sfl reading e3_multiple_choice

Skills for Life E3 Reading Multiple choice questions – teacher’s notes

Description

In this activity students are introduced to multiple choice questions which test detailed comprehension, such as understanding the writer’s purpose and referencing. The activity also shows students how they might approach questions of this type.

Time required: 30 minutes

Materials required:

Student’s Worksheet 1 – one copy for each student. Also, project on to an electronic whiteboard or overhead projector if available. (Text adapted from Part 2 of Entry 3 Reading Sample Paper Version 1 available on Teacher’s Resources website)

Student’s Worksheet 2 – one copy for each student. Also, project on to an electronic whiteboard or overhead projector if available. (Questions adapted from Part 2 of Entry 3 Reading Sample Paper Version 1 available on Teacher’s Resources website)

Student’s Worksheet 3 (continuation of Worksheet 2) – one copy for each student. Also, project on to an electronic whiteboard or overhead projector if available. (Questions adapted from Part 2 of Entry 3 Reading Sample Paper Version 1 available on Teacher’s Resources website)

Aims: to familiarise students with multiple choice questions testing detailed comprehension in the Entry 3 Reading exams

to show students how they might approach multiple choice questions testing detailed comprehension

Procedure

1. Explain to the students that in the Entry 3 Reading exams there are different kinds of questions but today they are going to look at one kind of question – multiple choice.

2. Show Student’s Worksheet 1 on the electronic whiteboard or overhead projector if available. (If not, hand out copies of Student’s Worksheet 1 to each student.) Tell students you want them to get a quick general idea of the text and that you will give them 30 seconds to do so. Suggest that they look at the first and last paragraphs. After 30 seconds remove Student’s Worksheet 1 from the whiteboard. (If they have paper copies, ask them to turn the paper over.)

3. Ask the whole group the following questions:

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• What kind of text is it? Suggest these options: a letter, an advert, an article, a leaflet, an email.

• How do you know?

• What is the text about? Suggest these options: college, work, social problems, computing.

• How do you know?

4. Show Student’s Worksheets 2 & 3 on the electronic whiteboard or overhead projector if available. (If not, hand out copies of Student’s Worksheet 2 & 3 to each student.) Ask students to look at Question 1. Then ask students what the important words in each part of the question are.

5. Hand out Student’s Worksheet 2 (if you haven’t already done so). Ask students to underline or highlight the important words in Question 1. Monitor students as they do this.

6. Hand out Student’s Worksheet 1 (if you haven’t already done so). Ask students to find the answer to Question 1. Ask them to underline or highlight any parts of the text which give the answer.

7. Check the answer to Question 1 with the whole group. Go through each of the three options, asking students what is in the text that tells them whether an option is correct or not. .

8. Ask students to underline or highlight the important parts of Question 2 in Student’s Worksheet 2. Monitor students as they do this. Then check with whole class.

9. Ask students to find the answer to Question 2 in the text in Student’s Worksheet 1. Ask them to underline or highlight the parts of the text which give the answers. Check answer with whole group, asking them to justify their answers by referring to the text.

10. Ask students to look at Questions 3 to 6 in Student’s Worksheets 2 & 3 and to underline / highlight the important parts of each question. Monitor students as they do this. Then check with whole class. Make sure all students understand the word ‘purpose’, which appears frequently in questions in Entry 3 Reading exams. Emphasise that they should use the paragraph references to help them work quickly.

11. Ask students to find the answers to Questions 3 to 6, and to underline / highlight the key phrases / words in the text as they do so. Monitor students as they do the activity. Check answers with whole group.

12. Explain to students that the way people prefer to do comprehension tasks varies. However, for many students the approach they have taken in this activity is helpful. Ask students to recall the steps they went through. Summarise the approach:

1. Read the text quickly for a general idea about the format and main subject matter.


2. Read the first question, underlining or highlighting the important words or phrases.

3. Look in the text for the answer to the first question.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for subsequent questions.

Additional information

At Entry 3, ‘wordspotting’ may sometimes be possible, particularly in those reading tasks which require scanning for specific, concrete information. However, students should be careful not to assume that word matches always work.

At Entry 3, ‘referencing’ questions (e.g. Question 4) are normally in this multiple choice format. However, questions which ask for the meaning of a word or words (e.g. Question 5) may also be open-ended questions.

Suggested follow-up activities/questions (and answers)

1. In the Entry 3 Reading exams, multiple choice question tasks often require students to read more than one text. This means that the questions may combine multiple choice with multiple matching. These questions often appear in Part 3 of a paper. The activity Skills for Life Entry 3 Reading Multiple matching questions introduces multiple matching questions.

2. See also activity Skills for Life Entry 3 Reading Referencing questions for further work on referencing as it is tested in the Entry 3 Reading exams.

3. See Past Papers on Teacher’s Resources website for more multiple choice questions.


Skills for Life E3 Reading Multiple choice questions answer keys

Key to Procedure steps

Step 3:

• What kind of text is it? Accept these answers – an article, a leaflet, an information sheet from a website, and any other appropriate suggestion.

• How do you know? The overall organisation looks like that of an article. The language is in the style of an article.

• What is the text about? Accept – work, computing, jobs in IT, careers in IT and other appropriate suggestions.

• How do you know? Many references to IT, computers, careers, jobs, etc.

Steps 4 & 5: important words highlighted

Question 1

Where would you find a text like this? Tick (√) one box.

√

in a specialist computer magazine

in a careers magazine for students

in a job advertisement

Steps 6 & 7: important words from text for Question 1:

in a specialist computer magazine may be a tempting option as the whole text is about IT and jobs and the focus of paragraph 2 is on ‘experts’ which mirrors the word ‘specialist’. However, the rest of the text indicates it is not for specialists but for a more general readership thinking about jobs. Parts of the text which support this include: Whatever your level of skills, IT can offer a well-paid career (paragraph 1); Users include most of the rest of us – people who simply use computers for everyday work (paragraph 3; places such as community centres, libraries and internet cafes across the country to help people learn basic computer skills and find out how to work online computing (paragraph 5). Therefore, option 2 - in a careers magazine for students - makes sense as an answer. Option 3 can be ruled out on the grounds no specific job is advertised and the overall format is not that of a job ad.

Step 8: important words highlighted

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Question 2

What would be the best title for the text? Tick (√) one box.

√How IT training can help your career

Make a new career as a computer specialist

Find out how good your IT skills are

Step 9: important words from text for Question 2

Phrases to support option 1 may include those used for Question 1: e.g. Whatever your level

of skills, IT can offer a well-paid career (paragraph 1);. The growth of IT, or Information

Technology, has created millions of new job opportunities for people with a wide variety of

skills (also paragraph 1); Users include most of the rest of us – people who simply use

computers for everyday work (paragraph 3); With reading and writing, it (IT) is one of the

most basic abilities required in finding employment (paragraph 4)

The arguments for ruling out option 2 are much the same as for question 1 – i.e. though

there is a paragraph about ‘experts’ most of the article is about using IT in a wide range of

jobs.

There is no mention of finding out how good your IT skills are. The focus is on the

importance of IT skills and finding out how to acquire them.

Step 10 important words highlighted

Question 3

Look at paragraph 1. What point is it making? Tick (√) one box.

√

Almost everyone has IT skills these days.

People with IT skills have a wide choice of career.

Everyone should test their IT skills.


Question 4

Look at paragraph 2. What does Their mean? Tick (√) one box.

√experts

IT departments

specialist IT companies

Question 5

Look at paragraph 4. What does IT proficiency mean? Tick (√) one box.

√

√

opportunity to study IT

ability in IT

getting a job in IT

Question 6

What is the purpose of paragraph 5? Tick (√) one box.

to suggest where students can look for jobs in IT

to stress how important IT skills are nowadays

to explain how to find out about training in IT skills

Step 11: important words from text for Questions 3-6

Question 3

option 1 – it does not say that almost everyone has IT skills these days. The point of the article is how useful it is to acquire them.

option 2 - The point that IT skills give people a wide choice of career is well supported -The growth of IT .. has created millions of new job opportunities for people with a wide variety of skills. There are IT careers available in Britain’s offices, shops and call centres – in fact, wherever people use computers in everyday work.

option 3 – there is no mention of testing IT skills.

Question 4

Students should underline / highlight the targeted words in the text:


Experts are people with a high level of technical knowledge who work on the computers themselves in IT departments or in specialist IT companies. Their jobs may involve writing new computer programmes, designing new systems, or providing technical help to users

Options 2 and 3 are both tempting. They are near the referencing pronoun their, and it would not be ungrammatical to use their to replace departments or companies. However, the main subject in paragraph 2 is people working with computers and experts. Also, it would be more natural to say jobs in IT departments and jobs in specialist IT companies rather than their jobs.

Question 5

Students should look at paragraph 4 carefully: IT proficiency is an essential skill. With reading and writing, it is one of the most basic abilities. Neither opportunity to study nor getting a job are skills or basic abilities. Option 2, however, makes sense - Ability in IT mirrors essential skill and one of the most basics skills.

Students could also use an English-English dictionary to check the meaning of proficiency but this may take more time than working out the meaning from the context.

Question 6

Key phrases supporting option 3 include: Find out about taster sessions …; calling Learndirect on 0800 100 900 …; Find out more about Learndirect courses by ringing 0800 101 901 …; exploring the website.

There is nothing about looking for jobs (option 1). The importance of IT skills (option 2) is a key point earlier in the text but does not come into paragraph 5.

Key to Student’s Worksheet 2

Question 1


√



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√


Question 2


Skills for Life E3 Reading Multiple choice questions answer keys www.teachers.cambridgeesol.org of 11

How IT training can help your career

√

√



Question 3





Question 4


experts

IT departments


Question 5


√

√


ability in IT

getting a job in IT

Question 6






Skills for Life E3 Reading Multiple choice questions Student’s Worksheet 1

You don’t have to be a genius to work with computers. The growth of IT, or Information Technology, has created millions of new job opportunities for people with a wide variety of skills. There are IT careers available in Britain’s offices, shops and call centres – in fact, wherever people use computers in everyday work. Whatever your level of skills, IT can offer a well-paid career.

People working with computers can be divided into two groups – users and experts. Experts are people with a high level of technical knowledge who work on the computers themselves in IT departments or in specialist IT companies. Their jobs may involve writing new computer programmes, designing new systems, or providing technical help to users.

Users include most of the rest of us – people who simply use computers for everyday work. Again, users can have a range of skills, from basic typing to word processing, spreadsheets and the internet.

The government has recently stated that IT proficiency is an essential skill. With reading and writing, it is one of the most basic abilities required in finding employment. The Department for Education and Skills said that demand for trained staff will increase over the next ten years.

There are many ways to gain computer skills. UK online centres have been set up in places such as community centres, libraries and internet cafes across the country to help people learn basic computer skills and find out how to work online. Find out about taster sessions taking place near you by calling Learndirect on 0800 100 900. Find out more about Learndirect courses by ringing 0800 101 901 or exploring the website at www.learndirect.co.uk.

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3

Paragraph 4

Paragraph 5

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Question 1





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Question 2


How IT training can help your career



Question 3





Question 4


experts

IT departments


Skills for Life E3 Reading Multiple choice questions Student’s Worksheet 2 www.teachers.cambridgeesol.org of 11


Question 5



ability in IT

getting a job in IT

Question 6





© UCLES 2009. This material may be photocopied (without alteration) and distributed for classroom use provided no charge is made. For further information see our Terms of Use at http://www.teachers.cambridgeESOL.org/ts/legalinfo Skills for Life E3 Reading Multiple choice questions Student’s Worksheet 3 www.teachers.cambridgeesol.org of 11