CALT Structured Lesson Plan Design and Implementation 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student has mastered phoneme segmentation with three-phoneme words but struggles with four-phoneme words containing consonant blends. Which lesson plan modification is MOST appropriate?
- Move the student back to two-phoneme words to rebuild confidence
- Add a phoneme segmentation practice step using four-phoneme words with blends before linking to print (Correct answer)
- Skip phoneme segmentation and focus exclusively on orthographic mapping
- Increase the pace of instruction to cover more phoneme patterns in each session
Correct answer: Add a phoneme segmentation practice step using four-phoneme words with blends before linking to print
Targeting the specific skill gap—segmenting four-phoneme words with blends—at the phoneme level before connecting to print follows the diagnostic-prescriptive approach of structured literacy.
Question 2: In the Orton-Gillingham approach, 'simultaneous multisensory instruction' in a lesson plan means the student is engaging which pathways at the same time?
- Visual and auditory only, to prevent sensory overload
- Visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile simultaneously (Correct answer)
- Kinesthetic and tactile only, because these are the weakest pathways in students with dyslexia
- Sequential engagement of each modality one at a time for clarity
Correct answer: Visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile simultaneously
OG-based instruction engages visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile pathways simultaneously to strengthen neural connections for language learning.
Question 3: A structured lesson plan includes a 'Discovery' or 'Socratic' teaching step for a new rule. What is the teacher doing during this step?
- Directly telling the student the new rule and asking them to repeat it
- Guiding the student through examples to help them infer the rule themselves (Correct answer)
- Having the student independently read a passage containing the new pattern
- Administering a brief quiz to determine if the student already knows the rule
Correct answer: Guiding the student through examples to help them infer the rule themselves
Discovery teaching guides students to notice patterns in examples and articulate the rule themselves, promoting deeper encoding of orthographic patterns.
Question 4: A CALT is writing a lesson plan for a student who reverses 'b' and 'd.' Which instructional strategy is MOST evidence-based for addressing this specific reversal?
- Have the student trace the letters in sand while saying the sounds to build a multisensory association
- Avoid presenting 'b' and 'd' in the same lesson until one is fully mastered
- Refer the student for a visual processing evaluation before continuing phonics instruction
- Use a mnemonic with an anchor image (e.g., a bed) and consistent verbal-kinesthetic cues for each letter (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Use a mnemonic with an anchor image (e.g., a bed) and consistent verbal-kinesthetic cues for each letter
Mnemonics paired with consistent verbal and kinesthetic cues provide a reliable retrieval strategy for students who confuse visually similar letters.
Question 5: During the encoding (spelling) portion of a structured lesson, the teacher dictates words containing the newly taught pattern and also review patterns. This mixed practice is designed to promote:
- Rote memorization of a spelling word list
- Discriminative learning and generalization of phoneme-grapheme correspondences (Correct answer)
- Rapid automatic naming speed
- Comprehension of the words being spelled
Correct answer: Discriminative learning and generalization of phoneme-grapheme correspondences
Mixed encoding practice requires students to discriminate between current and previously learned patterns, supporting generalization and preventing over-reliance on a single rule.
Question 6: A CALT's lesson plan includes reading words in isolation before reading sentences and then connected text. This sequence reflects which instructional principle?
- Moving from meaningful to meaningless contexts to build metalinguistic awareness
- Building from decontextualized skill practice to contextualized application for automaticity and transfer (Correct answer)
- Reducing the complexity of phonological demands before increasing orthographic demands
- Ensuring students can memorize words before encountering them in text
Correct answer: Building from decontextualized skill practice to contextualized application for automaticity and transfer
Progressing from isolated word reading to sentences to connected text allows skills to become automatic before the cognitive demands of text comprehension are added.
Question 7: A student with language-based learning disabilities is ready to begin multisyllabic word instruction. Which syllable type should a CALT introduce FIRST when designing the lesson sequence?
- Vowel-consonant-e (VCe) syllables because they are most common in academic vocabulary
- Closed syllables because they follow a predictable short-vowel pattern and are typically taught earliest in the sequence (Correct answer)
- Open syllables because they appear frequently in Greek and Latin roots
- R-controlled syllables because students with dyslexia find them easier to distinguish
Correct answer: Closed syllables because they follow a predictable short-vowel pattern and are typically taught earliest in the sequence
Closed syllables are introduced first in most structured literacy sequences because the short-vowel pattern is predictable and foundational for multisyllabic decoding.
CALT Structured Lesson Plan Design and Implementation 5
A student has mastered phoneme segmentation with three-phoneme words but struggles with four-phoneme words containing consonant blends.
Which lesson plan modification is MOST appropriate?