Study Guide

Field 221: Multi-Subject: Teachers of Childhood
(Grade 1–Grade 6)
Part One: Literacy and English Language Arts

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Sample Constructed-Response Item 1

Competency 0004 
Analysis, Synthesis, and Application

Use the information in the exhibits to complete the task that follows.

Using your knowledge of content and sound pedagogical practices in literacy and English language arts, analyze the information provided and write a response of approximately 400–600 400 to 600  words in which you:

• identify one significant strength the student demonstrates in the development of text comprehension or foundational reading skills, citing specific evidence from the exhibits to support your assessment;
• identify one significant need the student demonstrates in the development of text comprehension or foundational reading skills, citing specific evidence from the exhibits to support your assessment;
• describe one learning activity or instructional strategy that would effectively address the student's identified need or build on the student's identified strength; and
• explain how the learning activity or instructional strategy you described would be effective in addressing the student's need or building on the student's strength.

Be sure to use evidence from all the exhibits in your response.

Exhibit 1: Teacher Notes

Student: Gena B.
Home Language: English

Age: 9 Grade: 4th
IEP I E P ?: no

9/15 Reader conferences today. Talked about likes, dislikes, and possibly branching out in independent reading. Gena likes kids' and even grown-up science magazines (with pics). Also reads formulaic series books that her friends like. She is a thoughtful girl. Makes the most of these stories—her ideas about life are a lot more sophisticated and interesting than the series books we talked about!

9/20 oral reading fluency screening (fall)—Gena's rate is 72 WCPM* (more than 10 words below the fall 50^th percentile benchmark of 94 WCPM), with an accuracy rate of 94%. 94 percent.  Many self-corrections. She remembered some striking details, but overall comprehension was low (70 percent correct).

10/10 Gena is enthusiastic about science. She knows a lot, both vocabulary and concepts. Other students recognize her as an expert and she enjoys the role—already a leader in small-group activities and class discussions.

10/17 I spoke at length with Gena's parents at Open House. They say they read with her every night and she loves being read to, but she rarely wants to help read. They mentioned The Phantom Tollbooth, Harry Potter books, Madeleine L'Engle. We talked about her avid interest in science. Her uncle is a geologist. She loves museums and science documentaries on TV.

*WCPM: Words Correct Per Minute

Exhibit 2: Reading Literature

The teacher makes a record of students' oral reading performance during a screening assessment of their oral reading fluency. After students read a passage, the teacher asks them comprehension questions. Gena's performance record is shown below, followed by a transcript of the conversation between Gena and the teacher about the text.

The performance record includes the student's name, the date, a key, and a reading passage. The passage has been marked by the teacher to indicate how the student read the text. I will read the introductory material first. Then I will read the passage as it is written. Then I will reread the passage with the teacher's observations.
Student: Gina B. September 20.
Key.
A circled word indicates a deletion.
A carat indicates an insertion.
A vertical line indicates a short pause.
Two vertical lines indicate a long pause.
A back arrow with a word above it indicates a repetition.
A word above a different word indicates a substitution.
A circled c indicates a self-correction.
The afternoon felt hotter—the air felt moister and heavier—than usual. And the pool was closed. Shanni sighed deeply, a deep belly sigh.
She and Raymond were sprawled on the bench outside the Rec Center, melting, she thought, just hoping for a breeze to lift off the river and come this way. Actually, she noticed, the billowy clouds were beginning to move. Like sheep trotting across a blue meadow, she thought, smiling broadly. And then the sun burst out into the open, sending one bright beam squarely into Shanni's eyes.
"Ouch!" she said, squinting and clapping both hands over her eyes. "How ridiculous is this? Too hot, too bright, and NOTHING IS HAPPENING!"
"I know," Raymond said sleepily, eyelids drooping. His mind drifted like a cloud. But then suddenly he sat bolt upright, eyes like the sun. "Shanni," he began. "I almost forgot to tell you what I heard!"
I will now read the passage again with the teacher's observations.
The afternoon felt hotter—the air felt moister and heavier—than usual. The teacher wrote a vertical line between the words "The" and "afternoon." Above the word "moister," the teacher wrote the word "most," a vertical line, and a circled c. Above the word "heavier," the teacher wrote h, long e, v, and a circled c. Above the word "usual," the teacher wrote long u, s, schwa, l, and a circled c.
And the pool was closed. Gena read this sentence without errors.
Shanni sighed deeply, a deep belly sigh. Above the word "sighed," the teacher wrote the word "sighted." The teacher wrote a vertical line between the words "belly" and "sigh."
After the word "sigh," the teacher wrote a circled c with an arrow going back to the beginning of the word "sighed."
She and Raymond were sprawled on the bench outside the Rec Center, melting, she thought, just hoping for a breeze to lift off the river and come this way. Above the word "sprawled," the teacher wrote s, p, r, short o, d, and a circled c. Above the word "bench," the teacher wrote the word "beach." Above the word "melting," the teacher wrote the word "meeting."
Actually, she noticed, the billowy clouds were beginning to move. The teacher wrote a vertical line before the word "Actually" and another between the words "she" and "noticed." Above the word "noticed," the teacher wrote n, o, t, long i, c, e, d, and a circled c. Above the word "billowy," the teacher wrote b, i, l, l, dash, o, w, dash, long e.
Like sheep trotting across a blue meadow, she thought, smiling broadly. Above the word "meadow," the teacher wrote m, long e, d, o, w, and a circled c. The teacher wrote two vertical lines between the words "smiling" and "broadly." Above the word "broadly," the teacher wrote b, r, long o, d, dash, l, long e.
And then the sun burst out into the open, sending one bright beam squarely into Shanni's eyes. Above the word "burst," the teacher wrote the word "bust." Above the word "squarely," the teacher wrote s, k, w, a, r, two vertical lines, and a circled c.
"Ouch!" she said, squinting and clapping both hands over her eyes. Above the word "squinting," the teacher wrote s, k, w, short i, n, and a circled c. Above the word "clapping," the teacher wrote the word "clamping."
"How ridiculous is this?" The teacher wrote two vertical lines between the words "How" and "ridiculous." Above the word "ridiculous," the teacher wrote r, short i, d, dash, i, k, and a circled c.
"Too hot, too bright, and NOTHING IS HAPPENING!" Between "Too hot" and "too bright," the teacher wrote a carat and the word "and." The teacher wrote a vertical line before the word "HAPPENING."
"I know," Raymond said sleepily, eyelids drooping. Above the word "sleepily," the teacher wrote the word "sleepy."
His mind drifted like a cloud. Above the word "drifted," the teacher wrote the word "dritted." After the word "like," the teacher wrote a circled c with an arrow going back to the beginning of the word "drifted."
But then suddenly he sat bolt upright, eyes like the sun. The teacher wrote a vertical line between the words "bold" and "upright." Above the word "upright," the teacher wrote the word "up" and a circled c.
"Shanni," he began. Gena read this sentence without errors.
"I almost forgot to tell you what I heard!" Above the word "heard," the teacher wrote h, long e, r, and a circled c.

Teacher:

Who are the characters in this part of the story?

Gena:

Two friends, Shanni and Raymond.

Teacher:

What do you learn about the characters in this passage? How would you describe Shanni?

Gena:

She really has an imagination, I think. She sees the clouds are moving and then she thinks, oh, they look like sheep! And that's really entertaining. But then the next second she's annoyed and kind of yelling about it's hot and bright and BO-RING. So, she's kind of, I don't know, she keeps changing her mood.

Teacher:

How about Raymond? What's he like?

Gena:

Mmm. Shanni's kind of the leader. I think he kind of goes along, following her mood, maybe.

Teacher:

What happens? What's going on in this scene?

Gena:

They meet at the beach and then they just are talking.

Teacher:

What do they talk about?

Gena:

The sun hurts Shanni's eyes. And she says, "nothing is happening!" And then Raymond says, "I'm sleepy." And "I forgot to tell you something."

Teacher:

Anything else? How does this part end?

Gena:

Well. They're just sitting around bored and talking about different things.

Exhibit 3: Reading Informational Text

Near the beginning of a science unit on forces and motion, the teacher has students independently read a brief informational passage in class before introducing them to a longer independent reading assignment on the same topic. As part of the in-class assignment, the teacher has students respond in their journals to questions about the text. The in-class reading assignment, the journal prompt, and Gena's journal entry appear below.

Besides the force of your own muscles, gravity is probably the force you notice most. Gravity is the force that pulls things toward Earth. If you toss a ball upward, gravity pulls it back down to the ground.

Gravity is an effect of gravitation. Gravitation is a force that acts between all masses and causes them to attract one another. It acts everywhere, all the time. Gravitation helps hold the moon in its orbit around Earth. It pulls the moon and Earth toward each other. This pull prevents the moon from flying off in a straight line because of its inertia....

The larger and closer two masses are, the more gravitation affects them. Sometimes the force is very weak, but it's always there. Earth's gravitation affects you more than any other object's because Earth is so large and so close to you.¹

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Directions: Read the paragraphs above. Then answer the following questions in your journal. Be sure to refer to details or examples from the passage to explain your ideas.

1. What is the overall structure the author used when writing this passage? Explain the main idea in each paragraph and how the ideas are related to each other.
2. How would gravity be different if you lived on the Moon or on Jupiter? Use what you learn in this passage to explain.

Gena B.

Oct. 1

The overall structure is giving a defenishen of gravity

1. is intraduce something famillier about gravity you know, like when you jump up or throw a ball, you will notisse you will soon land again, that's gravity.
2. is a phisics defenishen of gravity plus examples, like the moon is always falling tord earth even thogh its going strait.
3. is some more explination, telling about variabels like the influince of mass and closeness of the two things effecting each other making gravity stronger.

If you lived on the moon then you would feel less gravity. Even thogh your mass would be the same, and the closness would be the same, gravity would be less because the moon has less mass then earth Earth would effect you less on the moon because it woudn't be so close. Jupiter has more mass so it would be stronger.

Sample Strong Response to Constructed-Response Item 1

Sample Constructed-Response Item 2

Competency 0004 
Analysis, Synthesis, and Application

Use the information provided in the exhibits to complete the task that follows.

Using your knowledge of content and sound pedagogical practices in literacy and English language arts, analyze the information provided and write a response of 400–600 400 to 600  words in which you:

• identify one significant strength the student demonstrates in the development of text comprehension or foundational reading skills, citing specific evidence from the exhibits to support your assessment;
• identify one significant need the student demonstrates in the development of text comprehension or foundational reading skills, citing specific evidence from the exhibits to support your assessment;
• describe one learning activity or instructional strategy that would effectively address the student's identified need or build on the student's identified strength; and
• explain how the learning activity or instructional strategy you described would be effective in addressing the student's need or in building on the student's strength.

Be sure to use evidence from all the exhibits in your response.

Exhibit 1: Teacher Notes

Student: Winnie F.
Home Language: English

Age: 8 Grade: 3rd
IEP I E P ? no

Jan. 25 Winnie's turn to present a character sketch to her reading group (Fly to the Moon, Luna Yun). She spoke clearly and insightfully about Luna. She used props effectively to tie her description of Luna to key moments in the book (props: a picture of an orange cat; an envelope addressed to Luna Yun; a shell to stand for what she said at the beach).

Feb. 6 Winnie loves word play, and she's got a knack for it. During the simile activity today, she was a leading voice. "As noisy as a field of crickets" "As determined as a truck on a hill" (She explained, a hill tries to stop heavy trucks but it can only slow them down.)

Feb. 8 Silent reading is a slow process for Winnie. She works very diligently in class. She did not finish the in-class reading ("Digging Fossils") in the 15 minutes I allotted before discussion groups. She was visibly frustrated.

Feb. 15 Oral reading fluency screening (fall): Winnie's rate is 74 WCPM* (more than 10 words below the winter 50th percentile benchmark of 92 WCPM) with an accuracy rate of 99%. Some gaps in comprehension.

*WCPM: Words Correct Per Minute

Exhibit 2: Reading Literature

The teacher makes a record of students' oral reading performance during a screening assessment of their oral reading fluency. After students read the passage, the teacher asks them comprehension questions. Winnie's performance record is shown below, followed by a transcript of the conversation between Winnie and the teacher about the text.

The performance record includes the student's name, the date, a key, and a reading passage. The passage has been marked by the teacher to indicate how the student read the text. I will read the introductory material first. Then I will read the passage as it is written. Then I will reread the passage with the teacher's observations.

Student: Winnie F. February 15. Beginning of key. An oval indicates deletion. A single vertical line indicates a short pause. A back arrow with a word above it indicates a repetition. A carat indicates an insertion. Two vertical lines indicate a long pause. A word written above another word indicates a substitution. A circled C indicates a self-correction. End of key. Beginning of passage. Stepping from the open field into the forest was like passing from day to night in an instant. Sudden, bone-chilling gloom fell like a heavy curtain between the travelers and the sun. The trees grew very close together here. Ahead, the path wove like a snake around large rocks and giant trees. As they hurried forward, tree roots in the path seemed to reach up and grab hold of their feet to stop them. Barely inside the dark maze, they were stumbling and knocking into each other. "Wait," said Jenny from the tail end of the group. "Wait. Let's sit down just for a minute, so our eyes can adjust to the dark." The three friends climbed onto a large, flat boulder beside the path and grew quiet. That's when they began hearing the crows. First one cawed from above them. Then another nearby. Then another, and another. "They're talking about us," said Freddie. "They're warning their friends that we're coming." "No," said Maria. "They're warning us. Go back. Not one step further, or else!"

I will now read the passage again with the teacher's observations.

Stepping from the open field into the forest was like passing from day to night in an instant. (Above the word open, the teacher wrote short O P and a circled c next to P. Above the word field, the teacher wrote F short E L D. The teacher drew a vertical line after forest, with a circled c above the vertical line, and a back arrow from the vertical line to the beginning of the sentence. Above the word night, the teacher wrote N long I G H T, a vertical line between I and G, a vertical line between H and T, and a circled c next to T. Above the word instant, the teacher wrote short I N S T short A N T, a vertical line between N and S, a vertical line between T and A, and a circled c next to the final T.) Sudden, bone-chilling gloom fell like a heavy curtain between the travelers and the sun. (Above the word heavy, the teacher wrote H long E V and a circled c next to V. Above the word curtain, the teacher wrote C U R T long A N and a circled c next to N. The teacher drew a vertical line after the word curtain and a back arrow from the word curtain to the word gloom. The teacher drew a vertical line between the word the and the word travelers. Above the word travelers, the teacher wrote T R long A V and a circled c next to V.) The trees grew very close together here. (The teacher drew a vertical line between the word close and the word together. Above the word together, the teacher wrote T short O G short E T H with a vertical line between G and E, a vertical line next to H, and a circled c after that vertical line. The teacher drew a vertical line after the word here, with a circled c above the vertical line. The teacher drew a back arrow below the entire sentence.) Ahead, the path wove like a snake around large rocks and giant trees. (Above the word giant, the teacher wrote G short A N T.) As they hurried forward, tree roots in the path seemed to reach up and grab hold of their feet to stop them. (The teacher drew a vertical line between the word feet and the word to. The teacher drew a back arrow under the phrase grab hold of their feet.) Barely inside the dark maze, they were stumbling and knocking into each other. (The teacher drew a vertical line between the word were and the word stumbling. Above the word stumbling, the teacher wrote S T short U M with a circled c next to M.) "Wait," said Jenny from the tail end of the group. (The student read this sentence without errors.) "Wait. Let's sit down just for a minute, so our eyes can adjust to the dark." (Over the word minute, the teacher wrote M short I N long U T with a circled c next to T. Over the word adjust, the teacher wrote short A D J short U S T with a vertical line between D and J and a circled c next to T.) The three friends climbed onto a large, flat boulder beside the path and grew quiet. (Over the word boulder, the teacher wrote B long O long O L D E R. The teacher drew a vertical line after the word path, with a circled c above the vertical line. The teacher drew a back arrow from the word path to the word flat. The teacher drew a vertical line between the word grew and the word quiet.) That's when they began hearing the crows. (The student read this sentence without errors.) First one cawed from above them. (Above the word above, the teacher wrote A B long O V. The teacher drew a vertical line after the word them, with a circled c above the vertical line. The teacher drew a back arrow under the words above them.) Then another nearby. (Above the word another, the teacher wrote A N short O T H with a circled c after H. The teacher drew a vertical line between R and B in the word nearby. The teacher drew a vertical line after the word nearby, with a circled c above the vertical line. The teacher drew a back arrow under the phrase another nearby.) Then another, and another. (The student read this sentence without errors.)

"They're talking about us," said Freddie. (Above the word talking, the teacher wrote T short A L K with a circled c next to K.) They're warning their friends that we're coming." "No," said Maria. "They're warning us. Go back. (The student read these sentences without errors.) Not one step further, or else!" (Above the word further, the teacher wrote F U R T with a vertical line after T and a circled c next to the vertical line. The teacher drew a vertical line between the comma after further and the words or else, with a circled c above the vertical line. The teacher drew a back arrow from the vertical line to the beginning of the sentence.)

After Winnie reads aloud the passage, the teacher asks her some questions about what she has read. A transcript of their conversation appears below.

Teacher:

What's happening in this story?

Winnie:

They're going through a forest. Three friends.

Teacher:

What's the forest like?

Winnie:

Bone-chilling! Creepy.

Teacher:

What's creepy about the forest?

Winnie:

Everything is creepy. They're on this path that looks like a big snake. And it feels like the path is grabbing their feet and it's freaking them out. They're stumbling!

Teacher:

Why are they stumbling?

Winnie:

They're being grabbed. So they get off the path. And one says, "We need to get used to seeing in the dark." Oh, yeah! It's dark! It got dark all of a sudden.

Teacher:

Do you remember any similes or metaphors the author used?

Winnie:

The path was like a snake! That was very scary. I don't know how they could go on it!

Teacher:

How does the story end?

Winnie:

I don't know how it's gonna end. How will they get out of there? They're kind of stuck on that boulder. Maybe they'll just try to run back out. There are these crows warning them "Not one step further!" Something bad could happen!

Exhibit 3: Reading Informational Text

During a social studies unit on freedom of speech, the teacher leads students in close readings and discussions of short passages from secondary texts. In preparation for one discussion, the teacher gives students a handout with a passage and a journal assignment. The teacher explains the assignment and then reads the passage aloud while students follow along. Finally, the teacher asks students to read the passage again independently and respond to the assignment in their journals. The reading passage, with the journal assignment, and Winnie's response appear below.

Freedom of speech is the freedom to express ideas. It means that people can express their thoughts in conversations with friends and neighbors. They can make public speeches and take part in debates.

Freedom of speech also means freedom of the press—the right to express oneself in books, magazines, and newspapers. Freedom of speech protects opinions stated in music, movies, radio, and television. It even covers "speech acts"—when people show what they think by wearing certain symbols, buttons, or armbands.²

—from Freedom of Speech by Christin Ditchfield

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Directions: Read the paragraphs above. Then respond to the following prompts in your journal.

1. Explain what the word express means in this passage. What context clues help you know the meaning?
2. Summarize the kinds of expression the author calls freedom of speech. Include examples from the passage in your answer.

Winnie F.

FEBRUARY 1

1. Express is express thoghts with frends or speeches. Say things you think. The clues were speech, express ideas, express thoughts and speeches
2. The kinds of expresion are when you express your thoghts in converasions or public speeches or debates, or freedom of press, or books, magezenes, opinions, music, movies, radio, telvision, speech acts, wearing symbels, buttens, or armbands

Sample Strong Response to Constructed-Response Item 2

Performance Characteristics for a Constructed-Response Item

The following characteristics guide the scoring of a response to a constructed-response item.

Table outlining performance characteristics.

Completeness	The degree to which the response addresses all parts of the assignment
Accuracy	The degree to which the response demonstrates the relevant knowledge and skills accurately and effectively
Depth of Support	The degree to which the response provides appropriate examples and details that demonstrate sound reasoning

Score Scale for a Constructed-Response Item

A score will be assigned to a response to a constructed-response item according to the following score scale.

Score Point	Score Point Description
4	The "4" response reflects a thorough command of the relevant knowledge and skills: The response thoroughly addresses all parts of the assignment. The response demonstrates the relevant knowledge and skills with thorough accuracy and effectiveness. The response is well supported by relevant examples and details and thoroughly demonstrates sound reasoning.
3	The "3" response reflects a general command of the relevant knowledge and skills: The response generally addresses all parts of the assignment. The response demonstrates the relevant knowledge and skills with general accuracy and effectiveness. The response is generally supported by some examples and/or details and generally demonstrates sound reasoning.
2	The "2" response reflects a partial command of the relevant knowledge and skills: The response addresses all parts of the assignment, but most only partially; or some parts are not addressed at all. The response demonstrates the relevant knowledge and skills with partial accuracy and effectiveness. The response is partially supported by some examples and/or details or demonstrates flawed reasoning.
1	The "1" response reflects little or no command of the relevant knowledge and skills: The response minimally addresses the assignment. The response demonstrates the relevant knowledge and skills with minimum accuracy and effectiveness. The response is minimally supported or demonstrates significantly flawed reasoning.
U	The response is unscorable because it is unrelated to the assigned topic or off task, unreadable, written in a language other than English or contains an insufficient amount of original work to score.
B	No response.

Acknowledgments

¹"Gravity" from HSP SCIENCE, New York City, Student Edition. Copyright © 2005 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Included by permission of the publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Any further duplication is strictly prohibited unless written permission is obtained from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

²Freedom of Speech: True Book by Christin Ditchfield. Children's Press ® A Division of Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Children's Press an imprint of Scholastic Library Publishing, Inc.

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