ELAR Foundations of Reading 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which term describes the ability to recognize and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words?
- Phonics
- Phonemic awareness (Correct answer)
- Fluency
- Vocabulary
Correct answer: Phonemic awareness
Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual phonemes (sounds) in spoken words.
Question 2: A student reads 'ship' as 'chip.' This error most likely indicates difficulty with which phoneme?
- The short /i/ vowel sound
- The final /p/ consonant
- The initial consonant digraph /sh/ (Correct answer)
- The consonant blend /sp/
Correct answer: The initial consonant digraph /sh/
Substituting 'ch' for 'sh' shows the student is confusing the /sh/ digraph with the /ch/ digraph.
Question 3: What does 'orthographic knowledge' primarily refer to in reading instruction?
- Understanding punctuation rules
- Knowledge of the spelling patterns and conventions of a language (Correct answer)
- The ability to read aloud with expression
- Comprehension of written sentences
Correct answer: Knowledge of the spelling patterns and conventions of a language
Orthographic knowledge refers to understanding how letters and letter patterns represent sounds in a writing system.
Question 4: Which reading approach teaches students to use letter-sound relationships to decode unfamiliar words?
- Whole language
- Sight-word memorization
- Systematic phonics (Correct answer)
- Guided reading levels
Correct answer: Systematic phonics
Systematic phonics instruction explicitly teaches letter-sound correspondences in a structured, sequential order.
Question 5: A child counts three sounds in the word 'splash.' Is this correct?
- Yes, because there are three syllables
- No, there are five phonemes: /s/ /p/ /l/ /a/ /sh/ (Correct answer)
- Yes, because it has three consonant letters at the start
- No, there are four phonemes: /spl/ /a/ /sh/
Correct answer: No, there are five phonemes: /s/ /p/ /l/ /a/ /sh/
'Splash' contains five phonemes: /s/, /p/, /l/, /æ/, /ʃ/, so three is an undercount.
Question 6: Which text structure feature signals a cause-and-effect relationship in informational text?
- Words like 'first,' 'next,' and 'finally'
- Words like 'similarly' and 'likewise'
- Words like 'therefore,' 'as a result,' and 'because' (Correct answer)
- Words like 'however' and 'in contrast'
Correct answer: Words like 'therefore,' 'as a result,' and 'because'
Signal words such as 'therefore,' 'as a result,' and 'because' indicate a cause-and-effect text structure.
Question 7: What is a 'morpheme' in the context of reading and language development?
- A single speech sound
- The smallest meaningful unit of language (Correct answer)
- A syllable that contains a vowel
- A punctuation mark that changes meaning
Correct answer: The smallest meaningful unit of language
A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a language, such as the word 'run' or the suffix '-ing.'
ELAR Foundations of Reading 2
Which term describes the ability to recognize and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words?