Secondary School Literature
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daisyt:
Her teacher told them, a good piece of writing is not one that contains all the chim chim words. Its one that is simple but yet strong. Easy to understand, yet transfer the message clear. Sing to the Dawn is such.[/quote]Absolutely! Just take Margery William's nursery classic \"The Velveteen Rabbit\" as an example - so simple but so touching and so deep in meaning...autumnbronze:
[quote=\"daisyt\"]My dd told me, Sing to the Dawn context and lanugage use, can be very simple and the book itself is very thin. However, the morale of the story is very strong. I open up my dd's Sing to the Dawn and suprise, so many highlights, notes scribble everywhere. This book alone, they read at least 3 to 4 times, repeat and repeat.
Hi daisyt,
You DD is so SPOT on !!!
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micko07:
Very helpful, thanks:-)Some of my Lit books over the years:
Sec 1 - Animal Farm
Sec 2 - Romeo and Juliet, To Kill A Mockingbird
Sec 3 - Emma
Sec 4 - Pride and Prejudice, Julius Caesar
J1/ J2 - Wuthering Heights, Hamlet, Selected Poetry by John Donne, Songs and Sonnets by Shakespeare, Proof
I'm sure I missed out on some though ...
My impression is appreciating Literature cannot be \"taught\". It's a skill you acquire through practice over time. I'm actually quite bad at it (my poetry analysis is dreadful!) but my tutors have instilled a great respect in me for the subject. I never appreciated Literature until I studied it this year (NYGH offers Language Arts from Sec 1 -4, which is a combination of both Lit and EL, but I didn't take Pure Lit in Sec 3/4).
Some of my personal tips:
1) Google/ Sparknote/ Popular, whatever. Go and read as much as you can on the books. Essays, background of the authors, the era of literature etc will help you in your overall understanding of the text. Don't be lazy; do notes!
2) READ YOUR TEXTS. Yes, it's annoying to read the authentic, unabridged copy of Shakespeare because you need to keep referring to the annotations. READ IT. Even in open book exams, knowing your text well helps you to select the relevant extracts quickly. If it's closed book, better memorize quotes.
3) Pace yourself. Make sure you have sufficient time for all the questions.
4) In exams, read the question, underlining key instructions. Then read the extract. Refer to the requirements of the question and annotate accordingly. Make sure you answer the question (this is the most important factor and a huge reason why I didn't do well in Humanities for a long time)
5) If you don't get the poem/ prose the first time round, nevermind. Read again and stay calm. Don't rush into answering the question because woe betide you if you realize that your analysis is wrong only midway through the answer. Teachers KNOW if you made a mistake initially.
6) Be organized. Group your response based on the question. For example, if a question asks you to compare and contrast two poems, decide how you want to do it. By theme? By rhyme scheme? By tone? Literary devices? Choice of words? Persona? Poem Structure? This makes your answer clearer and also makes sure that you don't repeat yourself.
7) Practice, practice, practice. (I find this works well for poems especially). Borrow model answers from your friends. Read literature guides. Speak to your teachers if you need help/ advice.
Teachers do not want to see you copy and paste whole chunks of extracts. What they want is insights and analysis. If you want to quote something, make sure you're not quoting for the sake of quoting, which is ultimately a waste of time.
9) Dont impose your views/ opinions/ prejudices on the poem/ prose. Analyze it for what it is, not what you think it is. Never assume. (Said by my tutor)
10) Appreciate Literature for what it is. For all the times I spend fretting about my grades, literature truly imparts critical thinking skills that no other subject can. It teaches you to think and really question, down to the subtleties and little nuances in tone and language.
11) Think positive. If you've already decided you don't like it, chances are you wouldn't like it at all. Give Literature a chance. Even if your grades sux like mine did, there's still something to gain from it all. Might as well milk it for all it's worth and enjoy it as much as you can!
12) A good command of the English language and good vocabulary is helpful in Literature because it helps you to express yourself and your ideas better. At the very least, teachers wouldn't be so annoyed picking out grammatical and spelling mistakes! (I know I drove my HCL teacher mad with all my cuo zi :oops:)
Hehe just my 2cts worth. I'm not good at Lit but I'm trying to enjoy it. My tutors are absolutely awesome though (they can analyze so much from just one page that it puts us all to shame), which helps tremendously. -
micko07:
Very helpful, thanks:-)Some of my Lit books over the years:
Sec 1 - Animal Farm
Sec 2 - Romeo and Juliet, To Kill A Mockingbird
Sec 3 - Emma
Sec 4 - Pride and Prejudice, Julius Caesar
J1/ J2 - Wuthering Heights, Hamlet, Selected Poetry by John Donne, Songs and Sonnets by Shakespeare, Proof
I'm sure I missed out on some though ...
My impression is appreciating Literature cannot be \"taught\". It's a skill you acquire through practice over time. I'm actually quite bad at it (my poetry analysis is dreadful!) but my tutors have instilled a great respect in me for the subject. I never appreciated Literature until I studied it this year (NYGH offers Language Arts from Sec 1 -4, which is a combination of both Lit and EL, but I didn't take Pure Lit in Sec 3/4).
Some of my personal tips:
1) Google/ Sparknote/ Popular, whatever. Go and read as much as you can on the books. Essays, background of the authors, the era of literature etc will help you in your overall understanding of the text. Don't be lazy; do notes!
2) READ YOUR TEXTS. Yes, it's annoying to read the authentic, unabridged copy of Shakespeare because you need to keep referring to the annotations. READ IT. Even in open book exams, knowing your text well helps you to select the relevant extracts quickly. If it's closed book, better memorize quotes.
3) Pace yourself. Make sure you have sufficient time for all the questions.
4) In exams, read the question, underlining key instructions. Then read the extract. Refer to the requirements of the question and annotate accordingly. Make sure you answer the question (this is the most important factor and a huge reason why I didn't do well in Humanities for a long time)
5) If you don't get the poem/ prose the first time round, nevermind. Read again and stay calm. Don't rush into answering the question because woe betide you if you realize that your analysis is wrong only midway through the answer. Teachers KNOW if you made a mistake initially.
6) Be organized. Group your response based on the question. For example, if a question asks you to compare and contrast two poems, decide how you want to do it. By theme? By rhyme scheme? By tone? Literary devices? Choice of words? Persona? Poem Structure? This makes your answer clearer and also makes sure that you don't repeat yourself.
7) Practice, practice, practice. (I find this works well for poems especially). Borrow model answers from your friends. Read literature guides. Speak to your teachers if you need help/ advice. Teachers do not want to see you copy and paste whole chunks of extracts. What they want is insights and analysis. If you want to quote something, make sure you're not quoting for the sake of quoting, which is ultimately a waste of time.
9) Dont impose your views/ opinions/ prejudices on the poem/ prose. Analyze it for what it is, not what you think it is. Never assume. (Said by my tutor)
10) Appreciate Literature for what it is. For all the times I spend fretting about my grades, literature truly imparts critical thinking skills that no other subject can. It teaches you to think and really question, down to the subtleties and little nuances in tone and language.
11) Think positive. If you've already decided you don't like it, chances are you wouldn't like it at all. Give Literature a chance. Even if your grades sux like mine did, there's still something to gain from it all. Might as well milk it for all it's worth and enjoy it as much as you can!
12) A good command of the English language and good vocabulary is helpful in Literature because it helps you to express yourself and your ideas better. At the very least, teachers wouldn't be so annoyed picking out grammatical and spelling mistakes! (I know I drove my HCL teacher mad with all my cuo zi :oops:)
Hehe just my 2cts worth. I'm not good at Lit but I'm trying to enjoy it. My tutors are absolutely awesome though (they can analyze so much from just one page that it puts us all to shame), which helps tremendously. -
autumnbronze:
Thanks Autumnbronze! This is exactly what I am looking for. Appreciate your help.Hi MintLeaf,
Perhaps this might help ...
http://nsinte1.moe.edu.sg/project/db/atl/db_puatl.nsf/AboutATL/O%20&%20N%20Level%20LIST/$FILE/Production%20ATL%202007%20Internet%20Public%20administration%20module.pdf
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MintLeaf:
No worries MintLeaf.
Thanks Autumnbronze! This is exactly what I am looking for. Appreciate your help.autumnbronze:
Hi MintLeaf,
Perhaps this might help ...
http://nsinte1.moe.edu.sg/project/db/atl/db_puatl.nsf/AboutATL/O%20&%20N%20Level%20LIST/$FILE/Production%20ATL%202007%20Internet%20Public%20administration%20module.pdf
Glad to be of help :celebrate: -
Hi Fairy,
Have PM you -
Hi, my kid in sec 1 too.
His literature book is "Flight of Fancy 1".
Does anyone has kid using this book, it not one of those books mentioned here?
Wonder is it a new book introduced this year or it’s not so popular in good school. Is there any guide book for this?
Thanks. -
mum2010:
Hi mum2010,Hi, my kid in sec 1 too.
His literature book is \"Flight of Fancy 1\".
Does anyone has kid using this book, it not one of those books mentioned here?
Wonder is it a new book introduced this year or it's not so popular in good school. Is there any guide book for this?
Thanks.
The schools have their discretion to choose which Lit text they want to use for a particular year. Some schools do away with Lit texts and compile their own material for lower sec level.
Flights of Fancy 1 has been around. I am not sure if there is a guide book for it as I did not see it in the popular outlet near my place.
Hope this helps
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My dd in Sec 1 are using Romeo & Juliet, Chinese Cinderella and another book that I am not sure of the title at this moment. Why so many different books and genre at Sec 1. Do most Sec 1 find it hard to cope?
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When I was schooling in S1, I did ‘Rice without Rain’, same author as ‘Sing to the Dawn’ - Minfong Ho. Very good book, simple and direct. I got to understand poverty and desperation to survive through this book. We are all so sheltered and never go to see poverty in our faces. This book inspired me to take on mission work, travelling to Thailand to help poor families and many children.
Then in S2 we did ‘Red Sky in the Morning’. Can’t remember the author but I feel that it’s a great book about a family’s struggle with society’s rejection because the youngest in the family has a birth defect (hydrocephelis, enlarged and swollen brain, causing the head to be extremely big). The baby died eventually but the story continued on how that experienced impacted the main character into caring for another child with disabilities (down syndrome). This book changed my perspective of children with special needs. Maybe this is why I chose to be trained in special needs.
S3 was Mockingbird (talks about racial discrimination which is very apt for Singapore because we got to learn how the African Americans were bullied and my teacher pulled in alot of National Education during lessons).
The other book was Julius Caesar, I WANTED TO DIE. The language was confusing for me but I liked the plot (got a ‘translated’ study guide and read it from cover to cover). My class even did a mini skit on it for Teacher’s Day.
I feel that even if your child’s school is not using ‘Rice without Rain’ or ‘Red Sky in the Morning’, they should read it in their free time. Parents can also read with them and discuss about the story. Very good for moral education and personal development.
If they are not taking Lit at upper sec, then Mockingbird is a good read. If they don’t understand the show, there’s a B&W movie on it. Not exactly following the book, but the main gist of the story is there.
Now that I’m typing out all these, I’m starting to think that my teachers chose those books for a reason. To inculcate values and morals at the same time.
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