MKAS Instructional Planning & Differentiated Support 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A third-grade teacher co-teaches with a special education teacher. Which co-teaching model has BOTH teachers delivering instruction to the whole class simultaneously by sharing lead responsibilities?
- Station teaching
- Team teaching (Correct answer)
- One teach/one support
- Alternative teaching
Correct answer: Team teaching
Team teaching involves both educators jointly leading whole-class instruction, sharing delivery and interaction with all students.
Question 2: A kindergarten teacher documents that a student shows strong spatial reasoning but struggles with phonological tasks. According to a strengths-based approach, how should this information influence instructional planning?
- Focus intervention exclusively on phonological weaknesses and ignore spatial strengths
- Use the student's spatial strength as an entry point and scaffold for accessing literacy content (Correct answer)
- Refer the student immediately for special education evaluation based on the phonological weakness
- Group the student only with other spatially strong learners for all subjects
Correct answer: Use the student's spatial strength as an entry point and scaffold for accessing literacy content
A strengths-based approach leverages what students do well to scaffold access to areas of challenge, building confidence and connections.
Question 3: Under Mississippi's Literacy-Based Promotion Act, what must happen if a third-grade student does not demonstrate reading proficiency by the end of the year?
- The student is automatically promoted with an IEP for the following year
- The student must be retained in third grade unless a good-cause exemption applies (Correct answer)
- The student receives a modified diploma track beginning in fourth grade
- The parents must pay for private tutoring before the student can be promoted
Correct answer: The student must be retained in third grade unless a good-cause exemption applies
Mississippi's Literacy-Based Promotion Act requires that third-grade students who do not meet reading proficiency standards be retained unless a specific good-cause exemption is met.
Question 4: A teacher uses a think-pair-share strategy during a read-aloud to support diverse learners. Which aspect of differentiation does this PRIMARILY address?
- Content
- Product
- Process (Correct answer)
- Learning environment
Correct answer: Process
Think-pair-share changes how students process and engage with content by incorporating individual reflection and peer discussion before sharing publicly.
Question 5: A second-grade teacher notices that three students consistently demonstrate advanced understanding during math lessons. The MOST appropriate differentiated response is to:
- Have these students tutor struggling peers during every math lesson
- Provide curriculum compacting and offer enrichment tasks aligned to deeper mathematical thinking (Correct answer)
- Give these students extra practice worksheets on the current standard
- Move these students to the third-grade classroom for all math instruction
Correct answer: Provide curriculum compacting and offer enrichment tasks aligned to deeper mathematical thinking
Curriculum compacting allows students to demonstrate mastery and move into enrichment work, challenging advanced learners without simply adding more of the same work.
Question 6: Which of the following BEST describes the role of universal design for learning (UDL) in K-3 instructional planning?
- Designing separate lesson plans for students with disabilities
- Building in multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression for all learners from the outset (Correct answer)
- Providing accommodations only after a student is identified with a disability
- Creating a uniform learning environment that eliminates distractions for all students
Correct answer: Building in multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression for all learners from the outset
UDL proactively designs flexible learning experiences with multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression so all learners can access content from the start.
Question 7: A teacher collects pre-assessment data before beginning a new science unit. The MOST appropriate use of this data is to:
- Grade students on prior knowledge to establish a baseline score
- Group students flexibly and adjust instructional entry points based on what students already know (Correct answer)
- Inform parents of academic deficits before instruction begins
- Determine which students qualify for gifted services
Correct answer: Group students flexibly and adjust instructional entry points based on what students already know
Pre-assessment data should drive flexible grouping and adjustments to instructional pacing and entry points, not serve as a graded assignment.
MKAS Instructional Planning & Differentiated Support 5
A third-grade teacher co-teaches with a special education teacher.
Which co-teaching model has BOTH teachers delivering instruction to the whole class simultaneously by sharing lead responsibilities?