Praxis 5001 Practice Exams
Question 1 of 5.
Extract:Now the Wicked Witch of the West had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope, and could see everywhere. So, as she sat in the door of her castle, she happened to look around and saw Dorothy lying asleep, with her friends all about her. They were a long distance off, but the Wicked Witch was angry to find them in her country; so she blew upon a silver whistle that hung around her neck. At once there came running to her from all directions a pack of great wolves. They had long legs and fierce eyes and sharp teeth. -L. Frank Baum, from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Select the sentence in the passage that best identifies the motive of the Wicked Witch.
A. Now the Wicked Witch of the West had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope, and could see everywhere.
B. They were a long distance off, but the Wicked Witch was angry to find them in her country; so she blew upon a silver whistle that hung around her neck.
C. At once there came running to her from all directions a pack of great wolves. They had long legs and fierce eyes and sharp teeth.
D. So, as she sat in the door of her castle, she happened to look around and saw Dorothy lying asleep, with her friends all about her.
Explanation: The question asks for the sentence that identifies the Witch's motive. Her motive for blowing the whistle and summoning the wolves is her anger upon finding Dorothy and her friends in her country. This sentence explicitly states her emotional state (anger) and the cause (finding them in her country), which is the driving force behind her subsequent actions.
Question 2 of 5.
Which of the following best describes why phonological awareness is predictive of beginning reading success?
A. It is an auditory skill in which understanding of letter-sound relationships is developed.
B. It is a visual skill in which letter recognition skills are developed.
C. It is a speaking skill in which oral production of letter sounds is developed.
D. It is a fine motor skill in which letter formation skills are developed.
Explanation: Phonological awareness involves recognizing and manipulating language sounds (e.g., rhymes, syllables, phonemes), an auditory skill critical for understanding letter-sound relationships (phonics). This supports early reading by enabling word decoding. Option B focuses on visual letter recognition, which is distinct. Option C relates to speech production, not phonological awareness. Option D involves writing, a motor skill unrelated to phonological awareness.
Question 3 of 5.
Which THREE of the following words contain diphthongs?
A. Boy
B. Mother
C. Buy
D. Apple
E. Coin
Explanation: A diphthong is a vowel sound gliding from one vowel to another within a syllable (e.g., /oi/, /ai/). 'Boy' (A) has /oi/, 'Buy' (C) has /ai/, and 'Coin' (E) has /oi/. 'Mother' (B) and 'Apple' (D) have simple vowels (/ʌ/, /ə/ and /æ/, /ə/). The correct choices are A, C, E, corresponding to option C.
Question 4 of 5.
Which two of the following words feature an open syllable pattern?
A. Happen
B. Robot
C. Sunlight
D. Artist
E. Silent
Explanation: An open syllable ends with a vowel, typically producing a long vowel sound (e.g., 'me'). 'Robot' (B) has an open first syllable ('ro', /oÊŠ/). 'Silent' (E) has an open first syllable ('si', /ai/). 'Happen' (A), 'Sunlight' (C), and 'Artist' (D) have closed syllables. The correct choices are B, E, corresponding to option B.
Question 5 of 5.
Which of the following best demonstrates student knowledge of sound matching?
A. A student is able to see an illustration of an object ending in 'g' and identify the ending sound as /g/.
B. A student is able to hear the sounds /d/ /o/ /g/ and can identify the word as 'dog' when asked.
C. A student is able to identify the initial sound of the word 'top' as /t/ and can point to an object identified by a word with the same initial sound.
D. A student can remove the /b/ sound from the word 'bat' and identify the resulting word as 'at.'
Explanation: Sound matching involves identifying words with the same sound, typically at the beginning, middle, or end. Option C demonstrates this by identifying the initial /t/ in 'top' and matching it to another word with the same initial sound. Option A is sound identification, not matching. Option B involves phoneme blending. Option D involves phoneme deletion.