CALT EXAM| 111 questions| with
comprehensive answers
Course
CALT
1. What is the primary neurological cause of dyslexia according to current research?
Answer:
Dyslexia is primarily caused by a phonological processing deficit rooted in differences in brain
structure and function, particularly in the left hemisphere regions responsible for language (e.g.,
the inferior frontal gyrus, temporoparietal cortex, and occipitotemporal areas). Functional
imaging shows underactivation in these areas during reading tasks in individuals with dyslexia.
2. What is the most effective instructional approach for students with dyslexia?
Answer:
The most effective approach is Structured Literacy, which includes:
Explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction
Diagnostic teaching based on ongoing assessment
Multisensory techniques (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile)
Emphasis on phonology, sound-symbol association, syllable instruction, morphology,
syntax, and semantics
Structured Literacy aligns with the Orton-Gillingham approach and is evidence-based for
remediating reading difficulties.
3. A student spells “train” as “tran.” What type of error is this, and how should instruction
be adjusted?
Answer:
This is a phonological omission—the student drops the medial vowel sound.
Instruction should focus on:
Phoneme segmentation activities
Vowel-consonant (VC) and consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) blending
Use of Elkonin boxes and multisensory vowel drills
Reinforcement of phonemic awareness before orthographic mapping
,4. Explain the concept of orthographic mapping and its role in fluent reading.
Answer:
Orthographic mapping is the process by which readers permanently store written words in
memory by linking letters (graphemes) to sounds (phonemes) and meaning.
It requires:
Strong phonemic awareness
Accurate decoding skills
Rapid recognition of letter-sound relationships
Students with dyslexia often struggle with this process, leading to weak sight word retention and
slow reading fluency. Instruction must strengthen phoneme-grapheme connections to support
automatic word retrieval.
5. A student has poor rapid naming skills but average phonemic awareness. What type of
reading difficulty might be present?
Answer:
This profile suggests reading fluency impairment, possibly double-deficit dyslexia if
combined with phonological issues, or surface dyslexia if phonics is intact but sight word
retrieval is poor.
Instruction should include:
Timed repeated reading
Vocabulary and morphology development
Sight word practice with orthographic mapping support
Building reading rate and automaticity
6. Describe an appropriate assessment battery for identifying dyslexia in a second-grade
student.
Answer:
A comprehensive dyslexia evaluation should include:
Phonological awareness (CTOPP-2, PAT-2)
Word reading (WJ-IV Letter-Word Identification, WRMT)
Nonsense word decoding (WIAT-4 Pseudoword Decoding)
, Spelling and writing (Test of Written Spelling, TOWL-4)
Reading fluency and comprehension (GORT-5, TOSCRF)
Rapid automatized naming (RAN/RAS)
Cognitive/processing tests if needed (WISC-V, KABC-II)
Screening must also include family history, early developmental milestones, and educational
performance.
7. What is the difference between a morpheme and a phoneme, and why does it matter in
intervention?
Answer:
A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in spoken language (e.g., /k/, /a/, /t/ in “cat”).
A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning (e.g., “un-,” “break,” “-able” in
“unbreakable”).
Why it matters:
Phonemic awareness is critical for decoding.
Morphemic awareness helps with vocabulary, spelling, and reading comprehension,
especially in older students.
Intervention must move from phoneme-level work to morphology instruction as
students progress.
8. What role does multisensory instruction play in teaching students with dyslexia?
Answer:
Multisensory instruction engages visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile pathways
simultaneously to reinforce learning.
Benefits include:
Enhanced memory and retrieval through multiple modalities
Increased engagement and attention
Stronger neural connections for reading
Examples:
Tracing letters while saying sounds aloud
, Using manipulatives for segmenting and blending
Color coding syllable types or affixes
9. What are the key components of a lesson in an Orton-Gillingham-based program?
Answer:
A standard lesson includes:
1. Review (phonograms, rules, previously learned words)
2. Phonemic awareness activity
3. New concept instruction (explicit, direct)
4. Multisensory practice (sand trays, skywriting, etc.)
5. Controlled reading and spelling practice
6. Dictation (words and sentences)
7. Reading fluency work
8. Cumulative review and application
Instruction is always sequential, cumulative, and diagnostic.
10. A fifth-grade student reads accurately but slowly and has poor comprehension. What
might be contributing, and how should the intervention be designed?
Answer:
Possible contributors:
Inefficient decoding still taxing cognitive resources
Weak vocabulary or background knowledge
Insufficient fluency practice
Limited morphological awareness
Intervention plan:
Increase timed repeated readings with progress monitoring
Add prefix/suffix/root instruction to boost comprehension
Incorporate vocabulary strategies (semantic mapping, Frayer model)
comprehensive answers
Course
CALT
1. What is the primary neurological cause of dyslexia according to current research?
Answer:
Dyslexia is primarily caused by a phonological processing deficit rooted in differences in brain
structure and function, particularly in the left hemisphere regions responsible for language (e.g.,
the inferior frontal gyrus, temporoparietal cortex, and occipitotemporal areas). Functional
imaging shows underactivation in these areas during reading tasks in individuals with dyslexia.
2. What is the most effective instructional approach for students with dyslexia?
Answer:
The most effective approach is Structured Literacy, which includes:
Explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction
Diagnostic teaching based on ongoing assessment
Multisensory techniques (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile)
Emphasis on phonology, sound-symbol association, syllable instruction, morphology,
syntax, and semantics
Structured Literacy aligns with the Orton-Gillingham approach and is evidence-based for
remediating reading difficulties.
3. A student spells “train” as “tran.” What type of error is this, and how should instruction
be adjusted?
Answer:
This is a phonological omission—the student drops the medial vowel sound.
Instruction should focus on:
Phoneme segmentation activities
Vowel-consonant (VC) and consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) blending
Use of Elkonin boxes and multisensory vowel drills
Reinforcement of phonemic awareness before orthographic mapping
,4. Explain the concept of orthographic mapping and its role in fluent reading.
Answer:
Orthographic mapping is the process by which readers permanently store written words in
memory by linking letters (graphemes) to sounds (phonemes) and meaning.
It requires:
Strong phonemic awareness
Accurate decoding skills
Rapid recognition of letter-sound relationships
Students with dyslexia often struggle with this process, leading to weak sight word retention and
slow reading fluency. Instruction must strengthen phoneme-grapheme connections to support
automatic word retrieval.
5. A student has poor rapid naming skills but average phonemic awareness. What type of
reading difficulty might be present?
Answer:
This profile suggests reading fluency impairment, possibly double-deficit dyslexia if
combined with phonological issues, or surface dyslexia if phonics is intact but sight word
retrieval is poor.
Instruction should include:
Timed repeated reading
Vocabulary and morphology development
Sight word practice with orthographic mapping support
Building reading rate and automaticity
6. Describe an appropriate assessment battery for identifying dyslexia in a second-grade
student.
Answer:
A comprehensive dyslexia evaluation should include:
Phonological awareness (CTOPP-2, PAT-2)
Word reading (WJ-IV Letter-Word Identification, WRMT)
Nonsense word decoding (WIAT-4 Pseudoword Decoding)
, Spelling and writing (Test of Written Spelling, TOWL-4)
Reading fluency and comprehension (GORT-5, TOSCRF)
Rapid automatized naming (RAN/RAS)
Cognitive/processing tests if needed (WISC-V, KABC-II)
Screening must also include family history, early developmental milestones, and educational
performance.
7. What is the difference between a morpheme and a phoneme, and why does it matter in
intervention?
Answer:
A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in spoken language (e.g., /k/, /a/, /t/ in “cat”).
A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning (e.g., “un-,” “break,” “-able” in
“unbreakable”).
Why it matters:
Phonemic awareness is critical for decoding.
Morphemic awareness helps with vocabulary, spelling, and reading comprehension,
especially in older students.
Intervention must move from phoneme-level work to morphology instruction as
students progress.
8. What role does multisensory instruction play in teaching students with dyslexia?
Answer:
Multisensory instruction engages visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile pathways
simultaneously to reinforce learning.
Benefits include:
Enhanced memory and retrieval through multiple modalities
Increased engagement and attention
Stronger neural connections for reading
Examples:
Tracing letters while saying sounds aloud
, Using manipulatives for segmenting and blending
Color coding syllable types or affixes
9. What are the key components of a lesson in an Orton-Gillingham-based program?
Answer:
A standard lesson includes:
1. Review (phonograms, rules, previously learned words)
2. Phonemic awareness activity
3. New concept instruction (explicit, direct)
4. Multisensory practice (sand trays, skywriting, etc.)
5. Controlled reading and spelling practice
6. Dictation (words and sentences)
7. Reading fluency work
8. Cumulative review and application
Instruction is always sequential, cumulative, and diagnostic.
10. A fifth-grade student reads accurately but slowly and has poor comprehension. What
might be contributing, and how should the intervention be designed?
Answer:
Possible contributors:
Inefficient decoding still taxing cognitive resources
Weak vocabulary or background knowledge
Insufficient fluency practice
Limited morphological awareness
Intervention plan:
Increase timed repeated readings with progress monitoring
Add prefix/suffix/root instruction to boost comprehension
Incorporate vocabulary strategies (semantic mapping, Frayer model)
