Which of the following statements best describes an effective way to prepare students to listen to or read a text?
Establish the purpose for reading the text and impart background knowledge.
Which of the following describes a product of comprehension, rather than a process?
verbalizing a summary or retelling of the text after reading
Which of these statements is not true of students with specific comprehension difficulties?
They rely less on context to guess on the identity of the words.
Students with greater background knowledge of a text’s topic are more likely to:
remember more of what the text actually says
Which teaching strategy is most likely to help English Learners construct a mental model of a texts meanings?
Provide visual context for meaning-pictures, graphic organizers, objects, and/or actions.
Which statement explains the most important reason why formal (standardized) tests of reading comprehension may be of limited value to teachers?
Not all tests of reading comprehension measure the same thing.
Which statement is not true about how student understanding of syntax can affect comprehension?
The ability to process sentence structure has little effect on comprehension.
What technique would be most relevant for teaching students to comprehend the structure of a fictional narrative?
using a story grammar outline to make notes
Which sentence is most likely to challenge younger students’ language comprehension abilities?
Unless everyone can agree, we will not play there again.
What activity would best create awareness of substitution as a cohesive device?
having students underline words and phrases that mean almost the same thing
LETRS Unit 6 Guide
The language comprehension domain of the Reading Rope does not incorporate which of the following?
memorization
Language comprehension becomes more important to reading success:
after third grade
Which of the following is an example of a reading comprehension product?
answering a multiple-choice question
True or False: The text base refers to the literal meanings in a given text.
false
The best time for teachers to guide students’ thinking, as they construct a mental model, is:
before reading, during reading, after reading
True or False: Reading comprehension is difficult to assess through formal testing alone.
true
Which of the following is not a variable in interpreting reading comprehension test results?
state benchmarks in reading proficiency
True or False? Students who can answer multiple-choice questions about a passage without needing to read it are nonetheless exhibiting reading comprehension.
false
Behaviors that indicate problems with language comprehension include (select all that apply):
-confusion about the main idea versus details of a story. -inability to maintain focus. -telling the events of a story out of order.
Which of the following is not considered a strategy for informal observation of oral language comprehension?
asking students “yes” or “no” questions about a text
True or False? Background knowledge is not necessary in order for students to develop a detailed schema.
false
When preparing students to listen to or read a text, it is important to (select all that apply):
-establish a purpose for reading. -preview key vocabulary words. -evoke or impart background knowledge
Which of the following statements is not true about background knowledge?
It applies to everything retained in short-term memory.
True or False? Once a schema has been established, it is difficult for people to accept new information that contradicts it
true
In preparing to read a text about France, it would be most important for teachers to spend time building and drawing out students’ background knowledge about (select all that apply):
-the culture of France -where France is located, and its relationship to surrounding countries
Which of the following is not a direct factor in text comprehension?
the ability to spell from dictation
Readers who struggle with comprehension may also (select all that apply):
-have insufficient working memory. -have divergent dialects. -lack experience with longer, more formal sentences
A sentence with two complete thoughts that can each stand on their own has a
compound structure.
true or false? Raising or lowering the voice while reading aloud can help students determine what kind of punctuation a sentence needs.
true
Which of the following should students be taught first?
the specific jobs words are doing in sentences
Which of the following is not correct? A text may lack coherence if:
it is short.
The sentences “They were asked to wait in the living room. They didn’t.” provide an example of:
ellipsis
Which of the following words are examples of subordinating conjunctions? Select all that apply.
-because -while
Which of the following activities can be used to help students notice and interpret cohesive devices? Select all that apply.
-Ask students to complete the unstated thought in sentences with ellipses. -Ask students to find cohesive devices that explain why, when, or how something occurred during a second or third reading. -Circle conjunctions in a text
True or False: Teachers should not expect students to fully understand complex and compound sentences containing conjunctions until fourth grade.
true
Which of the following is not an example of narrative text?
science textbook
A child is normally able to explain character motives and internal states in a narrative by what age range?
7-11 years
Which of the following is not an element of story grammar?
index
Which of the following are features of informational text? Select all that apply.
-often written in present tense -logical format -density of new ideas and concepts
The topic sentence “There are three main categories of clouds: high clouds, mid clouds, and low clouds” would introduce what kind of informational text?
classification
Which of the following statements best describes an effective way to prepare students to listen to or read a text?
Establish the purpose for reading the text and impart background knowledge.
Which of the following describes a product of comprehension, rather than a process?
verbalizing a summary or retelling of the text after reading
Which of these statements is not true of students with specific comprehension difficulties?
They rely less on context to guess at the identity of the words.
Students with greater background knowledge of a text’s topic are more likely to:
remember more of what the text actually says.
Which teaching strategy is most likely to help English Learners construct a mental model of a texts meanings?
Provide visual context for meaning—pictures, graphic organizers, objects, and/or actions.
Which statement explains the most important reason why formal (standardized) tests of reading comprehension may be of limited value to teachers?
They typically do not indicate where instruction should focus.
Which statement is not true about how student understanding of syntax can affect comprehension?
The ability to process sentence structure has little effect on comprehension.
What technique would be most relevant for teaching students to comprehend the structure of a fictional narrative?
using a story grammar outline to make notes
Which sentence is most likely to challenge younger students’ language comprehension abilities?
Unless everyone can agree, we will not play there again.
What activity would best create awareness of substitution as a cohesive device?
having students underline words and phrases that mean almost the same thing
With first-grade students, how much instructional time should be spent on English language arts?
2 hours or more
true or false? Teachers should depend heavily on the results of screeners such as Acadience® Reading K-6 Next to determine what skills should be taught to students.
false
By second grade, the most effective approach to teaching reading comprehension emphasizes:
-phonics. -comprehension skills. -language study.
Which of the following is not a criterion for high-quality text?
relevant to what’s going on that day
True or False: One test of a robust curriculum in grades K-3 is whether, upon walking into a classroom, an observer can tell what students are learning about.
true
The students most likely to benefit from strategy instruction are those who (select all that apply):
-are in grades four and above. -have acquired good decoding skills but aren’t familiar with a particular strategy.
The best time to employ strategy instruction is when:
students are ready for it, in the context of lessons with a larger purpose.
Which of these steps in the “gradual release of responsibility” of strategy instruction is out of sequence?
The teacher models the thinking process by thinking aloud.
True or False: Good readers tend to read on, even when the passage is not making sense to them.
false
“Imagine what would happen if the polar ice caps melted” is an example of what type of question?
creating
Well-designed questions (select all that apply):
-are text-dependent. -focus on the “why” and “how” of a topic.
Which of the following is an example of elaborative questioning?
“Would you have reacted the same way the girl did?”
“How do you know that she liked her new home?” is an example of:
implicit questioning.
True or False: Teaching comprehension can be accomplished by testing students with multiple-choice questions after they’ve completed independent reading.
false
Pivotal points to ask questions include places where (select all that apply):
-sentences connect to one another. -meanings of new words become clear. -students should grasp how the text’s discourse is organized.
What is the purpose of after-reading activities? Select all that apply.
-They let students transform the information into a new format. -They help students see reading as more than a chore. -They check students’ comprehension of key ideas.
According to research, which practice is essential for building an enduring mental model of a text?
reading the text multiple times with varied purposes
Which of the following is an after-reading activity?
summarizing the main ideas from the text
According to research, what macroprocesses help students “own” the information from a text?
selecting, ordering, and transforming the main ideas
Why are after-reading activities effective?
They reinforce the structure and purpose of the text.
Which of the following statements is true?
Teachers should explicitly teach the text structure of both informational and narrative texts.
When should teachers introduce the purpose of a text?
before the first read
Vocabulary activities before reading should focus primarily on which type(s) of language? Select all that apply.
-Tier 2 vocabulary words -figurative language and idiomatic phrases
An effective reading comprehension lesson will include (select all that apply):
-an introduction of background knowledge needed to comprehend the text. -a graphic organizer that helps students visualize the structure of the text. -an after-reading activity to transform information from the text into a new format. -questions to ask during reading, tied to specific places in the text.
Teachers should do all of the following during reading, except:
explicitly teach Tier 2 vocabulary words.
All of the following are features of African American English except:
speakers often form sentences without a subject.
What kind of vocabulary instruction may be appropriate for English Learners, but is not usually needed for native English speakers?
definitions and examples for Tier 1 vocabulary words
Which of the following statements about dialects are true? Select all that apply.
-Dialects have rules for grammar and pronunciation. -Dialect speakers often have difficulty translating speech into print.
What is code switching?
the ability to switch between a nonstandard dialect and Standard English depending on the situation
Which is a best practice when working with dialect speakers?
Build language awareness so that students can code switch between their dialect and Standard English.
How should the balance of instructional time spent on foundational reading skills and language comprehension change between first grade and third grade for typical learners?
The time spent on foundational reading skills should shift from about 40 percent in first grade to 20 percent in third grade.
What criterion would be most relevant for selecting high-quality texts for reading aloud or for mediated text reading?
The text has layers of meaning that can be explored through several readings.
According to the National Reading Panel (2000) and several research analyses, which of these strategies is more effective than the others for developing comprehension?
having students retell or summarize what they have read
During a teacher-mediated reading of the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, which of these questions is most likely to facilitate construction of a mental model of the texts meanings?
“What do we know about the characters so far?”
If a high-quality, worthwhile narrative text has been read once, what is the most appropriate activity students should do next?
Complete a story frame that outlines major events.
What is an effective way to help students construct a mental model of informational text?
Pose queries during reading that ensure students are making the necessary inferences.
What is the main advantage of letting students know ahead of time what kind of text (e.g., narrative, informational) they will be reading?
They can anticipate how the text is organized and how the information is presented.
What is a helpful approach when working with a student who is a heavy dialect speaker and who is having trouble comprehending the language in a text?
Explain the relationship between home language and school language in frequent, brief lessons.
Which of the following teaching strategies is least helpful to English Learners?
allowing them to avoid speaking in class if they are embarrassed
Which is the most effective technique for supporting students’ expressive oral language development in school?
allowing them to avoid speaking in class if they are embarrassed
approaches to beginning reading have always obtained better results with students in general, and are especially vital for students in lower 40 percent of the population
code-emphasis
True of False: English language arts should include two hours or more in first grade and at least 90 mins in second and third grade
true
True or False: A person can only hold 7-10 bits of information in short term memory
true
systematic, explicit instruction is also called ?
gradual release of responsibility
The teacher’s job is to facilitate student’s construction of the mental model of the text’s meanings.
productive struggle
constant blend
two or three constants together, but they keep their own sound.
phoneme-grapheme mapping
matching sounds to letters/spelling
phonological awareness
awareness of speech sounds
Phonemic Awareness
manipulate the sounds
code switching
speech can change based on circumstance or situation
orthographic mapping
making neurological connections between the sounds and letters in our brain
sight vocabulary
words we have already mapped, words we can recall
what are the five essential components of reading?
phonemic/phonological awareness, phonics, fluency vocabulary comprehension
Fricative
hissy sounds where the air is not stopped
affricative
hissy sound that is stopped
high frequency words
words that occur frequently, many cannot be decoded.
base word
words that can stand alone
root word
words that cannot stand alone
prosody
Reading with expression
soft /g/
made by “g” followed by an e, i, or y and makes the /j/ sounds
soft /c/
made by “c” followed by an e, i, or y and makes the /s/ sound
syllable
part of a word organized around a vowel
coarticulation
sounds smooshed together
lexical quality
how well your brains dictionary is developed
Constructed Response
Answer the following question from the “Chocolate!” article using the R.A.C.E.S. acronym: Describe how chocolate products have developed over time. Use these phrases: · Because…. · For instance…. · For example…. · The author stated…. · According to the text…. · From the reading I know that…
Bloom’s Taxonomy
· Remembering – Who was Goldilocks? · Understanding – Why didn’t her mother want her to go into the forest? · Applying – Why did Goldilocks go into the house? · Analyzing – How did each bear react to what Goldilocks did? · Evaluating – Why were the bears angry with Goldilocks? · Creating – Do you know any other stories about boys and girls who escaped danger?
think questions
those that address large, universal concepts and often begin with “Why”? “How come”? “I wonder”? Or they address large content areas. The answers to these questions are often long and involved and require further discussion and research
thin questions
are those primarily asked to clarify confusion, understand words, or access objective content. Questions that can be answered with a number or with a simple yes or no fit into this category.
wonder questions
questions are naturally generated by children as they explore the world around them. Sometimes as teachers we stifle children’s natural curiosity. Some questions can be answered; others cannot. The questioning is the purpose
sincere questions
· Questions we don’t know the answers to … · Questions we ponder and wonder about … · Questions that require further research by both teacher and student …
assessment questions
· Questions we know the answers to … · Questions we ask in order to check or monitor our students …
Categorizing Questions
· Questions that are answered in the text – A · Questions that are answered from someone’s background knowledge – BK · Questions whose answers can be inferred (text + background knowledge, read “between the lines”) from the text – I · Questions that can be answered by further discussion – D · Questions that require further research to be answered – RS · Questions that signal confusion – Huh? or ?
Inferring
“bedrock” of all comprehension. We are constantly “reading the world” including reading faces, reading body language, reading expressions, and reading tone.
Questions that lead to Inferential Thinking
· What does “Hold fast to dreams” mean? · Could “Life is a broken-winged bird” mean that life is sad and miserable? · When dreams go, do you die? · Is this about a dream, like a sleeping dream?
In the book
the answer is easily found and identifiable in the text; you can put your finger right on it in one place.
Think and Search
the answer is found and identifiable in the text but you have to think and search for all the parts; you can put your finger right on it in different parts of the text.
Author & Me
interring the answer by combining what the author is saying in the text with what you already know about something.
On my Own
Responding to a related topic or concept, but not directly from the text.
What are the four types of QAR: question-answer relationships?
In the book, think and search, author and me, on my own.
What Can You Learn From The LETRS Unit 6
- The language and cognitive skills that support reading comprehension.
- Distinguish comprehension products from comprehension processes.
- The goal of comprehension instruction is to create a coherent mental model of the text.
- Characteristics of students who struggle with Language and reading comprehension.
- The connection among vocabulary, background knowledge, and reading comprehension.
- Process for teaching texts.
- The importance of syntax and how to teach it.
- The importance of text coherence and its relationship to mental coherence.
- How text structure affects comprehension.
LETRS Assessment Answers
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