Rica Subtest 2

.A sixth-grade teacher creates a written assessment in which the teacher leaves a word out of the sentence and asks students which of four nonsense words would be the most appropriate to use to complete the sentence.  An example of this type of assessment is shown below.

George___________ a prize at the fair yesterday.

Twibly

Norfing

Lubbed

Vishes

Such a procedure would be especially useful for assessing whether a student:

• Is familiar with common story structure

• Intuitively make use of grammar when reading

• Is able to analyze difficult sentence constructions.

• Spontaneously chucks language into units when reading

A fifth grade teacher provides her students with an easier science article with easier vocabulary about the topic of asteroids before reading from the actual science textbook.  What is the teacher trying to achieve? It says pre reading lesson. 

• Possible pre teaching/preloading information to familiarize  students with content and vocabulary ______

• Word has meaning

This passage is going to be about mammals being endothermic and reptiles are warm-blooded. Briefly describe the warm blooded aspect of mammals and we’ll also talk about snakes Part A- First question helps us understand that the child understands what exotherm is, he does not know what endotherm means. What would the teacher suggest or what would the teacher do to help assist the student? 

• context clues to recognize the meaning of words

• To scan or skim the text to find the answer

• Apply knowledge of suffixes Therm is a suffix 

• Use index and tables

This passage is going to be about mammals being endothermic and reptiles are warm-blooded. Briefly describe the warm blooded aspect of mammals and we’ll also talk about snakes. Part B - Third question: For this question you HAVE to know what non-restrictive clauses are.

• ALL mammals are endothermic.

• Snakes like to bask on warm rocks.”

There is a comprehension passage about a zoo animal where first grade students read about giraffes and why other animals did not like giraffes.  This was a potential three-part question. Small group activity.

Part A: Which of the following discussion strategies about literature does the teacher demonstrate after reading the story, Gerard’s New Home?

• Encouraging students to respond to each other’s ideas and details from the text.

• a common pattern is article, adjective, noun

•  the teacher trying to teach an article, adjective, noun pattern

There is a comprehension passage about a zoo animal where first grade students read about giraffes and why other animals did not like giraffes.  This was a potential three-part question. Small group activity Part B- The teacher asked the student why didn’t the other animals like giraffes? One student said she disagreed with her peers because “the book stated… Which of the following comprehension strategies does Student 3 refer to the text? and Which of the following comprehension strategies does Student 3 demonstrate?

• enhancing knowledge from text and Referring to evidence from the text to clarify meaning 

• using evidence to refer to the text. The students supported the answer with text evidence.  The student was using evidence from the passage to clear up information.

• Small group activity

There is a comprehension passage about a zoo animal where first grade students read about giraffes and why other animals did not like giraffes.  This was a potential three-part question. Small group activity.Part C- During the group discussion, how does the teacher increase comprehension? (not exact but very close) 

• Encouraging students to use evidence from the text to support answers

• Encouraging students to respond to each other’s ideas and details from the text. 

• enhancing knowledge from text   

 A fourth grade teacher asked her students to break into groups and each student read a different passage from the same story in their respective group.  The students are to discuss their passage in the group and then report the important elements back to the whole class. What is the primary reason or what is the teacher trying to achieve through this instructional technique?

• The students gain a deeper understanding of the passage and have an opportunity to clarify by discussing it with peers.

• Referring to evidence from the text to clarify meaning 

• Encouraging students to use evidence from the text to support answers

A fourth grade teacher selected a core literature book for her students to read. After her students have completed reading the book she asked them to go back to the text and find situations where the main character has experience that reminded the student of something in their own lives. The student uses a response log to record their ideas. The teacher might choose this strategy as a follow-up to reading the book because.

• The teacher understands that helping her students connect real life experiences to those of character will deepen their understanding of the above and she can analyze their responses to plan future appropriate instruction.

• The students gain a deeper understanding of the passage and have an opportunity to clarify by discussing it with peers.

• Encouraging students to use evidence from the text to support answers

A middle school teacher designs an instructional activity in which students combine several sentences to form a single sentence, as illustrated below.

Combine

Matthew stood and waited for the bus.

The sun was blazing hot.

Matthew fanned himself with the newspaper.

Single sentence:

Waiting for the bus, Matthew stood in the blazing sun, fanning himself with the newspaper.

This activity is likely to be most effective in helping students

• strengthen their ability to comprehend and write complex sentences.

• apply literal comprehension skills to identify and write main idea statements.

• improve their inferential comprehension skills.

• use self-monitoring techniques to clarify the meaning of text.