Preparing for External Meitzav Only A Few Weeks to Go

Breaking Down of the Exam Table of Specifications: (3 parts) Access to Information from Spoken Texts 25% Access to information from Written Texts 60% Written Presentation 15%

Links Table of Specifications 2016 Exam dates: יום שלישי, 8 במרץ 2016, כ"ח באדר א' תשע"ו הבחינה מתחילה בשעה 10:00 Kit for past exams Resource Booklet

Remember: 1. The meitzav tests English according to the benchmarks of the National Curriculum. 2. The exam tests THREE of the four language skills. 3. The students need to use both lower and higher order thinking skills which are given in the Table of Specifications.

Only 9 Weeks To Go What do you have to do? While teaching from the text book use the Table of Specifications as a checklist for all types of tasks. Print tests and make practice books with recent past exams. Divide the exams into the 3 language skills. Set aside TWO other past exams as mock exams, and arrange for two pre-meitzav practice exam dates in the school.

Plan Your Remaining Time

With your teachers / rekezet – plan what you are going to do in your lessons. Remember you only have 9 weeks. Open your diaries and mark the dates for the two mock tests (not everyone has a double lesson) coordinate these with the class teachers. Divide up your lessons so that you practice all the skills.

Separate the skills into - listening tasks reading tasks and writing tasks Teach a designated skill for the exam weekly then quiz the skill. ( Use old Meitzavs)

Practicing the Language Skills For all the skills, having good vocabulary knowledge is a priority. Did you begin the year reviewing and quizzing all the vocabulary from the previous year? – Did you correlate the lists in your text books with the list in the Curriculum and past exams? A note on the past simple: teach the irregular verbs: went, did / didn’t, took, came, was/were as vocabulary and that we add – ed to other verbs. Also point out the future: will +V1

For the Listening Tasks Practice listening to short and long items from listening tasks from past tests. Instruct and teach students to do the following before they hear the listening text. (even while the Hebrew instructions are being played) Task 1: Skim and scan the picture(s) for the vocabulary items, read any titles and names. Task 2: Skim and scan the questions and translate them. It’s important that they learn to use those few minutes before they start listening .

For the Reading Tasks Tell the students to always read the instructions in Hebrew ( and to look at the English as well) because it helps them with new words. Also they need to pay attention to the bold words. Show and practice questions that are ‘sentence completions’. They can be ONE word fill-ins as well as multiple choice answers. Show and practice questions that ask for a new idea or an opinion according to the text. Show and practice how to connect ideas / words and phrases with similar meanings have fun = enjoy / like as well as identifying when verbs and nouns are different words play ~ game

Types of questions Familiarity helps success: Ability to answer requires understanding the question so teach the words : copy / describe/ find / write / match / list Wh- words Pupils should recognize do and does

Keep going over the text-reading strategies : skimming and scanning for names, dates, places; reading first and last sentences of paragraphs; reading titles and headings; Tell them to look for extra information and to read it – when a word has a * by it ,look for the meaning in Hebrew at the end of the text and when something more is written in smaller print with a person’s name. For some slow readers (not necessarily weak learners) reading the question and going back to the text can be more helpful.

For the Writing Tasks List items you see : Ask the students to write the short ,easy words that they know. Practice this as a short activity in lessons. Writing a sentence to describe a person / an item in the picture: Keep to short sentences and teach writing patterns. Subject + is + adjective Subject + has + a / an + noun There is a / an + singular noun There are + number / some + plural noun

After checking the quizzes on the different types of tasks - Do a mini- mapping to identify which questions and thinking skill are problematic for children. (You may need to re-teach some of the children in a partani lesson or even the whole class- it happens to us all.)

In the Lesson Before the 1st Mock Exam (which should be next week) You want to reduce the anxiety level so it is important to show your classes what the exam really looks like. a) Go through the pages and count with the students the number of pages of instructions and the number of tasks. b) Remind them that there are instructions in English and Hebrew before each task. c) Point out that the exam is divided into parts.

d) Encourage them to answer all the questions - make a guess if they don’t know. e) Explain that even if one part of the test seems hard, the next part will begin with an easier question. Try to avoid any surprises that lead to anxiety. Many times average students give up because they panic and not because they don’t know the answer.

Make sure there are enough tests and spares. Check that all electrical equipment is working – your disk player or your computer – and do a sound check. Have spare pencils handy. Make sure the students have enough room to write and sit comfortably.

The 1st Mock Exam: this is your base line test grade for each child Be in the class while the children are writing the test. Be encouraging , but remind them that next time you won’t be with them and there won’t be any help. Ahead of time arrange a room for the “hakra’a” students and arrange for another teacher to take out and read to those pupils. Use the ‘meitzavit’ for checking the exam and go over the mapping .

The 2nd Mock Exam ( this should be around a month after the first mock test) Prepare another teacher who will supervise the exam. Homeroom teachers are normally very helpful. Take out the students who need hakra’a and you or another English teacher reads the test. Be in the vicinity to help out if there is a serious problem. Use the meitzavit again and then you can average each child’s result and get a class average based on two tests.

How do you help your students cope? Main problems: Not accustomed to independent reading Weak learners are not accustomed to the reading room The classes are usually tested at their own level Feelings of low self esteem among weak learners. What can we do?

So….Don’t be stressed, be prepared

Don’t just teach, test and hope for the best Don’t just teach, test and hope for the best! Make sure the students know what to expect on the day and how to do their best.

(My Plan (7 weeks to go Writing practice x2 Mock test 1 January Writing practice x2 Mock test 1 Listening practicex2 Reading practice x2 Vocab. Practice x2 3rd 31st

4 Weeks To Go Writing practice x2 Mock test 2 Listening practice x2 February Writing practice x2 Mock test 2 Listening practice x2 Reading practice x2 7th 8th of March

Let’s Share The Problems and Possible Solutions. Ideas from the field – what do you do in your school to assist your pupils? Sharing ideas that worked.