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Study Guide

Field 090: Language Arts (Elementary)
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Subarea 1—MEANING AND COMMUNICATION

Objective 001
Demonstrate an understanding of the integrated nature of the English language arts.

1. Students in a middle school social studies class are learning about the Civil War. They have read various historical and fictional accounts about the people who experienced the war firsthand. Which of the following activities would be most likely to extend the students' understanding of the social and emotional issues surrounding the war?

  1. creating a videotaped reenactment of various Civil War battles
  2. writing historically accurate fictional letters home from the viewpoint of one of the soldiers
  3. presenting oral reports based on research from history resources
  4. creating timelines that chart the significant events leading up to the Civil War period
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 002
Demonstrate an understanding of the social, cultural, and dynamic nature of verbal and nonverbal language.

2. Adolescents frequently develop their own style of communication, embellishing their language with hyperbole and slang, and moving away from the standards of speech modeled by their parents. This occurrence is best described as an attempt to use language to:

  1. move from one social class to another.
  2. demonstrate their ability to use multiple modes of communication to express themselves.
  3. complete a rite of passage into adulthood.
  4. differentiate themselves from their parents' social group and assimilate into a community of their peers.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.

3. When using gestures to help emphasize a point during a speech presented to an unfamiliar audience, it is most important for the speaker to understand that gestures:

  1. may be interpreted differently depending on an individual's cultural background.
  2. are usually comprehended quickly and easily and may sometimes substitute for verbal language.
  3. must be repeated frequently to ensure that the audience understands their purpose.
  4. should be used sparingly to prevent the audience from relying too heavily on nonverbal language.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Objective 003
Demonstrate familiarity with concepts relating to language development and acquisition of first and second languages.

4. To determine whether a fifth-grade student is a fluent reader, which of the following language skills would be most important for the student to demonstrate?

  1. spelling high-frequency and irregular words accurately
  2. reading a text with appropriate intonation and no hesitations
  3. understanding vocabulary associated with a particular field or topic
  4. writing paragraphs with topic sentences and supporting details
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.

5. Reading aloud to children tends to support their reading acquisition primarily by:

  1. pointing out the link between a conversation and written dialogue.
  2. exposing them to book language and a richer oral vocabulary.
  3. showing them that words have a meaning and correct spelling.
  4. demonstrating the symbolic nature and flexibility of language.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 004
Demonstrate an understanding of the elements of effective communication in a variety of rhetorical situations.

6. Use the sentence fragment below to answer the question that follows.

I am unable to go to the movies with him and his friends tonight, . . .

Based on the stressed word in the sentence fragment above, which of the following sentence completions most accurately interprets the speaker's meaning?

  1. . . . but I may be able to go to the movies tonight with him alone.
  2. . . . but I may be able to go somewhere else with him and his friends tonight.
  3. . . . but I may be able to go to the movies tonight with my own friends.
  4. . . . but I may be able to go to the movies with him and his friends tomorrow night.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.

Subarea 2—LITERATURE, GENRE, AND CRAFT

Objective 005
Demonstrate familiarity with concepts relating to the structure of language.

7. Which of the following sentences contains a misplaced modifier?

  1. A plane landed on the runway with a broken propeller.
  2. The lawyer joined my brother and me outside the courtroom for a brief conference.
  3. Driving along the road, we saw a beautiful field of flowers.
  4. The governor's major objective, conserving our natural resources, was well supported.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.

8. Which of the following components of grammar determines the patterns of sound, intonation, timing, and stress in a language?

  1. syntax
  2. morphology
  3. semantics
  4. phonology
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Objective 006
Demonstrate an understanding of literature as oral, written, and visual texts.

9. Poetry characteristically relies most heavily upon which of the following to convey meaning?

  1. logic and reason
  2. narrative metamorphosis
  3. sequential action
  4. figurative language and form
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Objective 007
Demonstrate familiarity with a wide variety of high-quality contemporary and classical literature for children and young adolescents.

10. Which of the following guidelines should teachers use when evaluating the quality of multicultural books for classroom use?

  1. Multicultural books should generally cover several cultural groups.
  2. Only books written by a member of the culture represented should be used.
  3. A book must accurately reflect the culture it represents.
  4. All cultures in a book should be represented only in positive ways.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Objective 008
Demonstrate familiarity with techniques that authors use to convey meaning, enhance appreciation, and influence an audience.

11. Which of the following techniques is most likely to effectively influence an audience to accept a particular perspective?

  1. appealing to the audience's intellect and emotions
  2. evoking the audience's sense of nostalgia
  3. appealing to the audience's aesthetic sensibilities
  4. entertaining the audience while informing them
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Objective 009
Demonstrate familiarity with critical standards used to evaluate texts and mass media.

12. Which of the following criteria is most frequently used to evaluate the formal characteristics of a literary work?

  1. the author's intent when writing the work
  2. the relationship between the work and the society in which it was written
  3. the coherence of each part of the work with the whole
  4. the length of the work in comparison to other works in the same genre
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.

13. To best ensure an audience will be able to understand the information and concepts in an informative speech, a responsible speaker will do which of the following while preparing a speech?

  1. Investigate the background of the audience to adapt the ideas in the speech to existing views and beliefs.
  2. Analyze the prospective audience to determine its needs and persuad­ability with regard to the topic of the speech.
  3. Determine the knowledge level and goals of the audience in relation to the subject matter of the speech.
  4. Provide an advance copy of the outline or notes of the speech to a representative of the audience for review.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.

Subarea 3—SKILLS AND PROCESSES

Objective 010
Demonstrate familiarity with multiple strategies for determining the meaning of unfamiliar words and concepts in text.

14. For which of the following words would it be most effective for a student to use structural analysis to determine its meaning?

  1. guffaw
  2. neurologist
  3. hacienda
  4. sonar
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 011
Demonstrate familiarity with inquiry processes and the resources appropriate for investigating particular questions or topics.

15. Which of the following strategies would be most effective for students to use to formulate a research topic that is narrow and focused?

  1. learning whether others have written about the topic
  2. identifying a topic that is interesting to them
  3. ensuring that information about the topic is available
  4. posing the topic as a question to be answered
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.

16. Presentation software would be most effective for presenting information in which of the following contexts?

  1. sharing a personal anecdote
  2. making points during a debate
  3. explaining the steps in a process
  4. orally interpreting a literary text
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.

Objective 012
Demonstrate familiarity with the nature of the writing process.

17. Read the letter below to a publisher; then answer the question that follows.

To whom it may concern:

1 I am writing to suggest a revision to the Third Edition of your anthology on children's literature One Before the Mast: Sailing on a Sea of Stories. 2 One of the stories, "Janey on Board," contains images and language that are biased against girls.

3 In this story, the girls are always described as cute and sweet. 4 They all wear pink or pastel-colored clothing, and are described with weak, passive language. 5 In contrast, the boys are described as tough and strong, and are usually described with bold, active language. 6 While I realize an author may sometimes make this choice in order to prove a particular point, this is not the case in this story. 7 Rather, the author simply lacks sensitivity to gender bias.

8 I think it is crucial to children's development for boys and girls to be treated equally, especially in literature. 9 Frankly, I am surprised to encounter this kind of bias in a high-quality publication such as yours, and am disappointed to find this story among so many other good ones. 10 My favorite was the trilogy about the mermaid's adventures among the whales, which reminded me of dreams I had as a child vacationing with my family by the sea. 11 Please consider eliminating "Janey on Board" from your next edition. Thank you.

Which of the following sentences interferes with the development of the main point in this passage?

  1. sentence 1
  2. sentence 7
  3. sentence 8
  4. sentence 10
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Objective 013
Demonstrate familiarity with the special skills required in the production of mass media.

18. Which of the following types of software is most likely to be useful in creating a printed media product that contains both text and graphics?

  1. hypermedia software
  2. desktop publishing software
  3. data management software
  4. word-processing software
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 014
Demonstrate familiarity with techniques for student goal setting, reflection, and self-assessment at different linguistic developmental levels.

19. For the purpose of self-reflection, which of the following questions would be most important for students to consider when they select the pieces to save in their developmental portfolio?

  1. Is this one of the best pieces that I have completed this year?
  2. What could I have done differently to make this piece better?
  3. Are there parts of this piece that I could work on later?
  4. What does this piece show about what I have been learning?
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.

20. During an open house at an elementary school, a fourth-grade teacher is asked why students in his class save work with mechanical errors in their portfolios. To promote a greater understanding of the portfolio process, it would be most important for the teacher to point out that:

  1. portfolio pieces provide a picture of a student's learning at a particular point during the school year.
  2. students do not worry about errors in their work unless an adult does.
  3. students need to feel approval from their teacher for every writing assignment that they complete.
  4. portfolio pieces are selected by the students based on their own criteria.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.