FLDOE Reading Instruction 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to Florida's Literacy Framework, which component of reading instruction involves teaching students to understand the relationship between letters and sounds?
- Phonological awareness
- Phonics (Correct answer)
- Fluency
- Vocabulary
Correct answer: Phonics
Phonics specifically addresses letter-sound relationships (grapheme-phoneme correspondences), while phonological awareness is the broader auditory skill of recognizing sound units.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes 'phonological awareness' as defined by FLDOE literacy standards?
- The ability to decode printed words using letter-sound rules
- The understanding that spoken language can be broken into smaller sound units (Correct answer)
- The speed and accuracy with which a student reads aloud
- The ability to understand the meaning of a passage
Correct answer: The understanding that spoken language can be broken into smaller sound units
Phonological awareness is an oral/auditory skill involving the recognition and manipulation of sounds in spoken language, not printed text.
Question 3: Florida's B.E.S.T. (Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking) standards emphasize which foundational reading skill in grades K–2?
- Close reading of complex literary texts
- Explicit systematic phonics instruction (Correct answer)
- Independent silent reading for comprehension
- Vocabulary acquisition through context clues
Correct answer: Explicit systematic phonics instruction
Florida's B.E.S.T. standards prioritize explicit, systematic phonics instruction as a research-based foundational skill in the early grades.
Question 4: Under Florida's Just Read, Florida! initiative, which of the following reading components is NOT one of the five pillars of reading?
- Phonemic awareness
- Grammar (Correct answer)
- Fluency
- Comprehension
Correct answer: Grammar
The five pillars of reading are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; grammar is not one of the five pillars.
Question 5: A third-grade teacher notices a student reads slowly and laboriously, decoding word by word. Which reading component should the teacher target first?
- Comprehension strategies
- Vocabulary enrichment
- Reading fluency (Correct answer)
- Phonological awareness
Correct answer: Reading fluency
Word-by-word slow reading is a fluency problem; building automaticity and prosody will free cognitive resources for comprehension.
Question 6: Which assessment approach does Florida recommend to identify students at risk for reading difficulties in grades K–3?
- Portfolio assessment
- Universal screening (Correct answer)
- Summative state testing
- Teacher observation only
Correct answer: Universal screening
Universal screening is administered to all students three times per year to identify those at risk and in need of additional reading support.
Question 7: According to the Florida Statute 1008.25, a student who does not demonstrate sufficient reading proficiency by the end of third grade may be subject to which action?
- Mandatory summer school only
- Automatic referral to special education
- Good Cause Exemption review and possible grade retention (Correct answer)
- Immediate transfer to an alternative school
Correct answer: Good Cause Exemption review and possible grade retention
Florida's third-grade reading retention law requires that students not meeting the proficiency threshold be retained unless they qualify for a Good Cause Exemption.
FLDOE Reading Instruction 1
According to Florida's Literacy Framework, which component of reading instruction involves teaching students to understand the relationship between letters and sounds?