TExES STR Foundational Skills

One significant foundational need Maya shows is decoding words with the vowel team oa. In Exhibit 1 she read every oa word with a short o: boat as "bot," coat as "cot," road as "rod," soap as "sop" and goat as "got," while she read the ai, ay and ee vowel teams (rain, train, play, seed, feet) and r-controlled words (corn, shirt) accurately. The same pattern appears in connected text in Exhibit 2, where she read Toad as "Tod," boat as "bot," float as "flot" and coat as "cot." Exhibit 3 shows that these errors lower her accuracy to 84% even though her phrasing and expression are appropriate, and she did not self-correct, which suggests she does not yet know that oa usually spells long o. To address this, I would teach oa explicitly in a short daily lesson. I would review that two vowels together can make one sound, then introduce oa with a picture card (boat) and a sound-spelling card. Maya would read word chains that change one sound at a time (got, goat, coat, cot, coast, toast), sort short o and oa words, and write dictated oa words in sound boxes, putting oa in one box because it spells one sound. She would then read a decodable passage that includes many oa words, and I would give immediate feedback on each one. I would review oa cumulatively with the ai and ee teams she already knows. One significant comprehension need is making inferences. In Exhibit 4 Maya answered both literal questions and retold the events in order, so she understood what happened, but when asked why Toad was happy even though he was wet she repeated a detail ("because he was wet"), and when asked how Toad felt she said, "It doesn’t say." She does not yet combine clues in the text with her own experience to reach a conclusion that is not stated. To address this, I would teach inferencing explicitly with think-alouds and a simple chart: "The text says ___ + I know ___ = so I think ___." Using a short read-aloud, I would model the chart first, for example: the text says Toad waved at a fish and was happy; I know people wave when they are enjoying themselves; so I think Toad enjoyed the ride. Then Maya would complete the chart with me and with a partner using passages she can decode, before trying it on her own. These strategies would be effective because they target the specific gaps the data reveal. Explicit, systematic phonics with word chains, sorting and dictation builds the letter-sound connection for oa through both decoding and encoding, and applying it right away in decodable text helps Maya map the pattern so the words become automatic, which will raise her accuracy and fluency toward the grade 2 TEKS for decoding words with vowel teams. Modeling and guided practice with the inference chart make an invisible thinking process visible and give her a routine she can use independently, which supports the grade 2 TEKS expectation that students make inferences and use evidence to support understanding.

A strong response covers

• Foundational need: the vowel team oa, read as short o (boat → "bot," coat → "cot," road → "rod," Toad → "Tod"), with evidence from Exhibits 1, 2 and 3
• Notes that other vowel teams (ai, ay, ee) and r-controlled words are accurate, so the need is specific to oa, and that the errors lower accuracy to 84%
• Strategy: explicit, systematic oa instruction (word chains, sorts, dictation with sound boxes) applied in decodable text with feedback
• Comprehension need: inferential comprehension; literal questions and retell are correct, but she answers inference questions with "It doesn’t say"
• Strategy: modeled and guided inferencing ("text says + I know = so I think") with gradual release
• Explains why each strategy works and connects both to grade 2 TEKS