Practice Language Arts EC-6 Test

Identify the grammatically correct sentence.

*Everybody must bring their own lunch. *When I was eight years old, my grandfather gave me the book, Tom Sawyer for Christmas. (CORRECT) *The recipes is good for beginning chefs. *Rachel is very smart, she began reading when she was three years old.

What examples WOULD represent a speech delay?

-A student substituting the "w" sound for the "r" sound like wabbit instead of, rabbit. -Stuttering -A student leaves out portions of a word, this is dependent on the ages.

What are some instructional strategy that will increase fluency skills?

-Introduce new or difficult words to children, and provide practice reading these words before they read on their own. -Include opportunities for children to hear a range of texts, read fluently and with expression -Provide children with opportunities to read and reread a range of stories and informational texts by reading on their own, partner reading, or choral reading.

What are an instructional strategies to promote the alphabetic principle?

-Learn the letter shapes as they play with blocks. -Learning to identify upper and lower-case letters. -Singing the alphabet song.

During a parent-teacher conference, a parent expresses concern that her child is having difficulty identifying the beginning sounds of some words and thinking of words that rhyme. She asks the teacher for some activities she can work on at home to develop this skill. The teacher suggests some activities the parent can do at home with her child to build phonological awareness. Which of the following activities would promote phonological awareness?

-Phonological awareness includes recognizing words with the same initial sounds such as money and math. Having a child make silly sentences with the same initial sound will help develop this skill. The practice of identifying letters of the alphabet and the practice of matching uppercase and lowercase letters are incorrect, these are activities will help a student build alphabetic awareness. The Practice of using high-frequency words is incorrect, high-frequency words aid in building decoding and comprehension skills.

A teacher would like to help her students improve their listening skills. Which of the following activities WOULD help achieve that objective?

-Playing a game of "telephone" in which a sentence or phrase is repeated from person to person. The object of the game is to be as close to the original sentence as possible. -Reading a list of 15-20 words and then after thirty seconds have the participants list as many words as they can remember. -Using lyrics from a song as a CLOZE activity, in which students must listen for words they need to fill in as the song is playing.

A teacher is assessing her students writing on verb tenses usage. Which of the following writing samples would best assess this type of writing?

A journal entry about what a student is doing today.

Based on the reading skills below, which example would show that additional reading intervention is needed for a student in 4th grade.

A student cannot decode multisyllabic words.

Which of the following is an example of a student that lacks print awareness?

A student shows her teacher she is reading independently. The teacher observes the book is upside down.

Which of the following examples would NOT represent a speech delay?

A student that does not like to speak in front of the class.

Teaching children about onset and rime helps them recognize common chunks within words. This can help students decode new words when reading and to spell words when writing, which of the following activities will help with this skill?

A student will begin with the word jug and then change the first consonant to "h" and create the word hug.

Mr. Gutierrez is beginning a new story with his students. He spends several minutes introducing the new story and new vocabulary they will find in the story. The purpose of this instructional strategy is to do the following?

Activate prior knowledge and setting a purpose for reading. A teacher that spends time to introduce a story and poses questions for students to think about as they read is a strategy to increase comprehension.

Which statement best explains how literacy assessment affects literacy instruction?

Assessment is used to guide instruction by identifying the areas of reading and writing in which the student requires different or additional practice. Effective teachers are continually assessing students as skills are taught. Teachers who develop useful assessments and provide corrective instruction help students master necessary skills.

Which of the following statements explains what a teacher must understand about conventional spelling?

Children progress through certain stages of spelling development. Knowing this progression allows teachers to compel development through instruction.

English Learners (EL's) have greater success when their first language (L1) is proficient. However, when an EL student comes from a country where the language is not alphabetic they have greater difficulty with phonological awareness in English. Which of the following languages is not an alphabetic language?

Chinese

A 3rd-grade teacher notices several of her students read very slowly and without any expression when asked to read aloud. In which of the following areas should the teacher plan further instruction?

Decoding and Fluency

Which is an effective teaching strategy to facilitate the learning of making connections to texts and self during reading?

During a shared reading, the teacher does a Think-Aloud to show meaningful connections he or she is making to the text. Think-alouds have been described as "eavesdropping on someone's thinking." With this strategy, teachers verbalize aloud while reading a selection orally. Their verbalizations include describing things they're doing as they read to monitor their comprehension or make connections. The purpose of the think-aloud strategy is to model for students how skilled readers construct meaning from a text.

Ms. Forester has several English Learners in her fourth-grade reading class. Which of the following is a strategy to help her EL students increase their fluency in English?

During small group instruction practice choral reading. Choral reading is reading aloud in unison with a whole class or group of students. Choral reading helps build students' fluency, self-confidence, and motivation. Because students are reading aloud together, students who may ordinarily feel self-conscious or nervous about reading aloud have built-in support.

Which of the following is NOT an instructional strategy that will increase fluency skills?

Encourage students to read texts above their independent reading level.

A teacher asks students to identify the following genre: • Characters have special powers. • Animals act like people (Anamorphs). • Place is another world, universe, or imaginary. • Use magic or other ideas to achieve extreme impossibilities.

Fantasy Fiction

Ian, a fourth grader, reads at 90 words per minute. Most 4th graders read at 118 words per minute. He also has difficulty recalling what he has read. He is having difficulty with which of the following skills?

Fluency

Which of the following explains the relationship between comprehension and fluency?

Fluency or the automaticity of word recognition and reading with prosody facilitates comprehension.

Which of the following activities would be most effective in teaching capitalization and punctuation?

Give students a paragraph that does not have punctuation or capitalization, and have them read it. Then students will correct the sentences with the teacher. This activity helps the student understand how writing conventions are necessary to help convey meaning in writing.

A Kindergarten teacher is teaching a lesson on story elements, which of the following activities would be most appropriate to teach these skills?

Have students participate in a lesson that focuses on the ingredients in a story. After explaining the recipe for a story, use a big book, and point out the ingredients of the story as it is read.

A second-grade student in the state of Texas must describe the techniques used to create media messages, which of the following would be the most engaging activity that fulfills this TEKS?

Have students view a commercial, identify the elements needed to the create the commercial and then divide students into groups to make their own commercial. This activity allows students to describe the techniques needed to create a commercial while creating a commercial, students will need to analyze and make judgments as to which is the best way to convey their message.

Which of the following activities would help improve phonological awareness?

Helping students segment a word, for example breaking the word cat by sound into c-a-t.

Which two statements are strategies that could effectively increase metacognition during reading? I. Have students stop and discuss aspects of the text, including story elements, or predicting what will happen next, or why a character is behaving a certain way. II. Talk about metacognitive skills with your students; define metacognition and explain why developing metacognitive skills is important and then practice. III. Give students multiple choice questions over what they are reading frequently to monitor comprehension. IV. Have students partner read an above level text.

I & II I. Have students stop and discuss aspects of the text, including story elements, or predicting what will happen next, or why a character is behaving a certain way. II. Talk about metacognitive skills with your students; define metacognition and explain why developing metacognitive skills is important and then practice.

Which two statements describe direct and indirect methods of teaching vocabulary? I. The best way to increase a child's vocabulary is through learning how to use a dictionary. II. Direct instruction of vocabulary includes specific word instruction and word learning instruction. Indirect instruction of vocabulary refers to vocabulary that students hear every day through speech and see in texts. III. The scientific research on vocabulary instruction reveals that most vocabulary is learned indirectly, and some vocabulary must be taught directly. IV. Vocabulary is innate and it is not necessary for vocabulary instruction.

II & III II. Direct instruction of vocabulary includes specific word instruction and word learning instruction. Indirect instruction of vocabulary refers to vocabulary that students hear every day through speech and see in texts. III. The scientific research on vocabulary instruction reveals that most vocabulary is learned indirectly, and some vocabulary must be taught directly.

Which two of the following explains the importance of making connections between texts and the reader? I. It helps the reader get a good grade on an upcoming comprehension test. II. It encourages the reader to become involved in what they are reading and connect their knowledge across multiple disciplines. III. It helps the struggling readers set a clear purpose for reading and increase comprehension. IV. Readers will increase their fluency if they make connections.

II & III II. It encourages the reader to become involved in what they are reading and connect their knowledge across multiple disciplines. III. It helps the struggling readers set a clear purpose

Which of the following statements shows the difference between guided and independent reading practice?

In guided reading the teacher offers support by facilitating discussion around the texts, offering focus and assisting with deciphering new words and meanings through phonics and focused reading instruction. Independent reading is where the student practices skills learned in guided reading.

Mrs. Rodriguez is having her students participate in book clubs. After reading their assigned selection for the day the students meet in their book groups and discuss their assigned reading and write a response in their reading journals. What is the primary objective of book clubs?

Increasing comprehension through student collaboration.

Which of the following can expedite the decoding process and develop fluency among early readers?

Introducing sight words.

When is teaching vocabulary as a step for prereading necessary?

It is an instructional intervention that should be considered when readers lack the prior or background knowledge to read in a content area. Most vocabulary words are learned through oral language experience, however, if a student lacks knowledge in a specific subject area introducing vocabulary will aid in comprehension.

During a unit on fantasy fiction, a third-grade teacher asks students to identify the plot in a story presented during a shared reading. Which level of comprehension is being taught in this lesson?

Literal

Which of the following statements clarifies the need for students to know how to analyze and interpret various types of media?

Media literacy empowers students to understand and be critical when examining messages presented by the media.

To help students produce high quality writing that achieves its purpose and impacts the reader, teachers need to: Choose one of the following statements how teachers can facilitate the writing process?

Model the writing process including prewriting, drafting, editing/revising, and publishing.

Mr. Ross assigns different types of writing assignment to his sixth-grade students throughout the year including, narrative, creative, expository, poetry and persuasive. What is the purpose of Mr. Ross assigning different types of writing to his students?

Mr. Ross is using the different pieces of writing as a strategy to teach how to write for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Balanced literacy included explicit instruction of reading and language skills, as well as allowing for students to explore reading and writing independently. Which best describes a balanced literacy program?

Mr. Ruiz includes small group reading instruction, Reading Workshop, Writer's Workshop, and Word Study as components of his instruction.

Which of the following describe the relationship between oral language and literacy development?

Oral language is a foundation for literacy development. Oral language provides development of vocabulary and learning the structure of language which provides a foundation for children when learning to read.

Which component of language involves the smallest meaningful unit of sound?

Phoneme

Which of the following statements explains the difference between phonological awareness and phonemic awareness?

Phonemic awareness is the knowledge that phonemes form sounds that forms words and that phonemic awareness is just one aspect of phonological awareness. Phonological awareness is the foundation for learning to read.

A student is learning the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing in a lesson before beginning a research project. Which of the following two explanations would a teacher provide to students for this lesson? I Paraphrasing is a way to practice summarizing key points. II Paraphrasing increases comprehension. III Plagiarism is stealing a person's ideas or words as your own. IV Paraphrasing is taking ideas or information from another source, rewriting the ideas in your own words, and giving credit to the author or source.

Plagiarism is stealing a person's ideas or words as your own. Paraphrasing is taking ideas or information from another source, rewriting the ideas in your own words, and giving credit to the author or source. A student needs to know the way to correctly convey the ideas of others in writing and to cite sources correctly.

Fluency is the ability to read text accurately and quickly. Which statement correctly identifies how poor fluency skills affect comprehension?

Readers who are weak in fluency read slowly, word by word, focusing on decoding words instead of understanding the meaning of what they read.

Marissa is a 3rd-grade student. She has finished her first draft of a personal narrative about a trip she took with her family to San Antonio. Which is the next step in the writing process for Marissa?

Revising and editing

Tracy does not finish books she checks out from the library. She reads the first few pages of the book and then puts it aside. The next time her class is in the library her teacher gives her the following strategies to find a book. • Choose a book that you think you will enjoy. • Read the second page. • Hold up a finger for each word you are not sure of, or do not know. • If there are five or more words you did not know, you should choose an easier book. What will this strategy most likely help Tracy to do?

Selecting books for independent reading.

When a student is beginning a research project which of the following is the first step?

Set a purpose and develop a set of questions to answer during research.

Which of the following examples will influence the development of oral language skills?

Students choose a favorite book and retell the story to a small group or in front of the class.

Which of the following examples would be most effective in teaching author's purpose?

Students will classify texts according to author's purpose and justify their responses during a class discussion at the end of the lesson.

Mrs. Spence is a fifth-grade teacher, she has introduced Reading Response Journals in which the students write about books they are reading and she responds to her students at least one time per week. Which of the following statements describes how this strategy promotes written communication?

The Reading Response Journals allow Mrs. Spence to monitor students writing development and address individual needs.

A Pre-K teacher notices that several of her students are interested in environmental print and are showing greater interest in making marks on paper. Which of the following activities should the teacher NOT plan to help her student further develop writing conventions?

The Teacher should NOT Increase activities that include counting. The teacher should provide more opportunities for the student to write and draw, show students how text in a book moves left to right, and playing language games. These activities all support writing acquisition.

How many phonemes are in the word crab?

The correct answer is 4. The word crab has 4 different phonemes one sound for each letter.

Which of the following is NOT an instructional strategy to promote the alphabetic principle?

The correct answer is clapping out the syllables in words. This activity helps with developing phonological awareness.

Which instructional strategy would help students connect written and oral language?

The correct answer is during a shared reading, a teacher points to each word as it is read. The teacher pointing to the words as the story is read helps students identify connections between the text and oral language.

The ability to decode words quickly and accurately to read text with the appropriate word stress, pitch, and intonation patterns (or prosody) is which of the following?

The correct answer is fluency. Fluency is the ability to read words at an acceptable rate including correct inflection and expression. Fluency aids in comprehension. A fluent reader can comprehend more because they are not focusing all their attention on decoding.

A teacher would like to help her students improve their listening skills. Which of the following activities would NOT help achieve that objective?

The correct answer is having students memorize a selection from an audio clip. Rote memorization does not aid in skill building. This activity will not help students improve listening.

A teacher is preparing a lesson on words that children can decode but might have problems identifying the intended meaning. Which of the following skills is this lesson focused on?

The correct answer is homographs or homonyms. Homonyms and homographs can cause reading difficulty when one of the two meanings are unknown to the reader. If that unknown meaning is the one present in a text, the reader will likely think of the known meaning.

Which of the following statements describes a student that is in the Transitional Stage of literacy?

The correct answer is reading for meaning. Transitional readers are focused on applying strategies learned to decode words.

Which type of technology lesson would be most useful in the construction of a class newsletter?

The correct answer is using publishing software. These programs are used for this purpose.

Which two statements describe how a student responding to literature help them develop literacy skills? I Reading response encourage readers to actively create their own meaning from texts and express their individual responses. II Responding to texts help to increase fluency in reading. III Reader responses help students to develop phonological awareness. IV Readers response encourages students to analyze and connect with what they are reading.

The correct answers are reading response encourage readers to actively create their own meaning from texts and express their individual responses and readers response encourages students to analyze and connect with what they are reading When a reader responds to literature it causes them to make sense and meaning of what is read. It helps them think about what they are reading and how it affects them personally. It aids in comprehension.

The alphabetic principle states.

The ideas that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken language.

Deforestation is the action of clearing wide areas of trees. Over 750,000 square kilometers of the Amazon Rainforest has been deforested in the last 40 years. Primarily subsistence farmers cut down small patches of forest to produce crops for their families. However, in the last part of the 20th century, large companies caused almost seventy-five percent of the deforestation for industries like mining and logging as well as large-scale agriculture. The white-cheeked spider monkey is now endangered because its habitat is now 1/5 what it used to be. Several other species are endangered as well. Which sentence best explains the idea of cause and effect?

The white-cheeked spider monkey is now endangered because its habitat is now 1/5 what it used to be.

Ms. Hernandez, a kindergarten teacher, is having her students research and write a paragraph on their favorite animal. Which of the following would be most appropriate for these students to gather information on this topic. According to the TEKS, a kindergartener should use a picture in conjunction with the text when writing to document research?

Use a nonfiction book on an animal the student has chosen.

A student is having difficulty identifying the meaning of the word stationary in the sentence below. The cars were all stationary because of the big traffic jam. Which instructional strategy should the teacher emphasize to help the student develop the necessary skills to approach this problem?

Using context clues

This strategy is based on learning word patterns rather than memorizing unconnected words. This strategy includes the study of base words and affixes.

Word Study

An example of an informal reading comprehension assessment is

anecdotal records. Anecdotal records are a type of formative assessment based on teacher observation. Formative assessments are an informal assessment used to modify instruction.

A kindergarten student is having difficulty with identifying rhyming words. Which activity would help improve this skill?

having the student create a rhyming book. Rhyming is an important phonological skill. It can be used as a predictor of later reading development.

A fifth grade ELAR teacher is teaching a lesson on the theme of a story. Which of following choices would be the best way to explain theme?

in the book The Mighty Miss Malone, the theme is that Deza experiences many trials and troubles she must overcome with her family during The Depression. *The theme is the universal idea or message of the book. Each of the other answer choices describe another element of a story.

Which of the following is an effective strategy for increasing reading comprehension?

setting a purpose for reading and asking students to make predictions about the text. Setting a purpose provides focus for the reader and having students make predictions about the text engages students. The more students interact with the texts increases their comprehension.