Praxis SLP Licensure Exam

Which intervention focus would address a child’s difficulty with "I went to the zu" in writing?

1. Enhancing phonological awareness

2. Improving orthographic patterns

3. Expanding vocabulary usage

4. Increasing syntactic complexity

The correct answer is: Improving orthographic patterns

Focusing on improving orthographic patterns is the most appropriate intervention for addressing a child's difficulty with writing a sentence like "I went to the zu." This specific issue indicates that the child is struggling with spelling or writing certain words correctly, in this case, the word "zoo." Orthographic patterns encompass the rules and conventions of writing, including spelling and the representation of sounds in written form. This intervention would involve teaching the child about the correct spelling of words, common spelling rules, and how to recognize patterns in written language that can assist in accurate writing. By enhancing their understanding of orthographic principles, the child would be better equipped to identify and correct mistakes in spelling, thus improving their overall writing accuracy and clarity. Other options, while valuable in their own right, do not directly address the specific writing challenge presented. Enhancing phonological awareness primarily focuses on sound structure and phoneme manipulation rather than specific spelling patterns. Expanding vocabulary usage might involve teaching new words, but if the child does not correctly spell known words, a vocabulary approach would not address the current issue. Increasing syntactic complexity pertains to the structure and formation of sentences, which is not relevant when the problem is related to spelling errors in familiar words.