DESE Reading & Literacy Instruction 3

Question 1

A fourth-grade teacher is planning a unit using complex informational text. Which scaffolding strategy best supports students who are reading below grade level?

Accepted Answer

Providing audio support, graphic organizers, and vocabulary pre-teaching while using grade-level text

Answer

Replacing grade-level texts with texts written at each student's independent reading level

Answer

Skipping informational text units until students reach grade-level decoding skills

Answer

Assigning the same text with fewer required response questions

Question 2

What is a key distinction between an 'independent reading level' and an 'instructional reading level' when using an Informal Reading Inventory (IRI)?

Accepted Answer

Independent level (95%+ accuracy) requires no teacher support; instructional level (90-94% accuracy) benefits from teacher guidance

Answer

Independent level is where students read with 90% accuracy; instructional level is where they read with 95%+ accuracy

Answer

Both levels require the same amount of teacher support and produce the same comprehension outcomes

Answer

Instructional level texts are always two grades above a student's independent level

Question 3

Which of the following is the MOST evidence-based approach for improving reading comprehension for students in grades 3-5?

Accepted Answer

Explicit instruction in comprehension strategies such as summarizing, questioning, and inferencing

Answer

Sustained silent reading periods without accountability measures

Answer

Assigning more written book reports to increase engagement with texts

Answer

Increasing the volume of reading assigned as homework

Question 4

When analyzing a student's reading miscues during a running record, which type of miscue is considered the LEAST significant in terms of meaning construction?

Accepted Answer

Self-correcting an error that initially changed the meaning

Answer

Substituting a word that changes the meaning of the passage

Answer

Omitting a word that is critical to understanding the sentence

Answer

Inserting a word that disrupts the syntactic structure of the sentence

Question 5

A DESE teacher wants to use a 'close reading' approach with a complex literary text. Which sequence of activities best reflects this instructional strategy?

Accepted Answer

Read the text multiple times with different text-dependent questions at each reading

Answer

Preview vocabulary → read once → complete comprehension worksheet → move to next text

Answer

Read the text aloud once, then have students discuss personal connections to the theme

Answer

Pre-teach all background knowledge before reading so students can focus on enjoyment

Question 6

According to Massachusetts literacy standards, which element of writing instruction is most closely aligned with developing students' reading comprehension of argumentative texts?

Accepted Answer

Teaching students to construct written arguments using text-based evidence

Answer

Teaching students to write personal narratives about their own experiences

Answer

Teaching students to write descriptive paragraphs using sensory language

Answer

Teaching students correct grammar and mechanics through sentence editing exercises

Question 7

A school literacy coach is helping a teacher analyze DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) data for a class. Which DIBELS measure best predicts later reading comprehension outcomes for students in kindergarten?

Accepted Answer

Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF)

Answer

Letter Naming Fluency (LNF)

Answer

Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF)

Answer

Initial Sound Fluency (ISF)