Study Guide
Field 050: Elementary Education Subtest 1
Sample Selected-Response Questions
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General Test Directions for Elementary Education Subtest 1
This test consists of two sections: 1) a section with selected-response questions and 2) a constructed-response section.
Each question in the first section is a selected-response question with four answer choices. Read each question and answer choice carefully and choose the start uppercase ONE end uppercase best answer.
Try to answer all questions. Even if you are unsure of an answer, it is better to guess than not to answer a question at all. You will start uppercase NOT end uppercase be penalized for guessing.
The second section of this test consists of one constructed-response assignment. You will be asked to provide a written response to the assignment. Directions for completing your written response to the constructed-response assignment appear immediately before the assignment.
You may start uppercase NOT end uppercase use any type of calculator or reference materials during the test session.
Sample Selected-Response Questions
Competency 0001
Apply knowledge of foundations of literacy development in English, including development
and assessment of phonological and phonemic awareness.
1. A kindergarten teacher plays an oral language game with students. In the game, the teacher says a familiar word and students respond by repeating and drawing out each individual sound they hear in the word. For example, when the teacher says the word start italics miss end italics , the students say start italics mmmiiisss end italics . This kind of phonemic segmentation oral language activity most directly supports the development of which of the following future literacy skills?
- applying word-learning strategies
- interpreting print conventions
- spelling regular words
- recognizing textual structures
Correct Response: C. The symbolic system of written English is alphabetic. This means that the single letters and complex letter patterns used to represent words in print correspond to the phonemes of the spoken words. Readers who have mastered the phonics patterns (i.e., the grapheme-phoneme relationships) of English and who can determine the component phonemes of a word can apply this knowledge to determine the likely spellings of the word. The phoneme-segmentation activity described enhances the ability of emergent readers to hear and identify the separate phonemes that make up familiar words, which is a foundational skill for spelling regular words.
Competency 0002
Apply knowledge of the alphabetic principle and the development and assessment of
accurate, automatic word recognition and spelling at beginning stages of literacy
development.
2. A second-grade student frequently misreads and then self-corrects V C e pattern words ending in the inflection start italics -I N G end italics (e.g., start italics hoping end italics , start italics taping end italics , start italics biting end italics ). For example, when reading aloud a word list, the student initially mispronounces start italics hoping end italics as [hŏping] and then pronounces the word correctly. Which of the following differentiation strategies would likely be most effective in addressing this student's difficulty?
- providing repeated oral reading practice of texts that include instances of words ending in start italics -ing end italics
- using texts for oral reading practice in which only uninflected verb forms appear
- providing systematic review of and practice in reading grade-level verb inflections
- using word sorts to provide practice distinguishing between V C E and C V C words with the I N G ending
Correct Response: D. The student's decoding errors, pronouncing V C e pattern words with a short-vowel sound when they appear with the inflectional ending -I N G , suggest that he or she initially analyzes these complex words as C V C pattern words ending in -I N G. The student's self-corrections indicate some familiarity with the word pattern or the relevant orthographic guideline (i.e., when -i n g is added to a V C e pattern word, the final silent e of the base word is dropped) but not yet automaticity. Word sorts that require the student to distinguish between the similar inflected forms would focus the student's attention on the forms' spelling differences and provide practice likely to promote automatic recognition.
Competency 0002
Apply knowledge of the alphabetic principle and the development and assessment of
accurate, automatic word recognition and spelling at beginning stages of literacy
development.
3. A second grader makes the responses listed below on an oral reading test.
| Stimulus | Response |
|---|---|
| steam | stem |
| shop | chop |
| cloud | cloud |
| swim | swim |
| bread | breed |
| dish | ditch |
The student's errors on this assignment suggest that the student would likely benefit most from instruction on which of the following sets of topics?
- initial consonants and R controlled vowels
- consonant digraphs and vowel digraphs
- final consonants and medial consonants
- consonant blends and vowel diphthongs
Correct Response: B. The student's oral responses demonstrate difficulty decoding the, start italics, S H, end italics, found in, start italics, shop, end italics, and, start italics, dish, end italics, and the, start italics E A, end italics, found in, start italics, steam, end italics, and, start italics, bread, end italics. The, start italics s h, end italics, is a consonant digraph and the, start italics, E A, end italics, is a vowel digraph. This pattern of errors indicates that the student would benefit from further help with consonant and vowel digraphs.
Competency 0005
Apply knowledge of development and assessment of vocabulary knowledge and skills.
4. Structural analysis would be the most appropriate strategy for a student to use to determine the meaning of which of the following words?
- impassable
- elephant
- interim
- examine
Correct Response: A. Structural analysis is a strategy used to predict the meaning of unfamiliar morphologically complex words by breaking the words into their component elements (e.g., roots, affixes, inflectional endings). Of the answer choices given, only choice A, start italics, impassable, end italics, is well suited for using structural analysis to determine its meaning. This is because a reader can readily break the word into its component parts (start italics, im, pass, able, end italics) and then use the meaning of each part to predict the meaning of the complex word.
Competency 0007
Apply knowledge of literary texts and development and assessment of skills and strategies
for comprehending and analyzing literature.
5. After students read a novel narrated from the point of view of an outside observer, the teacher has them write a journal entry in which they retell the climactic event of the story from the point of view of the story's central character. This assignment effectively promotes the development of which of the following comprehension skills?
- inferring information not explicitly stated in a text
- analyzing the intended audience of a text
- identifying recurring themes in a text
- evaluating the use of figurative language in a text
Correct Response: A. The point of view of a novel limits the explicit information presented in the text to the direct experience, thoughts, and perspectives of the narrator. In a novel narrated by an outside observer, the thoughts and emotions of the central character in the story are suggested to the reader only indirectly, by the character's actions or spoken words as reported by the narrator. In order to write an account of the climactic event from the central character's point of view, students must infer the character's opinions and emotional responses to the event from the objective actions explicitly reported in the text.
Competency 0009
Apply knowledge of the foundations of writing development and the fundamental elements
of the writing process.
6. start italics Use the passage below to answer the question that follows. end italics
1Sentence 1The sled dogs were bearing the brunt of the burden, but they were rewarded for their efforts with a fine feast each evening. 2Sentence 2And, as the journey across the tundra progressed, the packs on their sleds grew lighter. 3Sentence 3In the evenings the dogs lay next to one another in a furry mass to keep warm. 4Sentence 4Sometimes they joined in the howling of the wolf packs encircling the camp in the distance, making the humans extremely edgy. 5Sentence 5The wolves seemed fearful of the campfires. 6Sentence 6In the mornings, the dogs scrambled to their feet and shook themselves off, sometimes creating momentary rainbow bursts as the early morning rays of sun filtered through the spraying snow and ice droplets.
Which of the following revisions would best improve the overall unity of this text?
- deleting the second half of Sentence 1
- switching the order of Sentences 2 and 3
- deleting Sentence 5
- moving Sentence 6 to the beginning of the text
Correct Response: C. This passage, about a group of sled dogs making a journey across a tundra, includes a narrative description of the dogs' behaviors and experiences in the evening encampment. Sentence 4, in which the dogs "joined in the howling of the wolf packs," describes an alliance between dogs and wolves that makes "humans edgy." Sentence 5 not only interrupts the narrative focus on the dogs and the camp by shifting focus to the wolves outside the camp looking in, but also contrasts with the previous sentence in outlook by suggesting the wolves—not the humans—are afraid. Deleting the sentence would restore the unity of the passage.
Competency 0010
Apply knowledge of writing skills and strategies for various purposes and audiences.
7. start bold Read the paragraph below about a national park; then answer the question that follows. end bold
I'm from a city, and I had always thought of "nature" as peaceful and quiet, but these woods fairly crackled with activity and noise. While jays made an angry "kkkk-kar," squirrels crashed through the treetops, their bottle-brush tails flickering in and out of sight as I squinted against the bright sky to follow their progress.
The paragraph most clearly exemplifies how a writer can effectively develop a real experience through the use of:
- a first-person perspective.
- complex sentence structure.
- vivid sensory details.
- a chronological structure.
Correct Response: C. The author of this passage uses a wealth of sensory detail to describe the woods, describing very specific sounds (e.g., "jays made an angry 'kkkk-kar') and sights (e.g., the "bottle-brush tails" of the squirrels). These details, taken as a whole, convey a sense of the woods as the author experienced them.
Competency 0011
Apply knowledge of the fundamental elements of research to build and present knowledge.
8. Sixth-grade students are beginning research for individual writing projects on topics related to the ancient Mayan civilization. To help students take effective notes from various sources, the teacher should ensure students start italics first end italics take which of the following steps?
- learning the structure of a traditional outline
- formulating specific questions they want to address in their papers
- making a list of key words related to their topic
- developing a color-coded system keyed to reference materials
Correct Response: B. In order to navigate resources successfully at the start of a research project, students need to define specific questions that will give purpose and focus to their reading. If students have specific questions from which to work, they can quickly determine if certain resources will be useful in their research. Students can then use their research questions as a guide for locating key information within the resources they have identified as useful.
Competency 0012
Apply knowledge of oral language and visual literacy, including listening, speaking,
viewing, and representing.
9. To best ensure the success of a persuasive speech, a speaker should carry out which of the following steps before planning how to select, organize, and present supporting material?
- analyzing the knowledge, attitudes, and interests of the intended audience
- drafting an interesting introduction and conclusion for the speech
- determining which type of organizational pattern to use for the speech
- deciding how much time to devote to the presentation of visual aids
Correct Response: A. A speaker is most likely to be successful in persuading an audience if the speaker has taken steps beforehand to understand the audience he or she is trying to persuade. Analyzing an audience's knowledge, attitudes, and interests before developing a persuasive speech enables a speaker to focus on information and issues that can be expected to be meaningful and important to the audience.