Exam : Homeschooling in U.S.A

من طرف **SAADI** الثلاثاء فبراير 08, 2011 7:18 pm

PART ONE: READING AND INTERPRETING

Read the text carefully then do the activities.

All children in the United States have to receive an education, but the law doesn’t say they have to be educated at school. A number of parents prefer not to send their children to school. Children who are educated at home are known as “home-schoolers”. There are about 300,000 home-schooled children in the United States.

David Guterson and his wife teach their three children at home. Guterson says that his children learn very differently from children in school. Learning starts with the children’s interests and questions. For example when there is heavy snowfall on a winter day, it may start a discussion or reading about climate, snow removal-equipment, Alaska polar bears, and winter tourism. Or a spring evening when the family is out watching the stars is a good time to ask questions about satellites and the space program. If the Brazilian rain forests are on the TV news, it could be a perfect time to talk about how rain forests influence the climate, how deserts are formed, and how the polar ice caps affect ocean levels.

Home-schooling is often more interesting than regular schools, but critics say that home-schoolers might find it difficult to mix with other people in adult life. Critics also say that most parents are not well qualified to teach their children. However, most parents don’t have time or the desire to teach their children at home, so schools will continue to be where most children get their formal education.

1- Choose the answer that best completes the following statement.

The text is about
a- private schooling.
b- education at home.
c- school absenteeism.

2- Are these statements true or false according to the text? Correct the false ones.
a- All the American children are educated at school.
b- Home-schoolers are those who go to private schools.
c- Home-schooling is based on real life situations.
d- Home-schooling has only advantages.

3- In which paragraph does the writer mention instances of home learning?

4- What or who do the underlined words refer to in the text?
who (§1) their (§3)

5- Find in the text words that are closest in meaning to the following.
a- must (§1) b- taught (§1) c- instance (§2) d- yet (§3)

6- Answer these questions according to the text.
a- Do the Guterson’s children go to school? Justify your answer from the text.
b- List two negative aspects of home-schooling from the text.

7- Complete the following table with the right information.

Verbs	Nouns	Adjectives
to educate
	formation
		equipped

8- Classify the following words according to the pronunciation of their final “ed”.
educated – mentioned – influenced – continued

/d/	/t/	/id/

9- Write the verbs in brackets in the correct form.
a- Pupils (succeed) as long as they work hard.
b- If parents had the choice, they (not – to send) their children to coeducational schools.
c- Years ago schooling (not – to be) possible in rural areas.

10- Fill in the gaps with one word so that the text makes sense.
All……….(1) deserve the opportunity to learn …………..(2) write. Literacy …………..(3) a precondition to education. Today, education for all must not just be …………(4) ideal – it must be a reality.

PART TWO: WRITTEN EXPRESSION(6points)

Choose one of the following topics.

Topic One: You have been asked by your school magazine to write a 150- word article about home-schooling. You are going to:
- give your article an interesting title
- briefly summarize the way children learn
- comment on the negative and positive aspects of home-schooling
- conclude by saying if home-schooling is more interesting than regular schools

Topic Two: write a composition of about 80 words on the following topic.
How would you like to see schools in the future?