The final exams are just one week away. We are finishing watching the 2006 film version of Charlotte’s Web in the classes and the kids are being given a bit of a review as well. It’s the last time they will be able to ask questions prior to the tests. In fact, the Listening and Reading exams are scheduled on the very first day – Monday, 20th September.
The Listening Comprehension test is worth 10 points. The various homeroom teachers will read a brief biography of the author E.B. White. They will then answer ten questions pertaining to the oral reading. While the mid-term test consisted of true or false questions, the final exam has multiple choice. In my opinion, these types of questions are easier but the students will still need to listen carefully.
Worth 25 points, the Reading Comprehension final exam is comprehensive. That is, it covers material drawn from the entire book, starting with question number one which comes from Chapter I. Don’t let this frighten you in studying for the test as we have gone over the material in class repeatedly. Also, the overall format of the test makes it rather easy to remember what you need to remember.
There are five questions in Section 1 which are multiple choice. If the students read the questions and the answer choices carefully I don’t think they will have too much of a problem. Section 2 includes five questions for which the children must write a short answer in complete sentences (just like they had to do in their notebooks). To make this section a bit easier, a relevant passage from Charlotte’s Web is provided (this was done at the suggestion of our school’s English Coordinator and I feel makes it an even better exam as it tests a student’s actual comprehension of what they are currently reading rather than testing their recall of something they read weeks ago).
The next section of the exam contains a three-paragraph excerpt from the book (the beginning of Chapter XVI, in fact). After reading this passage, the students will answer ten true-or-false questions; these are worth 1/2 of a point each as they are quite easy. Finally, Section 4 is the “dreaded” Vocabulary Matching. There is a lot of vocabulary to learn and remember in Charlotte’s Web and I try to pick those words for exams that appear over and over again in the book. I also try to explain them and use them quite often during the classes so that the students will remember them when it comes to exam time. While I can’t tell the kids which words will be on the test (there are only five this time around, down from the ten on the mid-term), I can say that they are all from the second half of the book – from around Chapter 10 through the last words they had to write and define in their notebooks. If they just study the vocabulary from their notebooks, dating from mid-July to late August, they will be fine. Oh, they do need to use colored pencils on this section of the test – a different color for each word and definition. Failure to do so will result in these answers being marked wrong (part of their grade – particularly on a Reading exam – is based on how well they follow the instructions).
And that’s it! I do hope everyone does well on their exams – not only those for Listening and Reading but for all of their Thai and English tests. These two tests are the only two in English on the Monday of Exam week (there are two in Thai and one in Chinese, I believe). Hopefully, that will take some of the pressure off (and, personally, I’m thrilled that I get to grade these exams early as usually the Listening and Reading tests are the last ones on the last day).
Good luck!
