TExES PPR EC-12 (160)

44. One group has discovered a website created and maintained by members of one of the most historically prominent families in the county. The students want to use photographs posted on this website in their group presentation, and they ask Ms. Rosas if that is OK. Which of the following responses should Ms. Rosas offer in order to guide students in legal and ethical use of digital information?

If the photographs are going to be used only in the class presentation and will not be published elsewhere, the students can integrate the photographs, making sure to correctly document the family's website as the source.

55. A first-grade teacher at a school where about half of the students are classified as ELL is having the first parent-teacher conferences of the year. Which of the following guidelines should primarily direct the way the teacher conducts this first conference?

Include positive comments about each child and make suggestions for how families can help the child at home

89. Teaming an experienced educator with a new teacher so that the new teacher has a resource for adjusting into the profession is an example of...

mentoring.

69. From the workshop, Ms. Palomo has learned that a cooperative approach promotes students engagement in numerous ways. Which of the following statements does NOT reflect the role of cooperative learning in student engagement?

(DOES) Cooperative projects allow students to demonstrate leadership abilities. (DOES) Cooperative projects encourage organization and distribution of appropriate work for all members. (DOES) Cooperative projects include self-evaluation of each member's contribution. (DOES NOT) Cooperative projects allow high-achieving students to work with other high-achieving students and cluster low-achieving students together.

96. Which three of the following instructional goals demonstrate how creating a spreadsheet will enhance student learning?

*A compiling data in the spreadsheet will enable students to collect and present interview data in an organized format. *Arranging data in a spreadsheet will enable students to see trends and themes in the survey responses. *Manipulating rows and columns in the spreadsheet will develop students' ability to see information from different perspectives.

91. Which three of the following points explain how activating prior knowledge contributes to engaging instruction?

*Connecting class lessons to real-world experience *Stimulating students' current knowledge about the topic *Anticipating the content of the upcoming lesson

93. Which three of the following instructional strategies most directly contribute to a designating coherent instruction?

*Creating measurable learning objectives *Linking learning objectives to grade level content area TEKS *Devising sequenced learning activities

97. Which three of the following learner characteristics should be taken into account in a classroom that values diversity?

*Linguistic and cultural differences *Gender-related behaviors *Needs of special education students

Which three of the following directions should be included in the interview assignment to ensure that students understand the requirements for this part of the unit?

*Minimum number of required interviews *Guidelines on how to construct good interview questions *A timeline for completing the interviews

91. Mr. Shoney has administered three unit tests in his high school geometry class. The average scores are 68 on Test 1, 65 on Test 2, and 67 on Test 3. On Test 1, 5/25 students passed the test, on Test 2, 10/25, and on Test 3, 7/25. For Unit 4 Test, he wants to improve the passing ratio, with a goal of reaching a 50% pass rate and wants to raise the average score to 72%. Which three of the following instructional strategies should be apply to promote student achievement?

*Mr. Shoney distributes the scored exams to the students and has the students identify the items that they found most difficult. *Mr. Shoney analyzes the test items to ensure they align to his learning objectives for Unit 4. *Mr. Shoney integrates self-checks into each day's lesson to assess whether the lesson is enabling learners to meet the learning objectives for the day.

93. Mr. Gomez has the following motivational saying on the wall of his ninth-grade history class: "Winning in here is key to winning out there". He tells the students that this is a quote from the film "Coach Carter" and periodically shows clips of the film to the class. Mr. Gomez wants his students to understand what "winning in here" means. Which three of the following activities could Mr. Gomez use to reinforce the culture of success in the class environment?

*Once a week, at the beginning of class, students work in groups to brainstorm about words that suggest winning, like success, triumph, overcoming, yes!, hitting the mark, and bull's-eye! *Mr. Gomez has a "winning is about..." bulletin board where students post comments about a story about winning that they heard about on the news or from a classmate. *Mr. Gomez creates a class blog where students can post a response to this prompt: "You're a winner when..." The only requirement is that the sentence completion be based on something that really happened in a real class.

92. Which three of the following rationales explain how play contributes to learners' developmental growth?

*Play creates opportunities for social growth *Play enables students to role play *Play invites learners to integrate real-world learning into classroom situations

95. Which three of the following strategies should a fifth-grade social studies teacher use in daily lessons to promote content-area learning in intermediate proficiency-level ELL students?

*Providing a list of vocabulary relevant to the new lesson *Guiding students through expected learning outcomes for the lesson before starting the lesson *Stopping several times during the lesson to do a think-pair-share activity

99. A middle school teacher is drafting a letter to parents at the beginning of the year. Which three of the following letter segments would best contribute to cultivating parental/family engagement in the students' learning?

*Providing the teacher's conference period times and a school phone number *Sharing the teacher's email address and inviting parents to contact the teacher with any questions or comments about their child *Including a list of field trips and inviting parents to volunteer to chaperone or accompany the class

94. A high school English teacher is planning a unit on Jack London's "To Build a Fire", a story set in the Yukon. Which three of the following instructional activities demonstrate using technology to promote student learning in this unit?

*Students are assigned pre-unit activities in which they conduct internet research to find basic facts, images, and videos about topography and weather in the Yukon. *Students create blog entries to share lines from the story that illustrate literary devices and figures of speech, explaining how they contribute to reader understanding. *Students use word-processing tools to draft a culminating essay; the teacher provides online feedback and students apply the suggestions, revise, and submit a final essay.

Which three of the following instructional strategies effectively connect assessment and student achievement?

*Students submit a 3x5 index card as an exit slip every day stating the greatest takeaway from the lesson and/or a question they have about the lesson. The next day, the teacher addresses some of the comments at the beginning of class. *Students are assigned an in-class quick write on Friday morning to test their comprehension of the week's lesson. The following Friday, their scores are returned before they do the next quick write. *Students take a 10-item objective quiz on Thursday. On Friday, the teacher does re-teaching mini-lessons to cover most frequently missed items. Following the lesson, students may opt to take a different version of the quiz as a retest.

94. To launch the unit, the teacher does a read-aloud of an excerpt from Rene Saldana's "The Jumping Tree", in which the narrator jumps out of a mesquite tree in response to peer pressure and breaks his arm, but the cast ends up being a badge of heroic honor. Which three of the following class activities could be used as follow-up activities as a way to most effectively meet the instructional goal to evaluate negative and positive aspects of peer pressure?

*Students watch the film "Mean Girls" and work in groups to analyze pivotal scenes to explain how decisions triggered by peer pressure can result in negative as well as positive behavioral changes. *Students are asked to contribute to a class "word cloud" with each student contributing one word about the negative effects and one word about the positive effects of peer pressure. *Students do a round-robin activity where everyone completes the sentence, "The best thing about peer pressure is _ ; the worst thing about peer pressure is _ ".

97. Which three of the following learner characteristics should teachers factor into instructional plans?

*Students' variable participation in independent and collaborative activities *Students' persistence in working through challenging material *Students' attention span

92. Which three of the following instructional activities would help a teacher enhance students' individual motivational to satisfactorily complete a unit?

*The teacher has students create three individual goals for their performance in the collective activities of the unit. *The teacher offers bonus points each time the entire class completes a homework assignment based on unit lessons on time. *The teacher has the students vote on a movie the class will watch in a "cinema study" afternoon if 85% of the class completes the unit with an average of 75% or higher.

96. A first-grade teacher has done a big book reading of a story that involves animal characters standing on each other to build a tower to try to get a friend out of a tree. Which three of the following instructional activities would support the teacher's instructional goal to integrate developmentally appropriate higher-order thinking skills into the lesson?

*The teacher has students work in groups to construct a tower made of building blocks and then leads a class discussion to explore what makes the tower difficult to build. *The teacher has students work in groups to create Part II of the story, imaging a scene in which the characters have to work together again to meet a goal. *The teacher assigns each group a character from the story and gives them the task to complete this sentence: "The best thing about character is _".

98. A high school physics teacher wants his students to write a traditional research paper on a physicists or other scientist who has made a significant contribution to the area of physics. He feels unsure about how to guide his students in the research process and the mechanics of the writing. Additionally, he wants the final papers to be produced using word-processing tools. Which three of the following actions would most strongly support his students' learning on this project?

*The teacher invites the librarian to do a guest lecture in this class to go over procedures for using library databases and other research tools. *The teacher asks an English colleague to help him create a rubric that reflects APA formatting requirements so that the students will know expectations for all aspects of the assignment. *The teacher asks the school technology director to schedule several class sessions for his students in the school computer lab so that he can work with the students as they construct their drafts.

98. Which three of the following strategies contribute to fostering good family engagement in students' learning?

*The teacher sends a letter to parents at the beginning of each extended learning period explaining what the class will be doing in the coming weeks. *The teacher asks for parent volunteers on designated days to participate in class activities. *The teacher schedules a parent-teacher conference with each parent before mid-semester to go over the student's progress.

99. Which three of the following teacher actions are specifically addressed by the Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators?

*The teacher's communication of student information *The teacher's communication, electronic or otherwise, with students *The teacher's acceptance of gifts from students, parents, or organizations.

100. Which three of the following instructional practices contribute to managing group activities effectively?

*Using a timer to set limits on collaborative work time *Putting a list of group tasks on the board before the group starts *Using a fishbowl discussion to demonstrate how to be a productive group member

Use the following information to answer questions 81-82 A second-grade teacher has assigned students a short research project. The students are supposed to pick a favorite animal and write a research card about the animal. The teacher puts these instructions on the board:

1. On one side of the card, draw a picture of your favorite animal and write its name clearly. 2. On the other side, write five interesting facts about your animal.

Use the following information to answer questions 30-31 The day following all the group presentations, Ms. Vidal delivers a direct instruction lesson to fill in gaps which she thinks are important in the students' holistic understanding of South American countries. The students work in groups to discuss this new information and to review for the upcoming multiple-choice test. These are the first five questions from the exam:

1. Which country has Bogota as its capital? a. Colombia b. Argentina c. Chile 2. Which country is most likely to directly affect U.S. climate? a. Brazil b. Chile c. Paraguay 3. Where would the people be most likely to wear little clothing? a. Central Chile b. Southern Colombia c. Southern Argentina 4. Which country is the largest? a. Colombia b. Argentina c. Brazil 5. Which of these factors most closely ties together Brazil and Argentina? a. Religion b. Language c. Vegetation

Use the following information to answer questions 51-54

A fourth-grade science teacher has set up learning centers that allow students to study science in a variety of ways: hands-on projects and experiments, reading, computer simulations, interactive videodiscs, targeted research, and videos that discuss important scientific discoveries.

Use the following information to answer questions 57-58

A ninth-grade science teacher has assigned a short collaborative lesson on pollution problems in the school. After a whole-class discussion during which students identify tangible pollution problems in the school, they work in heterogeneous groups to identify possible solutions.

26. The middle-school and kindergarten teachers hold a debriefing meeting six weeks after the reading collaborative is launched. Which of the following meeting activities would most effectively enhance the teachers' professional development as they continue the collaborative?

A panel on promoting literacy skills in reluctant readers drawing information and classroom activities from "The Reading Teacher", a publication of the International Reading Association.

5. Which of the following assessment strategies would most appropriately address the instructional objectives for this unit?

A reflective essay that allows each individual student to explain how participating in the project developed his/her understanding of Native American history and culture

Use the following information to answer questions 33-35

A second-grade teacher is starting a unit on three-dimensional figures (cylinder, cube, sphere, cone, pyramid, etc.).

Use this information to answer questions 1-5:

A sixth-grade history teacher is beginning a unit on Native American history. After the teacher forms the students into groups, each group will identify a specific tribe on which to concentrate. The unit will integrate a variety of instructional approaches, including internet research and a culminating presentation. The teacher wants to use this unit to help develop students' independence as learners and to engage in learning activities that promote high levels of understanding of the history content.

31. Ms. Vidal's strategy to have students research a country and teach the information to the whole class primarily reflects which of the following techniques for actively engaging students in the learning process?

A variation in teacher and student roles promotes students' intellectual involvement in the learning task.

39. A high school math teacher has assigned individual research projects on important figures in mathematics. The teacher is requiring that all research be conducted using electronic sources. Which of the following guidelines should the teacher use to help students learn how to evaluate electronic sources for accuracy and validity?

A website should be sponsored by legitimate organization or individual with relevant credentials and should have a date of last update

7. Which of the following explanations correctly describes what an IEP is?

A written statement for each child with a disability that identifies measurable, annual goals that allow the child to make progress in the general education curriculum

1. The teacher starts the unit by having each group formulate questions they have about Native American history and culture. This activity primarily addresses which of the following instructional strategies for actively engaging students in learning?

Activating prior knowledge

72. Ms. Riley, a tenth-grade history teacher, has a number of L1 Spanish intermediate ELL students in her class. As she analyzes student assignments, she realizes that the ELL students consistently score the lowest scores on all assignments. Which of the following actions should Ms. Riley's initial strategy for adapting instructional materials to address the needs of the ELL students?

Adjustment assignments to reflect students' academic abilities and not their limited English proficiency

86. Ms. Blanco wants to promote her students' literacy experiences beyond the school environment. She contacts the public library to ask one of its staff members to visit the class and read a few books from the public library shelves. She also asks the public library staff member to bring flyers about acquiring a public library card. Ms. Blanco's initiative primarily demonstrates her understanding of which of the following professional responsibilities?

Advocating for good professional relationships between public library staff and school personnel

27. This activity primarily reflects which of the following principles of effective instructional design?

Allocating time for reflection and closure at the end of a lesson

Use the following information to answer questions 94-96

An eighth-grade English teacher constructs a thematic unit focused on peer pressure, with the instructional goal to have students recognize that peer pressure can have positive as well as negative effects. In addition to class discussion of the anchor text in the unit, the class will create and conduct interviews to collect data on how young people respond to peer pressure. The culminating assignment for the unit will be construction of a class spreadsheet to analyze the interview data.

65. Which of the following assessment strategies would most effectively address Ms. McRae's unit goal?

An essay in which each student reflects on what he or she has learned about U.S. history from the project, and listening to classmates' reports

35. This group activity is an example of which level of Bloom's Taxonomy?

Applying

58. A high-school teacher notices that a student who has been enthusiastic and participatory gradually seems to lose interest in class, stops turning in her homework, refuses to do class work, and does not want to do group projects. Which of the following initial actions should the teacher take to maintain a positive, classroom environment for this student?

Ask the student if something is wrong and point out that her schoolwork is suffering and her performance in class has changed.

48. Ms. Garza, a new middle-school science teacher, is concerned about her upcoming teacher appraisal observation. Which of the following actions is most likely to strengthen her chances of getting a good rating from the observer?

Asking an experienced teacher to observe her and offer constructive feedback on her strengths and weaknesses as a teacher

75. Following the successful completion of the sound unit, Ms. Parks wants to learn other ways to use technology in her school to enhance her students' learning and technological literacy. Which of the following professional activities would most effectively address this goal?

Asking the media-center specialist to teach her how to use the technology available on campus

34. After the students learn the names and features of each figure, the teacher organizes the class into small groups, and each group picks a different figure. As a group project, each group has to find examples of how their figure is used in the real world. As an example, the teacher shows slides of architectural structures based on the figures. Then the teacher suggests that the students look around their homes for examples of their figure. This group activity primarily addresses which of the following strategies for promoting learning?

Assessing understanding through real-world applications

4. The day after the field trip, Mr. Banks creates a sample math problem based on the business the students visited. Then, he breaks students into groups and has each group create their own math problem based on what they learned about math by listening to the businesspeople. This strategy reflects which of the following approaches to assessment?

Assessment that reflects real-world applications

21. Following the paired reading, Mr. Drake hands out an index card to each student and gives them these directions: "On one side of the card, I want you to write a sentence about the story. On the other side, I want you to draw a picture of your favorite part of the story". This activity primarily represents which of the following strategies for promoting student learning?

Authentic assessment

8. A ninth-grade history teacher has completed a lecture on key points of the chapter on the events leading up to World War 1. For the whole-class discussion, the teacher prepared a whole list of questions designed to focus on higher-order thinking skills. Which of the following procedures should the teacher observe in using the questions to guide class discussion?

Because the questions have been designed to focus on higher-order thinking skills, the teacher needs to allow sufficient wait time for students to construct their answers.

30. A ninth-grade history teacher assigns a research unit to be completed in three weeks. Which of the following instructional plans would most effectively support the students' learning process in this research unit?

Breaking the research process into sequential step and setting deadlines and checkpoints for completion of each step

The school media specialist collaborates with the language arts teacher in an elementary school to set up a reading program that will reward students for out-of-class reading. The specialist installs software containing comprehension questions for 500 books. As students complete a book, they can go to the library during free time and take the comprehension quiz as many times as they need until they score 80 percent correct. This technology-supported reading program primarily demonstrates which of the following principles of effective, responsive instruction?

Collaboration between the media specialist and content-area teachers to create an opportunity that integrates technology to enhance student learning

71. Mr. Chavez, a middle-school teacher, notices that a few students in the class have exchanged heated words as class begins. Once class begins, he notices that the interactions among these students appear strained. Which of the following actions should Mr. Chavez take to secure a positive, productive class environment?

Communicate and illustrate clear guidelines about respecting and valuing each other

86. A seventh-grade math teacher plans his lessons to reflect TEKS readiness and supporting standards from the state assessment system in every lesson. This strategy primarily reflects which of the following components of effective instructional design?

Constructing meaningful connections between state assessment requirements and daily instruction

27. Ms. Vidal's decision to have students research a country and then teach the information to the whole class primarily reflects which of the following understanding about how students learn?

Constructivism

83. A seventh-grade science teacher starts each class by having the students complete a short independent assignment that involves responding to an open-ended question based on the previous day's lesson. While the students write their responses, the teacher takes attendance by checking off students' names on a seating chart. This approach to taking attendance primarily addresses which of the following principles of effective classroom organization?

Coordinating noninstructional duties with instructional activities

64. Another activity Ms. McRae has included is a poster project. Students pick their favorite president, do Internet research starting with the official White House website, and create a poster using text and illustrations. Each student will give a three-minute informal speech about his/her president, using the poster as visual support. This activity addresses which of the following Bloom's Taxonomy levels?

Creating

35. At the beginning of the school year, a fourth-grade teacher creates these posters, decorates them using clip art, and places them around the room. "There is no such thing as a wrong answer. It takes a lot of wrong answers to get to the right one. Questions show you're thinking. Mistakes are evidence that you're learning something new. If you don't understand, just ask." These posters primarily address which of the following instructional strategies?

Creating a class climate that emphasizes supportive interactions and promotes learners' active engagement

81. Ms. Kresmer's conferencing and feedback approach to teaching the writing process reflects which of the following principles for effective, responsive instruction and assessment?

Creating a climate of trust and encouraging a positive attitude toward writing

56. A middle-school teacher keeps a birthday calendar prominently displayed in the classroom. When a student has a birthday, the teacher gives the birthday child a hand-decorated paper bag that includes a "happy birthday" pencil. miscellaneous school supplies, and a candy bar, and the student gets to wear a "star of the day" ribbon. The teacher's actions primarily support which of the following instructional goals?

Creating a nurturing, inclusive classroom environment that addresses students' emotional needs

34. A middle-school teacher has assigned a field research project in her social studies class. Students have designed a five-item interview on the topic of homework and are supposed to interview two students each. The interview includes two Likert scale questions and open-ended questions. Which of the following technology applications would best enable students to record, synthesize, and analyze their results?

Creating a spreadsheet to quantify the interview results and regroup results according to categories

33. A tenth-grade English teacher recognizes that group work promotes students' ability to expand their perspectives on a topic. However, the students tend to stray off-task and start chatting and eventually do not complete the assigned group task. Which of the following strategies would best promote the teacher's goal to use group work to create a productive learning environment?

Creating a time limit for each component of the group task and using a timer to help students stay on-task

77. It is the beginning of the school year. A fourth-grade teacher has a class that includes several ethnic groups, several students who require special education, and several students categorized as ELL. Additionally, the students' record show that they have a wide socioeconomic range. The teacher wants to promote the students' appreciation and celebration of diversity. Which of the following instructional strategies would primarily address this goal?

Creating heterogeneous groups and using cooperative activities for part of every class period

59. What should be Ms. Trussel's first step in planning the unit?

Developing objectives for the unit

7. A fourth-grade teacher has several beginning level ELL students in his science class. The students rarely speak in class, one communicates using monosyllables in English and by pointing, and another speaks only in Spanish. Which of the following instructional adaptions would best promote the students' proficiency in English?

Doing teacher read-alouds of books on concepts the class is covering and integrating oral language activities that invite the ELL students to participate in class discussion

70. A fifth-grade math teacher has two students who are overly talkative. These two students raise their hands to answer every question and frequently blurt out answers without being called. Which of the following strategies is the best way for the teacher to help these students become more cohesive members of the class community?

During group work, the teacher should ask these students to be observers and recorders for their group's work.

57. Which of the following descriptions accurately explains the impact of the Every Student Succeeds Act (the 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) on public education in Texas?

ESSA requirements are connected to state mandates and goals in an annual plan developed by TEA and submitted to the U.S. Department of Education for approval.

59. A third-grade teacher wants to develop students' motivation to read independently. The teacher creates a list of grade-appropriate books from which students select what they want to read during free reading time. Which of the following additional strategies would most effectively promote the teacher's goal to motivate students to do more independent reading?

Each time a student completes a book, he/she gets to pick a prize out of the class Fun Reading Mystery Box.

44. A ninth-grade language arts teacher changes her essay-grading strategy. She tells students that if they score below a B on the final version of any writing assignment, they can arrange a one-on-one conference with her to come up with an improvement plan and resubmit the improved essay within one week. This strategy primarily illustrates the teacher's understanding of which of the following principles for engaging students in the learning process?

Encouraging self-motivation

19. A sixth-grade class has just completed a reading circles project based on books that each group self-selected with some guidance from the teacher. In preparation for parents' night, the teacher asks students to pick a book from the reading circle projects that they would like to share with their family. On parents' nights, the teacher talks to the parents about trying to start a family reading time, about helping their children keep at-home reading logs, and about reinforcing at-home reading efforts with minor rewards. The teacher's activities address which of the following areas of teaching responsibilities?

Engaging families in their children's educational experiences

46. Although the panel idea was triggered by student engagement in the project, the teacher's willingness to adjust the project to include community participants who happen to be related to the students reflects which of the following instructor roles and responsibilities?

Engaging family members in the educational program

19. Mr. Drake leads the class in a whole-class discussion about pets. Some of the students; others talk about how they would like to have pets but their parents keep saying pets are too much trouble. Mr. Drake asks, "What kinds of things might make pets seem like too much trouble?" This exercise presents what level of questioning?

Evaluation

79. Instead of using traditional spelling lists, Ms. Kresmer introduces memory tricks such as "The moose can't get loose from the noose" to remind students to pay special attention to potential problems such as loose/lose, knew/new, clothes/cloths, accept/except. She has students work in groups to device mnemonic devices for problem pairs, and the groups create illustrated posters displaying the memory trick. Ms. Kresmer's approach to spelling improvement primarily addresses which of the following strategies for implementing effective instruction?

Explaining a concept or skill by providing examples and using age-appropriate learning activities

89. A seventh-grade social studies teacher uses cooperative groups for major class projects. As students work in their groups, the teacher moves from group to group to monitor each group's activities and makes sure students are keeping track of their work time. Monitoring students' cooperative work primarily illustrates which of the following principles of effective class organization?

Facilitating students' cooperative efforts through teacher support and time management

85. A fifth-grade teacher arranges his class sections to include a cooperative work time when students can share each other's homework results and make changes to prior to submitting homework for a grade. The teacher notices that some students work alone even while they are in the group, others are easily distracted by environmental factors such as noises and other groups' conversations, and others work together only for a few minutes and then resort to individual work. Which of the following explanations best accounts for the students' behavior during cooperative work times?

Fifth-grade students vary greatly in physical, social, and cognitive development and need guidance in working effectively in cooperative settings.

16. A fourth-grade teacher has set up of the classroom with several centers that allow students to play simulation games and other video games that are designed to reinforce academic skills. The teacher's use of video games reflects which of the following principles of effective instructional design?

For this grade, video games are considered age-appropriate play that promotes cognitive, social, and motor skills.

80. Ms. Kresmer creates several sample prompts modeled on the state writing exam and she explains the rubric in detail. She assigns the first prompt and has short writing conferences with each student to talk about how their drafts address the descriptors in the rubric and to suggest improvements as they proceed to the final version of the essay. Ms. Kresmer is using which of the the following approaches to feedback?

Formative feedback

38. A second-grade teacher wants to help her students learn to function effectively in groups. Which of the following group activities is most developmentally appropriate for promoting these young students' ability to collaborate with others?

Giving each group a group task to complete and designating a specific task, such as gluing, coloring, cutting, folding, displaying, etc. to each group member

54. What is the main advantage of using hands-on activities to teach a content area in elementary schools?

Hands-on activities can promote higher-order thinking skills and can guide students to construct their knowledge.

47. Ms. Rosas wants to make sure students are prepared to be active participants on the day the panelists visit the class. Which of the following strategies offers the best approach to preparing students to be actively engaged during the panel presentation?

Having a mock panel several days before the real panel to promote students' understanding of active listening and questioning skills

5. A fourth-grade teacher uses whole-class discussions to ask questions about the lesson he just presented. Several students never raise their hands and when he calls on them, they shrug their shoulders or they say, "I don't know". The teacher knows that the students understand the material because their homework, seatwork, and quiz averages are strong. Which of the following strategies would best address the teacher's goal to get the nonresponsive students to participate in whole-class discussions?

Having more group discussions so that these students will not be overwhelmed by speaking in front of the whole class

71. Mr. Grissom has guided his fourth-grade students in learning peer assessment techniques, but he also uses informal observations and conferencing to asses students' work on performance tasks. What other approach would be effective in ensuring he is taking student diversity into account during assessment?

He uses a variety of grouping styles-random selection, ability grouping, and student choice-when students have performance tasks to complete.

30. Based on these samples, what type of knowledge does the test assess?

Higher-level and lower-level thinking

6. A fifth-grade math teacher and a science teacher at an elementary school are planning a celebration of Galileo's birthday. The students will research Galileo discoveries, create posters and other artifacts showcasing the discoveries, and prepare short plays depicting important events in his life. The posters will be displayed throughout the school and the students will present the plays to the students in grades 1 to 4. This project primarily illustrates which of the following types of professional activities?

Horizontal teaming

68. During the in-service week before the beginning of classes, Ms. Palomo wants to become better acquainted with the campus grounds, faculty, curriculum, and available resources. Which of the following optimally addresses her goal?

Identifying a colleague from her subject area who has spent several years at the school talking about the campus community, curricular expectations, and good teaching practices

18. A seventh grade teacher creates interest centers throughout the classroom that include short videos, pamphlets, testimonials, magazine articles, and good websites in a wide variety of careers. After the students have a chance to visit several centers, the teacher pulls the class together into a discussion circle and invited students to talk about which centers interested them most and why. This strategy reflects the teacher's understanding that the students are in which of Erikson's stages of psychosocial development?

Identity versus role confusion

Use the following information to answer questions 78-79

In the first week of school, a middle-school teacher assigns a short writing project aimed at encouraging students to engage in introspective activities. She asks the students to make a list of things they like about themselves. Then, she asks them to write two paragraphs in class: one paragraph describing their personal strengths in the context of classroom behavior and a second paragraph describing their strengths in situations outside the class.

43. A second-grade teacher has several class helper opportunities, such as pencil sharpener, paper collector, board eraser, and workbook distributor. Students take turns volunteering for these positions each week. She also has several free-time centers set up. Students can choose to do extra reading, play with building sets, do art projects, or play video games during the 30-minute play period the teacher schedules each day. The variety of activities and helper choices reflects the teacher's understanding that the children are in which of the following stages of psychosocial development?

Industry versus inferiority

76. During the first week at school, Mr. Finch gives his sixth-grade math students a variety of class activities including independent work, collaborative projects, and problem-solving scenarios. Mr. Finch takes note of each student's strong points. Throughout the week, he calls a few parents each day until he has called all the parents to tell them about their children's progress. By calling the parents to comment on their children's first week progress, Mr. Finch is primarily addressing which of the following means of supporting student learning?

Initiating positive communication with parents early in the year

3. Which of the following delivery methods best describe the teacher's approach in teaching the Native American history and culture unit?

Inquiry and problem solving

55. Which of the following descriptions best explains teachers' cross-curricular responsibilities in helping ELLs meet academic expectations?

Instruction for ELLs must be linguistically accommodated commensurate with the student's current English language proficiency.

52. In selecting the scientists for the videos of important discoveries, the teacher chooses materials that represent men and women from different countries. This strategy primarily addresses which of the following instructional principles?

Instructional materials should reflect diversity and equity.

31. An eleventh-grade teacher plans a thematic unit on the Vietnam War. The unit will be anchored on Tim O'Brien's book "The Things They Carried" but will also include music from the war years, analysis of contemporary news coverage of the war, consideration of attitudes about the war, and a panel of Vietnam veterans from the community. This unit most effectively demonstrates which of the following features of well-constructed thematic approaches?

Integration of different disciplines to enable students to consider a topic from varied perspectives

66. A high school science teacher is starting a unit on local grasses. After a short introductory lecture, he takes students outside to study the different types of grasses and has them write a short paragraph describing their observations. One of the ELL students mainstreamed into his class submits this paragraph: "Is importance to notice the different kinds of grasses because of the sunshine. The thick grass it grew in the shade and also in the sun. Because it tolerates. Very thin grass it grow mostly in the sun. Is so interesting that you could see where the students walk all the times because is not grass there." This passage primarily shows features of which ELPS proficiency level?

Intermediate

54. Ms. Benson, an eleventh-grade teacher notices that Joel has been arriving late each day, is nonparticipatory, and is failing his daily work. Several days a week, the students write in their journals. If they want to share what they have written with Ms. Benson, they put their journals in her inbox. Joel submits an entry in which he writes about how depressed he is because his girlfriend broke up with him. The behavior Ms. Benson has observed fits which of Erikson's stages of psychosocial development?

Intimacy versus isolation

6. On the first day of class, a high school teacher begins the class by asking students to do this activity: Pull your chairs together into groups of four. Take five minutes to introduce each other by completing this sentence, "Hi my name is _; five years from now, I would like to be _". Be ready to introduce one of your group members to the whole class. This activity primarily addresses which of the following instructional goals?

It begins to create a nurturing, inclusive classroom community.

84. Ms. Vidal is starting a geography lesson in her fifth-grade class. She will be teaching several lessons on countries with radically different topographies. To help students remember the landscape features of each of the key countries, she models a graphic organizer that involves drawing a sketch as she presents the lesson. She makes sure each student has several colored pencils or crayons to use in creating his or her geography web. The webbing strategy primarily supports students learning processes in which of the following ways?

It creates scaffolding for students to remember information about each country.

75. Mr. Nelson sets up an experiment in which students examine new substances. Mr. Nelson identifies the objective and procedures and explains the paradigm for completing the required lab report. Mr. Nelson's approach primarily addresses which of the following strategies for promoting student engagement in learning processes?

It enables students to develop a conceptual framework for the work they are about to do.

64. Which of the statements below best explains the basic attributes of the portfolio method of assessment?

It offers students an opportunity to show the range, quality, and breadth of their work.

66. Mr. Smith is considering asking for student input in finalizing class rules. What is the main benefit of allowing students to participate in creating classroom rules?

It promotes a sense of ownership which increases the likelihood that students will comply with the rules they helped create.

88. A high school history teacher introduces a lesson on slavery in America by having students read several Civil War documents presenting slave owners' defense of slavery and abolitionists arguments against slavery. The teacher guides the students in exploring the arguments posed by both sides. This strategy primarily reflects which of the following principles of effective instructional design?

Lessons should be devised so as to prompt students to explore ideas from multiple perspectives.

78. Starting the assignment by asking students to list qualities they like about themselves, the teacher is primarily demonstrating an understanding of which of the following features of effective instructional design?

Logically sequencing the assignment by starting with prewriting and moving to short drafting

24. The K-to-middle school collaboration primarily exemplifies which of the following educator professional responsibilities?

Maintaining cooperative relationships with colleagues to support students' learning

Use the following information to answer questions 21-23

Marcus, a student in Mr. Pruitt's fifth grade class, is having trouble working math word problems independently. Mr. Pruitt uses a variety of learner-centered activities including modeling, group work, mini-lessons, and manipulatives to provide guided practice and to prepare students for independent work on homework.

10. A sixth-grade language arts teacher distributes a list of class rules and procedures on the first day of class. He gives students time to read the rules independently and then talk in groups about the fairness and/or scope of each rule. He makes changes to some of the rules based on students' comments but he leaves most of the rules in their original form. This teacher's approach to managing student behavior reflects which of the following classroom discipline models?

Medium teacher control

Use the following information to answer questions 73-75

Mr. Nelson wants his ninth-grade students to use computer applications to configure chemical equations for a number of substances. The equations require that students enter several elements and conduct mathematical computations on them to derive the results.

58. As the students work in their groups, the teacher mingles with them, sitting on their discussion, listening, reiterating, and encouraging the students. This teacher behavior best demonstrates which of the following principles of effective, responsive instruction?

Modeling effective communication strategies of reflective listening, simplifying and restating

Use the following information to answer questions 2-4

Mr. Banks, an eighth-grade math teacher, uses several techniques to optimize students' abilities to learn important math concepts. For example, he has taught students to adapt lyrics from their favorite songs to remember math formulas. And he schedules monthly field trips to local businesses where the owners talk about how they use math in their day-to-day business affairs.

Use the following information to answer questions 22-23

Mr. Drake has 10 computer stations in the classroom, each set up with several phonics software programs that allow students to create flash cards, practice initial sound recognition, and spell simple words through interactive prompting. Mr. Drake groups the children. making sure the ELL students are with native speakers.

18. Before reading a story to the the students, Mr. Drake tells the students their purpose for reading the story and what they are expected to learn. This strategy primarily supports which of the learning processes?

Mr. Drake is modeling a prereading skill in order to teach it to the young readers.

Use the following information to answer questions 18-21

Mr. Drake, a first-grade teacher, is starting a reading unit on animals. Students read at different levels; additionally, the class includes several beginning level ELLs.

Use the following information to answer questions 65-67

Mr. Smith is a first-year teacher in the process of setting up classroom rules for his eighth-grade class.

Use the following information to answer questions 84-86

Ms. Blanco, a third-grade teacher, wants students to start reading self-selected materials for 15 minutes at home every night.

Use the following information to answer questions 27-29

Ms. Eliot, a tenth-grade science teacher, stops every class lesson five minutes before the bell rings to give her students time to fill out a Daily Learning Log sheet. Ms. Eliot has students write their name and date at the top of an index-card-sized sheet of scratch paper and write a short comment about their "take-away" from the day's class or a question or comment about the class.

Use the following information to answer questions 79-82

Ms. Kresmer is preparing her ninth-grade students for the state mandated writing exam. She has created a unit that will address both the writing process and editing skills.

Use the following information to answer question 62-65

Ms. McRae, a middle-school teacher attends a professional development workshop sponsored by the Regional Education Service Center. The focus of the workshop is training and practice in using Bloom's Taxonomy to plan effective, coherent instruction. As part of the workshop, teachers draft a unit in their discipline, share it with colleagues at the workshop, and get feedback from the presenter. For her unit, Ms. McRae creates on the U.S. presidents. Her overall instructional goal for the unit is to enhance students' understanding of the historical contribution of each president.

Use the following information to answer questions 68-70

Ms. Palomo, a ninth-grade English teacher, has two years teaching experience but is new to her campus. She recently attended a cooperative learning workshop and wants to integrate some of the suggestions to create more interaction and participation in her classroom. She plans a cooperative grouping approach for the upcoming unit on a historical novel.

Use the following information to answer questions 73-75

Ms. Parks's fifth-grade science students are studying sound using interactive videodisc technology. Using computers, appropriate software, and the videodisc resources, each group is to create a lesson on a particular aspect of sound, such as volume or pitch. Each group will then teach the lesson to the rest of the class.

Use the following information to answer questions 42-49

Ms. Rosas, an eighth-grade social studies teacher has designed a three-week unit focusing on local history in Texas communities. In the first week, students will work in groups to explore a historical event in the county in which the school district is located and give the class a preliminary presentation on their findings. In week 2, the class will take a field trip to the county historical museum. Ms. Rosas has asked the museum curator to do a lecture/demonstration om particularly interesting historical events connected to Texas communities. In week 3, all the groups will collaborate to create a single presentation synthesizing the results of their research in a multimedia presentation that will be shown to all the middle-school history classes in a special assembly.

Use the following information to answer questions 59-62

Ms. Trussel is developing a tenth-grade world history unit focused on Virgil's attempt to connect the origins of Rome to the events that followed the destruction of Troy by the Greeks. She wants the unit to be challenging, but she realizes that the students must be able to handle the work. She also knows that this semester, the sophomores will be taking their college entrance exams. Additionally, the curriculum coordinator wants all the teachers to integrate techniques and information from the cooperative learning workshop the school district sponsored for professional development.

Use the following information to answer questions 26-29

Ms. Vidal is starting a lesson on South America in her middle-school social studies class. As an introductory activity, she posts a large map of South America on the wall. Each country is identified by its name and an illustration representing an important geographical, historical, or cultural feature associated with the country. In a whole-class discussion, she answers questions about the countries. She tells students that for the next two weeks, they will be working on group projects researching the main countries because there are not enough class members to form a group for each country. She also explains that at the end of the research period, each group will teach a basic information about their country to the whole class. Then, she puts four labels on the selected countries and has students write their names on the country they want to research.

77. Which of the following methods primarily generates objective data about student achievement in meeting specific content-area learning outcomes?

Multiple-choice exams

40. A third-grade teacher has an "our stories" period once a week. Students bring a special object or toy and tell the whole class about it, explaining why it is so special to them. There are several ELL students in the class. This activity primarily addresses which of the following ELPS for listening and speaking?

Narrating, describing, and explaining

76. Which of the following assessment methods primarily examines students' efforts, progress, and achievements in the context of a specific instructional content area and/or setting?

Observation

74. The videodisc technology enables students to actually observe demonstrations of how sound waves work. Teaching students by allowing them to experience the natural phenomenon of sound waves is developmentally appropriate for Ms. Parks's fifth-graders because these students are likely to be in which of the following stages of cognitive development?

Piaget's concrete operational stage

46. Ms. Berry is a first-year ninth-grade teacher science teacher. Each day, she lectures for almost the entire class to make sure she is covering all the material assigned for the day. She is usually still lecturing when the bell rings, and students linger to ask questions about the assigned homework about the terms and topics she covered in the lecture. A lot of Ms. Berry's students are in Mr. Gordon's English class the next period. One day during lunch, Mr. Gordon complains to Ms. Berry about the number of tardy students coming from her class. Which of the following adjustments will effectively address Ms. Berry's time allocation problem?

Planning daily lessons to include presentation time, application opportunities, questioning and reflection, and closure within the boundaries of the period

68. The weekly quiz average in an eleventh-grade class is just above passing. The teacher has tried several strategies to help students better understand new content: mini-lessons to focus on discrete topics, examples and demonstrations, hands-on work. He wants to motivate the students to try harder, so he offers a five-point bonus if a student's score on each new quiz is higher than on the previous quiz. This strategy primarily addresses which of the following means of engaging students in the learning process?

Positive reinforcement to promote motivation

20. For reading practice, Mr. Drake pairs students at different reading levels: a skilled reader with a lower-level reader. The students read the stories aloud to each other and ask each other questions. This approach reflects which of the following understanding about students' development levels?

Promoting a culture of high expectations by having students of different abilities collaborate on learning tasks

42. On the day Ms. Rosas launches the unit, she has students work in groups to answer these questions: 1. What are some basic facts about our county? 2. What are some anecdotes or historical tales associated with our county? Students are supposed to complete question 1 doing computer research in class but are supposed to do community field work to find answers to question 2. This introductory assignment primarily demonstrates which of the following strategies for promoting student learning?

Promoting development of students' research skills

83. A high school science teacher shows students a clip from the film "Apollo 13" showing the cinematic astronauts creating a new carbon monoxide filter out of materials available on their spacecraft. She writes the words: collaboration, creativity, innovation, and resourcefulness on the board. She has students brainstorm in groups about personal experiences they have had in finding solutions to challenging problems. This activity focuses on which of the following elements of effective, responsive instruction?

Promoting higher-order thinking by guiding students toward exploration and inquiry

32. A high school history teacher has assigned an essay as the culminating assignment in a unit on the industrial revolution in America. He has created a rubric for scoring the essay, but he goes over it during the students' writing workshop days, explaining the performance-level descriptors. The teacher's discussion of the rubric primarily addresses which of the following assessment goals?

Promoting students' ability to self-assess so as to enhance the quality of their final product

81. The teacher schedules several days at the library for students to look up information about their selected animal and also arranges for a computer lab session so students can find information online. These instructional strategies primarily address which of the following means of promoting student learning?

Promoting students' research skills through developmentally appropriate learning tasks

45. A middle-school science class of 25 includes 10 beginning to intermediate-level ELL students. Which of the following instructional strategies best supports the ELL students' language needs as they acquire new content knowledge?

Providing a class library of illustrated books at various reading levels to present science concepts at language and cognitive levels accessible to the ELL students

82. The teacher makes large research cards of several unusual animals that she knows have not been chosen by any of the students. She posts these on the display area where the students will eventually post their cards. This teaching strategy primarily addresses which of the following principles of effective, responsive instruction?

Providing examples so as to effectively communicate expectations to students

45. Quite a few students have older family members who have first-hand stories of the county's history. When the students make their initial presentations, Ms. Rosas decides to integrate another activity into the county history unit: working with students, she puts together a panel of family members who can talk about important county events. In creating the panel on the basis of student response to the project, Ms. Rosas primarily exemplifies which of the following principles of effective, responsive instruction?

Recognition of an unanticipated learning opportunity

70. Ms. Palomo asks a social studies teacher to demonstrate how students can prepare a timeline of historical facts by analyzing the events in the novel. In addition, she asks the librarian to speak to the class about books and other resources that will help the students connect historical events to narrative. Ms. Palomo's reliance on these speakers primarily reflects which of the following professional responsibilities?

Relying on professional colleagues' expertise and experience to support student learning

80. Ms. Ricci is an eleventh-grade science teacher at a campus located in a city that also houses a large regional university. She knows several of the professors from the university college of science and invites them to her class to lecture about some of the topics that she has covered in class. This activity primarily illustrates which of the following understandings about creating effective educational experiences for students?

Relying on resources outside the school to address specific educational purposes

32. Ms. Davis is about to start a research project in her tenth-grade language arts class. She decided to work closely with students to identify topics that they are interested in exploring instead of assigning a teacher selected topic. Ms. Davis's approach to the research project primarily reflects which of the following strategies for implementing effective, responsive instruction?

Relying on students' prior knowledge and experience to devise a relevant, meaningful research project

63. Ms. McRae's unit includes a few lessons modeled on a strategy she saw demonstrated at another workshop: teaching the students a rap-like song with a few lines about each president. To assess her students' knowledge of the roster of U.S. presidents, she plans a simple quiz in which students list all the presidents. The quiz addresses which of the following Bloom's Taxonomy levels?

Remembering

56. Which of the following terms is used to describe an assessment tool that provides performance level categories and descriptors for ranges of performance in each category?

Rubric

65. Which of the guidelines below if the first consideration he needs to take into account in developing classroom rules?

Rules must be consistent with district and campus rules.

67. A fourth-grade social studies teacher is starting a geographies of the world unit. ELLs make up about one third of the class. To ensure that the ELLs understand concepts such as terrain, canyon, plateau, isthmus, gulf and many other terms included in the unit, the teacher posts photographs and illustrations around the room. Additionally, he uses manipulatives to explain and illustrate some of the concepts, like peaks and valleys. The teacher's strategies primarily illustrate which of the following recommended practices for working with ELLs?

Scaffolding

60. Scaffolding is considered a best practice in working with ELLs. Which of the following descriptions best explains how scaffolding promotes learning?

Scaffolding offers support, for example, through visuals, realia, simplified instructions and examples, to provide the guidance learners need to move toward independence.

84. Which of the following actions will most effectively enlist parents' help in meeting this goal?

Sending home a reading log for students to fill in every night and parents to initial

14. A ninth-grade teacher have several special education students in her English class. The students participate fully in all activities, but they have trouble keeping up with the pace of class activities. Which of the following adjustments would most appropriately address the special education students' instructional needs?

Sequencing the class

39. A middle-school social studies teacher is presenting a unit on civil rights issues in the 1960s. After she presents several lectures and demonstrations on key civil rights events in that period, she wants to integrate technology to encourage students to explore their understanding and perceptions of the issues in a collaborative format. Which of the following applications would most effectively address the teacher's goal?

Setting up a class discussion board where students are allowed to create threads.

82. Philip, a student in Ms. Kresmer's class, receives services from a resource teacher for a learning disability that affects his reading and writing. Which of the following is the most appropriate action that Ms. Kresmer could take to prepare Philip for the state writing exam?

She could work with the resource teacher to determine if Philip qualifies for taking a modified version of the exam.

62. How can Ms. Trussel most effectively keep gifted students challenged throughout the unit?

She invites the gifted students to suggest additional aspects of the unit that they want to pursue.

61. Which of the following is an indication that Trussel is aware of the environmental factors that may affect learning?

She is aware that her students will take their first college entrance exams this semester.

60. Ms. Trussel's understanding of students' developmental processes and characteristics is illustrated by which aspect of her planning?

She realizes that challenges promote higher levels of achievement but also acknowledges that a positive learning environment is sustained through expectations of success.

74. To help his students learn to acquire information electronically, Mr. Nelson demonstrates how to use several chemistry-specific software programs and how to use science-related websites. Which of the following actions should Mr. Nelson take to ensure students are able to evaluate digitally retrieved information sources?

Show students how to determine the validity of a website by checking the credentials of the sponsor and/or creator.

24. A high school biology teacher has completed an introductory lesson addressing how environmental change can impact ecosystem stability. He has students read the chapter in the textbook and presents a PowerPoint lesson connecting real-world examples to the information in the textbook. He wants to conclude this lesson with a class activity that allows students to demonstrate their ability to apply the terms and concepts he introduced. Which of the following activities primarily focuses on application of new knowledge?

Students are given scenarios from real-world ecological environments. Working in groups, students connect terms and concepts from the lesson to details in the scenario.

63. Which of the following explanations most effectively identifies the prime benefit students derive from cooperative learning activities?

Students assume responsibility for the learning process and work together under reduced teacher directedness.

51. The centers created by this teacher demonstrate which of the following understanding about factors and processes that impact student learning?

Students have different approaches to learning (tactile, visual, auditory, kinesthetic)

25. Pairing middle-school struggling readers with emergent readers will primarily promote both sets of students' engagement with reading in which of the following ways?

Students will recognize that reading is a social activity that involves interaction between the reader and the text and among readers as they respond to the text.

67. When Mr. Smith assigns the first cooperative project, the issue of the rules comes up again. After monitoring students' first cooperative work session, he realizes the students need guidance in learning how to work together productively. Which of the following guidelines for group work should be the foundational principle for developing collaborative skills and individual responsibility in group work?

Support each other during the project and make sure all contribute meaningfully to the group effort.

36. Which of the following descriptions best explains the significance of TEKS in determining instructional goals and objectives?

TEKS are state standards for what students should know and be able to do.

37. Teacher appraisal in Texas is mandated by which of the following?

Texas Education Code

72. A class of first-graders is writing stories based on the format of mentor texts that the teacher has been reading orally and discussing during whole class and small group sessions. The students are completing their story projects in a computer lab using a special software package that allows integration of graphics and animation. Which of the following considerations should be the teacher's primary criterion in designing an evaluation rubric for this project?

The Technology Application TEKS for this grade level

17. A third-grade class includes a large number of ELL students, many of whom are reading significantly below grade level. The teacher is compiling a class library to use during sustained silent-reading and free-reading times. Additionally, she wants to ensure that the books support ELL students content-area knowledge as well as basic English proficiency. Which of the following considerations should the teacher keep in mind in selecting books for the library?

The books should have reading levels that match the ranges of student reading levels in the classroom.

49. Which of the following features of word-processing software primarily supports effective application of the writing process?

The cut-and-paste function

Use the following information to answer questions 24-26

The reading teachers at a middle-school campus meet to discuss ways to promote struggling readers' progress toward higher reading levels. At the next district-wide professional development day, the reading teachers bring up the problem during a whole-group Q and A. The middle-school teachers talk about their students' reading resistance and reluctance. A kindergarten teacher says, "Maybe your sixth-graders could come and read story books to our emergent readers". The K and middle-school teachers work with the district curriculum director to iron out details.

40. Which of the following descriptions offers the best explanation of the primary intent of the state assessment system used in Texas public school education?

The state assessment system provides accountability and promotes instruction that enables students to meet curricular standards at tested grade levels and subject areas.

2. After all the groups present their questions, the teacher compiles a master list of all the questions. Which of the following strategies is most likely to promote students' motivation as they work on the project?

The teacher allows each group to select questions they want to explore.

10. A high school biology teacher assigns a collaborative research project; students will be working in groups of five to integrate their research into a poster presentation. Which of the following teaching strategies would most effectively promote active, productive engagement by all members of each group?

The teacher breaks up the assignment into sequenced steps and clearly explains individual and group expectations for effective completion of each step.

2. Using lyrics of songs familiar to students for remembering academic concepts best represents which of the following instructional strategies?

The teacher is drawing on students' prior knowledge to make learning meaningfully.

11. A high school algebra teacher wants to develop his students' abilities to complete proofs effectively. Which of the following instructional strategies would most effectively target students' abilities to self-assess their work?

The teacher creates a checklist that reminds students of basic procedures in completing algebra proofs effectively.

36. A tenth-grade science teacher lectures almost every day and wraps up the class with a few questions on the key points of the lesson. The students rarely are able to answer the questions. Which of the following adjustments to his delivery method would most effectively engage his students in exploring the content of each class lesson?

The teacher divides the lecture into mini-lessons of no more than 10 minutes each and does a think-pair-share at the end of each mini-lesson.

25. A high school teacher has a language arts class that includes 25 percent ELL students and 75 percent native speakers. Although the ELL students are at the intermediate and advanced levels, they do not readily participate in class discussions. Which of the following adaptions could the teacher make to most effectively help the ELLs meet ELPS expectations for listening and speaking?

The teacher does several round-ribbon activities in a fishbowl format, making sure every student in class is in the fishbowl at least once.

33. Which of the following instructional strategies is most development appropriate for helping students learn the features of each figure?

The teacher has students make construction-paper models of the figures.

16. A sixth-grade teacher is planning a unit on water and related concepts of conservation, ecology, and human needs. The teacher wants to stimulate reflection, critical thinking, and inquiry among the students. Which of the following initial learning activities would most effectively engage students in instructional goals?

The teacher has students work in groups to a create a diary of water-related events that impact them in a single day and rate each event as (1) essential, (2) important, or (3) unnecessary.

88. A high school teacher is hosting an end-of-the-year celebration at his home to honor the graduating seniors in his class. During the party, the teacher realizes that many of the parents are allowing their children to drink alcohol beverages. Which of the following statements stipulates the teacher's professional responsibilities in this situation according to the Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators?

The teacher has the legal responsibility to refrain from furnishing alcohol to a minor who is not his or her child.

48. Prior to the visit to the county historical museum, Ms. Rosas meets with the curator to share copies of the students' presentations and to summarize the stories the panelists told. A few days before the field trip, Ms. Rosas explains what a museum curator does and tells the students that the curator will have information that they did not uncover during their research. Which of the following instructional strategies will most effectively prepare the students to be active participants during the curator's talk?

The teacher has the students work in groups to create questions they want to ask the curator.

51. A third-grade teacher is having his students study missions in Texas. Working in groups at the computer stations in the classroom, they are supposed to produce a multimedia presentation that incorporates visuals and text using the software available on the school computers. The teacher distributes a rubric that includes categories for research effort, writing quality, visual creativity, and general presentation. Each category has boxes that can be checked. Which additional teacher action would most effectively provide formative assessment as students work on their projects?

The teacher helps each group determine which areas of the rubric they need to address.

50. A middle-school social studies teacher has several ELL students in the class. He wants to promote the ELL students' understanding of social studies content-area vocabulary. Which of the following instructional strategies provides focused instruction to promote ELLs' acquisition of content-area vocabulary?

The teacher identifies a focal concept in the next reading assignment and models how to create a semantic map.

78. A sixth-grade teacher plans a career awareness unit. She sends invitations to all the parents to volunteer to come and talk to the class about their careers and/or work and to answer student questions. Ten parents volunteer and the teacher schedules two to four parents over several days of the unit. Which of the following explanations primarily addresses the way this activity reflects the teacher's professional activities?

The teacher is actively engaging families in the children's educational experiences.

41. A second-grade teacher likes to work one-on-one with students as they do independent reading and other seat work. She purchases a small plastic child's chair, and each time she works with a student, she places her chair next to the student's desk so that she can sit at the child's level. The strategy primarily addresses which of the following principles for creating a positive classroom environment?

The teacher is creating a nurturing environment.

15. A second-grade teacher hangs a large analog clock at the back of the room. Early in the semester, the teacher sets a timer for one minute and has students watch the clock as the minute ticks away. She wants students to "feel" how long one minute lasts. Now, when she gives students short class work, she tacks a large cardboard number next to the class to display the number of minutes they have to complete the task, sets the timer, and reminds students to look at the clock every once in a while as they work. Which of the following statements best explains the teacher's rationale for these actions?

The teacher is modeling and monitoring the students' time-management skills.

1. A seventh-grade history teacher dresses up as a relevant historical figure each time he introduces a new unit and offers an account of historical events from the perspective of the persona of the historical character. This strategy primarily reflects which of the following aspects of creating a positive, productive classroom environment?

The teacher is presenting instruction in a way that communicates the teacher's enthusiasm for learning.

8. Which of the following scenarios correctly describes a teacher's responsibility in integrating a special education student into a mainstream classroom?

The teacher is responsible for meeting the instructional requirements specified in the student's IEP.

37. A middle-school social studies teacher has the classroom arranged with his desk at the back of the room. When he presents class material, he walks around as he lectures, sometimes stopping at a student's desk to ask a question. The teacher's delivery method primarily illustrates which of the following features of a productive classroom climate?

The teacher is using the physical space of the classroom to facilitate learning.

12. Which of the following scenarios best represents an individual teacher's responsibilities in adhering to procedures for administering state-mandated exams?

The teacher needs to follow all rules and regulations prior to the exam date, such as administering benchmarks, going over practice materials, and preparing the classroom areas as designated by state and district policies.

12. When students do not respond to a question during whole-class discussions, which of the following actions would enable the teacher to sustain an effective, responsive instructional environment?

The teacher rephrases the question.

38. A sixth-grade physical education teacher has attended several training sessions designed to help teachers spot signs of child abuse. The teacher suspects that one of her students may be a victim of child abuse. Which of the following options explains the action the teacher is requires to take?

The teacher should contact the Texas Child Abuse Hotline.

43. Following their field research, each group will prepare and present a five-minute slide show reporting what they discovered. Which of the following guidelines should Ms. Rosas use to effectively guide students in using technology to produce a slide show that communicates the required information effectively?

The teacher should explain and demonstrate how to use text, visuals, and layout to communicate information in an interesting, audience-oriented manner.

21. Although Marcus participates actively and successfully in class, he routinely turns in incomplete homework. Which of the following actions should the teacher take to support Marcus's learning?

The teacher should request a parent conference to discuss ways the parents can help Marcus develop independent study habits at home.

23. As a culminating activity, Mr. Drake assigns a poster project to be done on a sheet of construction paper. Students pick a favorite animal from the phonics program, draw a picture of it, and write 10 words that describe the animal. Students will present their posters to the whole class. Most of the ELL students will tell Mr. Drake that they do no know how to say their descriptive words in English. Which of the following adjustments would best represent a linguistic accommodation for the ELL students?

The teacher shows the ELL students how to translate the words using a program on the computer.

17. A sixth-grade teacher is conducting a parent conference about Danny's math performance. The teacher comments that Danny could be doing much better than he is. The parents want to know how he stands in comparison to the other students in class and want to see his grades in the context of the other students' grades. Which of the following actions is the most appropriate response to the parents' request?

The teacher shows the parents several of Danny's exams, pointing to areas where he made careless mistakes that resulted in incorrect responses.

47. Mr. Juarez is a first-year fourth-grade teacher. When the bell rings for lunch on the first few days of class, the students rush to the door and run out into the hallway. Mr. Juarez has posters all over the classroom stating class procedures, including "No running, pushing, or shoving". Which of the following actions is likely to promote appropriate behavior for exiting the room?

The teacher stops his pre-lunch lesson a couple of minutes early, locks the classroom door, and has students stand up one row at a time, calmly exit the row, and quietly line up against the wall to wait for the lunch bell.

85. Mindy is one of the children in the class. Mindy's mother drops in during Ms. Blanco's conference period to explain that she is too busy to keep track of Mindy's at-home reading. Which of the following responses most effectively addresses the parent's concern?

The teacher suggests that the parent buy an inexpensive time and show the child how to monitor her at-home reading time.

9. While shopping at the grocery store, a fifth-grade teacher runs into one of his students' parents. The parent brings up a playground incident in which her son, Adrian, was sent to detention but the other boy received no disciplinary action. The mother tells the teacher that this is unfair and asks the teacher to do something about it. The tells the parent that he was not present at the incident and does not know the specifics. Which of the following actions would best address the teacher's professional responsibilities while responding to the parent's concerns?

The teacher suggests that the parent contact the school principal to get clarification on the incident.

29. The students decide they want their parents to attend the presentations. Several students say that they do not think their parents will want to attend. The teacher suggests that students write individual invitations for their families, illustrating the card or letter with images of their country. The students do not think that will be enough to bring in all the parents. Which of the following strategies would be most appropriate for more fully engaging families in the students' projects?

The teacher suggests that the students expand the presentation to include a sample food from their country and ask their parents to help prepare it.

53. In a second-grade class, which of the following measures would most effectively convey expectations for behavior and procedures for walking down school hallways?

The teacher tells in clear, simple terms what is expected, models the desired behavior, and gives the students the opportunity to practice the behavior.

14. In working with mainstream ELL students, which of the following strategies would enable a third-grade teacher to adapt lessons to promote higher levels of English proficiency as described by ELPS?

The teacher uses formal and informal assessments to determine ELL students' competency based on their performance and to adjust to meet students' instructional needs.

9. Teachers at a middle school have received the results of the previous year's mandated exam. The teachers discuss the results and set a goal to reach 75 percent satisfactory ratings on this year's exams. Which of the following initial strategies will most effectively enable teachers to use the results of mandated exams to improve instruction?

The teachers create pretests based on sample exams and released exams to identify the students' strengths and weaknesses in understanding the TEKS readiness and supporting standards addressed by the state exams.

41. A classroom with desks arranged in rows and the teacher's desk at the front is the typical configuration of classroom space. Frequently, however, teachers rearrange the rows into clusters of desks where students face each other. The configuration of classroom space is primarily intended to impact classroom climate in which of the following ways:

To create a classroom space that emphasizes collaboration and facilitates opportunities for learning in a variety of delivery contexts

4. The teacher gives the students the following guidelines about preparing the final presentation of their Native American history and culture research: The projects should be multimedia projects incorporating visuals, appropriate music, and text. Group members should work cooperatively to make sure each individual contributes meaningfully and equitably to the team product. I will work with each group to help you assign production tasks to each member. We will have two days in the computer lab to produce your projects once you compile your research. This culminating activity primarily addresses which of the following instructional goals?

To integrate technology to help students synthesize knowledge and publish the results of their research

20. A teacher creates a World Holidays and Celebrations Calendar in her third-grade class. Each month, she picks one holiday, and the children prepare decorations, learn songs, read stories, and learn the history of the cultural or national significance of the holiday. This activity primarily addresses which of the following instructional goals?

To promote students' appreciation of cultural and national diversity

90. Which of the following explanations most effectively addresses the benefits of using a computer program to keep up with grading?

Using a computer grading record program reduces time spent on noninstructional duties and maximizes time spent directly with students

87. Teachers can use a variety of grouping strategies. They can place students in groups based on ability, or they can create heterogenous groups that reflect a range of abilities. Students can be allowed to self-select groups. Teachers can pair students or they can create groups of four and five members. Flexibility in grouping strategies primarily reflects which of the following aspects of a positive, productive class environment?

Using a variety of grouping systems allows students to develop cooperative work strategies that reflect their individual abilities.

57. By dividing the class into heterogenous groups after the whole-class discussion, the teacher is primarily implementing which of the following means of promoting student engagement?

Using a variety of instructional strategies to actively involve students in learning

22. Mr. Drake has the students work together on phonics using a program that focuses on the animal kingdom. This assignment primarily addresses which of the following means of implementing effective instruction?

Using developmentally appropriate technology applications to support instructional goals

62. This workshop primarily meets which of the following teacher roles and responsibilities?

Using professional development resources to enhance pedagogical skills

3. Taking students on field trips and having business people talk to the students about math applications primarily reflects which of the following strategies for enhancing student learning and engagement?

Using resources outside the school to help students relate course content to real-world situations.

23. Mr. Pruitt recognizes the problems with Marcus as an opportunity to clarify expectations about the role of homework in overall class achievement. Mr. Pruitt plans a whole-class and small-group discussion starting with open-ended questions about what homework is for and moving into student-generated questions and answers about how teachers can make homework a better learning experience. This activity primarily targets which of the following principles of responsive instruction?

Using skilled questioning and class discussion strategies to promote inquiry

90. A fourth-grade school teacher starts a class wiki. She has students keep notes throughout the week on things they want to share with their parents about what is happening in class. During free-time sessions, students can work on the class wiki, and she sets aside 30 minutes every Thursday afternoon for students to finalize their contributions for the week. On Friday morning, she has printed copies available for students to take home if their parents are unable to access the wiki electronically. This initiative primarily addresses which of the following educator responsibilities?

Using technology to interact effectively with families

28. Through her membership in the National Council for the Social Studies, Ms. Vidal is able to connect with several teachers throughout the country who are doing similar projects. She arranges a video conference with one of these teachers. The teachers will give students a chance to exchange ideas and set up and set up online communication opportunities. This activity primarily enhances student learning in which of the following ways?

Using technology to synthesize knowledge, share information, and participate electronically in a learning community.

29. Ms. Eliot wants to integrate authentic assessment into her Daily Learning Log activity and to offer timely feedback. Which of the following uses of the Daily Learning Log responses would best enable the teacher to meet her instructional goal?

Using the students' comments to respond flexibly and adjust instruction to promote students' understanding of class content

22. A few weeks later, while the class is working in groups on a challenging word problem, Mr. Pruitt is reviewing homework from the previous night. When he checks Marcus's homework, Mr. Pruitt marks all the problems as complete and correct. He says, "Marcus, eyes up, please", and he smiles and gives Marcus two thumbs up. The teacher's response to Marcus's homework primarily demonstrates which of the following strategies for promoting student learning?

Using verbal and nonverbal interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with students about class goals

13. A fifth-grade elementary school teacher arranges to have her students take a field trip to the middle school that they will be channeled into the following year. Her students will be divided into groups of five and will visit language arts, social studies, math, science, and computer classes throughout the day. Each teacher will include a short talk about middle-school expectations. This initiative is an example of which of the following professional interactions?

Vertical teaming

87. Which of the following explanations best addresses the instructional principle behind wait time?

Wait time allows students time to construct a response appropriate to the cognitive level of questions posed by the teacher.

11. Which of the following explanations best expresses the motivation for informing parents of class rules, procedures, and key educational goals early in the school year?

When parents are actively involved in their children's education, students have positive attitudes toward school and generally have higher levels of achievement.

73. Having students teach a lesson to the rest of the class primarily addresses which of the strategies for promoting student learning?

When students prepare a lesson to teach peers, students are highly motivated to learn the subject matter involved.

42. Which of the following terms is used to describe a collaborative tool that allows students to contribute and modify content on a web-based class document?

Wiki

61. It is the beginning of the school year, and a fifth-grade teacher wants to establish productive communication with families. Which of the following contact efforts would most effectively initiate effective communication with parents and other caregivers?

Writing a letter in which the teacher introduces herself, says a bit about her background, tells parents basic classroom expectations, and invites parents to visit the classroom

50. A second-grade teacher maintains a chart entitled, Trying All the Time. Each time a student attempts something new or risky-like trying to pronounce a difficult new word during read-alouds or volunteering to solve a math problem on the board-the student gets to put a red star on his or her row on the chart. This strategy primarily demonstrates the teacher's awareness of the students' developmental needs and characteristics by...

creating a culture of high expectations in a developmentally appropriate context.

79. By asking the students to think about their own characteristics, the teacher is supporting the students' cognitive development by promoting their ability to...

develop positive self-esteem by identifying their assets and skills.

69. Ms. Benitez, a second-grade teacher, includes a 15-minute play period period several times throughout the school day. Children can play cooperatively or they can play alone. This strategy is appropriate for this age level because children at this age...

develop social, cognitive, and motor skills through play.

53. As the students work in science centers, the teacher moves from group to group asking questions and commenting on each student's progress. This procedure indicates that the teacher most likely views her role during center activities as...

facilitator

26. The grouping strategy used by Ms. Vidal is known as...

self-selected grouping.

73. For this particular assignment, the most task-appropriate technology tool is...

spreadsheets.

15. A ninth-grade teacher whose ELL students are not meeting satisfactory standards on the campus benchmarks is concerned that these low achievement levels will have a negative impact on the students' persistence in developing higher levels of English proficiency. The teacher's concern demonstrates awareness of...

the connection between the belief that success is possible and the motivation to learn.

13. In Texas, students are designated Limited English Proficient (English Language Learner) if...

the mandatory home language survey shows that a language other than English is spoken at home.

49. The culminating multimedia presentation that will be shown to all the social studies classes primarily address technology TEKS by...

using a variety of technology applications to create and present a collaborative work that integrates student effort and community contribution.

28. At the beginning of each class, Ms. Eliot takes about five minutes to respond to comments and questions from the previous day's Daily Learning Log sheets, inviting students to comment more fully on what they wrote and to assure students that she reads the logs each day. By integrating this daily activity into each lesson, the teacher is...

using interpersonal communication skills to support students' individual and collective response to each lesson.