CALT Structured Lesson Plan Design and Implementation 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During a structured literacy lesson, a student consistently confuses the vowel teams 'ea' (as in bread) and 'ea' (as in bead). Which instructional approach best addresses this ambiguity?
- Avoid teaching 'ea' words until the student masters all other vowel teams
- Explicitly teach both pronunciations as a concept and provide a keyword for each sound (Correct answer)
- Focus only on the more common pronunciation and ignore exceptions
- Refer the student to a speech-language pathologist before continuing phonics instruction
Correct answer: Explicitly teach both pronunciations as a concept and provide a keyword for each sound
Explicitly teaching both pronunciations with anchor keywords helps students develop flexible decoding strategies for ambiguous vowel teams.
Question 2: A CALT is planning a lesson for a student with dyslexia who is transitioning from CVC words to CCVC words. Which sequencing principle should guide the introduction of consonant blends?
- Introduce all blends simultaneously to maximize exposure
- Begin with final blends before initial blends because they are phonologically easier
- Introduce blends that appear most frequently in grade-level text first regardless of complexity
- Begin with two-letter initial blends using already-mastered phonemes before moving to three-letter blends (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Begin with two-letter initial blends using already-mastered phonemes before moving to three-letter blends
Structured literacy sequencing requires building on mastered skills, so blends should use known phonemes and progress from simpler to more complex patterns.
Question 3: When designing a lesson plan, a CALT includes a 'warm-up' review of previously learned phoneme-grapheme correspondences. What is the PRIMARY purpose of this component?
- To fill time before introducing new concepts
- To assess whether the student needs to be referred for further evaluation
- To activate prior knowledge and ensure automaticity before introducing new material (Correct answer)
- To give the student a chance to rest before demanding tasks
Correct answer: To activate prior knowledge and ensure automaticity before introducing new material
Review warm-ups build automaticity with previously learned material and activate prior knowledge, creating a foundation for new instruction.
Question 4: A student with dyslexia is learning the suffix '-tion.' The CALT teaches the student that '-tion' says /shun/ and never /t/-/i/-/o/-/n/ when reading. This instruction reflects which principle?
- Multisensory learning
- Teaching morphemes as units with consistent pronunciations (Correct answer)
- Phonemic awareness training
- Sight word memorization
Correct answer: Teaching morphemes as units with consistent pronunciations
Teaching '-tion' as a morpheme unit with a consistent pronunciation helps students decode multisyllabic words efficiently without over-segmenting.
Question 5: Which scenario BEST illustrates appropriate pacing within a structured literacy lesson plan?
- Spending the entire session on one new concept to ensure mastery before moving on
- Dividing time among review, new concept introduction, word reading practice, and text reading (Correct answer)
- Skipping review when a student appears confident to allow more time for new material
- Spending equal time on every lesson component regardless of student performance
Correct answer: Dividing time among review, new concept introduction, word reading practice, and text reading
Effective structured literacy lessons distribute time across multiple components including review, new learning, and application in connected text.
Question 6: A CALT notices that a student reads the nonsense word 'fleep' as 'flip.' This error most likely indicates a deficit in which skill area?
- Phonological awareness at the syllable level
- Accurate application of the vowel team 'ee' during decoding (Correct answer)
- Phonemic awareness at the phoneme segmentation level
- Rapid automatic naming
Correct answer: Accurate application of the vowel team 'ee' during decoding
Reading 'fleep' as 'flip' shows the student is not accurately applying the 'ee' vowel team, substituting a known short vowel pattern instead.
Question 7: When a CALT incorporates decodable text into a structured lesson, the PRIMARY criterion for selecting the text should be:
- High interest level and engaging illustrations to motivate the student
- Text that contains only phoneme-grapheme correspondences the student has already been taught (Correct answer)
- Grade-level readability as measured by a Lexile score
- A balance of decodable words and high-frequency irregular words at a 50/50 ratio
Correct answer: Text that contains only phoneme-grapheme correspondences the student has already been taught
Decodable texts should align with the student's current phonics scope and sequence so they can apply taught skills independently.
CALT Structured Lesson Plan Design and Implementation 4
During a structured literacy lesson, a student consistently confuses the vowel teams 'ea' (as in bread) and 'ea' (as in bead).
Which instructional approach best addresses this ambiguity?