QUALITY TEACHING AND THE MEITZAV Prepared by Judy

QUALITY TEACHING AND THE “MEITZAV” Prepared by Judy Mutzari Based on What Can We Learn from the Item Analysis of the Meitzav Exams? Recommendations for Teachers

“BEE” AWARE, “BEE” PREPARED AND YOU’LL “BEE” HAPPY

Make the students partners. • Each text gives us some kind of information. • What information can this text give us? • Elicit from - or call to the student’s attention the particularities, characteristics and difficulties each text type provides

Listening Texts - Difficulties • With speech - the words disappear…evaporate – nothing is left • Students get overwhelmed: what are they talking about? ? ? • Students forget the text • Texts are too long - too many words to hear • Students don’t understand the accent of the speaker • The speaker reads too quickly • In dialogues – students have difficulty understanding who says what

How to Prepare • Make sure you devote class time to speaking and listening activities (student to student!) • Spoken texts should be prepared like reading texts with: • Pre- tasks • While Listening Tasks • Post tasks

Spoken Texts – General Preparation Students should begin to learn for the Meitzav form Grade 3! Get students used to listening tasks from Grade 3! • Always use the CD from the course book, download Meitzav spoken texts from RAMA site, or Internet sites • Get the students used to different accents and quick speech • Check the table of specifications 2013 and practice on each type of text. Discuss the particularities , demands and what to notice – for each text type – Table Grade 5 – Table grade 8

Pre - tasks for spoken texts • Pictures: Look at the pictures. – Students say to themselves as many words as you can in English that you see in the picture (prepare a word bank; map out where everything is on the page – it saves time later) – Write sentences about the pictures – Predict what the text will be about according to the pictures: topic, place, time, characters, text type

Pre - tasks for spoken texts • Texts (questions): Read the questions before listening • What kind of information is being asked? – – – A chart to fill in? A flow chart? An open question? (Students do not need to write full sentences!) A list? A MC question? • If so – read the options first – Matching? – True/ False Questions? • Find the words you know first • Decide on the key words of the question: make sure (try to!) understand the question: what information do I need? • Predict what the text will be about from the questions: – what kind of a text will it be – a conversation? A story? A telephone conversation?

ALWAYS READ THE INSTRUCTIONS

While listening tasks Put text in context: • Listen to background noises: – where is the text being spoken: at school? – Who is speaking – children? a teacher in a classroom? – Are these messages left on an answering system? A telephone conversation? Who says what? • Listen to tone of voice: – identify the tone of voice of the speaker. Play “Change your Voice –Tone games in the classroom” • Listen for connectors of sequence (text organization) – first, second, third, finally, at the end • Comparisons: – therefore, as a result of, like, in contrast to, instead of

While listening tasks in class • 1 st listening: – Don’t write/mark – focus on the key words. Raise your hand when you hear an answer or a key word. – Make sure to listen to the end before you answer: – Pay attention that the key word can come with negation: e. g. , “I don’t want pizza” • 2 nd listening: – Answer the questions…if you “missed” – go ahead –listen for next question – what’s gone is gone… • 3 rd listening: – Check answers with the students. *Remember – in the Meitzav there are only 2 repetitions

While listening tasks in class - continued • For a weak classroom or weaker students: – Break listening texts up into smaller parts; get used to listening to the text sequentially – Start with very short texts. Ask one question. Gradually lengthen texts and add questions

Post Listening • Check answers • Discuss with your students what was difficult and how they solved the problems. • Listen to other suggestions for solving the problems

Spoken Texts - Grade 5 - 2013 Item Types Text Types • advertisement • • announcement • conversation • excerpt from a • • lesson • • instructions • • message • news / weather • • report • • oral presentation • • riddles • story carrying out instructions chart / table matching multiple-choice open-ended (e. g. wh-questions and sentence completion) • sequencing Categories of Comprehension: • Literal (LOTS) • Integration (L&H) • Inference (HOTS)

Spoken Texts - Grade 8 - 2013 Item Types Text Types • • • • advertisement announcement broadcast conversation excerpt from a lesson interview message news / weather report oral presentation speech radio program report story • • • filling in a chart / table graphic organizer matching multiple-choice open-ended (e. g. wh-questions and sentence completion) sequencing Categories of Comprehension: • • Literal (LOTS) Integration (L&H) Inference (HOTS) Personal response(HOTS)

Written Texts - Difficulties • Text is too – long…text appears overwhelming at first • Text contains vocabulary students haven’t learned • Students don’t understand main idea

How to Prepare for the Written Word • Preparing for reading comprehension begins the minute a student receives a text – even a sentence (in grade 3) • Emphasize teaching vocabulary and lexical chunks explicitly • Vocabulary: Expose, Repeat, Review, Recycle and Re -entry! • Use a variety of text types: texts need to include 95% of familiar vocabulary

Written Texts - General Preparation • Students should become acquainted with as many different text types as they can: • Map out your course book for text types and download Meitzav spoken texts from RAMA site • Check the table of specifications 2013 and practice on each type of text. Discuss the particularities , demands and what to notice – for each text type – Table Grade 5 – Table grade 8

Written Texts -Grade 5 - 2013 Text Types • • • • • • advertisement blurb book cover caption comic strip diary entry email informative text interview letter list message news report newspaper item note notice postcard poster questionnaire recipe riddles story timetable / schedule Webpage Item Types • chart / table • matching • multiple-choice • open-ended (including • wh-questions and • sentence completion) • sequencing • true / false Categories of Comprehension: • • Literal (LOTS) Integration (L&H) Inference (HOTS) Personal Response(HOTS)

Written Texts -Grade 8 - 2013 Text Types • • • • • • advertisement article / report biography book cover brochure comic strip diary entry flyer graph interview letter / email message notice postcard review short expository text story timetable / schedule travel guide web page Item Types • chart / table • graphic organizer • matching • multiple-choice • open-ended (e. g. • wh-questions and • sentence completion) • sequencing Categories of Comprehension: • • Literal (LOTS) Integration (L&H) Inference (HOTS) Personal Response(HOTS)

“Bee” Aware – Prepare! • Practice “wh” questions: • Make sure students can match types of answer to question: Where: place; When – time/date, Who – name/person; What – noun; Why – because… • Practice yes/no questions by “yes/no” statements • Practice finding reference words that support understanding e. g. it, this, that these, those, his, hers, ours, their; Pay attention if it is singular or plural. Go back to the text and ask: “What does ‘x’ refer to? Teachers should model the think aloud process for finding answers. • Notice special punctuation marks and text “glossing” - i. e. what the symbol * next to a word means – students have the translation at the bottom of the text

Read Extensively • Encourage students to read extensively: The more you read – the better you become! • Grade 3: If you eat with your students – why not read them a Big Book during their eating break?

“Bee” Aware – Prepare! • Prepare all your reading texts: • Pre- tasks • While Listening Tasks • Post tasks

Pre - tasks for written texts LOOK AT - DON’T READ - THE TEXT: • Text Format: Look at the format. What kind of a text is it? What kinds of information will appear in this type of text? • What types of questions will you asked? • Pictures: Look at the pictures. Predict what text will be about • Read the title. Predict what text will be about • Find special punctuation marks and text glossing: (*sign = words are translated underneath in the text)

Pre - tasks for written texts READ THE QUESTIONS • What kind of information is being asked? – A chart to fill in? A flow chart? An open question? (Students do not need to write full sentences!) A list? A MC question? (If so – read the options first) Matching? – True/ False Questions? • Find the words you know first • Decide on the key words of the question: make sure (try to!) understand the question: what information do I need? • Return to the text: make sure to read the entire paragraph before responding! • Inferring and reading between the lines: – Does this question require reading between the lines? – Synonyms and Antonyms: Does the same meaning appear using different words? Does the opposite of the key word appear? Teachers should model the think aloud process for finding answers

ALWAYS READ THE INSTRUCTIONS

While Reading in the classroom • Break a long text into paragraphs • Work with a “Stopper”: Give the students 5 minutes to cope alone…gradually expand the time students’ working alone time • After each paragraph, discuss the main idea and the supporting details: the examples. • Students ask themselves: What did I read? What did I understand? What is the main idea? How can I say it in my own words? • Find and highlight the key words in the paragraph. Notice if the key words appear with negation! Make sure the students read the entire paragraph before marking key words and answering the questions • Vocabulary students don’t know – try to elicit from the context!

While Reading in the Classroom – continued Find Markers! • Become acquainted with the characteristics , formats and general features of books: title, author, summary, recommendations • Where can you find what? – Books - on the spine, back cover, title page; – Letters: date, salutations, greetings, closure, signature, introduction, body, end • Recognize markers that supply information about texts • in a book, ‘by’ would signal the author. – In a letter, ‘Dear’ would signal the person being addressed – ‘Yours’ or ‘Love’ would signal the sender – In an email, ‘To’ would signal the person addressed – ‘From’ would signal the writer or sender – ‘ subject’ would signal the main idea.

Written Texts – Find organizational clues • Find connectors that signal organization : – first, second, third, finally, therefore, as a result of. • Find cause and effect words: – for this reason, consequently, on that account, hence, because, made • Explicitly teach the skill of inference. – Play riddle games and word games – Use TLC – Activities for Teaching Inference – Use Pictures – TLC on Inference – Pictures

While Reading in the classroom • Provide all the different types of questions for every text you present. • Open Questions: make sure students realize they don’t have to write complete sentences! • If you need to spell a word – look for them in the text

Post Tasks • Discuss which strategies the students used to answer which questions. • Ask for other ideas. • Make the students your partners!

Presentation - Difficulties How do I begin? How do I write a sentence? What criteria are used to check me?

Presentation - How to Prepare • Provide opportunities for writing in every lesson –on the sentence or paragraph level • Start with simple sentence structure (grade 5) • Teach and practice lexical chunks: I can see; There is/are; The … is…the…; • Teach paragraph starters: In my opinion; I think that; I agree; I don’t agree with… • Have students write sentences/paragraphs that are meaningful to them • Suggestion: Use the Bank of Performance Based Tasks from RAMA

How to Prepare - continued • Practice writing opening sentences that use the words from the question • Encourage guided (structured) and free writing • Provide opportunities to write and present the students’ writing – in the English corner or on the English site: Make writing a meaningful activity Be Proud to Be Published

Writing accurately – grades 5 & 8 • Pupils must read the instructions in Hebrew carefully and pay attention to what tense is required. • Pupils must read the instructions in Hebrew carefully and pay attention to what is being asked of them. • Share the rubrics from the Meitzav exam with your pupils to enable them to understand how their work is evaluated. MAKE YOUR STUDENTS PARTNERS!

Writing Accurately Grade 5 • Check: capital letters at the beginning and a period at the end of the sentence • Emphasize simple sentence structure and use “formulas” • Skim the test for vocabulary: ideas and correct spelling Grade 8 • Check: capital letters at the beginning and a period at the end of the sentence • What is the writing task? Make sure what you write is: – relevant to the topic – message is clear and organized – vocabulary is varied and appropriate • Work on compound sentences: – subject-verb agreement, tense, pronouns, articles, prepositions, spelling, punctuation and capitalization

Example - Meitzav 2012 grade 5/B General Guidelines 1. Evaluate each of the four sentences separately. Each criterion is given a different number of points. 2. A sentence must include at least a subject, a verb, and an object when necessary. Example: People eat (ice cream). 3. If the content of the sentence is incomprehensible or irrelevant to the topic (“At the Beach”), give 0 for all criteria. 4. Sentence must be relevant to the question. 5. If the pupil writes a compound sentence, grade the first part of the sentence according to the following criteria. Do not grade the second part of the sentence. Example: Kids swim in the sea and plays bol (instead of “and play ball”).

Example Continued Grade 5/ 2012/B Criteria for Assessment Possible e. Correct spelling of high frequency words 2 = Spelling of high frequency words is correct. 0 = Spelling of high frequency words is incorrect. f. Correct capitalization 2 = Capitalization is correct at the beginning of a sentence and/or in proper nouns. 0 = Capitalization is incorrect at the beginning of a sentence and/or in proper nouns. g. Correct use of full stops 1 = The use of full stops is correct. 0 = The use of full stops is incorrect or the full stop has been omitted.

Spoken Texts - Grade 5 - 2013 Item Types Text Types • advertisement • • announcement • conversation • excerpt from a • • lesson • • instructions • • message • news / weather • • report • • oral presentation • • riddles • story carrying out instructions chart / table matching multiple-choice open-ended (e. g. wh-questions and sentence completion) • sequencing Categories of Comprehension: • Literal (LOTS) • Integration (L&H) • Inference (HOTS)

Presentation- Grade 5 - 2013 Text Types • description • friendly letter • invitation • label • list • note • questionnaire • report • speech bubble • story Assessment Criteria • A sentence must include a subject and a verb and an object when necessary. Content / Vocabulary • comprehensibility • relevance Accuracy • articles • capitalization • full stops • prepositions • pronouns • sentence structure • spelling • subject-verb agreement • verb forms • word order

Presentation- Grade 8 - 2013 Text Types • article (e. g. for • school newspaper) • description • email • extended form • forum • friendly letter • opinion • short composition • story Assessment Criteria Communicative Ability • relevance • clarity of message Vocabulary • varied • appropriate Accuracy • use of basic syntactical and • grammatical structures (word • order and verb form) • spelling • basic punctuation and • capitalization Length • at least 70 words

Bee – Happy: Prepare to Be Aware: Bottom Line: • Every text (spoken , oral or written) demands the student to supply some kind of information. • The information can be explicit (LOTS questions – who, what, where, when, why, which. . ) • The information can be implicit: (HOTS questions – reading between the lines; inferring feelings; synonyms; antonyms; identifying opinions or giving your own opinion: ask – is the answer in the text or did you come to a conclusion?

Credits • This PPT is based on “What can We Learn From Item Analysis – Recommendations for Teachers” http: //cms. education. gov. il/educationcms/units/mazkirut_pedagogit/english /inspectoratesdesk/whatsnew. htm TLC on Inference: http: //tlc. cet. ac. il/Show. Item. aspx? Item. ID=cc 091 d 34 -b 0 c 9 -4 da 2 -805 f 4025 e 3 d 203 a 0&lang=EN TLC – Inference by pictures http: //tlc. cet. ac. il/Show. Item. aspx? Item. ID=19 a 5 b 020 -9 b 84 -4 d 70 -a 48 af 05 c 33951 b 0 e&lang=EN Scoring Key for the English Test – Grade 5 2012/B http: //cms. education. gov. il/NR/rdonlyres/6 FE 34 B 74 -6425 -4 D 73 -988 F 1555 CDA 20 C 35/149044/28 ENG 0125 BSOFpnet_mehvan. pdf