Question 59

Asking students to respond to open-ended questions about characters and events in a teacher-read story is best for achieving the teacher's goal of increasing students' receptive vocabulary.

This activity effectively engages students in a deeper understanding of the text, encouraging them to use and comprehend more complex vocabulary as they articulate their thoughts and interpretations.

A) Showing students how to expand a one-word response to a question into a sentence that expresses a complete thought

While this approach promotes sentence structure and expression, it primarily focuses on production rather than comprehension. Expanding one-word responses does not directly enhance students' receptive vocabulary, which is more about understanding words in context.

B) Encouraging students to point to labeled pictures on a page in a book while listening to a teacher read-aloud

This strategy helps with word recognition but is limited in its effectiveness for developing receptive vocabulary. It relies heavily on visual aids and does not foster the ability to understand and process vocabulary within richer narrative contexts.

C) Asking students to respond to open-ended questions about characters and events in a teacher-read story

This method actively engages students in critical thinking and allows them to explore and articulate their understanding of vocabulary in context. It supports the development of receptive vocabulary as students listen, comprehend, and formulate responses based on the story.

D) Providing multiple opportunities for students to speak in class after they rehearse what they want to say in small groups

This option focuses on verbal expression and confidence in speaking but does not specifically target the enhancement of receptive vocabulary. While it may aid in expressive language skills, it does not prioritize the understanding of new words and their meanings.

Conclusion

The chosen answer, C, is the most effective for increasing students' receptive vocabulary as it encourages comprehension and thoughtful engagement with the text. The other options, while beneficial in different aspects of language development, do not specifically address the goal of enhancing students' understanding of vocabulary in context.