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Section 4: Sample Selected-Response Questions
Core Subjects EC–6 Subject Exam I—English Language Arts and Reading & the Science of Teaching Reading (801)

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This section presents some sample exam questions for you to review as part of your preparation for this Subject Exam. To demonstrate how each competency may be assessed, sample questions are accompanied by the competency that they measure. While studying, you may wish to read the competency before and after you consider each sample question. Please note that the competency statements do not appear on the actual exam.

For each sample exam question, there is a correct answer and a rationale for each answer option. The sample questions are included to illustrate the formats and types of questions you will see on the Subject Exam; however, your performance on the sample questions should not be viewed as a predictor of your performance on the actual exam.

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Subject Exam I Sample Questions

Competency 001—(Oral Language): The teacher understands the importance of oral language, knows the developmental processes of oral language and provides the students with varied opportunities to develop listening and speaking skills.

1. A teacher notices that some students in the class have trouble interacting with peers during group assignments. Which of the following will best help students learn more appropriate oral language skills to use in group interactions?

  1. Assigning students to play a game in groups and then using a rubric to evaluate their interactions
  2. Rehearsing positive group collaboration by using a script and having students analyze productive conversations
  3. Requiring students to practice effective social interactions with their parents and siblings at home
  4. Videotaping a group while the members work together and allowing the class to view the video and then make suggestions for improving communication
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option B is correct because giving students a script provides them with a model of appropriate interaction that they can imitate and recall during future group assignments. Option A is incorrect because students are not being shown how to appropriately behave or talk to one another first. Option C is incorrect because people behave differently with their family members than they would in a professional or school setting. This is unlikely to help students interact with peers. Option D is incorrect because it singles out certain students and creates a potentially embarrassing situation.

2. A fourth-grade teacher notices several students who are shy and reluctant to speak in class. What strategy would be most effective in motivating students' participation in class while enhancing their listening and speaking skills?

  1. Allowing students regular opportunities to read aloud in front of the class
  2. Giving students opportunities to share and listen to stories in a small-group setting
  3. Encouraging students to orally respond to higher-level thinking questions during class
  4. Permitting students to choose which groups of students they feel comfortable speaking to
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option B is correct because telling personal stories, listening to others' stories, and providing feedback and questions help build students' linguistic fluency, meaningful oral expression, confidence, receptive language skills, and listening comprehension skills. In addition, being in a small-group setting will put the students more at ease. Option A is incorrect because some students may feel frustrated or embarrassed about their limited speaking and reading abilities and will be too intimidated to participate. Option C is incorrect because some students may fear being ridiculed by others because of their limited speaking abilities or incorrect responses to questioning. Option D is incorrect because students should experience speaking in front of others who are not necessarily part of their preferred peer groups.

Competency 002—(Phonological and Phonemic Awareness): The teacher understands phonological and phonemic awareness and employs a variety of approaches to help students develop phonological and phonemic awareness.

3. Most students in a kindergarten class can identify two words that rhyme. Which of the following phonemic skills is most appropriate for the teacher to address next?

  1. Naming the beginning sounds in words
  2. Blending the initial consonant sounds in words
  3. Pronouncing all the sounds in words with two or three phonemes
  4. Blending the final consonant sounds in words
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option A is correct because this is the next phase in phonemic awareness development. Option B is incorrect because students need to master single phonemes before they can master blends. Option C is incorrect because students must first be able to identify beginning sounds in words before they can isolate and identify all the sounds in words. Option D is incorrect because as described in the rationale for option C, students need to master single phonemes first.

4. A first-grade teacher has several students who lack phonological and phonemic awareness skills. To best provide opportunities for the students to develop the skills at home, the teacher should assign homework that includes which of the following activities?

  1. Writing the alphabet on notebook paper
  2. Listening to stories on tape or on a home computer
  3. Pointing out the vowels in words when reading aloud
  4. Playing word and sound games with family members
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option D is correct because word and sound games allow students to hear the individual sounds in words. Option A is incorrect because writing the alphabet allows for letter recognition. Option B is incorrect because students are practicing listening comprehension skills in this activity. Option C is incorrect because stopping to point out vowels when reading aloud interferes with fluency.

Competency 003—(Alphabetic Principle): The teacher understands the importance of the alphabetic principle for reading English and provides instruction that helps students understand the relationship between spoken language and printed words.

5. To best assess a student's graphophonemic knowledge, a teacher should have the student

  1. read aloud the letters of the alphabet to a partner.
  2. circle the vowels in the student's first name.
  3. identify a word based on a sequence of letter-sound correspondence.
  4. write all the irregular words the student knows in a spelling journal.
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option C is correct because identifying the letter-sound correspondence will allow students to decode other words. Option A is incorrect because reading letters of the alphabet is a skill of letter recognition. Option B is incorrect because circling the vowels is a skill of vowel recognition. Option D is incorrect because irregular words cannot always be decoded using traditional word-solving skills.

6. A kindergarten teacher is creating a unit on apples to focus on the letter "A." Which of the following activities best contributes to students' understanding of the alphabetic principle?

  1. Cutting out pictures of objects that begin with "A" and labeling them in a book
  2. Creating a collage to be hung in the classroom of pictures of objects that begin with "A"
  3. Brainstorming words that begin with the same first letter as each student's name
  4. Inventing a song or rhyme to learn how to spell the word "apple"
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option A is correct because it requires students to identify pictures of objects that begin with "A" and to label them. Option B is incorrect because it focuses on a variety of pictures of objects beginning with "A" and not on the connection between the name of the objects and their connection with the letter. Option C is incorrect because while this is a good activity, it does not focus on the letter "A." Option D is incorrect because when teaching the alphabetic principle, it is better to focus on one letter in context at a time. Knowing how to spell the word "apple" in isolation is unlikely to help the students transfer knowledge of the letters in the word to other words or situations.

Competency 004—(Literacy Development): The teacher understands that literacy develops over time, progressing from emergent to proficient stages and uses a variety of approaches to support the development of students' literacy.

7. In a meeting with a teacher, a parent asks how to encourage reading and improve reading skills for children at home. Which of the following is the most effective recommendation for the teacher to make?

  1. Reading books aloud with the child at home
  2. Allowing the child to see adults read at home
  3. Providing costumes and props for the child to act out stories at home
  4. Buying books on audio for the child to hear at home
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option A is correct because research shows that reading aloud with children is the best way to promote childhood literacy. Option B is incorrect because although watching adults read at home is good for children to see, it will not improve the child's own reading skills. Option C is incorrect because asking parents to provide costumes and props for children to act out stories at home is not appropriate and may not be doable for many parents. In addition, acting out stories will not improve the child's reading skills. Option D is incorrect because listening to someone else read aloud is not active participation by the child to promote his or her own reading skills.

Competency 005—(Word Analysis and Identification Skills): The teacher understands the importance of word identification skills (including decoding, blending, structural analysis, sight word vocabulary and contextual analysis) and provides many opportunities for students to practice and improve word identification skills.

8. Students in a kindergarten class are learning to analyze and spell phonetically regular words. They have learned to identify individual phonemes and to blend onsets and rimes. Which of the following is the most appropriate to teach next?

  1. Vowel-consonant patterns
  2. Types of syllables
  3. Short and long vowels
  4. Vowel diphthongs
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option C is correct because once students have learned the individual sounds made by letters and can blend the sounds at the beginnings and ends of words, they must be able to analyze the vowels within the word and determine whether the vowels are short or long so they can assign meaning to the word as a whole. Option A is incorrect because students can analyze common vowel and consonant patterns after they learn about the vowel sounds and consonant blends that make up a given word. Option B is incorrect because syllabication is the last piece of the puzzle in analyzing phonetically regular words. Once students can piece together all of the phonemes and blended sounds within the word, they can analyze its syllabic structure. Option D is incorrect because vowel diphthongs are characteristic of irregularly spelled words. Students must first learn to analyze and spell phonetically regular words before moving on to analyzing and spelling irregular words.

9. A third-grade teacher assigns homework that requires students to list ten common words that can either stand alone or be combined with another word. The assignment primarily promotes the students' understanding of which of the following concepts?

  1. Analyzing sound-symbol relationships
  2. Making compound words
  3. Blending sounds in words
  4. Distinguishing root words
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option B is correct because compound words are words that can stand alone or can be combined. Option A is incorrect because analyzing sound-symbol relationships involves using invented spelling. Option C is incorrect because blending sounds is used with pattern words and or CVC words. Option D is incorrect because root words are words that can include a prefix or a suffix.

Competency 006—(Fluency Reading): The teacher understands the importance of fluency for reading comprehension and provides many opportunities for students to improve their reading fluency.

10. Which of the following silent reading practices provides the best conditions for students' individual reading improvement?

  1. Engaging in sustained silent reading for an hour once a week while the teacher reads a book to model engaged reading behaviors
  2. Dropping everything and reading several times a week for 30 minutes while the teacher grades papers or prepares instructional materials
  3. Reading silently any time independent work has been completed early while the teacher keeps anecdotal records of student behaviors
  4. Participating in scaffolded silent reading for 20 minutes every day while the teacher confers with students individually about their reading
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option D is correct because students are receiving support through scaffolding. This could be in the form of minilessons, conferencing, dialogue journaling or other supports. Option A is incorrect because participating in sustained silent reading for an hour a week is not optimal. Furthermore, when the teacher provides little direction to the students in terms of reading material, there is no way to guarantee student success and participation. Option B is incorrect because there is no student accountability in this situation. The teacher may or may not model good reading behaviors, and the students are not expected to do anything but read. There is no way for the teacher to know if students are actually reading or just pretending. Option C is incorrect because while this is a good use of time if students finish early, it does not guarantee that every student will have the opportunity to read. Silent reading cannot be assigned haphazardly in school.

11. Which of the following activities is most effective in developing reading fluency skills in first-grade students?

  1. Rereading stories that were used during guided reading
  2. Participating in literature discussion groups in literacy centers
  3. Reading books that are at a level just above their independent reading level
  4. Completing a graphic organizer after reading a book the student has chosen
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option A is correct because students acquire reading fluency and comprehension from books read during guided reading lessons with their teacher. Repeated readings of familiar books improve reading fluency. Option B is incorrect because the use of literature discussion groups is a more appropriate strategy for engaging students in the text itself rather than word identification skills or reading fluency. Option C is incorrect because providing students with text above their independent reading level will frustrate them and be ineffective for developing reading fluency. Option D is incorrect because completing a graphic organizer after reading a self-selected book is a strategy that will improve reading comprehension. In addition, if the book is self-selected, it may be a book that is at a higher reading level, which would not help in developing reading fluency skills.

Competency 007—(Reading Comprehension and Applications): The teacher understands the importance of reading for understanding, knows the components and processes of reading comprehension and teaches students strategies for improving their comprehension, including using a variety of texts and contexts.

12. During a unit on propaganda, a sixth-grade teacher asks students to evaluate short statements made in advertising materials and to attempt to detect any faulty reasoning. Which of the following levels of reading comprehension is primarily being targeted in the lesson?

  1. Literal
  2. Inferential
  3. Evaluative
  4. Appreciative
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option C is correct because evaluative comprehension includes the skill of detecting faulty reasoning. Students must apply what they have read to their own lives and knowledge of the world to make judgments about text. Option A is incorrect because literal comprehension requires students to understand plot elements and details about the text. Option B is incorrect because inferential comprehension requires students to read between the lines of the text to make inferences about cause and effect, moral lessons, and themes and to predict what may happen next. Option D is incorrect because appreciative comprehension requires students to develop their own feelings and opinions about a piece of text.

13. A second-grade teacher can best help students develop an understanding of a new text by asking students to

  1. complete a fill-in-the-blank quiz after reading a whole-class story.
  2. make predictions about a story before they see the cover of the book.
  3. use literature response journals to record mental images generated from their reading.
  4. read a similar story aloud to a partner and then answer questions orally.
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option C is correct because when readers create mental images, they engage with text in ways that make it memorable to them. Option A is incorrect because quizzes may be given too soon, before students have an opportunity to connect to the story. Option B is incorrect because making predictions after being shown the cover of the story is a more effective strategy for activating background knowledge. Option D is incorrect because partner reading with a similar story does not assure reading comprehension nor self-monitoring skills.

14. Fifth-grade students are preparing to read a short story about two children's visit to a New York City zoo. Which of the following activities is the best way to introduce the text to promote reading comprehension?

  1. Completing a KWL chart
  2. Listening to the story on audio
  3. Writing about their own experiences in New York City
  4. Identifying New York City on a map
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option A is correct because having students complete a KWL chart before and after reading the text helps build and activate background knowledge, which promotes reading comprehension. Option B is incorrect because while listening to a story on tape may help increase reading fluency, it does not tap into the students' schema to activate the necessary background knowledge needed to assist with reading comprehension. Option C is incorrect because many of the students may have not gone to New York City. Option D is incorrect because merely identifying the city on the map does nothing to build or activate prior or new knowledge, which is critical to reading comprehension.

Competency 008—(Vocabulary Development): The teacher knows the importance of vocabulary development and applies that knowledge to teach reading, listening, speaking and writing.

15. When selecting vocabulary from magazine or newspaper articles used in instruction, which of the following methods is most effective?

  1. Selecting vocabulary based on the teacher's experience from previous years of instruction
  2. Asking students to identify words for further study when they read an article for the first time
  3. Using newspapers and magazines specifically made for school use, with bolded vocabulary terms
  4. Cross-referencing articles taught in class with district vocabulary lists to identify key words
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option B is correct because student selection of words for further study is the best way to ensure that the class is studying words that students will find useful and memorable. Option A is incorrect because the teacher may not select the best words based on hypothesis. As a teacher, one can determine some of the words students will struggle with, but there may be more common words that students do not understand. These are more important to study because they occur in written and spoken language more frequently. Option C is incorrect because it is not practical to only use magazines and newspapers created for school use. They can be expensive. Furthermore, truly authentic reading can be found in regular magazines and newspapers. Option D is incorrect because articles should not be selected simply because of their vocabulary. This process does not lend itself to selecting thought-provoking material that applies to whatever else is being studied in class. Rather, it requires the teacher to find sets of prescribed words regardless of the article's content.

16. A fourth-grade teacher is beginning a unit on energy and matter that contains vocabulary not regularly used by students. To best draw on students' experiences in a manner that helps them develop a deeper understanding of the unit's terms, the classroom teacher should

  1. have numerous dictionaries available for students.
  2. build a language-rich environment.
  3. ask students to choose a partner and define key words.
  4. encourage struggling students to use their science journals.
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option B is correct because vocabulary lessons are built on language-rich environments to support word learning. Option A is incorrect because dictionaries only allow for definitional knowledge learning. Option C is incorrect because choosing a partner when learning new vocabulary does not effectively teach or reinforce vocabulary development. Option D is incorrect because recording technical vocabulary concepts as student understanding develops is an effective strategy for all students, not just some students.

17. A sixth-grade teacher has a number of students experiencing reading difficulties. Which of the following is the best way to assess the students' fluency skills and reading levels?

  1. Having students read silently and answer questions that follow the reading
  2. Having students read aloud to determine how fast they can read a piece of text
  3. Having students read aloud for one minute and count the number of words read correctly
  4. Having students read silently and write down any unfamiliar words in the text
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option C is correct because the main method of evaluating reading fluency and determining the reading level is to count the number of words a student reads correctly during a one-minute oral reading. Option A is incorrect because the student must read aloud in order for the teacher to assess reading fluency skills and determine the reading level. Option B is incorrect because how fast a student reads does not on its own determine the student's fluency and reading levels. Option D is incorrect because having the student read aloud, not silently, while the teacher counts the number of correctly pronounced words is the main way to assess reading fluency.

Competency 009—(Reading, Inquiry and Research): The teacher understands the importance of research and inquiry skills to students' academic success and provides students with instruction that promotes their acquisition and effective use of those study skills in the content areas.

18. Which of the following actions best represents the first step in the process students should use to interpret graphs and charts containing numerical information?

  1. Looking at the title, axes, headings, and legends to develop a sense of the content of the graph or chart
  2. Analyzing whether the type of graph or chart used is the best method of presenting the information given
  3. Determining the largest and smallest values represented on the graph or chart to get an impression of the data
  4. Comparing and contrasting the various areas of the graph or chart to determine high and low points of the data
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option A is correct because this is the previewing phase. Before analyzing any of the numerical data, students must be familiar with the content of the graph or chart. Option B is incorrect because this skill requires students to make a judgment about the graph or chart in question. Students cannot adequately do this until they have thoroughly analyzed the graphic. Option C is incorrect because before delving into the numbers represented by the graph or chart, students must understand the data being presented. Option D is incorrect because analyzing the numbers presented in the graph goes hand in hand with the option presented in choice C. Students cannot be expected to look at numbers in-depth until they understand the overall content of the graph or chart.

19. To best ensure active engagement for students working on an open-ended research question for science, a fifth-grade teacher should focus on providing which of the following?

  1. Explicit teaching
  2. Inquiry-based instruction
  3. At-home research projects
  4. Didactic questioning
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option B is correct because inquiry-based instruction ensures active engagement from students in the question, its research, and the development of a conclusion. Option A is incorrect because explicit teaching limits students to the information that the teacher provides. Option C is incorrect because at-home research projects are a more appropriate strategy for supporting student enrichment and interest in the concepts after an instructional experience in the classroom. Option D is incorrect because didactic questioning focuses on factual questions and not open-ended questions.

Competency 010—(Writing Conventions): The teacher understands the conventions of writing in English and provides instruction that helps students develop proficiency in applying writing conventions.

20. Which of the following stages of spelling development is primarily characterized by letter-sound correspondence?

  1. Semiphonetic
  2. Phonetic
  3. Transitional
  4. Conventional
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option B is correct because phonetic spelling, also known as invented spelling, requires students to use their knowledge of sounds in words and then assign corresponding letters. Option A is incorrect because semiphonetic spellers know the names of the letters but often only use consonants to create abbreviated spellings based on sounds. Option C is incorrect because children at the transitional phase of spelling understand that most words have segments that are made of predictable letter combinations. Option D is incorrect because conventional spelling is acquired when students understand the correct spellings of word affixes and homophones in context. This is the last stage of spelling development, when students spell most words correctly.

21. A teacher reviews four students' current stages of writing development and notes the following.

Student 1: The student writes letters and words but sometimes does not add spacing between words.

Student 2: The student makes an assortment of marks resembling a drawing on a paper.

Student 3: The student spells many words the way they sound.

Student 4: The student writes capital letters without spacing.

Based on the information above, which TWO students display the most advanced development in their writing?

  1. Student 1
  2. Student 2
  3. Student 3
  4. Student 4
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Options A and C are correct because student 1 displays characteristics of the stage of writing development known as "Beginning Sounds Emerge." Student 3 displays characteristics of the stage of writing development known as "Initial, Middle, and Final Sounds." Both of these stages are more advanced than those being displayed by Student 2 and Student 4. Options B and D are incorrect because student 2 displays characteristics of the stage of writing development known as "Scribbling," and Student 4 displays characteristics of the stage of writing development known as "Strings of Letters."

Competency 011—(Written Communication): The teacher understands that writing to communicate is a developmental process and provides instruction that promotes students' competence in written communication.

22. Third-grade students are assigned to write about their city after reading various texts about it. Which of the following types of writing will best allow the students to include academic vocabulary they learned from the reading?

  1. Rhyming poetry
  2. Autobiography
  3. Expository essay
  4. Fictional story
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option C is correct because the expository essay is the only writing example given that is not creative in nature. It is nonfiction that easily lends itself to the inclusion of academic vocabulary words. Option A is incorrect because rhyming poetry already includes restraints because of the rhyme scheme. It is difficult to incorporate given vocabulary words into this framework. Option B is incorrect because an autobiography is a retelling of something that happened in a student's life. It may be forced or difficult to integrate the required vocabulary words. Option D is incorrect because a fictional story would not lend itself to the inclusion of the assigned vocabulary words.

23. A teacher works with third-grade students to teach them the steps of the writing process. Currently, the students are writing sentences and paragraphs. Which THREE of the following steps of the writing process remain for the students to complete?

  1. Sharing or displaying the finished product
  2. Taking out or adding words or sentences
  3. Rewriting text to correct any mechanical errors
  4. Brainstorming ideas on a topic
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Options A, B and C are correct because these steps of the writing process all take place after a draft of writing is completed. Option D is incorrect because this step of the writing process takes place before writing sentences and paragraphs.

Competency 012—(Viewing and Representing): The teacher understands skills for interpreting, analyzing, evaluating and producing visual images and messages in various types of media, including electronic media, and provides students with opportunities to develop skills in this area.

24. During a back-to-school night, an elementary teacher discusses the use of media in the classroom and at home. Which of the following suggestions is best for the teacher to make to parents regarding students' television viewing and Internet use at home?

  1. Viewing media with their children and discussing what they see and hear
  2. Preventing children from having any media exposure at home, since most of it will be of little academic value to children
  3. Trusting children to make their own choices about media but asking them to discuss these choices with the parents
  4. Requiring children to watch certain educational programs recommended by the teacher before they watch any other programs
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option A is correct because in this way, parents are helping their children develop their media literacy skills instead of merely dictating what children may or may not watch or listen to. Option B is incorrect because preventing children from exposure to any media will not teach children the skills that they need, nor is it realistic. Option C is incorrect because this represents too much freedom for most children. Furthermore, the older children get, the less likely they are to discuss what they view and hear with their parents, and this can lead to problematic behavior or ideas. Option D is incorrect because the media consumed at home should not be dictated by a teacher or anyone outside of the home. Families need to make decisions about media consumption for themselves.

25. A first-grade class studies animals and categorizes them as either sea animals, pets, zoo animals, or farm animals. The teacher wants students to create a visual to display their categories. Which of the following will best display the information?

  1. A flow chart
  2. A concept map
  3. A line graph
  4. A bar graph
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option B is correct because a concept map will allow students to categorize the animals more easily. Option A is incorrect because a flow chart is designed more to show the connection of ideas or a sequence of events. Option C is incorrect because a line graph would not be appropriate to display classifications or categories. Option D is incorrect because a bar graph would not be appropriate to display classifications or categories.

Competency 013—(Assessment of Developing Literacy): The teacher understands the basic principles of literacy assessment and uses a variety of assessments to guide literacy instruction.

26. Which of the following assignments best assesses students' use of quotation marks in writing?

  1. A journal entry describing the outcome of a science experiment
  2. A compare and contrast essay about two battles reviewed in social studies class
  3. A persuasive letter to the school board about the school dress code
  4. A personal narrative about a time that students disagreed with a friend
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option D is correct because this assignment lends itself to the use of dialogue, and therefore to the use of quotation marks. Option A is incorrect because this is an expository type of writing in which students must explain the steps they took and the outcome in a science lab. There is no need for quotation marks in this assignment. Option B is incorrect because students are listing facts about two battles and stating their similarities and differences. This does not require students to use quoted material, because this type of writing includes common knowledge that is available in any source. Option C is incorrect because there is no quoting necessary in this type of assignment. Students are giving their opinion, supported with various rationales from their own experience.

27. A fourth-grade teacher wants to help students become more aware of their literacy development and better monitor their progress in reading and writing. To best help students track their own development, the teacher should have students

  1. write as many grade-level vocabulary words by memory as they can within five minutes.
  2. complete a daily journal entry reflecting on what they have learned that day.
  3. set specific and individual goals regarding improvements they want to make.
  4. work with a partner to complete weekly running records.
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option C is correct because setting specific and individual goals will help students become more invested in their own learning and will provide them with a way to hold themselves accountable. Option A is incorrect because recording vocabulary words in a set period of time does not address literacy development, nor does it involve the students in their learning. Option B is incorrect because although a daily journal entry would help students reflect on what they have learned in a day, it does not allow them to keep track of their own learning. Option D is incorrect because a running record assesses decoding strategies only and requires detailed training to effectively utilize.

Multiple-Competencies Passage

Use the information below to answer questions 28–31.

A first-grade teacher plans to use the following passage from a nonfiction text as the introduction for a series of literacy lessons about tigers. As part of the unit, students will use the nonfiction excerpt and other research to create their own stories about a tiger.

Passage
The tiger is a large cat found in Asia and parts of Russia. Most tigers are black, white and orange, although some are only white and black. They can run at speeds of 35 miles per hour, even though they are the largest species of cat.
Tigers can weigh 400–675 pounds, and their bodies can be up to nine feet long. Is your body as long as a tiger? Tigers are endangered in the wild, because people often destroy their forest homes. In the United States, tigers can be seen in zoos and wildlife preserves. Have you ever seen a tiger?

The following is the fictional story written by Jack.

Sammy the baby tiger lives at a zoo in Texas.
He like to play with his toy ball.
He also like to play with his bruther and sistur.

Competency 004—(Literacy Development): The teacher understands that literacy develops over time, progressing from emergent to proficient stages and uses a variety of approaches to support the development of students' literacy.

28. Which of the following text elements is most appropriate for the teacher to introduce in preparation for the writing assignment?

  1. Inclusion of illustrations
  2. Plot development
  3. Incorporation of facts
  4. Conflict resolution
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option B is correct because plot development is a characteristic of fiction text. Option A is incorrect because both fiction and nonfiction texts can have illustrations. Option C is incorrect because both fiction and nonfiction texts can include facts. Option D is incorrect because both nonfiction and fiction can have conflicts with resolutions. In addition, this text element would be inappropriate as a focus for this grade level.

Competency 007—(Reading Comprehension and Applications): The teacher understands the importance of reading for understanding, knows the components and processes of reading comprehension and teaches students strategies for improving their comprehension, including using a variety of texts and contexts.

29. Which of the following sentences from the excerpt best explains the idea of cause and effect?

  1. Most tigers are black, white and orange, although some are only white and black.
  2. They can run at speeds of 35 miles per hour, even though they are the largest species of cat.
  3. Tigers are endangered in the wild, because people often destroy their forest homes.
  4. In the United States, tigers can be seen in zoos and wildlife preserves.
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option C is correct because it provides a cause-and-effect relationship. Option A is incorrect because it merely describes the coloring of tigers. Option B is incorrect because this sentence does not give a cause and an effect. On the contrary, the effect (speed) seems to defy the cause (size). Option D is incorrect because the sentence states a simple fact.

Competency 008—(Vocabulary Development): The teacher knows the importance of vocabulary development and applies that knowledge to teach reading, listening, speaking and writing.

30. In which of the following ways does the expository text best help build students' vocabulary knowledge and development?

  1. By connecting geographic regions to the topic of the excerpt
  2. By including advanced words such as "endangered" and "preserve"
  3. By encouraging students to respond to a question that requires specialized vocabulary
  4. By allowing students to determine the meaning of unknown words in context
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option D is correct because although the excerpt contains some difficult words ("species" and "endangered"), students should be able to arrive at the meanings of these words by listening to the surrounding words and discussing the context of the sentences and paragraph as a whole. Option A is incorrect including geographic regions does not build vocabulary knowledge. Option B is incorrect because while this excerpt does include some advanced words, it does not build vocabulary knowledge. Option C is incorrect because the two questions do not require the use of specialized vocabulary.

Competency 011—(Written Communication): The teacher understands that writing to communicate is a developmental process and provides instruction that promotes students' competence in written communication.

31. Which of the following comments from the teacher best addresses the strengths and weaknesses of Jack's writing?

  1. You need to add an illustration to help the reader picture what the tiger cub is doing.
  2. You did a great job using punctuation at the end of each sentence to organize your thoughts.
  3. Have you considered using a dictionary to help you identify misspelled words?
  4. Have you considered adding more details to describe the tiger cub to complement the complete sentences you created?
Answer. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Option D is correct because it addresses the strengths and needs of Jack's writing. Option A is incorrect because it only focuses on a need. Option B is incorrect because it only focuses on a strength. Option C is incorrect because it only focuses on a need.
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