PRAXIS Teaching Reading: Phonics and Word Analysis 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student reads the word 'phone' and correctly produces the /f/ sound. Which concept does this demonstrate?
- A digraph representing a single sound (Correct answer)
- A consonant blend
- An r-controlled vowel
- A silent consonant rule
Correct answer: A digraph representing a single sound
The letters 'ph' form a digraph, two letters producing one sound, /f/.
Question 2: Which word contains a closed syllable?
- napkin (Correct answer)
- table
- rainy
- hero
Correct answer: napkin
In 'napkin' both syllables (nap-kin) end in a consonant, making them closed with short vowel sounds.
Question 3: A teacher wants students to blend the sounds /s/ /t/ /o/ /p/ into 'stop.' This skill is best described as:
- Phoneme blending (Correct answer)
- Phoneme segmentation
- Rhyming
- Syllable deletion
Correct answer: Phoneme blending
Combining individual phonemes into a spoken word is phoneme blending.
Question 4: Which of the following is the most appropriate first step when teaching the 'silent e' (VCe) pattern?
- Show how the e makes the preceding vowel say its long sound (Correct answer)
- Have students memorize a list of exception words
- Introduce multisyllabic Latin roots
- Teach diphthongs simultaneously
Correct answer: Show how the e makes the preceding vowel say its long sound
The core VCe principle is that the final silent e signals a long vowel sound in the preceding vowel.
Question 5: The word 'unhappily' can be broken into which morphemes?
- un + happy + ly (Correct answer)
- unh + appi + ly
- u + nhappi + ly
- unhapp + ily
Correct answer: un + happy + ly
It contains the prefix 'un-', the base word 'happy', and the suffix '-ly'.
Question 6: Which assessment best measures a student's phonics decoding skill while controlling for sight-word memorization?
- Nonsense (pseudo) word reading (Correct answer)
- Reading a familiar storybook
- A spelling test of high-frequency words
- An oral vocabulary interview
Correct answer: Nonsense (pseudo) word reading
Nonsense words cannot be memorized, so they isolate a student's ability to apply phonics rules.
Question 7: A student writes 'becuz' for 'because.' This invented spelling shows the student is:
- Applying phonetic spelling based on sounds heard (Correct answer)
- Unable to hear any phonemes
- Confusing letter names with letter sounds
- Reading above grade level
Correct answer: Applying phonetic spelling based on sounds heard
The spelling 'becuz' maps reasonably to the sounds in the word, showing phonemic awareness applied to spelling.
PRAXIS Teaching Reading: Phonics and Word Analysis 2
A student reads the word 'phone' and correctly produces the /f/ sound.
Which concept does this demonstrate?