STR Phonics and Decoding 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the alphabetic principle?
- The ability to hear individual sounds in spoken words
- The understanding that print carries meaning from left to right
- The concept that letters and letter combinations represent sounds in a systematic way (Correct answer)
- The sequence in which letters of the alphabet are introduced to students
Correct answer: The concept that letters and letter combinations represent sounds in a systematic way
The alphabetic principle is the foundational understanding that written letters and letter combinations systematically represent the sounds of spoken language.
Question 2: Which type of phonics instruction introduces letter-sound relationships in a predetermined, logical sequence?
- Embedded phonics
- Incidental phonics
- Whole-language phonics
- Systematic phonics (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Systematic phonics
Systematic phonics instruction introduces letter-sound correspondences in a carefully planned, sequential order rather than as opportunities arise in connected text.
Question 3: What is a grapheme?
- A meaningful unit of language such as a prefix or suffix
- A unit of sound in spoken language
- A written symbol or set of symbols representing a single phoneme (Correct answer)
- A syllable within a multisyllabic word
Correct answer: A written symbol or set of symbols representing a single phoneme
A grapheme is the written representation of a phoneme, which may be a single letter or a combination of letters such as 'sh' or 'igh'.
Question 4: What is a digraph?
- A consonant blend at the beginning of a word
- Two letters that together represent one phoneme (Correct answer)
- A word with exactly two syllables
- Two adjacent vowels that each retain their individual sound
Correct answer: Two letters that together represent one phoneme
A digraph is two letters that combine to represent a single phoneme, such as 'sh,' 'ch,' 'th,' or 'ph.'
Question 5: Which syllable type ends in a consonant, typically resulting in a short vowel sound?
- Open syllable
- Vowel-consonant-e syllable
- Vowel team syllable
- Closed syllable (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Closed syllable
A closed syllable ends in one or more consonants, which 'closes' the vowel and typically produces a short vowel sound, as in 'cat' or 'sit.'
Question 6: When students apply letter-sound knowledge to read unfamiliar words, they are using which skill?
- Semantic cueing
- Contextual guessing
- Phonological decoding (Correct answer)
- Whole-word recognition
Correct answer: Phonological decoding
Phonological decoding is the process of using letter-sound correspondences to systematically sound out and read unfamiliar words.
Question 7: Which syllable type contains a vowel immediately followed by the letter 'r,' which modifies the vowel sound?
- Open syllable
- Consonant-le syllable
- Closed syllable
- R-controlled syllable (Correct answer)
Correct answer: R-controlled syllable
R-controlled syllables (ar, er, ir, or, ur) contain a vowel followed by 'r,' which changes the vowel sound so it is neither clearly short nor long.
STR Phonics and Decoding 1
What is the alphabetic principle?