Now that all four- and five-point students are required to take the COBE (computerized oral Bagrut exam) towards the end of high school, there’s a lot of material that teachers need to cover to ensure their students’ success on the test. Below are free downloadable pages that can help students prepare for the topics they will be asked to talk about on the first part of the computerized oral exam.
But first, our recommendations for building a robust speaking program at your school which will prevent you from scrambling to get students ready for the COBE when they are in 12th grade:
10th grade – Make sure that your school is signed up for the Keep Talking program, which gives students 30 hours of speaking lessons and has been proven to considerably boost students’ oral skills. For four-point students (as well as less advanced five-pointers), check out Now You’re Talking! 2, our best-selling speaking book which has Ministry approval for the Keep Talking program.
11th grade – Have students prepare 2-4 topics a month and test them orally on each topic. You should go over the vocabulary in class and you may give students a bit of class time to practice the questions in pairs or in groups, but most of the practice should be done at home (since there is a lot of additional material to cover in 11th grade …). Periodically (after finishing 10 topics, at the end of a semester, etc.) test students orally on all the topics you have covered from the beginning of the year. Make sure that students are aware that this is part of their preparation for the oral Bagrut exam! However, it’s important to note that the topics will change somewhat from year to year, so when these students reach 12th grade, you will have to look at the updated Table of Specifications and see exactly which topics they still have to cover in that year.
12th grade – Have students prepare any topics that you haven’t yet covered and that appear in the Table of Specifications updated for the year in which they are taking the exam. Work at a pace of 4-8 topics a month, so that you can finish this section of the COBE fairly early in the year and then go on to the other sections of the COBE (project questions + video clip). If you have time, go over the vocabulary in class, but have students practice answering the questions at home (since there is so much to do and so little time to do it in 12th grade…). Periodically (after finishing 10 topics, once a month, etc.) test students orally on all the topics you have covered from the beginning of the year or even from the beginning of 11th grade.
And here are the free, photocopiable materials (vocabulary + practice questions) that you can use to prepare your students for the first section of the COBE – with both basic and more advanced vocabulary, these are suitable for both four- and five-point students:
Note that the topics are not listed in alphabetical order as they appear in the Table of Specifications, but rather as we arranged from simpler to more complex.
Topic 3 – Hobbies + Habits and Routines
Topic 4 – Free-Time Activities
Topic 5 – Favorite Books and Movies
Topic 12 – Holidays and Customs
Topic 14 – Personal Belongings
Topic 18 – Fame and Celebrities
Topic 19 – Personal Strengths and Weaknesses
Topic 21 – Professional Ambitions
Topic 22 – Reflection on Personal Experiences
Topic 24 – Suggesting Individual and Community Change
If you have any feedback on these pages, we’d love to hear from you. However, please note that since we are providing these materials free of charge, we may not be able to implement all your suggestions.