Bridging text and context
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This document provides guidance on teaching students to answer bridging text and context questions on the Israeli literature Bagrut exam. It explains that these questions require connecting a quote or new information to a story or poem studied. Teachers are advised to prepare students by asking questions about the quote to understand it and find connections to the text with examples. A formula is provided for writing a complete 100-word answer connecting the quote to understanding of the text with a stated relationship and supporting example. The document walks through examples to demonstrate the full process.
Bridging text and context
- 1. Bridging Text and ContextTeaching your students to answer the Bridging Text and Content question on the literature Bagrut
- 2. What is the Bridging Text and Context question? The Bridging Text and Context question requires students to connect a quote or new information to a story or poem that they have studied. The answer to the Bridging Text and Context question should be a paragraph of 80-100 words for Module F or 60-80 words for Module D and should relate only to the parts of the story or poem that are relevant to the new information.
- 3. Preparing students to answer the Bridging Text and Context question Bridging Text and Context requires the HOTS of Making connections. Students must be taught to answer this question. The first step is preparation. There are several basic questions that you can provide your students that will prepare them to answer the question. This can be done as an oral activity – it does not have to be written.
- 4. The questions What is the quote about? Who is the speaker and/or who is he/she speaking to? Explain what the quote says in your own words. How does the quote connect to the text? Give at least one example of the connection to the text. How does the quote add to your understanding of the text?
- 5. Now let’s practice This question was taken from the Moed Bet 2012 exam: RULES OF THE GAME / Amy Tan “I was raised by extremely strict but extremely loving Chinese immigrant parents… Western parents seem much more concerned about their children’s…self-esteem, whereas tough immigrant parents expect strength in their children and therefore behave completely differently.”-Amy Chua, from an interview in Time Magazine. Explain how this quote adds to your understanding of the story “Rules of the Game”
- 6. What is the quote about? Who is the speaker and/or who is he/she speaking to? The quote is about the difference between Chinese immigrant parents and Western parents. The speaker is Amy Chua, the daughter of Chinese immigrant parents.
- 7. Explain what the quote says in your own words The quote tells us that Chinese immigrant parents are strict and expect strength in their children. Western parents, on the other hand, are concerned about their children’s self-esteem.
- 8. How does the quote connect to the text? The story Rules of the Game is about a girl named Waverly Jong, who is the daughter of parents who immigrated to the United States from China. Her mother is very strict with her and expects her to be strong.
- 9. Give at least one example of the connection to the text Mrs. Jong is strict with Waverly and she teaches her the art of invisible strength in which you get the things you want by not showing your feelings. For example, at the market and Waverly wants salted plums, her mother tells her that if she cries, she will not get what she wants.When Waverly does not ask for the salted plums and does not cry, she gets them.
- 10. How does the quote add to your understanding of the story? The quote helps me understand why Waverly’s mother acts the way she does. It is not because she is not a loving parent, but simply because she is trying to build strength in her daughter and her behavior is typical of Chinese immigrant parents.
- 11. Putting it all together Now that your students have answered the questions, they are ready to put it all together in one 80-100 word answer.
- 12. The “formula” The following “formula” is suggested for a complete answer: What the quote helps you understand in general about the text A clearly stated connection to the text An example from the text that supports the connection
- 13. What the quote helps you understand in general about the text The quote helps me understand why Waverly’s mother acts the way she does.
- 14. A clearly stated connection to the text Mrs. Jong is trying to build strength in her daughter and her behavior is typical of that of Chinese immigrant parents.
- 15. An example from the text that supports the connection Mrs. Jong is strict with Waverly and she teaches her the art of invisible strength in which you get the things you want by not showing your feelings. For example, in the story, when Waverly wants salted plums, Mrs. Jong tells her that if she cries, she will not get them. When Waverly does not ask for the salted plums and does not cry, she gets them.
- 16. The complete answer Here it is in one 100-word answer: The quote helps me understand why Waverly’s mother acts the way she does. Mrs. Jong is trying to build strength in her daughter and her behavior is typical of that of Chinese immigrant parents. She is strict with Waverly and she teaches her the art of invisible strength in which you get the things you want by not showing your feelings. For example, in the story, when Waverly wants salted plums, Mrs. Jong tells her that if she cries, she will not get them. When Waverly does not ask for the salted plums and does not cry, she gets them.
- 17. Let’s try again Let’s complete all of the steps again with the other question from the Moed Bet 2012 exam: THE ENEMY / Pearl S. Buck “…you have taught us to see those qualities of thought and feeling which bind us all together as human beings on this earth, …it is of the greatest importance that the peoples of the earth learn to understand each other as individuals across distances and frontiers.” – Bertil Lindblad ,Director of the Stockholm Observatory at Saltsjobaden at the award ceremony of the Nobel Prize to Pearl S. Buck. Explain how the above quote adds to your understanding of the story “The Enemy”
- 18. What is the quote about? Who is the speaker and/or who is he/she speaking to? The quote is about people learning to understand each other as individuals. The speaker is Bertil Lindblad, who said these words to Pearl S. Buck, the author of The Enemy, when she received a Nobel Prize.
- 19. Explain what the quote says in your own words The quote says that all humans have similar qualities that bind us together, no matter who we are or where we are from and that Pearl Buck has taught us to see this through her stories.
- 20. How does the quote connect to the text? The story The Enemy is about a Japanese doctor and his wife who save an American soldier from death during World War II when the US and Japan are at war.
- 21. Give at least one example of the connection to the text When the wounded soldier washes up on the beach outside their home, Sadao and Hana do not know what to do with him. Sadao decides to use his skill as a doctor to treat the soldier and while he is recovering, Sadao begins to see him as a person, rather than as the enemy. At the end of the story, Sadao, who has already done something which is against his principles as a loyal Japanese citizen, helps the soldier to escape and feels rewarded when he knows that the soldier, his enemy, is safe.
- 22. How does the quote add to your understanding of the text? The quote helps me understand what Pearl Buck was trying to teach us in her story. When Sadao got to know the American soldier as an individual instead of simply looking at him as the enemy, he realized that they had similar qualities that bound them together. This is what motivated him to save the soldier. Pearl Buck wanted to show us that when the people of the earth learn to understand one another, there will be no “enemy”.
- 23. Putting it together Remember, the formula for the answer is: What the quote helps you understand in general about the text A clearly stated connection to the text An example from the text that supports the connection.
- 24. What the quote helps you understand in general about the text The quote helps me understand what Pearl S. Buck was trying to teach us in her story.
- 25. A clearly stated connection to the text Pearl Buck wanted to show us that when the people of the earth learn to understand one another, there will be no “enemy”.
- 26. An example from the text that supports the connection Sadao had to decide whether or not to treat the wounded Tom, an American prisoner of war. Maybe Sadao decided to help Tom because he was a doctor, but, while Tom was recuperating, Sadao had time to see Tom as a person rather than as an enemy and was relieved when he was able to help him escape.
- 27. The complete answer The quote helps me understand what Pearl S. Buck was trying to teach us in her story. Pearl Buck wanted to show us that when the people of the earth learn to understand one another, there will be no “enemy”. Sadao had to decide whether or not to treat the wounded Tom, an American prisoner of war. Maybe Sadao decided to help Tom because he was a doctor, but, while Tom was recuperating, Sadao had time to see Tom as a person rather than as an enemy and was relieved when he was able to help him escape.
- 28. Remember Making connections is not something that comes naturally to everyone. Your students must be taught this skill, which will help them answer the bridging question on the Bagrut exam and will also help them in other aspects of their studies and in life.