Chapter 7: Expanding Academic Vocabulary
Multiple Choice Items
1. Research suggests that for students in grades three and up, the activity which leads to the
greatest growth in vocabulary is:
a) conversation with peers
b) conversation with adults
c) reading
d) writing
2. Fourth grade teacher Anna Scott was frustrated. The poorest readers in her class read very few
books while the most capable readers read many books and enlarged their vocabularies. This
situation is an example of the:
a) Peter Effect
b) Matthew Effect
c) Alphabetic Principle
d) Concepts about Print
3. A teacher has been encouraging her students to enliven their writing by using words that have
nearly the same meaning as the tired words they have been using. This teacher should give a
lesson in using:
a) antonyms
b) synonyms
c) homonyms
d) graphemes
4. Sets of words such as deer and dear and blue and blew are known as:
a) homographs
b) homonyms
c) homophones
d) phonemes
5. When eight-year-old Eli encountered a word that he didn’t know, he used the surrounding
words and sentences to determine its meaning. In that situation, Eli used:
a) decoding skills
b) context clues
c) analogy
d) the alphabetic principle
6. The term which refers to the history of a word is:
a) orthography
b) calligraphy
c) etymology
d) phonology
7. Words that express opposite meanings are known as:
a) antonyms
b) synonyms
c) homographs
d) morphemes
8. Because a group of third grade students have difficulty using dictionaries to find the
definitions they need, their teacher should:
a) develop a classroom word wall of high-frequency words
b) encourage the students to use invented spelling
c) teach the students to use the spell check feature on their computers
d) model techniques for reading and using dictionary entries
9. Expressions which must be translated figuratively such as “raining cats and dogs”, “chip
off the old block,” and “skeleton in the closet” are known as:
a) metaphors
b) similes
c) idioms
d) refrains
10. While reading about the Olympic Games, a fourth grade class made a list of sports related
words and then made a grid to classify the words according to their distinguishing
characteristics. Those students participated in a(n):
a) phonics analysis
b) Elkonin Box
c) context clue
d) semantic feature analysis
11. The best way to teach students to use context clues is to use:
a) phonics drills
b) round-robin reading
c) modeling
d) word walls
12. When the words subway and submarine appeared in a text, the teacher helped the children
break the words apart. They then examined other words that began with sub. These children
participated in a:
a) morphemic analysis
b) contextual analysis
c) context clue
d) word chain
13. To use classroom word walls most effectively, teachers should:
a) add new words each day to meet the students’ needs
b) post only words contained on a school’s approved list
c) use the words in daily reading and spelling drills
d) write each word phonetically
14. Research suggests that:
a) round-robin reading motivates students to read independently
b) vocabulary growth is not related to reading achievement
c) students with more limited vocabularies have better reading comprehension
d) students with larger vocabularies tend to be more capable readers
15. When introducing new words, sixth grade teacher Terri Crowley alerts her students if the
new words were derived from the Spanish, French, or Latin languages. Effective teachers have
found that knowing a word’s history helps students to:
a) write that word in neat, cursive writing
b) alphabetize words correctly
c) improve their visual literacy
d) spell the word correctly
16. To help his students engage in word-study activities, an effective teacher has decided to teach
his students to use:
a) Elkonin Boxes
b) phonics generalizations
c) semantic feature analysis
d) miscue analysis
17. The expression quiet as a mouse is an example of a:
a) metaphor
b) simile
c) miscue
d) morpheme
18. The primary reason why teachers should devote instructional time to the study of similes and
metaphors is to help students:
a) make their writing more vivid
b) improve their spelling ability
c) develop phonemic awareness
d) meet school district requirements
19. A third grade teacher taught a lesson using pairs of words such as dull and sharp, hot and
cold, and easy and hard. This lesson focused upon:
a) synonyms
b) antonyms
c) homonyms
d) homographs
20. Effective teachers use minilessons to teach students about specific words. These minilessons:
a) should always be provided before students read the text
b) should always be provided after students have read the text
c) can be provided before or after students read the text
d) should only be provided for struggling readers
21. Which of the following is not true regarding incidental word learning?
a) Reading is the single largest source of vocabulary growth for students, especially after third
grade.
b) Sustained Silent Reading is a method for encouraging wide reading and vocabulary growth.
c) Teachers provide for incidental word learning when they read aloud to their students.
d) Most words students learn are taught directly and explicitly.
22. Which of the following is the least effective way to evaluate students’ vocabulary
knowledge?
a) formal tests
b) rubrics
c) word sorts
d visual representations
23. Words that are frequently used in language arts, social studies, science, and math are called
a) learning vocabulary
b) receptive vocabulary
c) academic vocabulary
d) important vocabulary
24. The three tiers of words as described by Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2002) are
a) basic words, academic vocabulary, and specialized terms
b) easy, difficult, and high-level
c) academic, personal, and professional
d) short words, medium words, and long words
25. As teachers choose words for instruction and word-study activities, they focus on
a) tier 2 words
b) tier 1 words
c) tier 3 words
d) any words they choose
1. Describe three word study activities teachers can use to help their students examine words
and think more deeply about new words.
2. List and describe three ways in which teachers can assess students’ vocabulary knowledge.
3. Students often encounter words they don’t recognize during independent reading periods. List
three suggestions a teacher could offer to help her students determine the meaning of unfamiliar
words. What should students do when they don’t recognize a word in their texts?
Chapter 7 Answer Key for Multiple Choice Items
1. Describe three word study activities teachers can use to help their students examine
words and think more deeply about new words.
2. List and describe three ways in which teachers can assess students’ vocabulary
knowledge.
3. Students often encounter words they don’t recognize during independent reading
periods. List three suggestions a teacher could offer to help her students determine the
meaning of unfamiliar words. What should students do when they don’t recognize a word
in their texts?