TEXES Science of Teaching Reading Practice Test

What instructional approach can best support the development of students' phonemic awareness skills?

1. Using worksheets focused on grammar rules

2. Engaging students in rhyming and sound segmentation activities

3. Having students recite poetry with fixed rhyme schemes

4. Reading books aloud without discussing sounds

The correct answer is: Engaging students in rhyming and sound segmentation activities

Engaging students in rhyming and sound segmentation activities is highly effective in fostering phonemic awareness skills. This approach directly targets the recognition and manipulation of sounds in spoken language, which is essential for decoding and spelling. Activities such as identifying and producing rhyming words help students to hear the similarities and differences in sound patterns, while sound segmentation, which involves breaking words into individual phonemes, aids in their understanding of how sounds form words. The choice of using worksheets focused on grammar rules does not contribute to phonemic awareness because it emphasizes structure and usage of language rather than sound manipulation. Similarly, reciting poetry with fixed rhyme schemes may introduce students to rhyme but doesn’t necessarily engage them in the deeper analysis of sounds or the active manipulation of phonemes required for development in this area. Lastly, reading books aloud without discussing sounds focuses primarily on comprehension and vocabulary rather than supporting the specific skill of phonemic awareness, which requires an interactive engagement with sounds.