PIRLS 2006 Encyclopedia

traditional and national sources. The benchmarks are defined for the ends of grades 2,4, and 6. At each level, students are expected to be able to do the following within theselected texts for their level:• Read fluently and accurately;• Comprehend explicitly stated ideas and facts;• Make appropriate inferences; and• Connect what is presented in the text with general and personal knowledge of theworld to evaluate the text critically.The curriculum places major importance on five types of discourse:• The expository/academic world of discourse;• Interpersonal communication;• Mass communication;• Literature; and• Traditional, heritage resources.The curriculum specifies the different text types that students should encounter:• Texts intended to provide information and knowledge;• Texts intended to persuade or present arguments;• Procedural texts; and• Narratives.The curriculum has been in use since 2003, and in 2007, the benchmarks are beingevaluated in light of its implementation so far. 10 As part of the curriculum implementationprocess, schools have been encouraged to tailor a school-based curriculum that fits theneeds of their specific student populations. A curriculum intended for Arabic instructionfor Arabic-speaking students that takes into account the diglossia existing in Arabic iscurrently being developed, as well as a curriculum to teach Hebrew as a second languagefor new immigrants. English is learned as a foreign language in all schools in Israelbeginning in third grade or earlier, with an emphasis on reading comprehension.PIRLS 2006 EncyclopediaReading Instruction in the Primary GradesInstructional TimeReading is viewed both as an integral part of the Language Education Curriculum andas an integral part of teaching the different school subjects. Approximately 10 hoursper week are devoted to reading activities in the language classroom and across thecurriculum. The activities include reading comprehension, reading strategies, writingactivities, and other language skills. In the language lessons, there is a focus on linguisticand textual features, while in other subject areas the focus is on language and readingcomprehension as vehicles for learning.IsraelTIMSS & PIRLSInternational Study CenterLynch School of Education, Boston College 205