HOTS

Using Higher-Order Thinking Skills to answer questions on the Bagrut exam

1 . Sue says that Ann is the female version of Chris. Do you agree? Explain
Thinking skill I chose comparing an! contrasting .
Answer: On the one hand" #oth Ann an! Chris seem to #e i!ealistic. Ann
says that she coul! never marry Chris if his father ha! something to !o $ith
the crime. She also tells him in Act III to !o $hat he must !o $ith his father.
On the other hand" Ann is $illing to forget a#out $hat %oe has !one in or!er
to marry Chris. Chris" however" upon learning a#out &arry's suici!e" $ants to
take his father to (ail. So Ann an! Chris are not really that similar .
) . *o$ !o %oe an! Chris see the family #usiness? Explain .
Thinking skill I chose !istinguishing !ifferent perspectives
Answer %oe an! Chris have different perspetives! attitudes a#out the
#usiness. %oe sees the family #usiness as a $ay to provi!e for his family"
something that he can leave to his sons. *e $ill !o anything to keep the
#usiness alive" even at the expense of others. This is $hy he sent out the
cracke! cylin!er hea!s that kille! the pilots. However" Chris sees the #usiness
as a $ay to provi!e for his family" "ut he !oes not think money is the most
important thing. *e $oul! #e $illing to give up the #usiness for something
that +inspires, him. *e mainly stays at the #usiness to make his father happy .
- . *o$ has the $ar affecte! the lives of the .eller family? /elate to at least one
character .
Thinking skill I chose explaining cause an! effect
Answer %oe .eller $as force! to choose #et$een his #usiness an!
en!angering the lives of Air 0orce pilots. *e chose his #usiness over people1s
lives an! cause! the !eath of )1 pilots. As a result" his son &arry kille!
himself an! he lost the respect of his other son" Chris. This led to his suici!e .
2 . Sue calls Chris a +phony i!ealist,. Do you agree $ith her? Explain
Thinking skill I chose explaining patterns
Answer: 3es" I agree that Chris is not a true i!ealist #ase! on his pattern of
"ehavior in the play. #irst" he tells other people that they shoul! #e #etter
than they are" #ut he continues to $ork in the family #usiness even though he
suspects that his father $as responsi#le for the !eaths of the pilots. Seond" he
tells Ann that he's going to make a fortune for her. This may sho$ that money
is also important to him. Third" #efore rea!ing &arry's letter" he !eci!es to
move a$ay an! not !o anything a#out his father. Clearly" he repeats the
#ehavior $hich sho$s that he is not a true i!ealist .
4 . Is %im satisfie! $ith his life? Explain .
Thinking skill I chose inferring
Answer 5o" I can infer that %im is pro"a"l$ frustrate! $ith his life. 0or
example" he even left Sue to go $ork in research. So I can assume he $oul!
rather !o something for the goo! of society than making money for his family.
*o$ever" he has a family to support so he compromises his $ishes for the
family .
6 . 7hat !oes Chris think a#out $hen he is a$ay from the house? 7hat
conclusion !oes he reach ?
Thinking skill I chose pro#lem solving
Answer Chris has a dilemma. *e has to !eci!e ho$ to react to $hat he has
learne! a#out his father. *e can either ignore $hat he kno$s an! someho$ go
on $ith his life or he can turn his father in an! make him pay for his crime.
After weighing his possi"ilities" he chooses" at first" not to turn his father in
#ecause he un!erstan!s that !oing so $ill not #ring #ack the !ea! sol!iers.
Instea!" he !eci!es to move a$ay an! #reak off his relations $ith his family
an! $ith Ann .

Important! In your answers use the relevant vocabulary according to the
thinking skill you chose. This table will help you.
HOTS Meaning Vocabulary you can use
Inferring
Reading "between the lines" to
understand information that is
not presented directly.
Drawing a conclusion from
clues.
Infer, learn, conclude, read
between the lines, assume, clue,
hint, imply, probably, likely,
unlikely, evidence, what are the
consequences of this statement?
Comparin
g and
contrasti
ng
inding what is similar!different
between two or more things.
Drawing conclusions based on
these similarities and
differences
like, similar, also, similarly, in the
same way, likewise, again,
compared to, both, have in
common.
unlike, in contrast with, different
than, opposite, "comparative
ad#ectives$ on the contrary,
however, although, yet, even
though, still, nevertheless,
regardless, despite, while, on the
one hand%on the other hand.
Explainin
g
patterns
Identifying and e&plaining
different patterns of behavior in
a te&t'
(&plaining why these patterns
are important
repeat, repetition, repetitive,
routine, order, notice, noticeable,
significance, significant, similar,
recur, rule, follow a pattern,
pattern of behavior.
Explainin
g cause
and
effect
Identifying reasons why things
happen "the cause$'
Identifying and describing the
result "the effect$ of actions
and circumstances'
cause, effect, result,
consequence, consequently,
outcome, as a result of,
therefore, if....then, in order to,
due to, because, thanks to, as a
result "of$, encourage, persuade,
development, e&planation, )))
leads to ))))
Distingui
shing
different
perspecti
ves
Identifying different points of
view in a te&t'
Identifying different outlooks
on life.
perspective, point of view,
attitude, differences, outside,
inside, looking from the side,
opinion, reader, narrator,
consider, identify, distinguish, tell
the difference, however, on the
one hand, on the other hand,
outlook, standpoint, perception,
side, angle.
Problem
Solving
Identifying a problem!dilemma
and its solution.
Identifying a problem and
suggesting a solution of your
own based on what you know
about the characters, events
and circumstances.
find out, solve, answer, e&plain,
difficulty, resolve, decipher,
predicament, trouble, crisis,
advantage ! disadvantage, pros
and cons, choice, dilemma, deal
with, weighing possibilities.