STR Practice Exam 2 | 90 Questions with 100% Correct Answers
A teacher invites students to sit at her desk where she has a set of letter tiles. The teacher spells a
CVC word with the tiles and asks the student to read the word aloud. The teacher notes whether
the word is read correctly or not. Then the teacher swaps out a tile to create a new word and the
process repeats. Students are assessed on how well they can read the new CVC words with a goal
of 25 words correct.
Based on the skill being assessed, this teacher most likely teaches which grade level?
prekindergarten
kindergarten
first grade
second grade Correct Answer: kindergarten
The ability to recognize that new words are created when letters are changed, added, or deleted is
a benchmark associated with kindergarten-level students.
A second-grade student is reading from a text and comes across the following sentence.
"I'd go outside, but it's raining cats and dogs!"
He raises his hand to call the teacher over. He asks how it can rain cats and dogs. The teacher
replies, "'Raining cats and dogs' is something called an idiom," and suggests he looks at the
illustration to take a guess what that might mean. The student reviews the illustration showing a
heavy rain and asks, "It means there is a lot of rain?"
Based on this example, this student is likely in which stage of reading proficiency, according to
the TELPAS Proficiency Level Descriptors?
beginning
intermediate
advanced
advanced-High Correct Answer: advanced
Beginning to understand and explore literal and figurative meanings of words is an example of
what can be expected of an advanced reader.
Every Monday students in a first-grade class are asked to write about a topic of their choice. The
teacher informally reviews these journals as a way to assess her student's progress with certain
orthographic or grammatical concepts. A student writes the following sentence.
,We got ice creem and spended time at the bech.
Based on this writing sample, this student is most likely in which stage of spelling development?
precommunicative
semiphonetic
conventional
transitional Correct Answer: transitional
Transitional students can spell many words correctly, but still struggle with irregular spellings.
Based on this student's errors, he is likely in the transitional stage.
A veteran teacher has been asked by the principal to adjust his curriculum to include more
multicultural literature and diverse authors. When choosing multicultural literature for the
classroom, the teacher should look for texts that:
are reflective of the cultural makeup of his students while also offering new experiences of
different, underrepresented cultures.
provide a sampling of all cultures in the world so that the class can experience as much diversity
as possible.
mirror the diversity in his classroom exactly, excluding cultures or ethnicities that are not
currently represented by students in the class.
stereotypically represent a culture so that students get a quick, easy-to-understand view of
unfamiliar lifestyles. Correct Answer: are reflective of the cultural makeup of his students while
also offering new experiences of different, underrepresented cultures.
Students come to texts with background knowledge when the multicultural literature matches
their lives, but finding an appropriate balance between familiar and new is important for helping
students grow as readers and citizens of the world.
A third-grade teacher groups students together to discuss the nonfiction article they just finished.
The teacher provides a list of discussion questions for the students to answer. As she walks
around, she overhears a lot of simple "yes" or "no" style answers and realizes that the students
are not engaging critically in this discussion. She wants to encourage her students to participate
in more academic conversations about their reading. Which of the following would best promote
this goal?
Model thinking-aloud about a text while reading to the class.
,Model annotation strategies and provide time for students to practice annotating a text before
discussion.
Provide students with graphic organizers to record notes and key information on.
Post a list of sentence starters on the wall for students to reference. Correct Answer: Post a list
of sentence starters on the wall for students to reference.
Providing sentence starters and encouraging students to use them while discussing academic
texts is one way to achieve this goal.
A third-grade class is working on a cross-curricular project focused on protecting natural
environments. The students are reading about various local and national ecosystems, the
challenges facing the survival of these areas, and ways humans can work together to protect
these natural habitats. As students work, they are encouraged to write unfamiliar vocabulary
words on a specific section of the whiteboard.
Currently, the word lists include the terms:
habitat
marsh
tundra
extinction
pollute
conservation
Any student who writes an unfamiliar term on the board is given the following handout to
complete:
Most of the words on this list are tier three vocabulary words. Once students have written the
terms in their notebooks, the teacher holds a discussion on each term. She reads the example
sentence from the articles, points out any context clues present, and works with the class to
create a working definition of the term. Which activities would most benefit student's learning
and retention of these tier three terms?
Select all answers that apply.
Create a word web linking these terms to words the students already know and understand.
Project images of the words and ask students to add a drawing to their vocabulary notebooks.
Give students a second example sentence to include in their vocabulary notebooks.
Provide the definition and ask students to write it in their vocabulary notebooks. Correct Answer:
Create a word web linking these terms to words the students already know and understand.
, Breaking down complex vocabulary through a semantic map or word web helps students build
connections between the new term and those they already know.
Project images of the words and ask students to add a drawing to their vocabulary notebooks.
Because tier three words are content-specific, students may not have any background knowledge
to apply to the term. Showing photos when possible gives students a visual clue for the word's
meaning which is beneficial when learning tier three terms.
A third-grade class is working on a cross-curricular project focused on protecting natural
environments. The students are reading about various local and national ecosystems, the
challenges facing the survival of these areas, and ways humans can work together to protect
these natural habitats. As students work, they are encouraged to write unfamiliar vocabulary
words on a specific section of the whiteboard.
Currently, the word lists include the terms:
habitat
marsh
tundra
extinction
pollute
conservation
Any student who writes an unfamiliar term on the board is given the following handout to
complete:
By asking students to complete the provided handout, the teacher is demonstrating her
understanding that in order internalize new vocabulary words, a student needs:
practice defining a word using background knowledge, context, and word morphology, not
solely through finding the definition in a dictionary.
knowledge of a word's denotation and connotation, origins, and related words to fully
comprehend a word's meaning.
opportunities to interact with the word authentically via reading, writing, and speaking after
learning its definition.
rote memorization activities enhanced by graphic organizers and writing assignments. Correct
Answer: practice defining a word using background knowledge, context, and word morphology,
not solely through finding the definition in a dictionary.
Using prior knowledge and word analysis skills to define a word is more useful in the long run
than exclusively looking up and memorizing dictionary definitions. The teacher is allowing
students to practice these skills through this handout.
A teacher invites students to sit at her desk where she has a set of letter tiles. The teacher spells a
CVC word with the tiles and asks the student to read the word aloud. The teacher notes whether
the word is read correctly or not. Then the teacher swaps out a tile to create a new word and the
process repeats. Students are assessed on how well they can read the new CVC words with a goal
of 25 words correct.
Based on the skill being assessed, this teacher most likely teaches which grade level?
prekindergarten
kindergarten
first grade
second grade Correct Answer: kindergarten
The ability to recognize that new words are created when letters are changed, added, or deleted is
a benchmark associated with kindergarten-level students.
A second-grade student is reading from a text and comes across the following sentence.
"I'd go outside, but it's raining cats and dogs!"
He raises his hand to call the teacher over. He asks how it can rain cats and dogs. The teacher
replies, "'Raining cats and dogs' is something called an idiom," and suggests he looks at the
illustration to take a guess what that might mean. The student reviews the illustration showing a
heavy rain and asks, "It means there is a lot of rain?"
Based on this example, this student is likely in which stage of reading proficiency, according to
the TELPAS Proficiency Level Descriptors?
beginning
intermediate
advanced
advanced-High Correct Answer: advanced
Beginning to understand and explore literal and figurative meanings of words is an example of
what can be expected of an advanced reader.
Every Monday students in a first-grade class are asked to write about a topic of their choice. The
teacher informally reviews these journals as a way to assess her student's progress with certain
orthographic or grammatical concepts. A student writes the following sentence.
,We got ice creem and spended time at the bech.
Based on this writing sample, this student is most likely in which stage of spelling development?
precommunicative
semiphonetic
conventional
transitional Correct Answer: transitional
Transitional students can spell many words correctly, but still struggle with irregular spellings.
Based on this student's errors, he is likely in the transitional stage.
A veteran teacher has been asked by the principal to adjust his curriculum to include more
multicultural literature and diverse authors. When choosing multicultural literature for the
classroom, the teacher should look for texts that:
are reflective of the cultural makeup of his students while also offering new experiences of
different, underrepresented cultures.
provide a sampling of all cultures in the world so that the class can experience as much diversity
as possible.
mirror the diversity in his classroom exactly, excluding cultures or ethnicities that are not
currently represented by students in the class.
stereotypically represent a culture so that students get a quick, easy-to-understand view of
unfamiliar lifestyles. Correct Answer: are reflective of the cultural makeup of his students while
also offering new experiences of different, underrepresented cultures.
Students come to texts with background knowledge when the multicultural literature matches
their lives, but finding an appropriate balance between familiar and new is important for helping
students grow as readers and citizens of the world.
A third-grade teacher groups students together to discuss the nonfiction article they just finished.
The teacher provides a list of discussion questions for the students to answer. As she walks
around, she overhears a lot of simple "yes" or "no" style answers and realizes that the students
are not engaging critically in this discussion. She wants to encourage her students to participate
in more academic conversations about their reading. Which of the following would best promote
this goal?
Model thinking-aloud about a text while reading to the class.
,Model annotation strategies and provide time for students to practice annotating a text before
discussion.
Provide students with graphic organizers to record notes and key information on.
Post a list of sentence starters on the wall for students to reference. Correct Answer: Post a list
of sentence starters on the wall for students to reference.
Providing sentence starters and encouraging students to use them while discussing academic
texts is one way to achieve this goal.
A third-grade class is working on a cross-curricular project focused on protecting natural
environments. The students are reading about various local and national ecosystems, the
challenges facing the survival of these areas, and ways humans can work together to protect
these natural habitats. As students work, they are encouraged to write unfamiliar vocabulary
words on a specific section of the whiteboard.
Currently, the word lists include the terms:
habitat
marsh
tundra
extinction
pollute
conservation
Any student who writes an unfamiliar term on the board is given the following handout to
complete:
Most of the words on this list are tier three vocabulary words. Once students have written the
terms in their notebooks, the teacher holds a discussion on each term. She reads the example
sentence from the articles, points out any context clues present, and works with the class to
create a working definition of the term. Which activities would most benefit student's learning
and retention of these tier three terms?
Select all answers that apply.
Create a word web linking these terms to words the students already know and understand.
Project images of the words and ask students to add a drawing to their vocabulary notebooks.
Give students a second example sentence to include in their vocabulary notebooks.
Provide the definition and ask students to write it in their vocabulary notebooks. Correct Answer:
Create a word web linking these terms to words the students already know and understand.
, Breaking down complex vocabulary through a semantic map or word web helps students build
connections between the new term and those they already know.
Project images of the words and ask students to add a drawing to their vocabulary notebooks.
Because tier three words are content-specific, students may not have any background knowledge
to apply to the term. Showing photos when possible gives students a visual clue for the word's
meaning which is beneficial when learning tier three terms.
A third-grade class is working on a cross-curricular project focused on protecting natural
environments. The students are reading about various local and national ecosystems, the
challenges facing the survival of these areas, and ways humans can work together to protect
these natural habitats. As students work, they are encouraged to write unfamiliar vocabulary
words on a specific section of the whiteboard.
Currently, the word lists include the terms:
habitat
marsh
tundra
extinction
pollute
conservation
Any student who writes an unfamiliar term on the board is given the following handout to
complete:
By asking students to complete the provided handout, the teacher is demonstrating her
understanding that in order internalize new vocabulary words, a student needs:
practice defining a word using background knowledge, context, and word morphology, not
solely through finding the definition in a dictionary.
knowledge of a word's denotation and connotation, origins, and related words to fully
comprehend a word's meaning.
opportunities to interact with the word authentically via reading, writing, and speaking after
learning its definition.
rote memorization activities enhanced by graphic organizers and writing assignments. Correct
Answer: practice defining a word using background knowledge, context, and word morphology,
not solely through finding the definition in a dictionary.
Using prior knowledge and word analysis skills to define a word is more useful in the long run
than exclusively looking up and memorizing dictionary definitions. The teacher is allowing
students to practice these skills through this handout.
