Module 2

Question 1

A teacher is planning instruction to promote four-year-olds’ development of skills related to Pennsylvania’s PreK–4 learning standard about reading, analyzing, and interpreting text. With children at this developmental level, which of the following approaches to a read-aloud activity would be most appropriate for the teacher to use to develop the children’s conceptual understanding of fact and opinion?
A. having the children identify characters who demonstrate examples of faulty reasoning in a fable
B. asking the children to decide which statements related to an article in a children’s nature magazine are true or false
C. helping the children tell one thing they learned from a nonfiction text
D. showing the children how to differentiate between essential and nonessential information in a nonfiction children’s picture book

Answer 1

C. helping the children tell one thing they learned from a nonfiction text

Question 2

A fourth-grade teacher would like to promote reluctant readers’ independent reading. Which of the following teacher strategies is likely to be most effective in achieving this goal?

A. engaging students in discussions about their interests and working with the library media specialist to locate appropriate-level books on these topics
B. reading aloud a variety of books from the classroom library on a regular basis and engaging students in discussions related to the read-alouds
C. creating attractive displays of both fiction and nonfiction books and magazines in the classroom library and regularly inviting students to browse the displays
D. providing opportunities for students to visit the school’s library media center and to learn about the center’s resources and organization

Answer 2

A. engaging students in discussions about their interests and working with the library media specialist to locate appropriate-level books on these topics

Question 3

A third-grade teacher regularly models for students how to paraphrase a portion of a text and how to pose and respond to questions that clarify or follow up on information presented in a text. These practices promote students’ literacy development primarily by:
A. supporting their development of dispositions and attitudes that help create a purposeful, literate environment in the classroom.
B. enhancing their knowledge of the organizational structure of different types of text.
C. promoting their development of self-monitoring skills that support reading and learning across the curriculum.
D. fostering their ability to make connections between the reading curriculum and their lives.

Answer 3

C. promoting their development of self-monitoring skills that support reading and learning across the curriculum.

Question 4

A first-grade teacher explains that he is going to read a story aloud and he wants students to consider how the story makes them feel. Afterward, he prompts the students to recall and discuss specific words and phrases the author used to evoke particular feelings. This oral language activity supports students’ literacy development primarily by helping the students:
A. retell a story’s key events accurately.
B. make and verify predictions about a story.
C. connect key events in a story to their own lives.
D. develop an awareness of a story’s tone.

Answer 4

D. develop an awareness of a story’s tone.

Question 5

A kindergarten teacher has placed many signs around the classroom, including simple written directions (e.g., Please hang up coats!) and labels for objects (e.g., clock, Teacher’s chair). During daily activities, the teacher regularly points to and reads aloud relevant signs. The teacher has also created a classroom library filled with age-appropriate books and has incorporated relevant signs and books into all the learning centers. These strategies are most effective in addressing which of the following goals related to effective instruction in emergent literacy?
A. creating a print-rich environment
B. providing guided and independent skills practice
C. encouraging independent reading
D. infusing reading activities across the curriculum

Answer 5

A. creating a print-rich environment

Question 6

At the beginning of the school year, a kindergarten teacher establishes a variety of classroom roles that rotate on a daily basis. The roles include Calendar Helper and Star of the Day. The Calendar Helper identifies and announces the day of the week, the date, and the day’s weather, with teacher support if needed. The Star of the Day shares an object, talking briefly about the item and then answering three questions about it from classmates and/or the teacher. Regularly performing these types of classroom roles directly benefits students’ emergent literacy development primarily by enhancing the students’:
A. self-confidence and comfort level in front of their peers.
B. ability to use a range of expressive language skills.
C. knowledge of content vocabulary across the curriculum. D. personal responsibility and perseverance with tasks.

Answer 6

B. ability to use a range of expressive language skills.

Question 7

In keeping with Pennsylvania’s PreK–4 learning standards in language arts, which of the following writing skills would be most appropriate to include in language arts instruction at the first-grade level?
A. revising writing by adding details or missing information
B. focusing writing for a particular audience
C. revising writing by varying sentence length and structures
D. using transition words to clarify ideas in writing

Answer 7

A. revising writing by adding details or missing information

Question 8

A teacher delivering standards-based literacy instruction grounded in scientific- based reading research is most likely to use the results of reading assessments for which of the following purposes?

A. using formal and informal assessments to place students into the most appropriate reading group for a given school year
B. using ongoing informal assessments to continually plan and modify individual students’ reading goals and instruction
C. using formal standardized assessments to diagnose each student’s reading difficulties at the beginning of the school year
D. using comprehensive summative reading achievement assessments on a weekly to biweekly basis to monitor students’ progress

Answer 8

B. using ongoing informal assessments to continually plan and modify individual students’ reading goals and instruction

Question 9

A group of primary-grade teachers is reviewing potential core instructional materials for teaching beginning-reading skills. The most important selection criteria for the teachers to consider would be to ensure that the materials:
A. include clear, appealing visual supports such as illustrations.
B. are linked to a variety of online teacher resources.
C. include supplemental assessments and learning activities.
D. are aligned with relevant state learning standards.

Answer 9

D. are aligned with relevant state learning standards.

Question 10

Which of the following words contains a diphthong? A. anchor

B. boiled C. measure D. truths

Answer 10

B. boiled

Question 11

A prekindergarten teacher regularly writes students’ comments on chart paper during whole-class discussions and rereads the comments to the class. This practice supports young children’s emergent literacy development primarily by promoting their:
A. awareness of the relationship between print and spoken language.
B. skill in identifying basic letter-sound correspondences.
C. understanding that spoken language is made of smaller phonological units.
D. knowledge of a wide range of environmental print.

Answer 11

A. awareness of the relationship between print and spoken language.

Question 12

A kindergarten teacher reads aloud a poem that contains alliteration in each line. The teacher reads the poem twice, each time emphasizing the alliteration. On the third reading, the teacher invites the children to repeat each line exactly as the teacher recited it. This activity is most effective in promoting the children's development in which of the following areas of emergent literacy?
A. alphabetic awareness
B. letter-sound correspondence
C. letter recognition
D. phonological awareness

Answer 12

D. phonological awareness

Question 13

A third-grade student is having difficulty reading words and syllables that contain complex letter combinations, which is affecting her comprehension of grade-level texts. For example, the student reads the word stretch as [st] [rĕt] [ch] and the word pledge as [p] [lĕd] [guh]. Which of the following intervention strategies is likely to be most effective in addressing this student’s reading difficulty and advancing her reading development?

A. having the student engage in daily rereading of passages that include morphologically complex words
B. modeling for the student how to use context clues in a text to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words
C. engaging the student in daily practice reading word lists comprising grade- level irregular sight words
D. providing the student with instruction and practice decoding consonant clusters as chunks

Answer 13

D. providing the student with instruction and practice decoding consonant clusters as chunks

Question 14

A second-grade student frequently makes errors such as reading the words taped as tapped, hoping as hopping, and shines as shins when reading aloud. Which of the following approaches to addressing the student’s difficulty is likely to be most effective?
A. providing the student with explicit review and practice reading and spelling CVCe words that contain inflectional endings
B. providing the student with explicit instruction in common syllable types and syllabication guidelines
C. engaging the student in daily fluency activities focused on silent reading of texts written at the student’s instructional reading level
D. teaching the student how to distinguish between a syllable and a morpheme in multisyllable words

Answer 14

A. providing the student with explicit review and practice reading and spelling CVCe words that contain inflectional endings

Question 15

A second-grade teacher is planning reading instruction at the beginning of the school year and would like to determine the entry-level skills of individual students in key areas of reading. Which of the following types of assessments would be most appropriate for the teacher to use to assess entering students’ decoding skills?
A. a norm-referenced reading achievement test
B. an informal phonics inventory
C. a summative curriculum-based measurement
D. an oral reading fluency test

Answer 15

B. an informal phonics inventory

Question 16

Which of the following strategies would be most effective for a teacher to use as the introduction to a letter-formation lesson for a group of kindergarten students?
A. displaying a large alphabet card of the target letter and having the students practice copying the letter using individual portable chalkboards
B. reading aloud a “big book” that contains many instances of the target letter and then calling on individual students to point to each instance while saying the letter’s name
C. providing students with individual worksheets containing multiple instances of the target letter and having them trace the letter several times
D. demonstrating to students how to form the target letter in the air while stating the motions and then repeating the process as the students imitate the teacher

Answer 16

D. demonstrating to students how to form the target letter in the air while stating the motions and then repeating the process as the students imitate the teacher

Question 17

A first-grade teacher plans a multisensory intervention for a student using a procedure called sound boxes. In this activity, the student places tokens such as pennies into boxes drawn on a piece of paper while slowly saying the sounds in a word. For example, for the word fan, the teacher would draw a horizontal rectangle and divide it into three boxes, giving the student three tokens. The student would say the word slowly (e.g., fffaaannn) and place a token into a box as he or she says each new sound in the word. This procedure is most likely designed to improve the student’s ability to:
A. segment words into phonemes.
B. spell words that follow regular phonics patterns.
C. divide words into onsets and rimes.
D. recognize common letter-sound correspondences.

Answer 17

A. segment words into phonemes.

Question 18

A kindergarten teacher is using direct instruction to teach new vocabulary to students. Which of the following strategies would best help students integrate the new words into their existing vocabulary?
A. having students maintain a personal word list of new words
B. using the new words with students several times in different spoken contexts
C. guiding students to look up the new words in a children’s dictionary
D. having students use illustrated cards to review the meaning of new words

Answer 18

B. using the new words with students several times in different spoken contexts

Question 19

A prekindergarten teacher helps students memorize a poem and recite it chorally. The teacher could best use this activity to build a foundation for which of the following literacy skills?

A. prosodic reading
B. independent word-learning
C. strategic reading D. responsive listening

Answer 19

A. prosodic reading

Question 20

A second-grade teacher is beginning an integrated content-area unit on farming. As an introduction to the unit, the teacher helps students brainstorm words related to the concept of farming and guides students in creating a semantic map with the words. This activity best illustrates a strategy targeting which of the following essential components of effective vocabulary instruction?
A. deepening and clarifying students’ knowledge of known words
B. providing direct instruction in new content-specific words
C. promoting students’ comprehension of academic language
D. fostering the use of independent word-learning strategies

Answer 20

A. deepening and clarifying students’ knowledge of known words

Question 21

A third-grade teacher has students create a KWL chart prior to reading an informational text about fossils. This strategy is likely to promote students’ motivation and comprehension primarily in which of the following ways?
A. by enabling students to learn unfamiliar content words independently
B. by encouraging students to evaluate the author’s point of view as they read
C. by helping students establish a purpose for reading the text prior to reading
D. by scaffolding students’ understanding of the organizational structure of the text

Answer 21

C. by helping students establish a purpose for reading the text prior to reading

Question 22

A second-grade teacher is planning to read aloud a story to the class and would like to use this activity to reinforce and build on students’ literary analysis skills. Which of the following strategies would likely be most appropriate and effective in achieving this goal at this grade level?
A. guiding students to identify the main characters and major events in the story
B. prompting students to retell the story orally in their own words after the reading
C. inviting students to discuss their favorite and least favorite parts of the story
D. asking students to use evidence from the story to explain the author’s purpose

Answer 22

A. guiding students to identify the main characters and major events in the story

Question 23

A third-grade teacher would like to monitor students’ progress in meeting reading fluency benchmarks. Which of the following assessment strategies would be most appropriate and effective for the teacher to use for this purpose?
A. evaluating students’ comprehension after they silently read each passage in a sequence of leveled passages
B. tracking students’ net gains in accuracy and rate over the course of a repeated reading procedure
C. analyzing students’ automaticity reading aloud word lists that include a range of word patterns and sight words
D. measuring students’ average rate and accuracy while they read aloud an unfamiliar grade-level passage

Answer 23

D. measuring students’ average rate and accuracy while they read aloud an unfamiliar grade-level passage

Question 24

A fourth-grade teacher would like to promote students’ comprehension and critical analysis of literary texts by helping them draw more effective conclusions. The teacher could best achieve this goal by providing the students with explicit instruction and guided practice in:
A. citing evidence from a text to support their responses to the text.
B. developing a story map of a text to keep track of the text’s key elements.
C. using their prior experiences to make personal connections to a text.
D. creating a graphic organizer to identify relationships between a text’s characters.

Answer 24

A. citing evidence from a text to support their responses to the text.

Question 25

Once a week, a second-grade teacher conducts a fluency check with each student. The teacher has the student read aloud an unfamiliar, appropriate-level passage for one minute as the teacher notes errors on a separate copy of the passage. The teacher calculates the number of words the student read correctly during that minute, and both the teacher and the student maintain charts of the student’s weekly progress. This type of activity primarily focuses on which of the following aspects of reading fluency?

A. accuracy
B. rate
C. prosody
D. automaticity

Answer 25

B. rate

Question 26

A third-grade teacher would like to develop students' ability to understand and use longer sentence structures and academic vocabulary. Which of the following instructional practices would be most effective to use for this purpose during a class discussion of a reading passage?
A. modeling contextual analysis with a syntactically challenging sentence from the passage
B. using restatement and open-ended questions to clarify and extend students' remarks about the passage
C. posting definitions of key words from the passage on the board prior to the discussion
D. asking students to create a graphic organizer representing the main ideas or argument in the passage

Answer 26

B. using restatement and open-ended questions to clarify and extend students’ remarks about the passage

Question 27

As part of a science unit on earth systems, a fourth-grade teacher will have students watch an instructional video about the water cycle. Before viewing, the teacher conducts a brief guided discussion related to the content of the video, using questions such as “What are some ways water moves from place to place on, above, and below the earth’s surface?” The teacher’s strategy will likely enhance students’ comprehension of the video primarily in which of the following ways?
A. by previewing content-specific words and phrases and prompting students to apply critical-thinking skills
B. by modeling personal engagement with the video’s content and explaining the relevance of the content to students’ lives
C. by relating the content to prior knowledge and engaging students in actively listening for information
D. by providing an outline of the video’s organizational structure and enhancing students’ ability to recall important details

Answer 27

C. by relating the content to prior knowledge and engaging students in actively listening for information

Question 28

At the beginning of an inquiry-based multidisciplinary unit on birds of the region, a first-grade teacher creates a display in the classroom of a variety of objects related to the topic (e.g., bird nests, feathers, an audio recording of birdsong, photographs and drawings of birds) and gives students a brief “tour” of the new objects. Which of the following strategies for incorporating the objects into instruction would be most effective for promoting the research skills of students at this developmental level?
A. guiding students to select objects from the collection for an individual project
B. having students locate library resources related to one of the objects
C. guiding students to create labels with the name of each object for the classroom display
D. having students describe, draw, and sort selected objects from the collection

Answer 28

D. having students describe, draw, and sort selected objects from the collection

Question 29

Following a class visit to a local wildlife preserve, a second-grade teacher has students write an original folktale that takes place in that setting. Learning to use which of the following tools would be most helpful to students as they begin to develop ideas for their writing?
A. semantic web
B. KWL chart
C. story map
D. Venn diagram

Answer 29

C. story map

Question 30

Which of the following activities would best help third graders develop an awareness of audience in order to improve the clarity of their writing?

A. preparing a written response to a story read aloud in class
B. taking notes during an oral presentation by a group of peers
C. reading informational passages about grade-level topics
D. participating with other students in peer reviews of their drafts

Answer 30

D. participating with other students in peer reviews of their drafts

Question 31

Which of the following activities would best help fourth graders apply their knowledge of oral language to promote their understanding of punctuation conventions used in writing?
A. reading their writing aloud, making note of pauses and intonation patterns
B. reading and writing poems that include a range of end punctuation marks
C. inventing imaginary punctuation and rules and using them in sample sentences
D. naming each punctuation mark aloud when reading aloud a draft of their writing

Answer 31

A. reading their writing aloud, making note of pauses and intonation patterns

Question 32

Results from informal assessments indicate that a second-grade student who is a struggling reader still relies mostly on invented spellings when writing. Based on this evidence, which of the following types of interventions would best address the student’s needs?
A. modeling strategies for memorizing letter sequences in words
B. providing intensive instruction in complex phonics patterns
C. using repeated reading with texts featuring grade-level word patterns
D. providing explicit instruction in structural analysis skills

Answer 32

B. providing intensive instruction in complex phonics patterns

Question 33

A fourth-grade teacher creates a rubric of key criteria she will share with her students to assess their written work. The rubric defines the teacher’s expectations regarding content, style, organization, and mechanics using a measurable description of the key criteria (e.g., “The first paragraph will include a statement of your central idea”). This approach to assessing students’ writing is most effective for:
A. guiding instructional planning and student learning in writing.
B. comparing the writing skills of individual students in the class.
C. creating an objective record of students’ progress in writing.
D. developing students’ understanding of different genres of writing.

Answer 33

A. guiding instructional planning and student learning in writing.

Question 34

Lessons based on the concepts of cultural diffusion and interdependence can best be used to broaden student understanding of:
A. global connections.
B. institutional development.
C. power relations.
D. community formation.

Answer 34

A. global connections.

Question 35

A historian would likely find bibliographies and periodical indexes most useful for which of the following research tasks?
A. formulating historical questions
B. organizing historical information
C. analyzing historical trends
D. acquiring historical information

Answer 35

D. acquiring historical information

Question 36

Teachers seeking to develop students’ ability to participate constructively in civic discussions can best begin by emphasizing the importance of:

A. using descriptive language to make a point. B. arranging ideas in problem-solving sequence.
C. respecting the rights of others to be heard.
D. anticipating the counterarguments of others.

Answer 36

C. respecting the rights of others to be heard.

Question 37

Which of the following best describes the proper developmental sequence for teaching the three student standards listed below?
Put them in order:
Explain why individuals became involved in leadership or public service.
Describe the roles of leadership and public service in school, community, state, or nation.
Identify community workers that exist in most or all communities.

Answer 37

Identify community workers that exist in most or all communities.
Describe the roles of leadership and public service in school, community, state, or nation.
Explain why individuals became involved in leadership or public service.

Question 38

A problem-solving exercise would likely provide the most appropriate and effective means of assessing student mastery of which of the following kindergarten social studies standards?
A. Describe how individuals are unique and special.
B. Compare and contrast customs of families in communities around the world.
C. Identify and practice using money.
D. Locate and discuss places in the home, school, and community.

Answer 38

C. Identify and practice using money.

Question 39

Teachers could best use a history unit on the founding of Pennsylvania to promote student understanding of which of the following elements of the social studies theme of civic ideals and practices?
A. appreciation of diversity
B. patriotism
C. abolition of servitude
D. universal suffrage

Answer 39

A. appreciation of diversity

Question 40

Which of the following topics presented in a lesson on ecosystems in Pennsylvania could best be used to develop students’ understanding of the geographic concept of human interaction with the environment?
A. food chains in Pennsylvania
B. microclimate variations in Pennsylvania
C. invasive species in Pennsylvania
D. physical regions of Pennsylvania

Answer 40

C. invasive species in Pennsylvania

Question 41

Which of the following student activities would best promote development of a sense of belonging to a community among young children in a school setting?
A. reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in class at the start of each school day
B. reading about the roles and contributions of community service helpers
C. attending assemblies at which the principal announces upcoming events
D. creating signs to welcome family members to Back-to-School Night

Answer 41

D. creating signs to welcome family members to Back-to-School Night

Question 42

A third-grade teacher is planning instruction on the roles of the three branches of the U.S. government. Which of the following strategies would be most appropriate for the teacher to use to promote students’ understanding of the role of the legislative branch?

A. assisting students with nominating and electing class officers
B. inviting a member of local law enforcement to speak to students
C. having students work in groups to create a set of classroom rules
D. asking students to read and discuss the school’s code of conduct

Answer 42

C. having students work in groups to create a set of classroom rules

Question 43

Second-grade students are painting scenes from a recent field trip to a historic site. As the teacher observes their work, he says to one student, “Jeff, I see the different shades of green you are using to paint the leaves and the grass.” This comment most supports Jeff’s creative development because:
A. attention and praise develop appreciation for details.
B. it values the process as well as the product.
C. describing actions reinforces recall and repetition.
D. it encourages efforts to perceive visual subtleties.

Answer 43

B. it values the process as well as the product.

Question 44

A prekindergarten teacher guides students in learning to sing “The Farmer in the Dell” by providing props such as a straw hat for the farmer and a cow bell for the cow. The children's use of these props is most likely to encourage their development of:
A. symbolic understanding.
B. critical-thinking skills.
C. pattern recognition.
D. problem-solving skills.

Answer 44

A. symbolic understanding.

Question 45

Dancers are most likely to use improvisation exercises as a way to:
A. warm up muscles before beginning to dance.
B. discover new ways of moving and communicating meaning.
C. feel the rhythm and form of the music more clearly.
D. improve movement technique and partnering skills.

Answer 45

B. discover new ways of moving and communicating meaning.

Question 46

A second-grade teacher uses rhyming chants and songs describing animals during a lesson on the different characteristics of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. This use of music to convey information will most likely contribute to students’ learning in which of the following ways?
A. developing students’ critical-thinking skills
B. enhancing students’ ability to remember content vocabulary
C. promoting students’ analytic and reasoning skills
D. increasing students’ curiosity and motivation to expand their knowledge

Answer 46

B. enhancing students’ ability to remember content vocabulary

Question 47

An understanding that individual musical notes represent different tones would most likely help an emergent reader develop an understanding of the relationship between individual letters and which of the following elements of language?
A. syllables B. words
C. phonemes D. sentences

Answer 47

C. phonemes

Question 48

A prekindergarten teacher gathers samples of students’ artwork in individual student portfolios during the course of the school year. At the end of the year, the teacher can most effectively use the portfolios for which of the following purposes?
A. diagnosing students’ disabilities
B. determining students’ preferred learning styles
C. documenting students’ development
D. evaluating students’ achievement of expected outcomes

Answer 48

C. documenting students’ development

Question 49

Which of the following types of drawing is most likely to develop children’s observation skills?

A. connect the dots
B. self-portrait
C. hand contour
D. color-by-number

Answer 49

B. self-portrait

Question 50

A student is setting a table in the kitchen center of a prekindergarten classroom. The student sets four plates on the table and then places one spoon beside each plate. The teacher sits down next to the student. Which of the following comments by the teacher would likely be most effective for extending the student’s thinking during this dramatic play experience?
A. “Do you mind if I help you set the table?”
B. “What kind of meal are you going to serve?”
C. “You’re doing a nice job setting the table.”
D. “Do you know there are bowls in the kitchen?”

Answer 50

B. “What kind of meal are you going to serve?”