OAE 190 Writing Prompt Help

Phonemic Awareness

Ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words — no letters involved. Example: A student recognizes that "cat" and "hat" rhyme, or can say the first sound in "dog" is /d/.

Phonics

Understanding the relationship between letters (graphemes) and the sounds (phonemes) they represent. Example: A student learns that the letters "sh" make the /ʃ/ sound in "ship."

Recognition of High-Frequency Words

Instantly identifying common words that appear often in text without needing to decode them. Example: Words like "the," "and," "said," and "was" are read automatically by sight.

Syllabication

Dividing words into syllables, or units of sound, to decode and pronounce them correctly. Example: Breaking "replay" into "re" + "play," or "basket" into "bas" + "ket."

Morphemic Analysis

Using knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, and root words to determine a word's meaning. Example: Knowing "un-" means "not" helps a student understand "unhappy" means "not happy."

Automaticity

The ability to read words quickly and accurately without conscious effort. Example: A student instantly reads the word "house" without sounding it out letter by letter.

Reading Fluency (Accuracy)

Reading words correctly without frequent errors or mispronunciations. Example: A student reads "butterfly" correctly each time it appears in a passage.

Reading Fluency (Rate)

Reading at an appropriate speed that supports understanding — not too slow or too fast. Example: A student reads 100 words per minute on a second-grade passage, showing steady pace.

Reading Fluency (Prosody)

Reading with expression, proper phrasing, and attention to punctuation and tone. Example: A student raises their voice at a question mark and uses excitement when reading dialogue.

Self-Correcting

Recognizing and fixing reading errors independently while reading aloud. Example: A student says "The cat ran up the heel— hill!" and corrects themselves naturally.

Vocabulary Knowledge

Understanding the meaning of words and how to use them correctly in context. Example: Knowing that "predict" means "to make a guess about what will happen next" helps a student understand a story's events.

Knowledge of Academic Language Structures (including conventions of standard English grammar and usage)

Understanding the formal structures and rules used in academic texts, including grammar, sentence types, and proper word usage. Example: Recognizing that "Although the experiment failed, the results were informative" is a complex sentence showing contrast.

Application of Literal Comprehension Skills

Identifying and recalling directly stated facts or details from a text. Example: After reading a passage, a student answers, "What color was the main character's car?"

Application of Inferential Comprehension Skills

Making logical guesses or conclusions that are implied but not directly stated in the text. Example: A student infers that a character is angry because they slammed the door shut.

Application of Evaluative Comprehension Skills

Making judgments about the text's quality, credibility, or author's purpose. Example: A student decides whether the author's argument in a persuasive essay is convincing and supported by evidence.

Use of Comprehension Strategies

Applying techniques that help readers understand and remember what they read. Example: Strategies include predicting, questioning, summarizing, and visualizing while reading a story.

Application of Text Analysis Skills to a Literary Text

Examining how elements such as theme, character, setting, and plot work together to create meaning. Example: A student analyzes how the main character's decisions reveal the story's theme of friendship.

Application of Text Analysis Skills to an Informational Text

Identifying key ideas, supporting details, and the author's structure or purpose in nonfiction texts. Example: A student determines the main idea of an article and how the headings organize the information.

Determining Key Ideas and Details

Identifying the central message, main ideas, and important supporting information within a text. Example: A student summarizes a paragraph by stating the key point and one supporting fact.

Analyzing Craft and Structure

Examining how an author's word choice, tone, text features, and organization shape meaning. Example: A student explains how a poet's repetition emphasizes emotion in a poem.

Integrating Knowledge and Ideas

Connecting information across texts or comparing ideas from different sources to build deeper understanding. Example: A student compares how two articles discuss the effects of climate change.