.
D. Choral reading activities are used to support reading fluency.
, 6. In a planned sequence of phonics lessons, a kindergarten teacher introduces the consonants
p, t, b, m, and s before introducing any vowels. Which of the following statements identifies an
evidence-based rationale for sequencing the lessons this way?
A. Vowels have more than one sound and are more challenging than consonants to learn.
B. Letter-sound correspondence of consonants is easier for students to learn than that of
vowels.
C. Students are more familiar with these consonants so they will generally learn them faster
than vowels.
D. Consonants such as these can be used to create easily decodable words once a vowel is
introduced.
A. Vowels do make more than one sound, but that does not mean learning the sounds is more
challenging.
B. Letter-sound correspondence of consonants may be easier for students to learn, but that is
not a sound rationale for introducing the specific consonants p, t, b, m, and s first.
C. There is no evidence that shows that these letters are more familiar than other letters as
students' background knowledge and experience will determine the letters with which they are
familiar.
D. CORRECT ANS. These consonant letters are common and are found in many decodable
words.
7. First-grade students work in small groups using letter tiles to sound out and build decodable,
high-frequency words that the teacher taught in a whole-group lesson. Which of the following
areas of early literacy is most directly supported by this activity?
A. invented spelling
B. phoneme segmenting
C. basic concepts of print
D. letter-sound correspondence
A. Invented spelling is when students use the sounds they hear to write words phonetically
Questions and Correct Answers
1. A third-grade teacher notices that students are struggling to spell previously learned high-
frequency words during daily journal-writing. Which of the following word learning artifacts
would be most helpful to incorporate in the classroom for these students?
A. sentence starters
B. online dictionaries
C. thematic word lists
D. interactive word walls
A. Sentence starters are used as a scaffold to support students' ability to analyze, understand,
and write about content.
B. Online dictionaries are best used for looking up the meaning and usage of words.
C. Thematic word lists focus on words that are content-specific rather than on high-frequency
words.
D. CORRECT ANS. Interactive word walls are used to help students recognize high-frequency
words and as an easy reference for students when spelling these words.
2. A teacher selects a variety of texts for the classroom library that reflect the diverse cultures
represented in the class and school community. An important rationale for the teacher's
practice is that it will enable all students to:
A. make text-to-self connections with reading materials.
B. access a variety of texts written about similar topics.
C. locate books that appeal to their personal interests.
D. choose a book at their independent reading level.
,A. CORRECT ANS. When selecting texts for a classroom, the teacher should choose texts that
allow students to see themselves and identify with the characters.
B. Texts that represent diverse cultures may be written in many different genres on a variety of
topics.
C. Selecting high-interest texts is a good practice, but these texts may not necessarily reflect
diverse cultures.
D. Selected texts that reflect diverse cultures do not need to be at students' independent
reading level.
A teacher should provide students with direct and specific vocabulary instruction primarily
when the target words:
A. appear in high frequency throughout grade-level texts.
B. represent complex concepts that are unfamiliar to students.
C. are likely to be encountered in typical everyday interactions.
D. relate to integral concepts that are part of students' daily lives.
A. The teacher should pick Tier Two or Tier Three words that students can learn and use in their
writing and conversation, which are not usually words that appear frequently.
B. CORRECT ANS. When a teacher provides vocabulary instruction, the target words should be
words that are less familiar and that will support students' learning of the content areas.
C. Students will already know and understand the words that are encountered in everyday
interactions, so vocabulary instruction should be focused on expanding students' knowledge
and understanding of words.
D. The words chosen for vocabulary instruction should be new words to students and not
related to concepts that are an integral part of the students' daily lives.
4. A teacher wants to evaluate students' literacy interests, with the goal of promoting the
students' literacy motivation and engagement. Which of the following questions would be most
helpful for the teacher to ask for this purpose?
A. "Why do you think that reading is either important or unimportant?"
,B. "What did you like and dislike about the last few books you have read?"
C. "Do you enjoy reading for pleasure, or do you only read your assigned work?"
D. "What do you do when you are reading and come to a word you don't know?"
A. This question is asking about the importance of reading and not about the students' reading
interests.
B. CORRECT ANS. This question directly gets to the heart of the students' reading interests,
which supports their motivation to read and engagement.
C. This question is a general question asking if the students like reading, and it does not get in
depth about what they like to read.
D. This question is about reading strategies that the students use and not about their reading
interests.
5. Which of the following instructional strategies would most effectively promote kindergarten
students' development of print concepts?
A. tracking text from left to right and line to line with a finger while reading to students
B. guiding students to segment the individual sounds of one-syllable words in a text
C. previewing the illustrations in a text with students before beginning a read-aloud
D. reading a text aloud to students and then having them read the text chorally
A. CORRECT ANS. Concepts of print is an awareness of how print works; left-to-right
directionality and one-to-one matching when reading are examples of print concept skills.
B. Sound segmenting supports students with decoding words when reading and encoding words
when writing.
C. Previewing illustrations builds background knowledge and supports making connections
when reading a story to students, but this practice does not include instruction in the print on a
page.
D. Choral reading activities are used to support reading fluency.
, 6. In a planned sequence of phonics lessons, a kindergarten teacher introduces the consonants
p, t, b, m, and s before introducing any vowels. Which of the following statements identifies an
evidence-based rationale for sequencing the lessons this way?
A. Vowels have more than one sound and are more challenging than consonants to learn.
B. Letter-sound correspondence of consonants is easier for students to learn than that of
vowels.
C. Students are more familiar with these consonants so they will generally learn them faster
than vowels.
D. Consonants such as these can be used to create easily decodable words once a vowel is
introduced.
A. Vowels do make more than one sound, but that does not mean learning the sounds is more
challenging.
B. Letter-sound correspondence of consonants may be easier for students to learn, but that is
not a sound rationale for introducing the specific consonants p, t, b, m, and s first.
C. There is no evidence that shows that these letters are more familiar than other letters as
students' background knowledge and experience will determine the letters with which they are
familiar.
D. CORRECT ANS. These consonant letters are common and are found in many decodable
words.
7. First-grade students work in small groups using letter tiles to sound out and build decodable,
high-frequency words that the teacher taught in a whole-group lesson. Which of the following
areas of early literacy is most directly supported by this activity?
A. invented spelling
B. phoneme segmenting
C. basic concepts of print
D. letter-sound correspondence
A. Invented spelling is when students use the sounds they hear to write words phonetically
