GACE Practice Test 1 Questions and Answers
A first-grade teacher is concerned about several students whose sight vocabulary is
very limited. Which of the following would be the most effective strategy for the teacher
to use to help the students increase their sight vocabulary?
Providing explicit instruction using think-alouds, to improve oral reading fluency
Providing explicit instruction in writing words, to improve memorization
Providing explicit instruction in letter-sound correlation, to improve phonemic awareness
Providing explicit instruction in the study of high-frequency words, to improve oral
reading fluency - Answer-Option (D) is correct. The question requires an understanding
of the roles of phonological awareness, phonics, and word-recognition skills in literacy
development. Sight words are high-frequency words that are instantly recognized as a
whole and do not require word-analysis for recognition. They rarely follow any rules and
need to be memorized.
/.A teacher is informally assessing second-grade students' listening-comprehension
skills after reading Aesop's fable about the lion and the mouse. Which of the following
prompts requires the children to draw an inference from the fable?
Who are the characters in the fable?
What lesson does the fable teach us?
How does the mouse help the lion?
Can mice and lions really talk? - Answer-Option (B) is correct. The question requires an
understanding of integrating knowledge and ideas to promote students' comprehension
of texts. Making an inference is the act of drawing a conclusion based on information
that is not directly stated in a story. (B) requires the students to provide answers by
making judgments based on information in the story.
/.Which of the following activities involves structural analysis?
Students identifying the beginning, middle, and ending sounds of words
Students using individual sounds to blend the letters that make up a word
Students determining the number of syllables that make up different words
Students determining the meaning of a word by considering the word's parts - Answer-
Option (D) is correct. The question requires an understanding of the basic components
of vocabulary and strategies to determine the meaning of unknown words. Structural
analysis deals with using familiar word parts (base words, prefixes, and suffixes) to
determine the meaning of a word.
/.I Y m H s a lm
Question:
A student writes the sentence shown and reads it to the teacher as follows.
"I was at my house and saw a little mouse."
,The student's written sentence indicates that the student does not understand which of
the following concepts?
Most words contain several letter-sound combinations.
Printed material is made up of letters.
Letters have both uppercase and lowercase forms.
Letters represent sounds. - Answer-Option (A) is correct. The question requires an
understanding of key ideas relevant to the foundations of literacy and reading
development and the stages of early orthographic development. From the sample, the
child uses only one letter to represent a single word or several words. The child does
not yet understand that consonants and vowels combine to make up most words.
/.During which stage of the writing process are students most likely to share their writing
with the entire class?
Drafting
Revising
Editing
Publishing - Answer-Option (D) is correct. The question requires an understanding of
how to help students produce clear and coherent writing using the stages of the writing
process. During the publishing stage, students make their writing public by reading it to
others or putting the writing into a booklet.
/.COET (coat)
RITE (right)
COL (cool)
BAUGHT (bought)
CRL (curl)
HICH (hitch)
Based on the sample of a student's spelling test shown, which of the following
statements best describes the student's spelling development?
Represents words with random letters that have no letter-sound correspondence
Represents words phonetically, with a single letter representing each sound
Recognizes that words are made up of letter patterns that represents sounds
Knows simple letter-sound correspondence, but does not understand consonant
combinations - Answer-Option (C) is correct. The question requires an understanding of
key ideas relevant to the foundations of literacy and reading development and the
stages of early orthographic development. From the sample, the student's spellings
indicate that he or she recognizes that letter patterns represent single sounds. The
correct answer, therefore, is (C).
/.While working on a research project, a student uses the Internet and finds a great deal
of information on a chosen topic. Which of the following is the best step for the student
to take next?
, Making a decision about the relevance of the various pieces of information
Downloading the information and compiling it into a packet for the final report
Deciding on a format and outline for the final report
Searching for graphics to use as illustrations in the final report - Answer-Option (A) is
correct. The question requires an understanding of ways to promote students' use of
resource materials to produce and publish writing. After a student has located
information, the student must evaluate the information for its usefulness and relevance
before moving ahead to plan the final product.
/.During a unit on folktales, a second-grade teacher wants to help students engage in
higher-order thinking. After the students read The Little Red Hen, the teacher asks the
students to justify the little red hen's decision to eat the bread herself. Which level of
Bloom's taxonomy does the activity address?
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation - Answer-Option (D) is correct. The question requires an understanding of
ways to promote students' comprehension of text. In asking the students to justify the
little red hen's decision, the students are required to make judgments and evaluate a
decision or course of action taken by the red hen.
/.A teacher observes that a first-grade student does not employ beginning and final
consonants correctly while reading. Which of the following teaching strategies is most
likely to help the student?
Teaching decoding skills and modeling how to use the skills in context
Showing a video of a children's story and listing some of the words that are used in the
story
Pairing the student with another student who is able to use consonants correctly
Placing signs around the classroom to label items (e.g., desks, bookshelf, door) -
Answer-Option (A) is correct. The question requires an understanding of the roles of
phonological awareness, phonics, and word-recognition skills in literacy development.
The student needs additional instruction in word-recognition and decoding skills. Only
(A) combines teaching the required skills with the meaningful contexts in which to use
them.
/.A teacher gives students a set of cards with headlines written on them and a set of
clippings of news articles. The teacher asks the students to match each news article
with its corresponding headline. Which of the following skills is the activity most likely to
develop?
Making generalizations
Recognizing sight vocabulary
Identifying main ideas
A first-grade teacher is concerned about several students whose sight vocabulary is
very limited. Which of the following would be the most effective strategy for the teacher
to use to help the students increase their sight vocabulary?
Providing explicit instruction using think-alouds, to improve oral reading fluency
Providing explicit instruction in writing words, to improve memorization
Providing explicit instruction in letter-sound correlation, to improve phonemic awareness
Providing explicit instruction in the study of high-frequency words, to improve oral
reading fluency - Answer-Option (D) is correct. The question requires an understanding
of the roles of phonological awareness, phonics, and word-recognition skills in literacy
development. Sight words are high-frequency words that are instantly recognized as a
whole and do not require word-analysis for recognition. They rarely follow any rules and
need to be memorized.
/.A teacher is informally assessing second-grade students' listening-comprehension
skills after reading Aesop's fable about the lion and the mouse. Which of the following
prompts requires the children to draw an inference from the fable?
Who are the characters in the fable?
What lesson does the fable teach us?
How does the mouse help the lion?
Can mice and lions really talk? - Answer-Option (B) is correct. The question requires an
understanding of integrating knowledge and ideas to promote students' comprehension
of texts. Making an inference is the act of drawing a conclusion based on information
that is not directly stated in a story. (B) requires the students to provide answers by
making judgments based on information in the story.
/.Which of the following activities involves structural analysis?
Students identifying the beginning, middle, and ending sounds of words
Students using individual sounds to blend the letters that make up a word
Students determining the number of syllables that make up different words
Students determining the meaning of a word by considering the word's parts - Answer-
Option (D) is correct. The question requires an understanding of the basic components
of vocabulary and strategies to determine the meaning of unknown words. Structural
analysis deals with using familiar word parts (base words, prefixes, and suffixes) to
determine the meaning of a word.
/.I Y m H s a lm
Question:
A student writes the sentence shown and reads it to the teacher as follows.
"I was at my house and saw a little mouse."
,The student's written sentence indicates that the student does not understand which of
the following concepts?
Most words contain several letter-sound combinations.
Printed material is made up of letters.
Letters have both uppercase and lowercase forms.
Letters represent sounds. - Answer-Option (A) is correct. The question requires an
understanding of key ideas relevant to the foundations of literacy and reading
development and the stages of early orthographic development. From the sample, the
child uses only one letter to represent a single word or several words. The child does
not yet understand that consonants and vowels combine to make up most words.
/.During which stage of the writing process are students most likely to share their writing
with the entire class?
Drafting
Revising
Editing
Publishing - Answer-Option (D) is correct. The question requires an understanding of
how to help students produce clear and coherent writing using the stages of the writing
process. During the publishing stage, students make their writing public by reading it to
others or putting the writing into a booklet.
/.COET (coat)
RITE (right)
COL (cool)
BAUGHT (bought)
CRL (curl)
HICH (hitch)
Based on the sample of a student's spelling test shown, which of the following
statements best describes the student's spelling development?
Represents words with random letters that have no letter-sound correspondence
Represents words phonetically, with a single letter representing each sound
Recognizes that words are made up of letter patterns that represents sounds
Knows simple letter-sound correspondence, but does not understand consonant
combinations - Answer-Option (C) is correct. The question requires an understanding of
key ideas relevant to the foundations of literacy and reading development and the
stages of early orthographic development. From the sample, the student's spellings
indicate that he or she recognizes that letter patterns represent single sounds. The
correct answer, therefore, is (C).
/.While working on a research project, a student uses the Internet and finds a great deal
of information on a chosen topic. Which of the following is the best step for the student
to take next?
, Making a decision about the relevance of the various pieces of information
Downloading the information and compiling it into a packet for the final report
Deciding on a format and outline for the final report
Searching for graphics to use as illustrations in the final report - Answer-Option (A) is
correct. The question requires an understanding of ways to promote students' use of
resource materials to produce and publish writing. After a student has located
information, the student must evaluate the information for its usefulness and relevance
before moving ahead to plan the final product.
/.During a unit on folktales, a second-grade teacher wants to help students engage in
higher-order thinking. After the students read The Little Red Hen, the teacher asks the
students to justify the little red hen's decision to eat the bread herself. Which level of
Bloom's taxonomy does the activity address?
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation - Answer-Option (D) is correct. The question requires an understanding of
ways to promote students' comprehension of text. In asking the students to justify the
little red hen's decision, the students are required to make judgments and evaluate a
decision or course of action taken by the red hen.
/.A teacher observes that a first-grade student does not employ beginning and final
consonants correctly while reading. Which of the following teaching strategies is most
likely to help the student?
Teaching decoding skills and modeling how to use the skills in context
Showing a video of a children's story and listing some of the words that are used in the
story
Pairing the student with another student who is able to use consonants correctly
Placing signs around the classroom to label items (e.g., desks, bookshelf, door) -
Answer-Option (A) is correct. The question requires an understanding of the roles of
phonological awareness, phonics, and word-recognition skills in literacy development.
The student needs additional instruction in word-recognition and decoding skills. Only
(A) combines teaching the required skills with the meaningful contexts in which to use
them.
/.A teacher gives students a set of cards with headlines written on them and a set of
clippings of news articles. The teacher asks the students to match each news article
with its corresponding headline. Which of the following skills is the activity most likely to
develop?
Making generalizations
Recognizing sight vocabulary
Identifying main ideas
