sfl reading e3_open_ended_questions

Skills for Life E3 Reading Open-ended questions Teacher’s notes Description

This activity familiarises students with the type of open-ended questions that feature in the Entry 3 Reading exam and the type of answers required. It also familiarises them with the idea of a scenario which links different texts.

Time required: 40 minutes

Materials required:

Student’s Worksheet 1 – (to save paper, use electronic whiteboard if available – if not, enough copies for one between two students)

Student’s Worksheet 2 – one copy per student

Student’s Worksheet 3 – one copy per student (also show on electronic whiteboard if possible)

Student’s Worksheet 4 – one copy per student

Aims: to familiarise students with the types of open-ended questions that feature in Entry 3 Reading exams and how to answer them

to familiarise students with the idea of a scenario which links texts

Procedure

1. Ask students to talk about the following question in pairs or small groups:

• When people are trying to decide which college they should study at, what questions do they ask themselves?

• (e.g. Does the college have the right course for me?)

Take feedback from the whole class.

2. Explain that they are going to read an email written by someone called Leila who wants some information about colleges for her uncle who is coming to the UK. However, before they read the email, you want them to read the questions. If you have use of an electronic whiteboard, project the questions in Student’s Worksheet 1 on to the screen. (If you want to give out paper copies, one between two students will be enough.) Ask students to read the questions and to say what kinds of answers they will need to look for when they read the text.

3. Hand out Student’s Worksheet 2. Ask students to read the text and answer the questions. Check answers with the whole group.

4. Tell the students that questions of this kind, requiring them to write a word or more than one word in the answer, are common in the Entry 3 Reading exam. Point out, however, that they are usually mixed up with other types of questions – e.g. True /

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False and Multiple Choice. Ask students the following questions (it may help to write them on the board):

• Do you think it helped you to read the questions first? (Why? / Why not?)

• How long were your answers to questions 1 and 2?

• Did you have any special way of finding the spelling mistakes?

5. If you have an electronic whiteboard, show Student’s Worksheet 3. (If you don’t have an electronic whiteboard, hand out copies to all students.) Ask students to read the questions and to say what kinds of answers they will need to look for when they read the text.

6. Hand out Student’s Worksheet 4. Ask students to read both texts very quickly, but not to answer the questions on Student’s Worksheet 3 yet. Then ask the following questions:

• What types of texts are these? (They could be adverts, notices or leaflets – accept other answers if they seem plausible)

• Where do you find texts like these? (In local newspapers, on notice boards, on the internet – accept other answers if they seem plausible)

• Why are they useful for Leila? (because they have information about colleges)

NB In the Entry 3 Reading exam, questions about the text-type and source are usually multiple choice.

8. Ask students to write answers to the questions on Student’s Worksheet 3. Remind them to read the questions carefully. Check answers with the whole group.

9. Ask students the following questions:


• How long were your answers to question 1?

• Did you have any special way of finding the answers to questions 2, 3 and 4?


Additional information

Format: The Entry 3 Reading exam is always 1 hour 15 minutes long and has three main parts. The types of questions include open-ended, multiple choice, multiple matching and True / False. However, the number of texts, the number of questions and the exact mix of questions vary considerably. Also, each paper will have a broad theme running through it (e.g. studies), but not all papers will have the kind of scenario connecting different texts that has been looked at in this activity.

Suggested follow-up activities/questions (and answers)

1. See Past Papers on Teacher’s Resources website for more examples of open-ended questions. NB. The texts in this activity have been taken from Entry 3 Reading Sample Paper Version 1.


Skills for Life E3 Reading Open-ended questions – answer keys

Key to Procedure

Step 1

• When people are trying to decide which college they should study at, what questions do they ask themselves?

Some possible questions:

• Does the college have the right course for me?

• Is it easy for me to get there?

• What facilities does the college have?

• Do I have to pay for the course? Is it expensive?

• Does the college have a good reputation?

Step 2

1. Why is it difficult for Leila to find a college for her uncle?

e.g. she doesn’t have time (accept other plausible suggestions)

2. What is important for Leila’s uncle? Write FOUR points.

The college should: (accept other plausible suggestions)

1. have the right course

2. have good facilities

3. be near his home

4. be for adults

There are two spelling mistakes in Text A. Which words are not correct? Write the words here. we can’t know until we read the text

Step 4


Students may say that it helped them to know what they needed to look for as they read the text. However, students may vary in their preferred approaches. It is worth encouraging students to try different approaches.

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• How long were your answers to questions 1 and 2?

There is no instruction in the rubric about how many words to write or whether the answers should be in complete sentences. Unless there are specific instructions, students should keep the answers as short as possible without omitting anything crucial. It is acceptable to copy parts of the text but they should be directly relevant to the questions.

• Did you have any special way of finding the spelling mistakes?

Students should look for fairly high frequency words that are often misspelt. Low frequency words are unlikely to be targeted. It may help students to keep records of words that they tend to spell incorrectly. For those students who don’t notice the mistakes quickly, it may help to read through the text underlining up to five words they suspect may be wrong. They can then use a dictionary to check the spelling of those five words. Emphasise to the students that they don’t have to write the correct spelling when they answer the question – either the misspelling or the correct spelling is acceptable.

Step 5

1. Which college is best for Leila’s uncle? Write the name of ONE college. name of a college Give three reasons. (Use sentences) It has computer studies.

It’s easy to get to.

It can help him find work experience.

It can help him with English.

2. Look at Text B. Which word means very, very useful? Write ONE word. an adjective 3. Look at Text B. Which word means cheaper than normal? Write ONE word. an adjective 4. Look at Text C. Which word means connections? Write ONE word. a noun e.g. contacts

Step 9


Students may feel that it would help them to skim read the texts first for a very general idea of their structure; then to read the questions; then to read the texts carefully, knowing


what they are looking for. However, students vary in their preferred approaches. It is worth encouraging students to try different approaches

• How long were your answers to question 1? the first part should just be the college name; the reasons should be in complete sentences, though not too long.

• Did you have any special way of finding the answers to questions 2, 3 and 4?

If students know about parts of speech, this may help them to look for adjectives, nouns, etc. For those students who can’t find the vocabulary quickly, it may help to read through the text underlining a few words they think may fit. They can then use a dictionary to check the meaning of those words. Emphasise to the students that they shouldn’t spend a long time looking up words however.

Key

Student’s Worksheet 2


too many colleges and courses to choose from (allow paraphrases of this)


The college should: allow paraphrases

1. do a course in computer studies

2. be easy to get to from his home in London

3. help him with his English language

4. help him get some work experience

3. There are two spelling mistakes in Text A. Which words are not correct? Write the words here. chose should be choose

wiches should be wishes

Student’s Worksheet 3

1. Which college is best for Leila’s uncle? Write the name of ONE college. Riverside College Give three reasons. (Use sentences) Riverside College has easy transport to and from London.


Riverside College gives a chance to do work experience.

Riverside College offers language support.

NB. paraphrases of these answers are acceptable. Students may give the following as an answer: Riverside College has computer courses. However, Wood Hill College also has computer studies so this is not an advantage for Riverside College. 2. Look at Text B. Which word means very, very useful? Write ONE word. invaluable 3. Look at Text B. Which word means cheaper than normal? Write ONE word. discounted 4. Look at Text C. Which word means connections? Write ONE word. links links


Skills for Life E3 Reading Open-ended questions Student’s Worksheet 1


…………………………………………………………………………..


The college should:

1. ……………….……………………………………………

2. …………………………………………………………….

3. ……………………………………………………………

4. ……………………………………………………………

3. There are two spelling mistakes in Text A. Which words are

not correct? Write the words here.

………………………………………...…

…………………………………………….

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Text A

Look at this message from your friend Leila.

Hi

I wonder if you can help me. My uncle is coming to the UK soon. He’s going to be living

in London. He wants to do a course in computer studies. The problem is, there are too

many colleges and courses to chose from! I know your friends have studied in London,

so do you have any information which could help us?

He’ll be staying with a relative and going to college from home every day, so it will have

to be a place which is easy to get to. Also, he might need a college that could help him

with English language too.

One other thing – he would like to get some work experience while he is studying. Is this

possible?

Anyway, please let me know if you have anything.

Best wiches

Leila


…………………………………………………………………………..


The college should:

1. ……………….……………………………………………

2. …………………………………………………………….

3. ……………………………………………………………

4. ……………………………………………………………

3. There are two spelling mistakes in Text A. Which words are not correct? Write the words here. ………………………………………...…

…………………………………………….



1. Which college is best for Leila’s uncle? Write the name of ONE college.

……………………………………………………………………………….

Give three reasons. (Use sentences)

……………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Look at Text B. Which word means very, very useful? Write ONE word.

…………………………………………..

3. Look at Text B. Which word means cheaper than normal? Write ONE word.

…………………………………………..

4. Look at Text C. Which word means connections? Write ONE word.

……………………………………………..


Skills for Life E3 Reading Open-ended questions Student’s Worksheet 4 Now look at the information you have found for Leila. Text B

Riverside College

The College

This is a modern, dynamic college at the forefront of academic innovation. With approximately 2,000 students, this is a lively place to study, and our campus in Docklands is within easy reach of central London.

Innovation and Enterprise

Many of our programmes offer you the chance to work in a relevant job for a period of time – invaluable experience when it comes to getting the job you want when you graduate. All of our programmes give you the opportunity to develop IT, research and communication skills which we know employers are looking for.

Languages

One of the great opportunities we offer is our language provision. Students can take a language as part of their course of study, and even if you do not have any language qualifications or experience, you can take language courses. We can offer courses in English for academic purposes from intermediate to fluency level. These courses will be of great help to you if you are not a native speaker of English.

Sport

If you like sports, you’re coming to the right place. We have football, basketball, netball and hockey teams which play in inter-college matches. You can also take up a range of other sports – jujitsu, horse riding, sub-aqua, and tennis, for example, or circuit training, body pump, or boxexercise. London is also home to many football clubs and as a student you can buy discounted tickets for games at West Ham United, whose grounds at Upton Park are not far from our campus.

Text C

Wood Hill College Location

Studying in the London and Kent area offers a great opportunity to enjoy the cultural and social activities of the region. Students can travel from the centre of London by a combination of bus and train. The campuses have the added advantage of being close to the countryside.

The support you need

As for study support or moral support, if you speak to our students when you visit us, you’ll find that our student support services are second to none and that the college is an exciting and welcoming place to study.

Computing Services

We have computing facilities on all sites. A wide range of software and IT courses are available on all sites.

Sports

Being a multi-campus institution means that we are able to offer a greater range of sports activities, plus we have links with other organisations outside the college. If team sports are your thing, you can get involved with football, hockey, netball, rugby union and rugby league as well as team skiing.


sfl reading e3_open_ended_questions

Education