Mathematics Teaching Degree WGU -in progress!

[teacher2]

Took the Praxis 5203 Teaching Reading to Elementary Students today!  Will be finding out here in a few weeks whether or not I passed. I will admit I sat down to this test fighting off a cold and very sleep deprived so I had very little hope of passing it in the first ten minutes of testing! I pulled together, thank God, and was able to get through the test.
 
 Before reading further, I purchased the ETS practice test and I still have 49 days left and  7 more tries on it.
 
Here is the link: https://practice.ets.org/iptmgr/welcome.do
Here is the serial number: PR5203cgeAINI4mhTj
 
So here's the scoop. In the state of TN in order to get a middle school math license you have to pass the Praxis 5203. It is 2.5 hours long and has 90 multiple choice questions and 3 constructed response. I used every minute of this test. Prior to the test, I searched the internet looking for reviews, pass/fail, all the usual indicators of what to expect walking into this test, but there is pretty much nothing to report. This test had very very,  very, VERY, little information out there and next to non-existent data points.
 
For this test I purchased the Cliff Notes Praxis 5203, but after taking the test I am glad I did not rely solely on it! It is good for giving you direction in your study (that's about it), but the practice tests where very good. I would say that the essay portion on them resembled the actual test better than the ETS practice test I bought.
 
I will post my score once it comes in but here is what I was scoring on my practice tests:
 
CLIFF NOTES PRACTICE TEST 1 & 2          MASSACHUSSETS PRACTICE TEST
81,83, 87, 92                                                        81,86
 
ETS PRACTICE TEST
73,88,92,
 
I will list the resources I used to study, but I must say that I did not feel overly confident in the test (maybe due to physical factors???) Here are a few areas that I would recommend having down for the test as they appeared quite frequently.

Please note this is not an exhaustive list!
 
5 Components of Reading
Phonemic Awareness- What it is, How to assess it, Why does it predict future reading success?
Phonological Awareness
Promoting Oral Language Development
Promoting Listening Skills
Strategies for activating Background Knowledge
Methods to increase Vocabulary
Teaching kids how to research in writing and reading
Emergent Reader
 
Know what the following are, Strategies to Teach them, and Informal and Formal ways to assess them:
 
Meta-cognition
Structural Analysis
Word Analysis Skills-Decoding, Chunking, Analogy...
Fluency
Reading Comprehension Skills -Pre-reading, Post-reading,
Writing in support of reading
 
Know the following activities and how to use them:
List-Group-Label, Directed-Thinking and Reading Activity, Semantic Maps, Concept-Maps, Story Maps, Word Sorts, Jigsaw, Question and Answer Relationship, Choral Reading, Shared Reading, Readers Theater, Word Maps, Book Walk, and Word Walls
 
Know the following assessments:
Informal Reading Inventory, Running Record, Woodstock Reading Assessment
 
 
Helpful Resources for Praxis 5203
 
www.readingrockets.org -best website on my list!
 
 https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/ap...search.pdf -This one I would recommend as a guide to helping you study as it very easy to follow and to the point!
 
https://lincs.ed.gov/readingprofiles/MC_...g_Rate.htm -While this website is geared towards teaching adult readers, it does a good job explaining the big 5 concepts of reading. However, do note that there are some difference (e.g vocab development not as necessary in teaching adults but highly important for kids who typically start school with roughly 5,000 words or less). I found it to be well organized and one of the more informative resources of all I have listed.
 
http://www.mtel.nesinc.com/content/Docs/...E_TEST.pdf

https://www.scribd.com/doc/23630513/Read...ICA-Essays -while this is a completely different test, I used it for practice on writing the essays.
 
https://www.youtube.com/user/chrisboosalis- This fellow had easy to follow movies that help break down the reading process
 
https://quizlet.com/257094101/praxis-5203-flash-cards/
https://www.education.com/reference/arti...g-reading/
https://www.understood.org/en/learning-a...w-it-works
https://learningattheprimarypond.com/blo...g-records/