Subtest I: Reading, Language Arts, and Literature Study Guide for the CSET Multiple Subjects Test

Literacy

Literacy refers to the ability to competently read and write in a given language. While language acquisition and development means that learners are understanding spoken language, literacy adds the extra component of being able to read and write in the language, not just speak and listen.

Developing Literacy

As with language acquisition, learners progress through several stages of literacy development. The beginning, early intermediate, intermediate, and early advanced phases of literacy development coincide with the stages of language acquisition as learners learn the sounds of language and what the written forms look like. This is why children learn the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make—so they can join those letters and their sounds together to create words that they can then read and identify.

phonemic awareness— Phonemic awareness is the recognition and understanding of sounds in words. When students recognize that language is made up of sounds, they can learn to hear, identify, and use those sounds to communicate. This is the most basic step of literacy development, and applies to spoken words. Only when students have phonemic awareness can they apply phonics to make the connection between sounds and letters.
decoding— After students have developed phonemic awareness, they may begin to be able to decode. At this stage, students apply their knowledge of letter-sound relationships, or phonics, to correctly pronounce words they see in print. This usually involves sounding out the word letter by letter or letter group by letter group.
comprehension— Recognizing or “reading” a word is not enough. To be literate, students must also understand what they read. Comprehension is the ability of the student to understand and interpret, creating an appreciation for the meaning of the word.
word recognition— As students practice their decoding skills and build their comprehension, they move into word recognition. At this point, students are able to recognize written words. They know how to pronounce them correctly, but this may not necessarily mean that they comprehend the words. They must include the word in their vocabulary for that to happen. Students with reading disabilities may struggle with word recognition and will need extra support.
Spelling — Wouldn’t it be nice if the English language always spelled things the way they sound and had consistent rules for how all words should be spelled based on how they are pronounced? Many words follow phonetic spelling rules, but many others don’t. Think about words like colonel, receipt, jeopardy, and island. Can a reader rely solely on phonics in any of those words to give them the proper spelling and pronunciation? We think not. Spelling becomes very tricky for students, in part because of the weird rules of English, in part because of the etymologies of different words, and in part because the alphabetic principle does not always apply. Here are some things to remember when evaluating spelling achievement:
- English is full of exceptions to its own rules, silent letters, adding extra letters when you add a suffix (think changing fly to flies), changing letters when you change the ending (e.g., loaf of bread versus loaves of bread). Some of spelling comes from knowing the rules, but much of spelling comes from practice and knowing the exceptions to the rules.
- It is important for teachers of young children to note, also, that children do not go from not being able to spell one day to spelling perfectly the next day. Between these two ability levels, they will go through several stages while they transition to conventional spelling. This period may last varying lengths of time, but is typically apparent through the second grade.
- During this transition time, children spell what they hear or *phonetically” with improving degrees of accuracy. This is part of the process and should not be discouraged. The more children see “book spelling” as they read, the more likely they are to move into conventional spelling patterns. If you refuse to accept phonetically-spelled words, their writing interest and production will sharply decrease. It’s important to make parents aware of this process, as well, so children will be encouraged to write instead of avoiding writing because they feel inadequate.
- See Spelling Conventions under Assessing Literacy below for more details about this.

Vocabulary Skills

Vocabulary encompasses all the words that are used in a given language. Vocabulary skills are measured by a learner’s ability to use the appropriate word at the appropriate time in the appropriate context. Vocabulary can be acquired in two main ways: incidental learning of vocabulary refers to the word understanding learners gain naturally when they come into contact with or are exposed to a word in their day-to-day life. They can generally figure out its meaning based on experience and context. Vocabulary can also be expanded through direct instruction where learners are guided through structured lessons in a classroom or other academic setting by a teacher who can correctly explain the words to them. Here are some vocabulary skills that learners may use and find helpful as they work to build their vocabulary skills.

Etymologies— Words and language change and evolve through time. Etymology refers to the origins and history of a word and how it has changed over time. Much of English originates from Anglo-Saxon, Greek, and Latin roots but have morphed over history with different spellings, different pronunciation, or the derivation of new words from the original.

Denotative Word Meanings— Words have both denotative and connotative meanings. Denotation means the actual, literal definition of a word. It is the explanation you would find if you looked the word up in a dictionary.

Connotative Word Meanings— A word’s connotation is how it makes the reader or audience feel to read, hear, or see the word. Some works have a positive connotation, others have a negative connotation, and others are considered neutral. Words may have the same or similar denotation, but very different connotations. For example, say an employee approaches his or her boss for a raise, outlining all of the reasons why they are deserving. Some may call that person “assertive,” but others may call her “pushy.” While these two terms have similar meanings, their connotations are quite different.

Contextual Analysis— This is the idea of looking at and examining language as it appears in the text as a whole. Contextual analysis is important when reading because it allows the reader to look at the “big picture” and to decode meaning based on how words or ideas are presented within the text. Looking at the whole sentence to figure out an unfamiliar word, for example, or looking for clues to its meaning in the sentences around it is an example of contextual analysis.

Reading Fluency

It is a valuable skill to be able to read; it is even more valuable to read with fluency. Reading fluency refers to a learner’s ability to read with speed, accuracy, and appropriate tone and expression (also referred to as prosody). Reading fluency is related to reading comprehension in the sense that if a learner does not have fluency when he or she reads, chances are slim that the student will really understand or comprehend much of what was read. Reading fluency applies to both reading aloud and to silent reading. Ensuring that students have copious opportunities to read and to read engaging texts in a variety of genres across appropriate reading levels all helps to increase reading fluency.

Accuracy rate— A learner’s reading fluency is measured, in part, by his or her accuracy rate. This is the percentage of words the learner accurately reads and comprehends. A text is considered easy if a learner has 96%–100% accuracy; appropriate if there is 93%–95% accuracy; challenging if it’s read with 90%–92% accuracy; and hard if the accuracy rate falls below 90%. Easy texts can be read independently, as support to help with understanding and accuracy isn’t necessary. Appropriate and challenging level texts are generally used as instructional texts so that learners have some guidance in navigating them. Hard texts are often too difficult for learners to access and will frustrate them until more reading fluency is developed and accuracy rates improve.

Prosody— Prosody is the “rhythm” of language. Stemming from the sounds of the letters, it is the pattern of stresses and intonation applied in speaking a language. The stressed and unstressed syllables of the words strung together in a sentence create the prosody.

Reading Comprehension

Have you ever read a text, gotten to the end, and wondered what your eyes just spent all that time looking at? You saw the words on the page, but it was like they went in one eye and out the other. Reading comprehension is the ability to not only read a text, but to understand what it says, to process it and make meaning of it in light of your own experience and understanding. It is constructing meaning from the words in a text, not just identifying or understanding all of the words. These reading comprehension skills are the basic tools used to help a reader “crack the code” and access a text. Students must be able to understand a text both as they read it and after they read it. Reading comprehension begins even before most children can read independently. It starts when people read aloud to children and “talk through” a text, helping them relate the ideas presented to their prior knowledge and responding to the content.

Decoding— Decoding is a skill for reading wherein the reader applies his or her knowledge of letter patterns and letter sounds to pronounce written words they may not have seen before. Decoding eventually becomes second nature to strong readers who can quickly identify letters and letter sounds to decode, without really thinking about the process.

Fluency— Reading fluency means the ability of the reader to read with accuracy, speed, and appropriate expression. Readers who read with fluency sound like they are speaking naturally and the reading does not sound forced or choppy.

Vocabulary Knowledge— Sometimes the words an author uses make understanding his or her message impossible for the reader. If the vocabulary is too difficult and the author uses words with which the reader is unfamiliar, then comprehension suffers. Having a broad vocabulary knowledge certainly helps with reading comprehension, but being able to use context clues to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words also helps with understanding the overall message of a text.

Assessment

Assessments are often associated with the end results of something. For example, an end-of-unit assessment shows how well a student understood the unit that was taught. However, assessments do not have to come at the end. Assessments are just evaluations or appraisals and teachers should be conducting assessments of student learning at all stages of learning: before, during, and after lessons and units.

Assessing Developing Literacy

Students in a classroom likely have a wide range of literacy development. Those who have had a strong language start, being read to and exposed to language in greater quantities will show high levels of language achievement. Those who may not have had the same exposure to language early on, or those who are also balancing a learning disability, may have more stunted literacy development. Assessments of students’ current literacy levels, coupled with ongoing assessment of the progress they are making, are critical to monitoring student literacy development and helping them to grow and improve. If literacy challenges are not identified early on, students will struggle with reading comprehension and language development. It is important to remember that not all assessments must be pencil and paper tests. Assessments may be given in a variety of ways, including structured observations of students, as well as student responses during class discussions and included in portfolios and short writing samples, like journals. Here are some aspects of literacy that should be assessed and monitored for student growth.

Listening— Decoding and encoding skills start with the ability to hear and understand the sounds of letters. If students cannot hear or distinguish the sound distinctions between different letters, they will be challenged in spelling and reading words. A strong foundation in phonics will assist in vocabulary development.

Speaking— To determine students’ literacy level and assess their development, listen to them speak. Understanding how to pronounce words and recognizing and being able to read words correctly aloud can indicate a student’s literacy level.

Reading (decoding and comprehension)— Teachers know that reading is more than just being able to recognize or decode words. Students must also be able to comprehend and appreciate the meaning of the words they read. Reading comprehension assessments are key to determining a student’s literacy level and monitoring students’ growth and progress. Reading assessments may be given orally, so as to assess listening and speaking abilities as well, or as written assessments where the focus may be on decoding, comprehension, and their ability to express themselves in writing by selecting the correct words.

Writing— As mentioned above, literacy assessments may be conducted through writing activities that allow the teacher to assess the ability of students to not only comprehend the text, but also express their ideas about the text in a clear and logical way, showing mastery of language.

Vocabulary— Assessing a student’s vocabulary can indicate their literacy level. Students with limited vocabularies may struggle to understand the meaning in the words that they read and may have difficulty expressing their own thoughts effectively. Students with broader vocabularies may be assessed on how accurately and appropriately they use those words.

Strategies for teaching vocabulary are numerous. One school of thought is that words can be classified into one of three tiers, or levels. Tier one words are the most basic words used to express ideas or feelings. These would be words children are likely to learn before they even get to school. Tier two words are general academic terms, the types of words that students are likely to encounter during their school day. Tier three words are subject-specific, high-level words. Another approach to vocabulary development is grouping related words together, regardless of how familiar they may be, so that words are learned in context, connecting known words to unfamiliar words and attaching them to prior knowledge. Further strategies, including the use of visual, auditory, or active cues, can also help students build their vocabulary.

Spelling conventions— Students experience five stages of spelling development: pre-phonetic, semiphonetic, phonetic, transitional, and conventional (or “book spelling”). Each of these stages can be assessed along the way.

Spelling development begins with an initial understanding of the alphabetic principle, that letters are symbols that represent specific sounds, as well as awareness of letter-sound correspondence. This is the pre-phonetic stage. Looking at students’ writing samples, even if they are a mix of letters or letter-like forms that don’t actually create words, a teacher can assess their understanding of the alphabetic principle and letter-sound correspondence.
The semiphonetic stage sees the student make the connection between specific letters and specific sounds. Although letter recognition may not be fully developed yet at this stage, writing produced by students at this level can still be assessed for alphabetic awareness. Asking students to draw pictures to accompany their writing can help make sense of their intended message.
In the phonetic stage, students have mastered letter-sound relationships and can write all of the letters of the alphabet, though they may appear backward or upside down. Irregular words are often misspelled, but students are writing phonetically like the spoken word. Students are starting to identify consonant-vowel patterns and can start to group words based on these patterns and letter clusters.
As students gain a broader sight vocabulary, they shift into the transitional stage of spelling. Here they depend less on phonology when they are spelling and rely more on visual representation and word structure. Students begin to master the spelling of some of the irregular words and become aware of the differentiation between homophones. Assessments in the form of sight word recognition and writing using complete sentences are appropriate at this level.
The final stage of spelling development comes when the student’s sight word vocabulary is strong and he or she is able to read independently with fluency and comprehension. He or she is now ready to be held accountable for conventional spelling. An understanding of the basic rules of phonics allows students at this stage to tackle the challenges put forth by irregular spellings, homophones, and multiple vowel-consonant blends. Assessments at this level may include asking students to identify misspelled words and requiring them to use the correct spelling of content-specific vocabulary or words with unusual spellings in their own writing.

Non-Written and Written Communication

Language expression can happen in a variety of forms, both written and non-written. Oral communication like speeches or conversation often employ different rules than written communication. If you have ever heard a teacher say “Don’t write like you speak!”, then you know what we mean. However, the rules for written and non-written communication actually are the same, even if we don’t hold people accountable to following the rules in both instances. We often let grammatical mistakes in speech “slide”, figuring it to be less formal than something written, but really the same rules apply. If we spoke like we write, however, we might sound strange to ourselves and our audience because we have become so accustomed to how language sounds vs. how it looks when written.

Conventions of Language

The term “conventions of language” simply refers to the rules of language. Things like spelling, punctuation, and grammar have rules in place to create uniformity and aid in understanding. Considered the standards for English language, conventions are the forms and formats we learn in school about how to manipulate and present language to an audience to allow for general understanding. Rules of structure within sentences and formatting structure within different types of communications all come under the term conventions.

Conventions in Spoken and Written English

You should be familiar with the basic conventions of the English language and be able to recognize and know how to correct the issue when a convention is not employed correctly. This means everything from knowing the eight parts of speech and how they work, to understanding phrases and clauses and where to put them in a sentence to create the clearest meaning. Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are also conventions with which you should be familiar.

Sentence structure— Sentences are thoughtfully prepared expressions of language. If parts of a sentence are misplaced or missing, meaning and understanding can suffer. There are four types of sentence structures: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. Each has set rules (conventions) about what parts and pieces are used. For example, simple sentences contain only one independent clause, but compound-complex sentences may contain two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. Here’s a quick example for each of the four sentence types:

Simple sentence—made up of one independent clause
Example:
“Sarah caught the ball.”
Compound sentence—made up of two or more independent clauses that are joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction or by a semicolon.
Examples:
“Sarah caught the ball, and Margo was called out at first base.”
“Sarah caught the ball; Margo was called out at first base.”
Complex sentence—made up of one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses
Example:
“Sarah caught the ball while her teammates celebrated the out.”
Compound-complex sentence—made up of two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses
Example:
“Sarah caught the ball while her teammates celebrated the out and then they all ran onto the field.”

It is important to make sure that you can identify sentence fragments or incomplete sentences and know how to fix them, in addition to being able to identify and correct run-on sentences. To be complete, a sentence must have a subject and a verb and express a complete thought. If there are too many thoughts in the form of independent clauses that are improperly joined together, that is a run-on sentence. Run-on sentences may also be created as a result of improper punctuation, most commonly a comma splice, where a comma is used to try to join two independent clauses without a conjunction.

Using a variety of sentence structure keeps things interesting and can change the tone of the communication. If a lot of simple sentences are used, it can seem elementary or simple. If a lot of complex or compound-complex sentences are used, it can seem lofty and become confusing. Varying sentence structure helps keep the audience engaged with the communication, whether written or non-written.

Preferred usage— Preferred usage refers to the socially accepted ways words or phrases may be used. The preferred usage may come as a result of spelling or terminology. For example, standard U.S. English shares many words with standard British English, but we use different spellings. For example, color/colour, flavor/flavour, center/centre. There is also preferred usage for words that seem similar in meaning but may not be used interchangeably. For example, further/farther, amount/number, or e.g./i.e. Computer and technology terms also have preferred usage, such as email as opposed to e-mail, home page as opposed to homepage, and online as opposed to on-line.

Conventions of spelling— Spelling rules and conventions apply more easily to written communication, since no one can see the letters you speak. However, spelling in non-written communication is also important because if you add or omit letters from words when you speak, you will be mispronouncing them, and that could lead to confusion on the part of your listener or audience. For example, many people mispronounce library, omitting that first r and saying libary. The same thing happens with February, often sounding like Febuary. Thus, conventions of spelling are important to know and employ in both written and non-written communications.

Capitalization— There are very specific rules for capitalization in English. The basic rules include always capitalizing proper nouns, capitalizing the first word in a sentence, capitalizing titles and initials, capitalizing the pronoun I, capitalizing names of languages and nationalities, and capitalizing days, months, and major holidays, but not seasons of the year. Reviewing capitalization rules will help you recognize the correct (and incorrect) use of capitalization on the CSET®.

Punctuation— To keep sentences from running on indefinitely and to provide the appropriate pauses within a sentence, punctuation is key. The most common punctuation to understand how to use include:

A period is the single “dot” (.) that brings a sentence to an end.
An exclamation point is the line and dot (!) that elevates the excitement or emotion of a sentence.
A question mark is the squiggle over the dot (?) that asks a question or denotes uncertainty.
A comma (,) slows the reader down and indicates the need for a pause. It’s not a full stop, as in the case of a period, but a brief pause. Commas are also used to list items or to separate parts of a sentence. Commas are the most commonly misused punctuation mark, so they are worth brushing up on before the exam to familiarize yourself with the rules of use.
A semicolon is a dot over a comma (;) and its strength is considered to be somewhere between a comma and a period. Semicolons can be used to join independent clauses; though leave out the coordinating conjunction if you do. They can also be used to replace commas in lists that already include a lot of commas.
Example:
“The cruise stopped at Lisbon, Portugal; Barcelona, Spain; Rome, Italy; and Athens, Greece.”
A colon is a set of dots, one over the other (:). Colons are used to introduce a list of items, though not if the list flows naturally in the sentence. Here is how a colon can work:
- This sentence needs a colon:
  “He took three college courses this summer: Intro to Logic, Drawing the Human Form, and Underwater Basket Weaving.”
- This one does not need a colon:
  “He took Intro to Logic, Drawing the Human Form, and Underwater Basket Weaving this summer.”
- A colon may also be used to separate two independent clauses if the second explains or provides more information about the first.
  Example:
  “She is a very smart, hard-working student: she graduated with a 5.0.”
- Colons can also be used to emphasize an idea.
  Example:
  “She realized how she would win his heart: buy him tickets to his favorite band in concert.”
- Colons are also sometimes used to introduce a direct quote, though a comma is more commonly used for that job, and in time, to show ratios, and in correspondence.
  Examples:
  “1:30”
  “2:1”
  “To Whom It May Concern:”
The apostrophe or “flying comma” (’) is used in contractions to replace the letters that are taken out to contract the two words together (can’t, don’t, we’ll). Apostrophes are also used to show possession (That is Anna’s pen.).
A hyphen (-) joins compound terms, like check-in or state-of-the-art, and may be used in numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine. But don’t confuse them with dashes, either em dash (—) or en dash (–). Dashes may be used to provide more emphasis or indicate passage of a time period, respectively. They can replace commas, parentheses, or colons.
Parentheses are used to add interesting and related information to a sentence, but the information within the parentheses is not essential to understanding.
Example:
“Jane (the girl in the blue sweater) is my sister’s friend.”