Praxis Elementary Education Content Knowledge Practice Questions

Once you’ve learned about what’s tested on the Elementary Education Content Knowledge section of the Praxis, try your hand at a few practice questions.
 

Question 1
Which of the following nonverbal responses from an audience member indicates attention and interest in a speaker?
A. Crossed arms and crossed legs
B. Leaning forward
C. Gesturing to other audience members
D. Leaning backward


B: Visualizing each of the nonverbal responses can help you select the best answer. A listener who is leaning forward is likely interested in and focused on what a speaker has to say, so (B) is correct. The other choices indicate a lack of focus on the speaker. (A) describes a closed-off nonverbal response, suggesting the listener is not listening with an open mind. Gesturing to other audience members (C) suggests that the listener is distracted, engaged more with other audience members than with the speaker. (D) suggests a detachment from or boredom with the speaker.


Question 2
Words can have multiple meanings and be used as different parts of speech in different contexts. The word appropriate, for instance, has two meanings.
1 adj. fitting; proper
2 v. to claim or take for one’s own, frequently without permission
Which of the following sentences uses appropriate as a verb, that is, the second definition in the list above?
A. Although he felt overdressed, his attire was appropriate for the cocktail party.
B. When learning a new language, it can be difficult to find the appropriate words to express one’s thoughts.
C. The bank may appropriate the farm if the mortgage payments are not made on time.
D. Roughhousing is not appropriate in the workplace.


C: Only choice (C) uses the word “appropriate” as a verb. In that sentence, the bank may appropriate, or take, the farm if mortgage payments are not made on time. In each of the other sentences, the word is used as an adjective, that is, to modify or describe a noun. In (A), “appropriate” describes someone’s attire; in (B), it describes words; and in (D), it describes what roughhousing is not.


Question 3
Which THREE of the following would be effective thesis statements for a persuasive essay? Select all that apply.
A. The United States has no right to intervene in the internal affairs of other nations.
B. Year-round schooling is an ill-conceived and simplistic solution to a complicated problem.
C. Seventy-five percent of surveyed voters feel the president is doing an adequate job.
D. Thoreau was right when he said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
E. According to the latest numbers, many college graduates are choosing nontraditional career pathways.


A, B, D: Carefully reading the question stem is essential to selecting the best answer here. A thesis statement puts forth the main point or argument of an essay. This question asks for you to find three sentences that are effective thesis statements. Choices (C) and (E) would be ineffective thesis statements for a persuasive essay because they do not clearly state an opinion or position that could be proved in the course of an essay. Choices (A), (B), and (D) state a clear opinion.


Question 4
A child can connect certain letters with sounds but has not yet grasped the concept that a number of letter-sound combinations make up most words. Which of the following types of errors would indicate this lack of understanding?
A. Representing a word or a group of words by a single letter
B. Misspelling words like cat or grace as kat or grase
C. Making errors with exceptional spelling rules, such as “i before e, except after c”
D. Spelling the word dog as qxr


A: A child who makes the connection between letters and sounds but has not yet grasped that a number of letter-sound combinations make up most words would be likely to represent a word or group of words with a single letter, as in choice (A). (B) and (C) show mastery of the concept of a group of letters representing a word. These errors represent difficulty with higher-level spelling concepts. Lastly, (D) shows no correspondence to the sounds of the words and therefore does not match up with the example in the question.


 

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