Word Study Jeopardy

Phonics

100

Asking students to listen to a word (e.g., same) and then tell the teacher all the sounds in the word is an exercise that would be most appropriate for students who: A. have a relatively low level of phonological awareness. B. are beginning to develop systematic phonics skills. C. have a relatively high level of phonemic awareness. D. are beginning to master the alphabetic principle.

What is C. The procedure described—presenting students with a spoken word and having them say all the sounds in the word—is an example of a phoneme-segmentation task. Reading research indicates that phonological and phonemic awareness skills develop along a continuum from basic to higher-level skills, and effective instruction targets skills at a student's current level of development. Segmenting phonemes is a relatively high-level phonemic awareness skill; thus, this exercise would be most appropriate for students who have already achieved a relatively high level of phonemic awareness (C). For this reason, A is incorrect. B and D are incorrect because these responses describe skills at later stages of literacy development.

200

Which of the following students is demonstrating the specific type of phonological awareness known as phonemic awareness? A - a student who, after being shown a letter of the alphabet, can orally identify its corresponding sound(s) B - a student who listens to the words sing, ring, fling, and hang and can identify that hang is different C - a student who, after hearing the word hat, can orally identify that it ends with the sound /t/ D - a student who listens to the word magazine and can determine that it contains three syllables

What is C. Phonemic awareness is the recognition that spoken words are made up of phonemes —the discrete speech sounds of a language. Identifying the final sound (or phoneme) in a word (C) demonstrates phonemic awareness. A, B, and D are incorrect because the skills described (identifying the sound corresponding to a letter, recognizing rhyming words, and counting syllables in a word, respectively) can be performed without the ability to distinguish separate phonemes in a spoken word

300

A kindergarten teacher could best determine if a child has begun to develop phonemic awareness by asking the child to: A. count the number of words the child hears in a sentence as the teacher says the sentence. B. say the word cat, then say the first sound the child hears in the word. C. point to the correct letter on an alphabet chart as the teacher names specific letters. D. listen to the teacher say boat and coat, then identify whether the two words rhyme.

What is B. Phonemic awareness, a type of phonological awareness, is the recognition that spoken words are made up of phonemes, the discrete speech sounds of a language. Segmenting the first sound in a spoken word is one of the first phonemic awareness skills to develop and therefore B is an effective informal procedure for assessing phonemic awareness in the beginning stages. A, C, and D are incorrect because performing the tasks described (counting words, recognizing letters and letter names, recognizing rhyming words) does not require phonemic awareness.

400

Explicit phonics instruction is most appropriate for a student who has demonstrated which of the following phonological awareness skills? A - being aware that a word is made up of one or more phonemes B - being able to separate a word’s onset rime. C - being aware that words can be divided into syllables. D- being able to segment and blend a word’s phonemes.

What is D. D is the correct answer because explicit phonics instruction or synthetic phonics focuses on the blending and building of sounds into syllables. Once a child is aware of and able to separate and blend word sounds, they are ready for explicit phonics instruction. Options B and C are incorrect because they describe skills that develop after those described in option D. Option A is incorrect because an awareness that words are made up of various sounds in needed in conjunction with the ability blend phonemes.

500

Use the sentences with missing letters below to answer the question that follows. W_ll y_ _ r _ _ d th _ s? _i _ _ _ou _ea_ _ _ i _? Reading researchers have observed that while sentence 1 is easily understood by most readers, sentence 2 is not. This observation best supports which of the following conclusions about effective phonics instruction? A - Capitalization and punctuation help determine the meaning of a sentence but are not relevant to decoding. B - Students should be encouraged to guess at a word’s identity once they have decoded part of the word. C - Context cues are as important as phonics knowledge in enabling a reader to decode connected text. D - Students’ ability to decode connected text will develop most quickly if phonics instruction begins with consonants.

What is D. D is the correct answer because research has shown that consonant and vowel information are processed differently, especially in the early stages. Consonants provide more reliable information in terms of word recognition. A and C are incorrect because there is no variance in punctuation or context. B is incorrect because word recognition is about using visual information to correctly and easily identify words. Encouraging guessing would work against this objective.

History / Spelling

100

The words enjoyable, maneuverable,corruptible, and convertible best illustrate which of the following principles? A - The spelling of a suffix can vary depending on its root word. B - The accented syllable of a root word can shift when certain suffixes are added to it. C - The addition of a suffix can alter the spelling of its root word. D - The pronunciation of a suffix can change when added to certain root words.

What is A. The four words presented contain the same derivational suffix, which has two variant spellings, –able and –ible. The correct spelling of the suffix in a particular word depends on the root of the word. B, C, and D are incorrect because the phonological and orthographic variations described in these responses do not occur in the words listed.

200

Through Word Study what is the purpose of Spelling?

What is spelling is designed to teach students about phonics, spelling and vocabulary (particularly morphology, the structure of words). Students learn more about reading from spelling then they do about spelling from reading.

300

Which of the following provides the best rationale for incorporating spelling instruction into a first-grade reading program? A. Spelling promotes phonemic awareness by teaching students to break words into onsets and rimes. B. Spelling facilitates vocabulary development by introducing students to new words. C. Spelling simplifies the reading process by focusing students on a limited set of decoding rules. D. Spelling supports word recognition by helping students learn and retain common phonics patterns.

What is D. Research has shown that the development of spelling and phonics skills is reciprocal; when instruction in these two skills is aligned, development of each skill area is reinforced and enhanced. Thus, learning the spelling patterns of words reinforces learning of their phonics patterns and supports word recognition. A is incorrect because phonemic awareness and the phonological awareness skill of onset-rime segmentation precedes and contributes to students' spelling development, not the reverse as stated in A. B is incorrect because most words targeted in spelling instruction are not new to students but already part of their oral vocabulary. C is incorrect because spelling knowledge continually expands the range of students' decoding skills and does not limit or simplify the decoding process.

400

Which of the following provides the best rationale for incorporating spelling instruction into a first-grade reading program? A. Spelling promotes phonemic awareness by teaching students to break words into onsets and rimes. B. Spelling facilitates vocabulary development by introducing students to new words. C. Spelling simplifies the reading process by focusing students on a limited set of decoding rules. D. Spelling supports word recognition by helping students learn and retain common phonics patterns.

What is D. Research has shown that the development of spelling and phonics skills is reciprocal; when instruction in these two skills is aligned, development of each skill area is reinforced and enhanced. Thus, learning the spelling patterns of words reinforces learning of their phonics patterns and supports word recognition. A is incorrect because phonemic awareness and the phonological awareness skill of onset-rime segmentation precedes and contributes to students' spelling development, not the reverse as stated in A. B is incorrect because most words targeted in spelling instruction are not new to students but already part of their oral vocabulary. C is incorrect because spelling knowledge continually expands the range of students' decoding skills and does not limit or simplify the decoding process.

500

Which of the following is the single best predictor of academic success for second-language learners? A - Vocabulary knowledge B - Wide reading of different text genres C - Parental involvement in school activities D - Knowledge of word-learning strategies

What is A. In a research study conducted by Muriel Saville-Troike, a student’s vocabulary knowledge in English was found to be the most important component or oral language proficiency relating to academic achievement.

Word Sorts

100

Which of the following provides the best rationale for incorporating spelling instruction into a first-grade reading program? A - Spelling promotes phonemic awareness by teaching students to break words into onsets and rimes. B - Spelling facilitates vocabulary development by introducing students to new words. C - Spelling simplifies the reading process by focusing students on a limited set of decoding rules. D - Spelling supports word recognition by helping students learn and retain common phonics patterns.

What is D. Research has shown that the development of spelling and phonics skills is reciprocal; when instruction in these two skills is aligned, development of each skill area is reinforced and enhanced. Thus,learning the spelling patterns of words reinforces learning of their phonics patterns and supports word recognition. A is incorrect because phonemic awareness and the phonological awareness skill of onset-rime segmentation precedes and contributes to students' spelling development, not the reverse as stated in A. B is incorrect because most words targeted in spelling instruction are not new to students but already part of their oral vocabulary. C is incorrect because spelling knowledge continually expands the range of students' decoding skills and does not limit or simplify the decoding process

200

What are some strategies for helping support students use of word study?

What is... Strategies That Support Students' Use of Word Study Say the word slowly and listen for the sounds you hear (initial sound, middle sound, final sound) Say the word slowly and listen for any parts you know (br in brought) Clap the syllables and write letters for each part you hear Use words you know (fun and silly to funny) Use a rhyming word (rain to train) Use word families to spell related words Use a resource in the classroom (chart, word wall, book, dictionary, calendar, words you've already written)

300

A second-grade teacher regularly reviews spelling patterns previously taught. The teacher also provides students with multiple opportunities to read and write connected text that features words containing the target spelling patterns and to engage in word sorts focused on previously taught spelling patterns. These types of activities are likely to promote students' reading proficiency primarily by developing their: A - knowledge of grade-level vocabulary. B - reading fluency with respect to accuracy. C -awareness of different types of morphemes. D - word recognition with respect to sight words.

What is B. In this scenario, the teacher uses both reading and writing activities to reinforce previously taught spelling patterns. Research has established that encoding and decoding are reciprocal processes and that spelling knowledge can contribute to word-reading accuracy. Accuracy is a key component of reading fluency. A is incorrect because the focus of the activity is on word recognition, not vocabulary acquisition. C is incorrect because the activities described do not relate to morphological awareness. Sight words are words that do not follow regular spelling patterns or that contain phonics elements that have not yet been taught, which makes D incorrect.

400

Which of the following teacher strategies would be most effective in developing the English proficiency skills of a kindergarten student who is a beginning English-language learner? A - Inviting a translator to assist the student during reading instruction B - Assigning a high-achieving student as a class partner C - Using songs and wordplay games to focus on sounds D - Sending the student to the school counselor

What is C. The use of songs and oral word games offers English-language learners a playful environment to learn sounds and words. These techniques make learning fun and interactive for students who are beginning to learn English.

500

A teacher notices that a kindergarten student is beginning to recognize the difference between a letter and word. The awareness most typically indicates that the student is developing an understanding of: A - the print sound code B - word identification C - print concepts D - syllabication

What is C. Print concept is an awareness of print in our everyday environment. Concepts about print involve understanding the difference between letters, words, punctuation and directionality. Print concepts foster reading comprehension and vocabulary growth.

Comprehension

100

A small group of first-grade students are in the reading center searching for words in picture books that match words on the classroom word wall. The activity best promotes which of the following? A - Phonemic Awareness B - Concepts of print C - Automatic recognition of sight words D - Independent reading

What is C. A word wall is a collection of words, usually arranged in usually arranged in alphabetical order, displayed on a classroom wall. The collections can be organized by unit of study, spelling patterns, or high frequency (sight) words, for example. The activity of searching for words in various sources encourages students to practice reading sight words. Students begin to discover the subtle differences in the words that will lead to automatic recognition.

200

Instruction in structural analysis is likely to promote upper elementary students’ reading comprehension primarily by: A - facilitating their ability to use phonics generalizations to decode words. B - enhancing their familiarity with the text structures and features used in different genres. C - equipping them with strategies for understanding the meaning of unfamiliar multisyllable words. D - increasing their knowledge of key vocabulary found in content-area textbooks.

What is C. C is the correct answer because structural analysis focuses on syllabication or the deconstruction of unknown words into parts (prefix, root, suffix). Structural analysis helps students identify and use the meaning of each of the smaller parts within the unknown word to determining the overall meaning. Option A is incorrect because structural analysis does not focus on phonics generalizations. Option B is incorrect because structural analysis refers to the analysis of the structure of single words and word parts, not the analysis of text. Option D is incorrect because it is not a primary benefit or objective of structural analysis to increase knowledge of key vocabulary found in textbooks.

300

Language -experience activities in kindergarten can best be used to benefit students’ early literacy development by: A - providing an authentic way to demonstrate word awareness in a meaningful context. B - giving students opportunities to build alphabet-recognition skills C - demonstrating how to to write in various genres D - providing a model of correct grammatical structures in written expression

What is (A), Through the use of language experience charts, teachers demonstrate how talking can be written down in a meaningful way. Students observe the process as the teacher records their ideas, and they learn word awareness in an authentic way. (B) is not the best answer because learning the names of the letters off the alphabet is not the purpose of using the language experience approach. (C) is not the best answer because, although topics for language experience activities may vary greatly, students are not being shown how to write in different genres, and such an activity is not developmentally appropriate for kindergarten students. (D) is not the best answer. The teacher provides a model of correct grammatical structures while recording students’ speech, but such modeling is not the primary benefit of language-experience activities for developing kindergarten students’ early literacy skills.

400

A first-grade teacher designs the following activity. 1. Divide students into pairs. 2. Have students sit back-to-back. 3. Give one student in each pair a picture of a familiar object to describe to his or her partner. 4. The partner tries to name the object based on the description. This activity is likely to contribute to students' literacy development primarily by: A. helping them begin to make connection between print and the spoken word. B. fostering their ability to work independently of teacher guidance. C. promoting their oral language development and listening comprehension.

What is C. Break the word into its component parts, and then compare the parts to the meanings of similar known words.

500

A sixth-grade student encounters the following sentence in a short story. “She experienced a sense of déjà vu as she walked down the street of the strange new city.” The student asks the teacher about the meaning of déjà vu in the sentence. The teacher could best respond by advising the student to take which of the following steps? A. Make note of the word in a vocabulary log, and then study the word after finishing the story. B. Look up the word in the dictionary, and then paraphrase the sentence using the dictionary definition. C. Break the word into its component parts, and then compare the parts to the meanings of similar known words.

What is C. Look up the word in the dictionary, and then paraphrase the sentence using the dictionary definition.

Hodge Podge

100

An English Language Learner pronounces tigers as tiger when reading the following sentence aloud. They saw tigers at the zoo. Which of the following actions is most appropriate for the teacher to take first in response to the student’s miscue? A - guide the student in reading lists of nouns with and without plural -s on the end B - verify that the student understands that tigers means more than one tiger C - provide student with independent practice in adding plural -s to singular nouns D - provide a picture card to determine whether the student can identify a tiger

What is B. B is the correct answer because in order to take any action to resolve the miscue, the teacher must first understand why the miscue occurred. A, C, and D are incorrect because without the information provided by the action described in option B, these actions would be ill informed.

200

According to current research, which of the following approaches is most likely to increase the effectiveness of phonemic awareness instruction? a.Relying primarily on individualized drills and worksheets to promote phonemic awareness b. introducing multiple phonemic awareness skills in one lesson c. providing explicit whole-class phonemic awareness instruction for two or more hours a day d. using concrete clues to help teach phonemic awareness

What is D. Current research suggests that the use of concrete clues can increase the effectiveness of phonemic awareness instruction. For example, a reading specialist might use plastic cubes to represent the phonemes of a spoken word (e.g: man) guiding the student to place one cube on the table as each sound of the word (e.g, m/a/n) is articulated. Other manipulative can increase the effectiveness of phonemic awareness instruction as well.

300

A sixth grade teacher asks the reading specialist to attend a conference with the parents of a student that has reading difficulties. The reading specialist notes that during the meeting the teacher uses terms such as “semantics” and metacognition while describing the student’s achievement. Following the conference, the teacher asks the reading specialist for feedback. Which of the following is the most appropriate response by the reading specialist? A - Recommend the teacher continue to assess the student and arrange a follow-up conference in a month to report progress B - Suggesting the teacher refer the student to the school’s child-study team for further evaluation C - Recommend the teacher refrain from using terminology with which parents may not be familiar D - Asking the teacher to share more examples of student work in parent conferences

What is C. In communicating with parents, it is important not use educational jargon that may not be understood. It is best to show parents what areas of literacy development may be challenging to the student through use of clear, appropriate language and examples of student work.

400

A reading specialist is planning instruction for a first grader who is learning English as a second language (ESL). The student is a beginning reader in her primary language. The reading specialist, who has familiarity with the student’s primary language, begins by considering similarities between the sound system of the student’s primary language and the sound system of English. The primary benefit of this approach is that it will help the reading specialist plan ways to: A - promote positive transfer between the student’s primary language and English B - improve the student’s letter recognition and letter naming skills C - reinforce the student's automatic recognition of irregular sight words in English D - develop the student’s recognition of voice-print matching

What is A. For students who are learning English as a second language (ESL), positive transfer can occur when a similarity exists between the student’s primary language and English. For example, if a student’s primary language is phonetically based, and if some letters are shared by the primary language and English correspond to the same sounds in both languages, these similarities can facilitate the student’s learning of English.

500

A sixth-grade student encounters the following sentence in a short story. “She experienced a sense of déjà vu as she walked down the street of the strange new city.” The student asks the teacher about the meaning of déjà vu in the sentence. The teacher could best respond by advising the student to take which of the following steps? A. Make note of the word in a vocabulary log, and then study the word after finishing the story. B. Look up the word in the dictionary, and then paraphrase the sentence using the dictionary definition. C. Break the word into its component parts, and then compare the parts to the meanings of similar known words.

What is C. Look up the word in the dictionary, and then paraphrase the sentence using the dictionary definition.