RICA Phonological and Phonemic Awareness 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student is asked, 'What word is left if you remove the /s/ from the beginning of 'smile'?' This task assesses which skill?
- Phoneme blending
- Phoneme isolation
- Phoneme deletion (Correct answer)
- Phoneme categorization
Correct answer: Phoneme deletion
Phoneme deletion requires students to remove a specific phoneme from a word and identify the remaining word, which is the task described.
Question 2: Which instructional sequence correctly reflects the order in which phonological awareness skills should typically be taught?
- Phoneme segmentation → syllable awareness → rhyme recognition
- Rhyme recognition → syllable awareness → phoneme manipulation (Correct answer)
- Phoneme blending → onset-rime → syllable counting
- Phoneme deletion → phoneme isolation → rhyming
Correct answer: Rhyme recognition → syllable awareness → phoneme manipulation
Research supports moving from larger, easier units (rhyme, syllable) to smaller, more complex units (onset-rime, then individual phonemes) in phonological awareness instruction.
Question 3: Elkonin boxes (sound boxes) are most effective for developing which literacy skill?
- Fluency and automaticity with sight words
- Phoneme segmentation and spelling (Correct answer)
- Vocabulary breadth and depth
- Reading comprehension monitoring
Correct answer: Phoneme segmentation and spelling
Elkonin boxes have students push a token into a box for each phoneme, directly supporting phoneme segmentation and the connection between segmentation and spelling.
Question 4: Which of the following statements about phonemic awareness instruction is best supported by reading research?
- Phonemic awareness instruction is only beneficial for students who show early reading difficulties
- Phonemic awareness is best taught implicitly through extensive read-aloud experiences
- Explicit, systematic instruction in phonemic awareness significantly improves early reading and spelling (Correct answer)
- Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when delayed until first grade
Correct answer: Explicit, systematic instruction in phonemic awareness significantly improves early reading and spelling
The National Reading Panel and subsequent research consistently show that explicit, systematic phonemic awareness instruction produces significant gains in early reading and spelling outcomes.
Question 5: A student says 'wabbit' for 'rabbit.' A RICA-prepared teacher would recognize this as most likely indicating:
- A phonemic awareness deficit requiring intensive intervention
- A normal developmental articulation pattern that does not necessarily indicate a reading risk (Correct answer)
- Evidence that the student lacks phonological awareness entirely
- A permanent phonological processing disorder
Correct answer: A normal developmental articulation pattern that does not necessarily indicate a reading risk
Speech articulation errors in young children are often developmental and do not necessarily signal phonemic awareness or reading difficulties; teachers should distinguish articulation from phonological processing.
Question 6: Which phonemic awareness task requires the highest level of cognitive complexity?
- Phoneme isolation (identify the first sound in 'map')
- Phoneme blending ('/m/ /æ/ /p/' → 'map')
- Phoneme segmentation ('map' → '/m/ /æ/ /p/')
- Phoneme substitution (change /m/ in 'map' to /t/ → 'tap') (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Phoneme substitution (change /m/ in 'map' to /t/ → 'tap')
Phoneme substitution requires students to simultaneously segment, delete, and replace a phoneme, making it one of the most cognitively demanding phonemic awareness tasks.
Question 7: A kindergarten teacher uses songs, nursery rhymes, and word play to build early literacy skills. This approach primarily targets:
- Orthographic mapping and sight word development
- Phonological sensitivity and awareness of rhyme and rhythm (Correct answer)
- Decoding automaticity and reading fluency
- Morphological awareness and vocabulary acquisition
Correct answer: Phonological sensitivity and awareness of rhyme and rhythm
Songs, nursery rhymes, and word play naturally draw attention to the sound structure of language, building the phonological sensitivity that underlies later phonological awareness skills.
RICA Phonological and Phonemic Awareness 2
A student is asked, 'What word is left if you remove the /s/ from the beginning of 'smile'?' This task assesses which skill?