Competency 2 Competency 2 Prototype Examination: Prototype Examination:

Echoes From the PastEchoes From the PastEnglish as a Second Language, Core Program

Secondary VJune 2010

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Should the Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine House, an abandoned building in downtown Montréal,

be preserved or demolished? OvervieOvervieww

Students examine whether or not old historic buildings should be preserved.

Reinvestment Task: Students write an opinion column in answer to the following question:

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Students listen to and read a series of texts that provide them with the information they need to carry out the task.

Students have 3 hrs. 15 min. to do the examination:

Listening (45 min.)

Reading and reinvestment (2 hrs. 30 min.)

Overview Overview (cont.)(cont.) Working Document

• Text components Text components of an opinion column

• InformationInformation on the Louis-HippolyteLa Fontaine House and on Louis-HippolyteLa Fontaine

• InformationInformation (criteria) on preserving or demolishing buildings

• LanguageLanguage related to the topic

What do students need to carry out

the reinvestment task?

Overview Overview (cont.)(cont.) Working Document

The exam begins as usual: a narrator provides students with the necessary instructions. Students read along in their booklet.

Students are then given 10 minutes to read all the information in their booklet. This is information they need before the actual beginning of the exam:

Introduction Information about the reinvestment task A text about the Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine

House Instructions for each part of the listening section

ListeninListeningg

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Part 1Part 1•The hosts give guidelines on how to write an opinion

column.

Part 2Part 2•The hosts read an opinion column aloud as an example.

Part 3Part 3•The hosts give criteria for preserving or for demolishing

old buildings.

Listening Listening (cont.)(cont.) Working Document

Part 1—Writing an Opinion ColumnPart 1—Writing an Opinion ColumnThe five basic guidelines are listed in Preparation Booklet A (in black). Students add details as they listen to the text (in orange).

  

1 Present the topic. Audience should not have to guess what the topic of your text is.

2 Express your opinion. Express a clear opinion early in your opinion column.

3 Support your opinion. Select relevant facts/ideas and include them in your column.

4 Ask a question. To make people think. To make an impact. Raise a question that is relevant.

5Address one opposing argument.

Address one of the main opposing arguments, but refute it. This gives your opinion column more credibility.Listening Listening

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Part 2—Example of an Opinion ColumnPart 2—Example of an Opinion Column

• One of the hosts reads an opinion column on a Montréal landmark: the Guaranteed Pure Milk Bottle, a 10-metre former water reservoir atop a 1930 building that was once a dairy plant.

• Students take notes if they wish. The goal is to identify the guidelines mentioned in Part I and to better understand the structure of an opinion column.

Listening Listening (cont.)(cont.) Working Document

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Part 3—Criteria for Preserving and for Part 3—Criteria for Preserving and for Demolishing BuildingsDemolishing Buildings

• Students write down criteria for preserving or for demolishing buildings.

• Students have to decide in which column to note each criterion.

Criteria for Preserving a Building

Criteria for Demolishing a Building

Listening Listening (cont.)(cont.) Working Document

After the listening section, students are given Preparation Booklet B, which consists of the reading section.

Students read the instructions in Preparation Booklet B.

ReadingReading

• Remove the Final Task Booklet from the centre of this booklet.• Read the instructions in the Final Task Booklet.

• Read the texts in this booklet, which will provide you with more criteria for preserving or for demolishing buildings.

• Respond to the texts. You may:- highlight information- annotate the texts- answer the guiding questions - take notes on page 7

• Once you have completed this part of the examination, carry out the final task.

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Students read the instructions in the Final Task Booklet.

• Write an opinion column in response to the following question: Should the Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine House, an abandoned building in downtown Montréal, be preserved or demolished?

• Refer to the task requirements in the rubric on page 8.

• Write your outline on page 8 of Preparation Booklet B.

• Write the draft copy on pages 4 and 5 of this booklet.

• Write the final version of your opinion column on pages 6 and 7.

Reading Reading (cont.)(cont.) Working Document

In Preparation Booklet B, students read three pages of text, which provide them with more criteria for preserving or for demolishing buildings.

Newspaper articles

Literary text (excerpt from a novel)

Chart

Reading Reading (cont.)(cont.) Working Document

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@flickr/Rachid Lamzah

Students carry out the reinvestment task. They are expected to:

build a solid case around the central exam question by:

Reinvestment TaskReinvestment TaskWorking Document

selecting from the texts information and language that are sufficient, relevant to the task and true to the texts

effectively organizing and adapting these internal features as well as the text components

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Read students’ opinion columns to evaluate Competency 2, using the rubric.

B C DCrafts an effective case, clearly built around the central question. Opinion column shows a thorough understanding of the main issue. Information and language reinvested are relevant, true to the texts and, along with the text components, are used to create an effective opinion column.

Develops an uneven case around the central question.Information reinvested is true to the texts, but the opinion column displays one or more of the following: It sometimes strays from the central question. It has limited substance. Some information reinvested is not relevant. Some internal features are not used effectively. Internal features refer to information, language and text components.

Presents a weak case. Opinion column displays one or several of the following: It shows some misunderstanding of the purpose, main issue and/or texts. It lacks substance; information reinvested is too generic or is insufficient. Internal features are presented randomly or information is not relevant to the central question. Many internal features are not used effectively. Position is not clearly supported with information from texts.

RubriRubricc Working Document

Suggestions Suggestions . . . . . .

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Since colour photographs are clearer and more detailed than Since colour photographs are clearer and more detailed than black-and-white, it is suggested to either:black-and-white, it is suggested to either:

make a master series of the colour handout, i.e. 40 make a master series of the colour handout, i.e. 40 photocopies that can be used with all groupsphotocopies that can be used with all groupsOROR using a multimedia projector, project the photo slideshow using a multimedia projector, project the photo slideshow for the duration of the examfor the duration of the exam

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The exam has been designed so that the Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine House can easily be replaced with a local landmark that is threatened.

Suggestions Suggestions . . . . . .

Winter StreetWinter Street Prison in Sherbrooke Prison in Sherbrooke

Québec City’s Franciscan Sisters Missionaries of Mary Québec City’s Franciscan Sisters Missionaries of Mary Monastery and Chapel Monastery and Chapel

The GThe Grenville Canal, in renville Canal, in Grenville, QuébecGrenville, Québec

• Simply replace the text on the Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine House and the exam question in the booklets.

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Suggestions Suggestions . . . . . .

• If you choose to also evaluate Competency 3, Writes and produces texts, do not evaluate the criterion Content of the message, as it is already evaluated via Competency 2.

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Competency 2: Competency 2: Use of knowledge from texts in a reinvestment Use of knowledge from texts in a reinvestment tasktask

Competency 3: Competency 3: Content of the message Content of the message

ObservationsObservations From Field-From Field-TestingTesting Working Document

Students are able to select information in the Students are able to select information in the texts but they have difficulty using this texts but they have difficulty using this information to answer the central question.information to answer the central question.

Few students take notes and plan.Few students take notes and plan.

Students have difficulty organizing the Students have difficulty organizing the information in order to build a coherent information in order to build a coherent opinion column. opinion column.

Collection of facts without linksInformation that is relevant but simply listed; it is

not adapted to the central exam question or it is not expanded on

Accurate but irrelevant informationInaccurate informationGeneric information that can apply to many

buildingsMostly claims and opinions; very little factual

supportOnly one idea is developed; a weak case

ObservationsObservations From Field-From Field-TestingTesting Working Document