STR Phonological Awareness 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which skill is part of phonological awareness but NOT phonemic awareness?
- Phoneme deletion
- Phoneme blending
- Syllable segmentation (Correct answer)
- Phoneme substitution
Correct answer: Syllable segmentation
Syllable segmentation operates at the syllable level, which is broader than the phoneme level. Phonemic awareness specifically concerns individual phonemes.
Phonological awareness is an umbrella term encompassing sensitivity to all sizes of sound units in spoken language: words within sentences, syllables within words, onsets and rimes, and individual phonemes. Phonemic awareness is the narrowest subset, focusing exclusively on phonemes. Syllable segmentation involves larger units than phonemes and therefore belongs to phonological awareness but not to phonemic awareness. This distinction is heavily tested on the STR TExES 293.
Question 2: A teacher asks students to listen to two words and decide if they rhyme: 'cat' and 'bat.' This activity develops which component of phonological awareness?
- Phoneme isolation
- Rhyme recognition (Correct answer)
- Onset-rime blending
- Syllable counting
Correct answer: Rhyme recognition
Deciding whether two words rhyme is rhyme recognition, one of the earliest-developing phonological awareness skills.
Rhyme recognition is among the earliest phonological awareness skills to emerge. It requires sensitivity to sub-word sound structure at the rime level but does not demand phoneme-level analysis. This activity is appropriate for pre-K and early kindergarten. The STR exam tests whether future teachers can place activities within the phonological awareness developmental progression so instruction is appropriately sequenced from simpler to more complex skills.
Question 3: Which statement about syllable types is accurate as defined in the Science of Reading framework?
- A closed syllable ends with a vowel and the vowel is typically long
- An open syllable ends with a consonant and the vowel is typically short
- A closed syllable ends with a consonant and the vowel is typically short (Correct answer)
- A vowel team syllable contains only one vowel letter
Correct answer: A closed syllable ends with a consonant and the vowel is typically short
A closed syllable ends with one or more consonants, and the vowel before them is typically short, as in 'cat' or 'hop'.
The six syllable types are a foundational concept in structured literacy: Closed (ends in consonant, short vowel), Open (ends in vowel, long vowel), Vowel-consonant-e (long vowel, silent e), Vowel team (two or more vowels together), R-controlled (vowel modified by r), and Consonant-le (unaccented final syllable). Knowledge of syllable types helps students decode multisyllabic words. The STR TExES 293 expects teachers to know these types and use them in instruction.
Question 4: Which task is MOST appropriate as an initial phonological awareness activity for pre-K students?
- Phoneme segmentation of CVC words
- Blending onset and rime
- Counting syllables by clapping (Correct answer)
- Phoneme deletion from blends
Correct answer: Counting syllables by clapping
Syllable clapping is appropriate for the earliest stage of phonological awareness development and is accessible to pre-K students before phoneme-level tasks.
The phonological awareness continuum progresses from larger to smaller sound units. For pre-K students, syllable-level activities are developmentally appropriate starting points because they require sensitivity to a larger, more perceivable unit than the phoneme. Onset-rime blending comes next, followed by phoneme blending and segmentation with simple CVC words. Phoneme deletion from consonant blends is among the most advanced phonological awareness tasks and is inappropriate as an initial activity.
Question 5: A student can blend phonemes into words but struggles with segmenting words into phonemes. Which instructional strategy would be MOST effective?
- Practice more blending to strengthen phonological memory before teaching segmentation
- Use Elkonin boxes or counters to make segmentation concrete and systematic (Correct answer)
- Move directly to phonics instruction since blending is sufficient
- Focus on syllable-level activities to build confidence before returning to phonemes
Correct answer: Use Elkonin boxes or counters to make segmentation concrete and systematic
Elkonin boxes provide a concrete, kinesthetic scaffold that helps students physically separate phonemes, directly targeting the segmentation skill gap.
When a student can blend but not segment, the teacher should provide direct, explicit instruction with concrete supports. Elkonin boxes are the most research-supported tool for this: the student has one box per phoneme and pushes a token into each box as they say each sound. Simply doing more blending would not address the segmentation gap; moving to phonics prematurely would deprive the student of the phonemic foundation needed for phonics to be fully effective.
Question 6: How many phonemes does the word 'strength' contain?
- 4
- 5
- 6 (Correct answer)
- 8
Correct answer: 6
Strength contains 6 phonemes: /s/ /t/ /r/ /e/ /ng/ /th/. The letters 'ng' and 'th' are each digraphs representing one phoneme.
Phoneme counting is a critical teacher knowledge skill on the STR TExES 293. 'Strength' has 8 letters but only 6 phonemes: /s/, /t/, /r/, /e/, /ng/ (a single nasal phoneme), and /th/ (a single fricative phoneme). The 'ng' is a digraph representing one phoneme, as is 'th'. Teachers must be proficient at phoneme counting to design accurate phonemic awareness tasks and to correctly assess student responses.
STR Phonological Awareness 2
Which skill is part of phonological awareness but NOT phonemic awareness?