ParaPro Classroom Application of Reading Skills 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student reads a passage about photosynthesis and struggles to answer questions. The paraeducator notices the student does not pause at periods. Which skill needs the most support?
- Phonics
- Reading fluency and phrasing (Correct answer)
- Vocabulary development
- Background knowledge building
Correct answer: Reading fluency and phrasing
Ignoring punctuation signals a fluency phrasing problem; students must learn to use punctuation marks as cues for expression and meaning.
Question 2: Which graphic organizer is MOST appropriate for helping students compare a fiction and a nonfiction text on the same topic?
- Story map
- Venn diagram (Correct answer)
- Sequence chart
- KWL chart
Correct answer: Venn diagram
A Venn diagram allows students to visually organize similarities and differences between two texts, making it ideal for comparison tasks.
Question 3: A paraeducator reads a paragraph aloud and then asks, 'What is the author's main point?' This question targets which reading skill?
- Phonemic awareness
- Identifying the main idea (Correct answer)
- Decoding multisyllabic words
- Using text features
Correct answer: Identifying the main idea
Identifying the author's main point is the core skill of finding the main idea in a passage.
Question 4: A student reads 'He was in hot water after breaking the window' and thinks the character is literally in water. The paraeducator should explain that the phrase is:
- A simile comparing two unlike things
- An idiom with a figurative meaning (Correct answer)
- A metaphor describing an emotion
- Hyperbole used for exaggeration
Correct answer: An idiom with a figurative meaning
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be understood from the literal definitions of the individual words.
Question 5: Which approach BEST supports a student who can decode words accurately but does not understand what he or she reads?
- Increasing phonics drills and word lists
- Building vocabulary and using comprehension strategies like questioning and summarizing (Correct answer)
- Encouraging the student to read faster
- Providing simpler, shorter texts exclusively
Correct answer: Building vocabulary and using comprehension strategies like questioning and summarizing
Students who decode without comprehension need explicit vocabulary instruction and comprehension strategies such as questioning, predicting, and summarizing.
Question 6: A paraeducator highlights headings, bold words, and captions before a student reads a science article. This pre-reading strategy is called:
- Choral reading
- Text feature walk / previewing text features (Correct answer)
- Round-robin reading
- Echo reading
Correct answer: Text feature walk / previewing text features
A text feature walk previews organizational elements of nonfiction to activate prior knowledge and set a purpose for reading.
Question 7: A student finishes a chapter book and says, 'This reminds me of something that happened to me.' The paraeducator should recognize this as which type of reading connection?
- Text-to-text connection
- Text-to-world connection
- Text-to-self connection (Correct answer)
- Text-to-media connection
Correct answer: Text-to-self connection
A text-to-self connection occurs when a reader relates the text to a personal experience or feeling.
ParaPro Classroom Application of Reading Skills 5
A student reads a passage about photosynthesis and struggles to answer questions.
The paraeducator notices the student does not pause at periods.
Which skill needs the most support?