Abstract

The aim of this study is to see if there is any discrepancy between constructed response test items and learning objectives of Grade IX English Textbook published by the Punjab Textbook Board, Lahore. As product oriented syllabi have clearly defined objectives, each lesson of the book contains a specified set of objectives. The researcher studied these objectives and their relation to the test items set in annual and supplementary exams conducted by Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Islamabad. It was a descriptive study and the data was interpreted using the theoretical framework propounded by Robert J. Marzano and Johns Kendall (2007). It was found that though most of the objectives fulfilled the recommended criteria of the taxonomy. Yet, they remained unfruitful as the test items are not related to them. Thus, the textbook needs to be improved in this regard.  

Key Words

Constructed Response Test Items, Learning Objectives, English Textbooks

Introduction

The Qur’an’s emphasis on man’s being taught by God hints at the cumulative character of human knowledge and that man has the ability not only to acquire knowledge but also to transmit it, through writing his thoughts, experiences and insights individually as well as culturally (Asad, 2003). In this ability, language acts not only as a tool of thinking but also as a mean of developing thinking and teaching others how to think more efficiently as Bruner regards language not only a mean of reflecting experience but also a powerful tool of transforming it (Bentham, 2002). As language holds a pivotal place in man’s individual and social life, language learning and teaching have always been considered seminal for integrating knowledge attained in different locales. Language is a social phenomenon; the British introduced English in the subcontinent as an imperial tool to deprive the native people of their cultural heritage. However, the move ultimately germinated paradoxical outcomes and on attaining linguistic equality, and the colonized realized their ideals of self-assertion and self-sufficiency through freedom movements. After political freedom, rather than doing away with the language of the oppressors and realizing the naivety of an immediate linguistic overhaul, Pakistani intellectuals aimed to transform the intrusion of language into a tool and use it against the oppressor. Boehmer (1995, p.210) describes this process as “cultural boomeranging” or switchback where the once colonized take the artifacts of the former master and adapt them as their own.

Since the inception of Pakistan, English has been in the ascendant: first being a neutral language in multilingual Pakistan, it acted as a source of unity and more recently as a lingua franca in globalized world. It is the door to myriad opportunities in the globalized world. Today it is the language of academia, administration, military, judiciary and it commands highest value. In recent years, it enjoys a tremendous rise in Pakistani education system; first it was only an academic necessity but now it is an economic asset in which people invest their incessant energy to acquire more and more of it. Now English enjoys the status of a foreign as well as a second language and therefore, government has been promoting teaching and learning of it. 

Great strides in language teaching were taken after 1960s and since then language teaching has passed through many phases. At present, in some countries communicative approach reigns supreme, in some notional syllabi are preferred while in others—like Australia and Pakistan—content syllabi are in vogue. Tyler’s model for curriculum which he proposed in 1949 is being followed in most of the Asian countries including Pakistan. His model consists of: 

1. Aims and objectives which answer what of the syllabus

2. Content referring to ‘by which’ of the objectives

3. Organization marking the order of contents 

4. Evaluation which denotes the processes to determine how much of objectives is achieved

From the model given above, it is quite clear that lesson objectives are not mere fanciful thinking floating in the air; rather they are well-defined and clearly-articulated specifications and the entire evaluation process, which is of paramount importance, centers on these explicitly stated objectives. Hence, it seems plausible that there is maximal harmony between objectives and test items demanding constructed response from the learners (Nunan, 1988). The purpose of this study is to see whether or not constructed response test items given in the Federal Board Exams are in line with learning objectives stated in Grade IX English textbook published by the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board, Lahore.




Research Question




How much concordance do the constructed response test items administered in the 

Federal Board Exams bear with the learning objectives stated in Grade IX English textbook?




Significance of the Study




Tests are the tools that assure the learners that they are progressing according to some generally accepted standard or have achieved a requisite level of competence in their second language. Achievement tests are based on the actual material learners have been studying or upon commonly agreed understandings of what students should have learned after a course of study. The researchers hope that this study will raise awareness about an under-researched issue of establishing and maintaining concordance between test items and lesson objectives. Furthermore, the test developers might get insightful cues for constructing more consistent and more productive test items which can certainly help teachers and learners to follow specific objectives in language teaching and learning. The field has not been researched in Pakistan, though the congruence between lesson objectives and test items can help not only teachers in adopting better strategies but also the learners in adapting themselves to focus on the areas specified in the objectives. 

Review of Literature

By devising activities that help learners notice features an authentic language shares while they are exposed to it can firstly facilitate and secondly accelerate language acquisition. It offers the learners a valuable opportunity to notice with a strong focus the language and discourse features which often otherwise go unnoticed. Resultantly, the practice increases chances for them to look for similar features in subsequent input, thus increasing readiness for acquisition. For its high-graded accomplishment, the research underpins the belief that the most conducive language learning classrooms are where learners are stimulated through engaging activities and they are guided to make discoveries for themselves. This increases their awareness as to how the target language performs its authentic communicative function and they attain fluency coupled with accuracy and appropriacy maintaining the effect they desire (Tomlinson, 2008).

Language testing forms an integral part of language teaching and learning because the results obtained through language tests affect profoundly the lives of learners we happen to work on. Further, it has an important impact on our own teaching, on the programmes we choose to work in, and ultimately on the societies that surround us or we dream to build on. Therefore, there comes an ethical responsibility on us not only of understanding the nature of important domain of language testing but also of actively promoting the reliable use of tests and the valid interpretation of test performance. The fundamental purpose of language tests is to provide us a valid tool for making reliable inferences about learners’ language abilities. At its most primary level, a language test is a set of strategies designed to elicit language performances which cannot be observed directly but through this specific procedure becomes obviously observable, and whose close study leads testers to infer as to how much and what type of language knowledge learners can demonstrate. When, for example, the testers provide their students with a list of recently studied vocabulary items with definitions put in random order and are asked to match them correctly, the testers observe the performance of their students, which usually involves giving them a score according to the number of correct matches they have made, and from those scores they infer the learners’ progress level in vocabulary learning (Douglas, 2009).

Besides several other important functions, the syllabus acts as an important instrument for indicating students accountability in the course they have joined — what they are supposed to do, and what conditions will determine their performance. For students, the syllabus proves a key to suggest where their particular course may lead the learners intellectually as well as practically, what knowledge they can attain by the end of their course, what skills they are expected to acquire by the time when the course ends, and what level of competence they are certain to demonstrate after completing the said course. The syllabus also defines explicitly whether the course aims at only the improvement in the learners’ problem-solving abilities or bettering their communication skills or both and sometimes the purposes are developing both coupling them with their ability to translate knowledge gained in one context to another similar linguistic or situational context. For any syllabus it seems necessary as to why the goals hold radical importance, and how different individual parts of the proposed course can help learners attain those key goals. The syllabus designer can define the objectives of his/her syllabus by asking an inevitable question: i.e., “What have I planned for my students that they may look like when they complete their course confidently which lasts for five years/five months or so?” While goals address to broad categories of content and tasks, objectives bring specificity to learning processes, clearly providing a primal plan of the learner’ accomplishments at the end of the course and unambiguously stating how these should be assessed and evaluated in students. In every learning-centered syllabus, it is objectives that describe firstly the learning processes the students are supposed to develop and secondly the products which are attainable by linking those processes with the course content.

More than often we may couple course objectives with the detailed specifications of the course, which depend on how complex the course is and what the nature of the course or discipline is. Where course objectives are descriptive they usually either form a succinct statement or draw an outline as to what the students should be able to demonstrate at the end of the semester. It is believed that to describe the objectives ideally the use of action verbs is highly recommendable. Thus, clearly defined objectives signal at fostering a persistent sense of partnership and enhancing awareness that during the course we and our students have planned to work collaboratively to achieve the same goals. Objectives make learning processes focused and add to learners’ motivation.

For the test writer it is a matter of paramount concern that maximum degree of congruence between the knowledge, skill, or ability must be achieved which is possible only by crafting items according their articulated specifications. It directly affects content validity of items and influences their reliability. Therefore, the item-objective concordance must not be ignored (Osterlind, 2002). 

From the above discussion, it is clear that developing lesson objectives is a matter of utmost importance and rigorous efforts on the part of syllabus designers are required and they must state objectives following recommendations of latest empirical studies. Only objectives stated in specific terms can provide helpful guideline to test developers to construct their test items in accordance with the demands of lesson objectives. 

Research Methodology

The researcher chose qualitative method for this research and the study was envisioned to be purely descriptive.




Theoretical Framework 




Though widely used, the researcher is not in favour of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives because too many test items are labeled in the knowledge domain and very few can be categorized as analysis, synthesis, or evaluation— the high-end taxonomy levels. Therefore, instead of relying on Bloom’s taxonomy, the researcher — for achieving precision regarding definitions of cognitive levels and particular test items — chose The New Taxonomy of Educational Objectives as a theoretical framework. These objectives were propounded by Robert J. Marzano and John S. Kendall (2007).

Marzano and Kendall presented their own model in 2007 by following the recommendations made by model of Tyler (1949a, 1949b) and building on taxonomy of Anderson et al. (2001). In their new model, they divided mental processes into three main systems. They assert that learning starts with ‘the self-system’, moves to ‘the meta-cognitive system’ and ends with ‘the cognitive system’. They also believe that the background knowledge provides necessary foundation to all the three systems. They categorize knowledge into three types or domains: the basic category of information, the higher one of mental processes and the most complex one of psychomotor procedures. Further, they delineate six levels which they call ‘six categories of mental processes’. In their levels, they maintain the division of the three systems. In the taxonomy, the cognitive system comprises four levels which increase in complexity: Retrieval, Comprehension, Analysis, and Knowledge Utilization. To them, the first includes recognizing, recalling and executing, the second comprises integrating and symbolizing, the third consists of matching, classifying, analyzing errors, generalizing and specifying, and last level incorporates decision making, problem solving, experimenting and investigating. Specifying goals, process monitoring, monitoring clarity and monitoring accuracy are the operations done by meta-cognition and at highest level i.e., self-thinking system, most complex operations of examining importance, efficacy, emotional response and motivation are carried out. However, keeping their model two dimensional, they prefer to represent these six levels under the dimension of cognitive processing while three domains of knowledge form the other dimension. Moreover, they themselves recommend that their new taxonomy can be used as a framework to classify or design educational objectives as well as to design assessments. 

Thus, it seems plausible to select this very taxonomy for analysis of objectives stated before every unit of English textbook for Grade 9. Considering the recommendations of Marzano and Kendall, we can understand the convention of stating objectives in which the stem, The student (or students) will be able to is followed by a verb phrase and an object where the former signals to the mental processes, whereas the latter states the type of knowledge. 




Sample of the Study




The sample of the study comprises papers of past four years administered by the Federal Board Islamabad. Each paper of English Compulsory for Grade IX contains eight short questions and the students are asked to construct their response in 30 to 40 words. The revised syllabus was first introduced in 2014 and since then there have been four annual and four supplementary papers. Thus, total eight papers have been analyzed.   




Research Instruments




Documents




Lesson objectives stated before every lesson in clear behaviorist terms and short questions requiring constructed response designed by the Federal Board examiners were the written documents which the researchers studied and analyzed.




Data Collection




Data from the written Question Papers from the year 2014 to the year 2017 and

 Lesson Objectives written before the twelve units of English textbook were gathered. 

Data Analysis

The data were analyzed on the basis of principles contained in the theoretical framework. The objectives of each unit were analyzed one by one in the light of The New Taxonomy of Marzano and Kendall and after the analysis of each objective, its congruence with the test items, that had been administered by the Federal Board, was checked.




Qualitative Analysis of Lesson Objectives and Their Congruence with Test Items




The discussion that follows is based on the lesson objectives presented in APPENDEX A and the papers of the Federal Board, Islamabad presented in APPENDEX B. 




Unit 1: The Saviour of Mankind




It seems clear that only the first three objectives and the last one demand any constructed response test item; all the other objectives are not the praxis of such test items where the candidates are to produce their response in proper linguistic content. As the first objective has three significant words—skimming, scanning and summarizing—only the summarizing ability can be checked in the constructed response test items. In other words, no test item requiring 30 to 40 words of coherent response can be given to the students. In terms of the New Taxonomy, this objective covers no more than the first two levels of Retrieval and Comprehension and in the knowledge domain it focuses on Information only. When we turn to test items from this unit, we note that there is a question, in the paper of 2014, on the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) mission which is though pertinent to the second objective yet quite contrary to this, in the supplementary paper of the same year, there is a question in which the students are asked to write the exact translation of the first revelation revealed to the Holy Prophet (PBUH). This question was repeated in the papers of 2015 and 2016 and the practice seems to encourage rote learning rather than involving any mental function or sticking to the objectives.   




Unit 2: Patriotism




The language the objectives are clothed in shows clearly that, here too, only the first three objectives require any constructed response test item. The first objective focuses merely on a very narrow definition of the word patriotism and the test item requires no proficiency of language because the students will just cram the definition from the book and will write in the paper. The second and the third objectives are stating one and the same meaning using different words. Therefore, it seems clear that only constructed response test items can be designed on these objectives. In terms of the New Taxonomy, these objectives cover just the first two levels: Retrieval and Comprehension. And they, like the objectives of the unit 1 fall in the knowledge domain which focuses on Information only. Turning to test items from this unit, we see that there is a question, in the paper of 2014, on definition of the word ‘patriotism’ and the wording of the question shows that the students are asked to give their own definition of the given word. This brings congruence between objectives and the test items but in the supplementary paper of the same year, there is a question in which the students are asked to write the qualities of a patriot which bears little relevance to any objective stated before. This question was repeated in the paper of 2015 and 2016 and if the practice goes unchanged, it will encourage only rote learning rather than enhancing cognitive development and improvisation of language.   




Unit 3: Media and Its Impact




As we can see clearly, there is only first objective on which students can be checked in their constructed response on the given test item. The New Taxonomy covers it under the second domain of Mental Processes and relates its fourth level of Analysis and Knowledge Utilization. Hence, this objective seems to be working at a higher level. Turning to test items from this unit, we see that there is a question in every paper from 2014 to 2017. In the first paper, the given question seems to bear close harmony with the objective of Analysis and Knowledge Utilization. However, it fails to trigger any meaningful analysis as the test item has been taken from the exercise and the candidates completely rely on their cramming ability. Therefore, the objective remains unrealized. In the paper of 2015, the examiner has quite ingeniously constructed such an item that truly realized the objective of the lesson. Opposite to this repeating the practice of 2014 paper, the supplementary paper of 2015 had also the exact copy of the question as was written in the exercise, thus again failing in the realization of the proposed objective. Next, the test item in 2016 paper reveals the examiners’ awareness of designing the test items in close congruence with the objective stated here, thus enhancing cognitive development of the learners and encouraging their power of language improvisation.   




Unit 4: Hazrat Asma (RA)




In the objectives of this lesson the first three require constructed response test item. The second and third are repetitions. The first objective covers on a very broad level and the test item requires a sufficiently high proficiency of language. Students’ cramming habit can be discouraged by designing such items which require improvisation. The second, third and fourth objectives seem to focus more on character building than on improving language ability. Though under the New Taxonomy, these objectives cover the second domain of Mental Processes with their emphasis on its second level of integrating and symbolizing, the learners may resort to rote learning if the test items are not worded appropriately. When we see the test items in the papers from 2014 to 2017, we note that there is only one question about Hazrat Asma’s title that students require to employ their language skills on. All other questions have been taken as it is without changing a single word. It is clear that such a practice encourages merely rote learning.    




Unit 5: Daffodils




The detailed list of the objectives of Wordsworth’s famous poem of “Daffodils” seems to cover maximum and diversified domains and levels of the New Taxonomy which can be highly profitable for the language teachers and the learners. When we attempt to analyze the questions, in the papers from 2014 to 2017, we come to notice that all the test items require creative response from the candidates, consequently encourage and enhance the learners’ cognitive development and language improvement.    




Unit 6: The Quaid’s Vision and Pakistan




The objectives of this unit also appear to be well-constructed and lead to raise proficiency of language because in the terms of the New Taxonomy, majority of them touch higher mental processes. However, little congruence is found between objectives and the test items as all the questions that have been given in the papers have been taken from the exercise and neither a change of lexical items nor a variety of grammatical structure has been tried to oblige the students to construct their responses by utilizing their power of language improvisation.   




Unit 7: Sultan Ahmad Mosque




Like the previous lesson, this too has a very impressive set of objectives where we find a beautiful blend of specificity and generality. The language ability they seem to set as a target for the learners involves many levels such as Retrieval, Comprehension, Analysis and Knowledge Utilization and they are asked to rely on their power of integrating and symbolizing. However, during setting of the test items little consideration has been given to these well-formed objectives as all the questions the students are asked to construct their responses are no more than a mere copy of the questions written in the text except a single question that was given in the paper of 2017. Thus, this promotes only rote learning rather than enhancing cognitive development.   




Unit 8: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening




Bearing close similarity, the objectives of this poem voice a great many domains and levels as proposed in the New Taxonomy. Moreover, in the papers from 2014 to 2017 questions have such a great diversity of innovation on the part of the test setters that they certainly encourage cognitive development and improvisation of language.   




Unit 9: All is not Lost




This is the lesson whose objectives and the test items set on them bear highest congruence. First, from the second to the fifth, all objectives are clothed in such language that the test items which may be set on them require the learners to be highly proficient in their language because in the terms of the New Taxonomy, these objectives cover second and third domain and touch a wide variety of their levels from integrating to generalizing and specifying. Next, in the year 2015, no question has been set from this unit and in the remaining three years, three questions have been set in such a language that only the students who are proficient in language can answer them.




Unit 10: Drug Addiction




Like the two previous lessons, the language the objectives are clothed in shows clearly that high seriousness has been observed while composing these objectives in which the first three require any constructed response test item. In terms of the New Taxonomy, these objectives mostly touch Comprehension, Analysis and Knowledge Utilization. Nevertheless, the question in 2014 is taken from the exercise, in 2015, the same question is repeated, in 2016 also the question is from the text, and in 2017, in one paper the question is again from the text. However, in one paper of 2017, the paper setter displayed his/her creativity and the test item requires students’ proficiency skill at handling language according to the purpose.   




Unit 11 & 12: Noise in the Environment, Three Days to See




Following the guidelines proposed in the Tyler’s model and the New Taxonomy, the lesson objectives of both the units have been appropriately composed and the test items based on these promote proficiency of language in the learners as the majority of objectives cover high mental levels. Nonetheless, all the questions that have been given in the Board papers spanning from 2014 to 2017 come entirely from the exercises without any lexical and/or grammatical change. 

Conclusion

It is evident from the analysis that firstly the lesson objectives are well-constructed, secondly show diversity of approach and finally cover maximum domains and levels as proposed in the New Taxonomy. The conventions of composition for the objectives have been faithfully followed in which the learners’ analytic ability was supposed to develop gradually after they process the information purposefully so that their cognitive ability could improve and reach a higher level.    Nevertheless, the analysis of the constructed response test items the examiners designed in the papers from 2014-2017 in the Federal Board papers clearly showed that except the items on the two poems and two or three questions bear little concordance with the objectives. Moreover, the examiners’ taking-for-granted attitude towards the practice of constructing test items not only encourage cramming habit in the learners but also discourage those teachers who stay focus on objectives in their effort of language teaching. As the objectives in language teaching are signposts that show teachers ways for developing ingenuity and productivity in language, the examiners must judge their performance and assess their abilities with only such test items that are closely congruent with the objectives.

Both the literature review and data analysis clearly resonate lack of congruence between lesson objectives stated at the beginning of each unit in the English textbook for Grade IX and test items designed by the Federal Board examiners. The researchers are of the view that the better designing of test items consistent with the specific lesson objectives will help the learners perform better as language users and their communicative abilities will get sharpened because rote learning will be banished from the scene.

Suggestions and Recommendations

As modern task based approaches to teaching language can work best if objectives and test items bear highest level of concordance. For appropriate formulation and communication of learning goals or objectives, it is advisable to ask ourselves the following four basic questions:

1. What learning outcomes can our students expect of the course considering the minutiae of their major or minor degree programs or what professional accreditation standards can they reach at?

2. What are our students needs and wants? What course objectives have been set for the course?

3. How will we gauge our students’ accomplishment regarding their learning objectives?

4. What types of activities — pedagogic, academic, or real — will provide necessary assistance to students in meeting their learning outcomes?

In other words, how will we evaluate their progress and achievements? What assignments, classroom activities, e-learning assignments, and pedagogical approaches will help them master the specified knowledge, skills, or attitude changes?

In writing objectives, some prefer to state them at a course level whereas others stick them at a unit level. Further, objectives may be categorized into two different types:

1. Objectives stated in concrete terms as to what the students will be able to do and these abilities are the sure result of learning affected by this course.

2. Secondly, there are open-ended objectives in which the syllabus designers describe a situation or a problem in flexible terms and various kinds of learning most likely arise from them (Judith Grunert O'Brien, 2008).

Susan gives a detailed discussion of principles which seem basic to her conducting meaningful assessment. Her advice can be helpful to the test designers. Her suggestions can be summarized as: 

First of all specify clearly and exactly what sort of thinking and content you aim at seeking the evidence of. It must be remembered that course designers must check each learning goal the testers aim at assessing and must specify unambiguously the relevant content along with specifying the expected performance or the task the student will be able to do with this content. If the objectives are not crystal clear, the syllabus designers must clarify them in such language that they are completely understandable to those who are to work on those objectives. This has always remained underestimated with some teachers they just see to them like fussing with words. For majority of teachers, there seems little difference between the lesson objectives stated as that the student understands what main theme of the lesson is and that the students can find the theme and express it efficiently in the written form. For those who think that both statements have no more difference than this that the second one is wordier than the first are certainly unable to understand that the first objective is merely a general description of ability and it is very difficult to construct test item to assess the learners’ ability. However, in the second case, the things are clearly specified what abilities learners are going to develop at, thus the test developers can devise such items that can check the target ability they have been working on. The response can be clearly helpful in organizing assessment evidence. Moreover, the first focuses only on the recognition, retrieval and reproduction whereas the second one leads to interactive learning and at the end of the week, the teacher can assess how much ability the students have developed and how much more practice they will need to reach the desired level of their performance. The discussion Susan is developing here must not be considered superfluous as the language of the objectives matters high in leading to interpretations on which test items are based on. Thus, the clearer, the more specific and detailed the objectives are, the easier and more creative test items. In short, the specific objectives help teachers to work on specific areas and the testers can check what level the learners have reached in that specific ability. 

Secondly, the test designers must design test items conscientiously so that the test provides healthy backwash effect for the learners as well as the teachers. This requires that the items are constructed in such a language that they demand students to demonstrate the target thinking that is being developed and the content knowledge they are asked to acquire. This calls upon heavy responsibility on test developers that their every individual item taps the desired learning, and collectively covers the whole domain of desired knowledge and thinking skills in a reasonable way. For an explanation, consider this simple example of an assessment item. Before a poem, there is a lesson objective that students would be able to interpret poems. Now if the teachers gives assessment consisting of questions matching poems with their authors,  or requiring the identification of rhyme and meter schemes in selected excerpts from poems, and asking students to write an original poem. The test items here just are checking students in their levels of Remember, Apply, and Create yet there is nothing to check higher-order thinking which is clearly stated in the objectives (Brookhart, 2010). 

Appendix A

Unit 1 Lesson Objectives 

By the end of this unit students will:

1. Learn the reading skills of skimming, scanning and summarizing

2. Know and learn about the mission of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)

3. Learn how his teachings changed the world

4. Recognize and use adjectives in sentences

5. Learn the use of dictionary and thesaurus

6. Utilize appropriate informational sources like encyclopedias and internet




Unit 2 Lesson Objectives 

By the end of this unit students will:

1. Note the meaning of patriotism

2. Recognize the author's point of view

3. Comprehend the basic themes in the text

4. Clarify the meaning of relative pronouns

5. Guess the meaning of words from the context

6. Practice writing a short dialogue

7. Develop library consulting skills

8. Write e-mails




Unit 3 Lesson Objectives 

By the end of this unit students will:

1. Know the role and impact of media on society

2. Know the use of colons                     - '

3. Conduct and write an interview

4. Illustrate use of pronouns learnt earlier

5. Identify subject-verb agreement

6. Read and write simple e-mails




Unit 4 Lesson Objectives 

By the end of this unit students will:

1. Know about the life of Hazrat Asma ( ??? ???? ?????? ???? )

2. Knowhow the Muslim women served the cause of Islam

3. Know how the Muslim women kept up their integrity in the times of hardship

4. Learn about honesty, truthfulness, valour and generosity

5. Learn about the use of punctuation marks

6. Recognize prepositions of time

7. Know about the essentials of paragraph writing




Unit 5 Lesson Objectives 

By the end of this unit students will:

1. Recognize the poet's purpose and point of view

2. Construct the meaning of the poem through understanding the key terms

3. Identify the speaker in the poem

4. Interpret the imagery in the poem

5. Paraphrase the poem

6. Summarize the poem following the summary skills

7. Respond to the poem by giving a personal point of view

8. Relate the context of the speaker in the poem to real life situation

9. Illustrate use of present and past participles




Unit 6 Lesson Objectives 

By the end of this unit students will:

1. Read and understand the text

2. Know about a national pride

3. Discuss the qualities of a good orator.

4. Write about a character

5. Learn participatory citizenship and peaceful co-existence

6. Illustrate use of kinds of adverbs, infinitives and gerunds

7. Use conditional sentences




Unit 7 Lesson Objectives 

By the end of this unit students will:

1. Know about the historical places around the world

2. Know about the blue mosque (Istanbul, Turkey)

3. Appreciate the Muslim architecture 

4. Describe any monument in their own words

5. Utilize the dictionary skills/thesaurus skills 

6. Recognize varying positions of adverbs in sentences




Unit 8 Lesson Objectives 

By the end of this unit students will:

1. Construct the meaning of the poem through understanding the key theme

2. Identify the speaker in the poem

3. Identify alliteration in the poem

4. Interpret the imagery in the poem

5. Paraphrase and summarize the poem

6. Respond to the poem by giving a personal point of view

7. Use adjective phrases and adverb phrases




Unit 9 Lesson Objectives 

By the end of this unit students will:

1. Scan the text to look for contextual meaning

2. Give a personal opinion/viewpoint

3. State an opinion on a topic keeping in mind the nuances of a paragraph

4. Organize ideas and arguments in a clear, structured and logical manner

5. Present and explain one's point of view clearly through short role plays

6. Substitute synonyms of words from the text

7. Recognize the rules of and change the narration of statement, requests/ orders and questions




Unit 10 Lesson Objectives 

By the end of this unit students will:

1. Become aware of the dangers of drugs

2. Recognize crime and learn to say no

3. Chalk out a prevention plan for drug victims

4. Raise awareness about the benefits of rehabilitation centers

5. Guess the meaning of words from the context

6. Identify and demonstrate use of relative pronouns

7. Analyze and use adjective clauses




Unit 11 Lesson Objectives 

By the end of this unit students will:

1. Recognize the author's purpose and point of view 

2. Analyze cause and effect relationship 

3. Write a unified paragraph with its necessary elements 

4. Share information and ideas about noise pollution 

5. Negotiate solutions to the problem of noise pollution

6. Recognize transitional devices in sentences 

7. Analyze and use adverb clauses

8. Write and revise application and formal letters in extended social and academic environment




Unit 12 Lesson Objectives 

By the end of this unit students will:

1. Skim and scan the text

2. Know about role models depicting professionalism

3. Use conditional sentences

4. Analyze a narrative and bring out the central theme

5. Write a description with reasons and consequences

6. Understand simple, compound and complex sentences

7. Recapitulate transitional devices

                                                                 

                                                                 Appendix B

Paper A SSC-I (Year 2014) ANNUAL




Q2.  Answer any SIX of the following parts in about 30 to 40 words each. 

Each part carries 3 marks.

1. What was the first revelation conveyed to the Holy Prophet (SAW) in the cave of Hira?

2. What message do you get from the life of Hazrat Asma (RA)?

3. How will you define Patriotism? '

4. What is the result of neglecting the advice of the Quaid?

5. Describe some qualities of the nurse in the story 'All is Not Lost'.

6. How can we cope with the serious problem of noise pollution?

7. What happens when media is allowed to play its role unchecked?

8. Who was Helen Keller?




Paper A SSC-I (Year 2014) SUPPLEMENTARY




Q2.  Answer any SIX of the following parts in about 30 to 40 words each. 

Each part carries 3 marks.

1. What was the mission of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)?

2. What are the qualities of a patriot?

3. How did Hazrat Asma (RA) console her grandfather?

4. What was the Quaid's concept of our nation'

5. How did the nurse risk her career to help the patient?

6. What are the causes of drug addiction?

7. Why is noise dangerous for human health?

8. What makes you feel that the author of Three Days to See' is sad and depressed?




Paper A SSC-I (Year 2015)ANNUAL




Q2.  Answer any SIX of the following parts in about 30 to 40 words each.  

Each part carries 3 marks.

1. Why was the Holy Quran sent in Arabic?

2. What are the qualities of a patriot?

3. What type of information does media provide to the people?

4. How did Hazrat Asma (RA) console her grandfather?

5. Why did the Quaid have to take long tours during early days of independence?

6. Why is Sultan Ahmad Mosque also known as Blue Mosque?

7. What are the causes of drug addiction?             

8. Why is noise dangerous for human health?




Paper A SSC-I (Year 2015)SUPPLEMENTARY




Q2. Answer any SIX of the following parts in about 30 to 40 words each.  

Each part carries 3 marks.

1. What was the first revelation?

2. How do media provide entertainment?

3. Write three qualities of the nurse described in the story "All is not Lost".

4. What was the Quaid's concept of our nation?

5. Why was a heavy iron chain hung at the entrance of the court?

6. What harmful effects is noise pollution causing on human health?

7. How do you get an impression that Hellen Keller was a great admirer of Nature?

8. What are the causes of drug addiction?




Paper A SSC-I (Year 2016)ANNUAL




Q2. Answer any SIX of the following parts in about 30 to 40 words each. 

Each part carries 3 marks.

1. What was the first revelation?           '

2. Which is your favourite T.V program and why?

3. Why is Sultan Ahmad Mosque also known as Blue Mosque?Also name the architect of the mosque?

4. What was the Quaid's concept of our nation?

5. What do you infer from the expression, "Try once for her" about the nurse'sprofessional skills?

6. What are the responsibilities of the families to ensure complete recovery of drug addicts?

7. Why is noise dangerous for human health?

8. Who was Hellen Keller? 




Paper A SSC-I (Year 2016)SUPPLEMENTARY




Q2. Answer any SIX of the following parts in about 30 to 40 words each. 

Each part carries 3 marks.

1. Which incident in the story tells about the generosity of Hazrat Asma (R.A)? 

2. How will you elaborate Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah's quote,"We must develop a sense of patriotism which galvanizes us all into one united andstrong nation"? 

3. For what purpose does a heavy iron chain hang in the Sultan Ahmad Mosque?

4. What was the mission of the Holy Prophet ((PBUH)?

5. Describe some of the qualities of the nurse. (Refer to lesson, 'All is not Lost')

6. What are the causes and effects of drug addiction?

7. How is construction work a cause of noise pollution? 

8. "To me the pageant of seasons is an unending drama." Comment with reference to thelesson, Three Days to See'




Paper A SSC-I (Year 2017)ANNUAL




Q2. Answer any SIX of the following parts in about 30 to 40 words each. 

Each part carries 3 marks.

1. Why did the Pagan Arabs threaten the Holy Prophet's (PBUH) uncle?

2. What are the two major means of communication and their functions?

3. How do you get an impression that Hellen Keller was a great admirer of Nature?

4. What was the ideology of Pakistan in view of the Quaid-e-Azam?

5. How does the interior of the Sultan Ahmad Mosque look?

6. "Her life would always be a beacon of light for all of us". Explain in the light of "Hazrat Asma(RA).

7. What is the role of counseling in rehabilitation of the drug victim?

8. "Where there is a will, there is a way”. What do you infer from thisexpressionabout the nurse's professional skill?




Paper A SSC-I (Year 2017)SUPPLEMENTARY




Q2. Answer any SIX of the following parts in about 30 to 40 words each. 

Each part carries 3 marks.

1. What was the title given to Hazrat Asma (RA) and why'?

2. "To me the pageant of seasons is an unending drama." Comment with reference to"Three Days to See”. 

3. What was the first revelation?

4. Why did the Quaid-e-Azam wish for a complete harmony and unity among thepeople of Pakistan?

5. What makes the Blue mosque famous in the world?

6. Which environmental factors are responsible for drug addiction?

7. What kind of qualities do patriots have?

8. What is the difference between electronic and print media?

References

• Asad, M. (2003). The Message of the Qura'n. The Book Foundation
• Bentham, S. (2002). (Routledge modular Psychology and Education. New York: Routledge.
• Boehmer, E. (1995). Colonial and Post-colonial Literature. New York: OXFORD.
• Brookhart, S. M. (2010). How to Assess Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Your Classroom. Alexandria: ASCD .
• Douglas, D. (2009). Understanding Language Testing. London: Routledge.
• Judith Grunert O'Brien, B. J. (2008). The Course Syllabus_ A Learning-Centered Approach. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Marzano, R. J., & Kendall, J. S. (2007). The new taxonomy of educational objectives. California: Corwin Press.
• Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus Design. New York: Oxford.
• Osterlind, S. J. (2002). Constructing Test Items_ Multiple-Choice, ConstructedResponse, Performance, and Other Formats. LONDON: KLUWER ACADEMIC.
• Tomlinson, B. (2008). English Language Learning Materials A Critical Review. London: Continuum.
• Tyler, R. W. (1949). Basic principles of curriculum design. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.