TEXES Science of Teaching Reading Practice Test

Which learning objective effectively addresses the analysis of characters within a literary text for different grades?

1. Describe the main events and resolution in a story

2. Discuss topics and determine the theme of a story

3. Identify patterns in character relationships

4. Analyze characters and their motivations throughout the story

The correct answer is: Analyze characters and their motivations throughout the story

The focus on analyzing characters and their motivations throughout the story aligns well with higher-order thinking skills that are essential for understanding literature deeply. This objective encourages students to engage with the text in a nuanced way, allowing them to examine not only what characters do, but also why they act in specific ways. Such analysis requires students to think critically about character development, the impact of external events on characters, and how motivations drive the plot forward. This level of analysis helps students draw connections between character actions and broader themes within the text, fostering comprehension and encouraging discussion. It can be tailored to suit various grade levels, offering the opportunity for scaffolded learning as students mature in their reading and analytical skills. In contrast, the other learning objectives, while important, primarily focus on more basic comprehension skills. Describing main events pertains to plot understanding, determining themes is about summarizing the overarching message of a text, and identifying patterns in character relationships may limit the analysis to surface-level interactions without delving deeper into motivations. Each of these serves a purpose, but they do not engage with the intricacies of character analysis to the same extent as the chosen objective does.