Secondary School Literature

[Herbie]

Hi Autumnbronze, It is possible for you to show give an example as to how to answer qn on unseen prose???


Can??? I am not a technical person so I am totally clueless abt literature.

[PSLEmom]

:?: Can someone pls help ...my DS has scored very low for his CA exams .... ekindly recommend some good assessment books /websites for Secondary 1 (Express) subjects :


1. English : Living through Literature (Robert A Nimmo - Shinglee Publishers)
2. Maths : Discovering Mathematics (Chow Wai Keung - Star Publishing)
3.Science : In Science ( Ho Peck Leng - Star Publishing )

Thank you

[laissezfaire]

PSLEmom:

:?: Can someone pls help ...my DS has scored very low for his CA exams .... ekindly recommend some good assessment books /websites for Secondary 1 (Express) subjects :


1. English : Living through Literature (Robert A Nimmo - Shinglee Publishers)
2. Maths : Discovering Mathematics (Chow Wai Keung - Star Publishing)
3.Science : In Science ( Ho Peck Leng - Star Publishing )

Thank you

PSLE Mom,

I can try and help with the Literature bit. What is your child weak in for Literature? Which school? Pure Lit or Language Arts?

Term 1 Sec 1 may not be the time to start panicking. IP programs are generally in a bloody mess with regards to curriculum with teachers getting lazier now that there's no external assessment. Most Language Arts programmes adopt a maggi mee approach: two weeks of something, quick assessment then off to something else. NO reinforcement, no spiralling of concepts or understanding. So only those ALREADY talented benefit while the majority of students need handholding but don't get it sufficiently.

Your DS may not be weak therefore, then again you'll have to see the written work or have someone assess it to see if the school or teachers know what they're doing. The majority don't...

[Herbie]

lit os new to my son too and i dun know what he knows and what he needs to brush up on… My son is not im the ip programme.

[skyjuice]

autumnbronze:

Hi there Herbie,


Some information on characterization ....

Characterization:
Refers to the people in the story. We find out more about them in the story via …

1) Their appearance
2) The way they dress
3) Their facial features
4) The way they walk and stand
5) What they say
6) What they do
7) The decisions they make
What others think and say about them

Making and recording down the observations about the character is helpful in helping DS to answer questions on characterization. Evidence needs to be provided from the text to support DS’s observation. So what he can do for each of the character is to draw his own impressions and locate evidence (either use of direct quotes or paraphrase of quote from the text) to support his view. So, in effect, DS would have something like this:

1) Name of character
2) Character trait(s)
3) Evidence from the text to support view(s)

One other exercise to attempt after reading the prose passage is to record the intentions and effects of the characters’ actions in the story. So the notes may consist of the following headings:

1) Name of character
2) Intention(s) of the character
3) Action(s) committed by the character
4) Effect(s) of the action committed

Thanks, autumnbronze! Your notes are indeed helpful. My 2 DS are doing
The Outsiders (Sec 1) and The Animal Farm (Sec 2). S1 DS still grappling with Themes and general critique... Can you give a rough idea of what type of questions may be posed on these books for SA1? Or are there any reference books that will help them?

[OngMum]

Hello there,


I would like to ask any students or parents of the students who are into Emily of Emerald Hill as Literature topic currently? Need some guidance what to expect for exams. Thank you.

Cheers!

[res ipsa loquitor]

Hi, my niece who is in Sec 1 is struggling with literature. Can you give us some resources to help her improve. Would really appreciate your inputs.

[stsl]

Hi, any one know if there is guide book on poem "dragon book of verse"? My DD school is using this book, DD tried reading it and found that it was very boring, any one can share how to study for a poem book like this? Any tips?

Thanks!

[jamestancx997]

Hi,


Speaking as an educator who has been able to help Eng Lit students improve from C6 or D7 to A1 in the past, I can say that autumnbronze’s tips are all very helpful. We’re working with basically the same set of tools and materials here, and I just happen to have my own way of structuring the strategies and techniques which has proved effective over the years.

The key is in arming your child with the right tools, first, then teaching them specifically what the examiners are looking for. Underpinning all this, though – or being the overarching principle, depending on which metaphor you prefer – is to foster a love of the language, and the marvelous ways in which authors and poets use simple everyday words to convey incredibly deep meaning.

I still remember the tears in the eyes of one of my former students as I explained the layers of meaning in Michael Longley’s famous poem "Ceasefire". Something about it had obviously touched her deeply in a way she’d never felt before. For your enjoyment, I reproduce the poem here.


Michael Longley, "Ceasefire"

I
Put in mind of his own father and moved to tears
Achilles took him by the hand and pushed the old king
Gently away, but Priam curled up at his feet and
Wept with him until their sadness filled the buidling.

II
Taking Hector’s corpse into his own hands Achilles
Made sure it was washed and, for the old king’s sake,
Laid out in uniform, ready for Priam to carry
Wrapped like a present home to Troy at daybreak.

III
When they had eaten together, it pleased them both
To stare at each other’s beauty as lovers might,
Achilles built like a god, Priam good-looking still
And full of conversation, who earlier had sighed:

IV
‘I get down on my knees and do what must be done
And kiss Achilles’s hand, the killer of my son.’


The way to score way in Literature is to treat it as a science that can be learnt, while being able to appreciate its depth as an art.

[Teeheehee]

Literature's AWESOME!! I'm a sec 1 student and I LOVE literature!! Though unseen prose is hard, but it's fun!! my teacher always tell us \"You have to be critical if you are a lit student~\" And yup! I definitely agree~ Reading between the lines, knowing the author's intention and stuff like that...