LETRS Unit 3 Assessment Phonics & Word Recognition – Questions & Answers
This comprehensive study guide contains verified questions and answers for the LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) Unit 3 Assessment. This unit focuses on phonics, word recognition, decoding, Scarborough’s Reading Rope, Ehri’s phases of word reading development, and effective phonics instruction strategies. Use this guide to prepare for your LETRS Unit 3 assessment.
Scarborough’s Reading Rope
Q1. Which of the following is not one of the strands in Scarborough’s Reading Rope?
ANSWER: Guided reading (The strands are: Background Knowledge, Vocabulary, Language Structures, Verbal Reasoning, Literacy Knowledge, Phonological Awareness, Decoding, and Sight Recognition)
Q2. Scarborough’s Reading Rope represents the two major components of learning to read: ANSWER: Word recognition and language comprehension
Q3. The Reading Rope identifies three major strands or subskills that contribute to printed word recognition: ANSWER: Phonological awareness, decoding, and sight word recognition
Code-Emphasis & Phonics Instruction
Q4. How can code-emphasis or phonics-emphasis instruction be used most effectively?
ANSWER: When organized around a logical progression of pattern words that have been taught
Q5. Teachers who take a code-emphasis approach to instruction generally do not discuss the meanings of words being taught.
ANSWER: False (effective phonics instruction includes both code and meaning)
Q6. Which of the following are typical of meaning-emphasis approaches to instruction? (Select all that apply) ANSWER: Emphasis on reading leveled texts individually; Use of context (such as illustrations) to read words in texts
Consonant Blends & Digraphs
Q7. Which word group might a teacher include in a lesson focused on identification of consonant blends?
ANSWER: blink, frog, twist
Q8. Which word group might a teacher include in a lesson focused on reviewing consonant digraphs?
ANSWER: thorn, show, chase
Q9. What is a blend?
ANSWER: A blend is not one sound but 2 or 3 adjacent consonants before or after a vowel in a syllable. Examples: c-l (clean), s-t (most), th-r (thrush)
Q10. Which word group includes examples of consonant blends?
ANSWER: slick, kiss, cuff
Phonics Lesson Components
Q11. In a complete phonics lesson of 30-40 minutes, which activity would typically not be included?
ANSWER: Sustained silent reading of self-selected texts
Q12. Which of the following is typically done as an extended practice activity in phonics lessons?
ANSWER: Reading decodable text with words containing the target phonics pattern
Q13. Over the course of a week of phonics instruction, which step in the Transfer to Text Process is the first that can be phased out?
ANSWER: Practice reading skill words in isolation before reading them in a passage
Phonic Patterns & Correspondences
Q14. Of all the phonic correspondences represented in these words, which pattern is likely to be learned after the others?
ANSWER: Vowel teams and digraphs (learned after single consonants and short vowels)
Q15. Complete this sentence: A complex syllable is a syllable that contains a ______.
ANSWER: Consonant blend or cluster
Q16. Complete this sentence: Vowel teams in English can have up to ______ letters.
ANSWER: Four letters (example: eigh in ‘weigh’)
Q17. The letter x is the only letter that stands for two phonemes, /k/ and /s/, and occasionally /g/ and /z/.
ANSWER: True
Ehri’s Phases of Word Reading Development
Q18. Name Ehri’s Phases: ANSWER: Prealphabetic, Early Alphabetic, Later Alphabetic, and Consolidated Alphabetic
Q19. When students are ‘graduating’ to the next Ehri’s phase, their approach to reading will be qualitatively different than the previous phase.
ANSWER: True
Q20. Ehri’s phases of word-reading development should be viewed as a continuum and not discrete stages of development.
ANSWER: True
Q21. Students with solid phonics skills tend to recognize sight words more quickly, regardless of how regular the words’ spellings are.
ANSWER: True
Consolidated Alphabetic Phase
Q22. Kasey is in the consolidated alphabetic phase. Which instructional approach will be most helpful to support her future reading skills?
ANSWER: Wide reading of texts from a variety of topics
Q23. Which of the following should be a major instructional focus for students at the consolidated alphabetic phase? (Select all that apply) ANSWER: Have students decode two and three syllable words; Teach common prefixes and suffixes; Focus on multisyllabic word reading
Decoding & Word Recognition
Q24. The ability to decode a new, previously unknown printed word, in or out of context, depends on: (Select all that apply) ANSWER: Knowledge of phoneme-grapheme correspondences; The ability to blend phonemes and graphemes quickly
Q25. Decoding is the ability to translate a word from print to speech, usually by employing knowledge of sound-symbol correspondences.
ANSWER: True
Q26. To know what the word actually says, the reader must look closely at all the letters and ______ them into sound and sense.
ANSWER: Blend
Q27. The goal of word study, or the point of learning to decode by phonics and to recognize orthographic patterns, is: ANSWER: Automatic word recognition (sight word recognition)
The Term ‘Phonics’
Q28. The term phonics may be used to refer to: (Select all that apply)
ANSWER: The system of phoneme-grapheme correspondences that are the basis for an alphabetic orthography; An essential component (one of the five pillars) of effective reading instruction; A strategy for decoding new words and storing them in orthographic memory
Assessment of Word Recognition
Q29. Which is the best way to assess students’ ability to recognize real words in print?
ANSWER: Have students do timed and untimed readings of graded word lists; sight words should be recognized within one second
Q30. When students’ abilities to read real words are tested with lists, using a timer, the ____________ strand of the Reading Rope is being assessed.
ANSWER: Sight recognition
Word Chains & High Frequency Words
Q31. What is the purpose of a word chain?
ANSWER: To give students practice recognizing subtle differences between and among similar sounding words. Example: shin, thin, thimble, shim, sham, mam, mash, math
Q32. What are high frequency words?
ANSWER: Words that occur most often in English writing
Four Part Processing Model
Q33. Explain the 4 part processing model: ANSWER: Context to meaning, meaning to phonological and orthographic (the brain processes written words through phonological, orthographic, meaning, and context processors)
RTI/MTSS & Professional Development
Q34. The quality of Tier 2 and Tier 3 instruction is the most important variable affecting student progress in grades K-3.
ANSWER: False (Tier 1 core instruction quality is the most important variable)
Q35. Successful implementation of an RTI or MTSS model depends on collaboration among all faculty.
ANSWER: True
Q36. What proportion of students are likely to need Tier 2 or Tier 3 instruction even when Tier 1 instruction is effective?
ANSWER: At least 20%
Q37. Based on the assessment data presented in this session, what can you conclude about how teachers’ professional development (PD) affects students’ performance outcomes?
ANSWER: PD to build teacher expertise and provide coaching supports significantly improved student performance
Q38. Your district has selected a solid, research-based core instructional program for reading. Which guideline best explains how an individual teacher should implement this program?
ANSWER: Follow it, but if necessary supplement it, or adjust the pacing to meet students’ needs
Phonological Awareness
Q39. _____________ awareness emphasizes the strong predictive relationship between phonemic awareness and learning to read an alphabetic writing system.
ANSWER: Phonological
Key LETRS Unit 3 Concepts
• Scarborough’s Reading Rope: Two main strands – Word Recognition (phonological awareness, decoding, sight recognition) and Language Comprehension (background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, literacy knowledge)
• Ehri’s Four Phases: Prealphabetic, Early Alphabetic, Later Alphabetic, Consolidated Alphabetic – each phase represents qualitatively different approaches to reading
• Code-Emphasis Instruction: Most effective when organized around logical progression of pattern words and combined with meaning instruction
• Consonant Blends vs. Digraphs: Blends = 2-3 adjacent consonants (bl, fr, tw); Digraphs = 2 letters representing 1 sound (th, sh, ch)
• Phonics Lesson Components: Should include explicit instruction, guided practice, and application in decodable text (30-40 minutes)
• Sight Word Recognition: Goal is automatic recognition within 1 second – developed through phonics skills and orthographic mapping
• Assessment: Use timed and untimed word lists; sight words should be recognized within one second
• RTI/MTSS: Tier 1 quality is most critical; expect 20% to need Tier 2/3 even with effective Tier 1; collaboration essential
Study Tips for LETRS Unit 3
• Master Ehri’s Phases: Understand the characteristics and instructional needs for each phase of word reading development
• Know Your Phonics Terminology: Be able to distinguish between blends, digraphs, vowel teams, and other phonics patterns
• Understand Scarborough’s Reading Rope: Know all the strands and how they weave together for skilled reading
• Focus on Instructional Sequence: Understand the progression from simple to complex phonics patterns
• Learn Assessment Methods: Know how to assess decoding, sight recognition, and word reading fluency
• Study the Research: Understand the evidence base for systematic phonics instruction and professional development impact
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: This study guide is compiled from publicly available LETRS Unit 3 educational materials and resources. It should be used as a supplemental study tool only. Always refer to official LETRS course materials, complete all required sessions and check-for-understanding activities, and consult with your LETRS facilitator. This information is for educational purposes and represents current research-based best practices in literacy instruction as of the knowledge cutoff date.
