1. A fourth-grade student is struggling to comprehend a reading assignment because of the unfamiliar word "overdue" in the text. When helping the student to decode and determine the meaning of the word, the teacher should primarily focus on which of the following?
A. Providing instruction on guide words so that the student can use the dictionary to find the meaning of the unknown word
B. Guiding the student to look for known word parts or syllables within the target word and teaching the meaning by modeling how to check against context Correct
C. Pointing out context clues in the text and connecting those clues to determine the meaning
D. Asking the student to guess what the word means and then write down that meaning
Explanation
Fourth graders need strategies they can use independently while reading. Breaking 'overdue' into 'over' (meaning past or too much) and 'due' (meaning expected or owed) uses familiar word parts they likely know, and then checking if 'past the due date' fits the sentence context (like a library book) confirms the meaning quickly and accurately. This combines structural analysis with context, building long-term word-solving skills. Dictionary guide words are helpful but secondary and interrupt reading flow more. Context clues alone may work for some words but miss teaching word structure that applies widely. Guessing without guidance often leads to incorrect meanings that hurt comprehension and doesn't teach a strategy.
2. A kindergarten teacher pairs students to play a game. Each student in the pair draws a colorful foam 3D letter from a bowl without looking. The students examine their letters and compare them to the letters on a large alphabet arc. Students then place the foam letter on the corresponding letter in the arc and say the sound or name of the letter. Which THREE of the following are the primary reasons for engaging kindergartners in the activity?
A. To encourage cooperative learning among peers
B. To provide an engaging multisensory activity Correct
C. To assess the automatic recognition of morphemes
D. To learn how sounds combine to make words
E. To rapidly recognize the names of the alphabet letters
Explanation
This activity has students work in pairs (cooperative learning), use touchable 3D colorful foam letters (multisensory: visual, tactile, auditory when saying name/sound), and quickly match and name/sound the letter on an arc (rapid automatic recognition of letter names/sounds). These are foundational kindergarten goals. Morpheme recognition is far too advanced. Blending sounds into words comes after letter-sound mastery, not here.
3. Which of the following activities will best support kindergarten students in identifying letter names and sounds?
A. Matching lowercase letter cards with the corresponding uppercase letter cards
B. Identifying the letter magnet that matches the phoneme a teacher says out loud Correct
C. Having students point to an object in the room and say its name without the first phoneme
D. Asking students to say each phoneme in a word while moving a counter up into an Elkonin box
Explanation
The most direct way to teach letter-sound correspondence is teacher says a sound (/m/), student finds and identifies the matching letter (m magnet). This practices sound-to-letter linking, essential for early reading. Upper/lowercase matching builds letter form knowledge but not sounds. Phoneme deletion and Elkonin boxes teach manipulation/segmentation, which build on basic sound-letter knowledge but are not the best for initial identification.
4. Which of the following activities is best for a teacher to use to demonstrate the concept of phoneme deletion?
A. Using magnetic letters to spell words on a magnetic board
B. Using picture cards to isolate individual sounds in a word
C. Having students repeat phonemes in the order in which they appear within a word
D. Having students listen to a word and then say the word that results when a specific phoneme is taken away Correct
Explanation
Phoneme deletion is removing one sound from a spoken word and saying the new word (e.g., 'stop' without /s/ = 'top'). The activity where students listen, remove a specified phoneme, and produce the result directly demonstrates and practices this manipulation skill. Magnetic letters and picture cards help with building/isolating but not deletion. Repeating phonemes practices sequencing, not removal.
5. A fifth-grade teacher works with several English learners (ELs) in class to examine figurative language found in a novel the entire class is reading. Which of the following methods best helps ELs understand figurative language in a text?
A. Drawing pictures that portray literal meanings and discussing intended meanings Correct
B. Using reference material to look up potential meanings of phrases encountered in the text
C. Engaging in close listening while hearing the phrases read aloud to form a mental picture
D. Examining examples of phrases in the students’ first languages and translating them into English
Explanation
Figurative language (like idioms or metaphors) often confuses ELs because literal translation fails. Drawing the literal meaning (rain cats and dogs = actual cats/dogs falling) then discussing the real meaning (heavy rain) creates a clear visual contrast that highlights non-literal intent. This concrete visual support helps ELs bridge literal to figurative understanding. Looking up in references can help but lacks the contrast. Close listening/mental pictures may aid imagery but not the literal-figurative gap. First-language examples are useful if available but not always possible or direct.