SPED instr ch.6 study set (fall 2026)

b

Mr. Jensen teaches an inclusive fifth-grade class and has two students who have language delays. This morning he greeted Sharita with the comment, "You look like you're on top of the world this morning." Sharita's expression changed from delight to puzzlement and she reacted, "Mr. Jensen, I'm right here at school. I can't be on top of the world." In this scenario, Sharita has difficulty with which of the following?

 

a. Affixes

b. Figurative language

c. Word retrieval 

d. Syntactical structure

d

At the age of 7, Matt interrupts others when they are talking and fails to notice and correctly interpret social cues when others express feelings such as joy or sadness. He often ignores what peers say during group activities and talks loudly to hold their attention. Matt's language patterns reflect a problem in which of the following areas?

 

a. Figurative language

b. Syntax

c. Phonology

d. Pragmatics

a

Mr. McGee works with students who have language difficulties. Yesterday Mr. McGee introduced a new science concept, and today he extended the lesson. He chose three key words from the lesson and asked students to define, illustrate, and write a sentence with each word. His strategy is likely to be most helpful to students with which specific language difficulty?

 

a. Word retrieval

b. Sequencing

c. Language form

d. Figurative language

c

Which of the following teachers is most directly targeting pragmatic skills for struggling learners with language difficulties?

 

a. Mr. Koda asked students to create a semantic map.

b. Ms. Hart asked students to listen to her self-talk as she modeled the use of a semantic map. 

c. Mrs. Keys asked students to role-play introducing a friend to their teacher.

d. Mr. Hunt asked students to write a sentence with each new vocabulary word.

a

Mr. Valdez teaches second grade in a diverse community, and several of his students are English learners (ELs) with very little understanding of English. Mr. Valdez wants to accommodate learning for these students and considers using the following strategies. Which strategy is least likely to be effective with the ELs in his class?

 

a. Reduce the content and expectations for learning

b. Simplify the language he uses to give instructions

c. Emphasize the key vocabulary he uses in each lesson

d. Provide extra wait time for students to respond to questions

d

Ms. Fontaine teaches many linguistically diverse students every year. As an experienced teacher, most of the practices she uses are effective. Which of her practices is least likely to support English learners (ELs)?

 

a. Learning to speak a few words such as a greeting in each child's native language

b. Acknowledging the value of each student's first language

c. Providing opportunities for students to turn and talk to a partner and summarize the learning

d. Correcting each error in spoken or written English

c

Juan has good English for a student who immigrated to the United States 3 years ago, but he struggles with academic language. Ms. Diaz, his teacher, is trying to encourage language development at home though Juan's parents only speak Spanish. What approach is recommended for Juan's language development at home?

 

a. Recognize that language development will not happen at home

b. Treat Juan's parents like other parents and communicate in English

c. Encourage Juan's parents to talk in Spanish to Juan about his school work

d. Avoid sending home papers and assignments that are completed in English

b

Ms. Kozak teaches fifth grade in a culturally and linguistically diverse classroom, and several of her students struggle with language development. Today she introduced the concepts of a legend and a compass rose as part of a unit about map reading skills. Ms. Kozak wants her students to retain the concepts and use the vocabulary at home. Based on recommended guidelines for efficiently extending language concepts at home, which of the following activities is likely to be most effective?

 

a. Ask parents to provide a map at home and explain map features to their child

b. Ask students to take home a map they made at school and explain it to parents

c. Ask students to follow instructions, make salt maps at home, and bring them to school

d. Ask parents to help children make a map at home and talk about map features

a

Hillside Elementary School implements response to intervention (RTI). As a speech-language specialist, Ms. Alvarez is likely to help students in a variety of ways that include three of the following responsibilities. She is least likely to carry responsibility for which of the following roles?

 

a. Provide reading instruction in general education classrooms

b. Assist with schoolwide screening to identify students with language problems

c. Suggest instructional strategies and modifications for students with communication difficulties

d. Help train school staff to use effective verbal and nonverbal communication in conflict situations

b

The last section of text in Chapter 6 presents many instructional activities related to oral language. Among the four listed below, which primary-level activity is designed to help students articulate the steps in a process using ordinal words (first, second, etc.)?

 

a. Creature from Outer Space-answering "what, when, where, why" questions

b. Chef for a Day-explaining how to make their favorite snack

c. It's for Sale!-using language to sell something

d. Which One Doesn't Belong?-identifying relationships among words

Vocabulary development

___________ ___________ — focus: teaching students new words, word meanings, synonyms, antonyms, and using vocabulary in conversation

a, c, d, f

Which of the following are examples that can help students with vocabulary development?

a. Word of the day

b. Punishment for not knowing the word

c. Vocabulary picture sorts

d. Describe and define

e. Have students write the word 20 times to remember

f. Using new words in sentences

Sentence structure and grammar

___________ ___________ and ___________ — focus: helping students construct complex sentences and use appropriate grammar

True

t/f: Organization is a huge component of importance in sentence structure and grammar

a, b, d, e

Which of the following are examples that can help students with sentence structure and grammar?

a. Sentence expansion

b. Sentence combining

c. Having students talk for 5 minutes straight

d. Sentence Starters

e. Modeling and recasting incorrect sentences

f. Have students write sentences 5 times each

Listening and comprehension

___________ ___________ and ___________ — focus: developing the ability to understand spoken language, follow directions, and respond appropriately

e

Which of the following are examples of difficulties students might face with listening and comprehension struggles?

a. Following multi-step directions

b. Listen and draw

c. Retelling information

d. Listening for key details

e. All of the above

True

t/f: Listening and comprehension struggles can also exclude and alienate students from social interaction too.

Expressive language/communication

___________ ___________/___________ — focus: helping students express thoughts, explain ideas, describe events, and communicate information

a, b, d, e

Which of the following are examples that can help students with expressive language/communication?

a. Show and tell

b. Think-pair-share

c. Telling them to stop talking if they cannot express themsleves

d. Picture descriptions

e. Storytelling

pragmatic/social language

___________/___________ ___________ — focus: teaching students how to use lagnague appropriately in social situations

e

Which of the following are examples of difficulties students might face with pragmatic/social language struggles?

a. Taking turns in conversations

b. Staying on topic

c. Asking follow-up questions

d. Recognizing nonverbal communication

e. All of the above

Form

The structure and sound and language

Phonology, morphology, and syntax

Form is usually further divided into ___________, ___________, and ___________

Phonology

The rules for combining and patterning phonemes within language

Phonemes

The smallest linguistic units of sound that can signal a meaning difference

True

t/f: Phonemes are the actual sound produced by speakers.

Morphology

Focuses on the rule system that governs the structure of words and word forms

Morphemes

The smallest units of language that convey meaning

Syntax

Refers to the order of words in sentences and the grammatical rules for determining that order

True

t/f: The basic syntactical structure for English is subject+verb+object (e.g., “Mike eats cereal”).

False

t/f: The rules for combining words do not vary across languages.

Pragmatics

The use of language; refers to the purposes or functions of communication, or how we use language to communicate

False

t/f: Pragmatics/the appropriate use of language does not grow significantly during the school years.

True

t/f: Pragmatics in the middle grades is important for connecting well with peers.

True

t/f: The way a speaker uses language will also be influenced by the knowledge the speaker thinks the listener has about the topic being discussed.

Semantics

The intended message of language (also called content)

True

t/f: Semantics is the content of language and refers to the ideas or concepts we are communicating.

True

t/f: Students with language difficulties generally have vocabularies that are more limited than average, and their understanding of word meanings are generally more concrete and less flexible.

False

t/f: Many students with reading and language disabilities have less difficulty understanding that words can have multiple meanings and knowing which meaning to apply.