Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) Subtest 1

Subarea II. Scientifically Based Reading Instruction

0004

Apply knowledge of the oral language foundations of literacy, the development of phonics and phonemic awareness, concepts of print, phonics and other word identification strategies, spelling, and fluency.

demonstrating knowledge of oral language foundations of literacy development in English, including developmental stages of language, the development of phonological and phonemic awareness, and interrelationships between oral language and literacy development
applying knowledge of research-based, explicit instruction in language and vocabulary, phonological awareness, and phonemic awareness, including the use of appropriate materials and effective, engaging activities using various appropriate language modalities (e.g., writing, oral language, sign language)
demonstrating knowledge of the alphabetic principle and the nature of letter-sound relationships in English and the development of concepts of print, uppercase and lowercase letter recognition, letter formation, and letter-sound correspondence
applying knowledge of research-based, explicit instruction in concepts of print, letter recognition, letter formation, and letter-sound correspondence, including the use of appropriate materials; effective, engaging activities using various appropriate language modalities (e.g., writing, oral language, sign language); and multisensory techniques
demonstrating knowledge of basic concepts related to beginning literacy and fluency development (e.g., beginning stages of reading, writing, and spelling development; the reciprocity between decoding and encoding; basic terminology used to describe common letter combinations and/or letter-sound relationships in English; key indicators of fluency; common factors that disrupt fluency)
applying knowledge of research-based, explicit instruction in phonics, other word identification strategies, spelling, and fluency, including instruction in regular words of increasing complexity, irregular sight words, inflectional morphemes, open- and closed-syllable patterns, syllabication guidelines, structural analysis skills, orthographic patterns based on etymology, and instruction to promote fluency at all stages of reading development
applying knowledge of appropriate texts and effective, engaging reading and writing activities to motivate and reinforce students' development of phonics, other word identification skills, and fluency
applying knowledge of research-based, formal and informal methods of assessment in receptive and expressive language development; phonological awareness; phonemic awareness; concepts of print, letter recognition, letter formation, and letter-sound correspondence; phonics and other word identification strategies; spelling; and fluency, including the ability to interpret and use the results of these assessments to plan effective instruction in these areas
applying knowledge of strategies (e.g., differentiated instruction, interventions) for addressing the assessed needs of individual students in receptive and expressive language development; phonological awareness; phonemic awareness; concepts of print, letter recognition, letter formation, and letter-sound correspondence; phonics and other word identification strategies; spelling; and fluency; and organizing and composing written products, including knowledge of basic ways in which oral language and writing systems of other languages may differ from English and the importance of explicitly teaching English learners unfamiliar skills and helping them transfer relevant skills from their home language to English

0005

Understand vocabulary, academic language, and reading comprehension development.

demonstrating knowledge of key concepts in vocabulary and academic language development (e.g., the critical role of vocabulary in reading comprehension; the importance of robust, early language experiences to vocabulary development; the role of wide reading; word consciousness) and basic knowledge and application of English language structures and conventions (i.e., sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, syntax, and semantics)
applying knowledge of research-based, explicit instruction in words and their meanings (e.g., words with Greek or Latin roots, idiomatic expressions); of research-based instruction in independent strategies for building vocabulary (e.g., analyzing morphemes) and determining the meaning and pronunciation of unfamiliar or multiple-meaning words (e.g., using appositives); and of explicit instruction and guided practice in language structures and conventions, including strategies for helping students make connections and understand differences between academic language and language used in interpersonal communication and strategies for integrating reading and the communication arts
demonstrating knowledge of reading comprehension and the development of comprehension strategies and independent reading, including different levels of reading comprehension (i.e., literal, inferential, and evaluative), factors that affect reading comprehension (e.g., automatic decoding, fluency, vocabulary knowledge, text complexity, motivation/purpose for reading), and the role of independent reading in literacy development
applying knowledge of research-based, explicit instruction in comprehension strategies (e.g., think-aloud, monitoring, visual representation, summarization)
demonstrating knowledge of key characteristics and elements of children's and young adolescents' literature representing a range of genres, eras, perspectives, and cultures and key textual features, graphic features, and organizational structures (e.g., descriptive, cause/effect, problem/solution) of various types of informational/expository texts
applying knowledge of research-based, explicit instruction in literary/narrative texts and literary response and analysis skills (e.g., analyzing story elements, using evidence to support responses)
applying knowledge of research-based, explicit instruction in print and digital informational/expository texts and response and analysis skills (e.g., analyzing a text's internal consistency or logic, summarizing a text's main ideas)
applying knowledge of explicit strategies and appropriate texts and effective, engaging activities using various appropriate language modalities (e.g., writing, oral language, sign language) to motivate and reinforce students' development in vocabulary, academic language, text comprehension and analysis, and independent comprehension strategies; to facilitate students' comprehension of texts before, during, and after reading; to promote and motivate students' independent and at-home reading; and to motivate and reinforce students' understanding and analysis of and response to various literary/narrative and informational/expository texts
applying knowledge of research-based formal and informal methods of assessment in vocabulary, academic language, comprehension, and comprehension strategies; knowledge of different types of texts and skills for analyzing and responding to these text types, including the ability to interpret and use the results of these assessments to plan effective instruction in these areas; and knowledge of strategies for determining students' independent, instructional, and frustration reading levels and for using information to help select appropriate instructional texts to guide students' independent reading
applying knowledge of strategies (e.g., differentiated instruction, interventions) for addressing the assessed needs of individual students in vocabulary, academic language, comprehension and comprehension strategies, knowledge of different types of texts, skills for analyzing and responding to these text types, and independent reading, including helping English learners transfer relevant skills from their home language to English

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