-NiE ,
ADVANCED Poem
PH PHOTOGRA THE LIVING there,
r is tall randmothe erie anglaise shirt, My small g rod b e it h ck, w , straight-ba s, grey bun e o sh t a fl t, ir sk d s. te ye plea d her e smile roun a kind, old ine, m s ld o dh . Her big han black hand. th in the eye in er own dea h white hand k o lo s ye lue e Her sharp b at look. after all; th ll. It was true ecame sma b r e th ndmo My tall gra d and hunched. un Her back ro t to boil. others go. rgo fo Her soup lace grandm p l fu w a e th She went to known, unthinkable. un re e h w e m So e is still, But there sh ith me at three, . w , breathing In the photo is still living ile sm d e Kay The crinkl – By Jackie
NiE Activity 1 ● Reason
● Measure
Communicating ● Non-verbal
● Written
11
Parting ways
THE persona in Jackie Kay’s poem is viewing a photograph taken with her grandmother from many years ago when they were both much younger. In the photograph, the persona was just three years old. Her grandmother looked taller and stronger than she was at that point in time. The persona remembers that with the progression of time, her grandmother became hunched with age, less alert and weaker. Her memory was not as sharp, as well. When her grandmother died, it was as if her grandmother had moved to a mysterious, strange and forbidding place that the grandchild does not comprehend. In the photograph, however, the grandmother remains as alive and vibrant as she once was.
Critical thinking
12 JULY 2017
Activity 2 Creative thinking ● Brainstorm
● Connect
Problem solving ● Question
● Recreate
Collaborating ● Contribute respectfully
● Attain goal
In any literary work, the tone is the mood, perspective or attitude that the writer adopts regarding his subject. Tone can reflect many emotions such as joy, regret, pride, admiration and longing. The tone of a literary work helps the reader identify the feelings of the writer towards his topic and understand it better. She went to the awful place grandmothers go. Somewhere unknown, unthinkable. The “awful place” could most likely be an allusion to death, something a child aged three would not comprehend. Imagine being three years old. What would entail “awful places” and “good places”? In groups of four, look for a photo or description of a place or situation from The Star that can be regarded as “awful”. Cut it out and paste it on a sheet of A4 paper. Next, look for three more words from The Star associated with the mood or atmosphere of the situation. Cut them out and paste them on the same page. Write a short description with reasons to justify why it is an “awful” place or situation to be in. When you have finished, exchange papers with another group. You will now have to write two more ways suggesting how the place or situation could be improved so that it would not be so “awful” anymore.
EXAMPLE
Tortured to death over a laptop PETALING JAYA: He was bound, beaten and burned with an iron for days, leading to his death – all because of a dispute over a laptop. When 21-year-old Malaysian National Defence University student Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain was rushed to Hospital Serdang on Thursday, his body was found 80% covered in bruises and burn marks. The final-year navy cadet officer’s two supposed friends who had rushed him to hospital were arrested, along with 34 other students – 30 from the university and four from Universiti Tenaga Nasional. The Star, June 3, 2017
Horrific Shocking Terrible
Critical thinking ● Identify
● Reason
Problem solving
Creative thinking ● Imagine
● Invent
● Recreate
is tall there, andmother gr l shirt, al sm y M erie anglaise k, white brod ac -b ht ig ra st grey bun, t, flat shoes, pleated skir r eyes. he ile round a kind, old sm e, in holds m Her big hand black hand. e eye. in n death in th white hand look her ow es ey ue bl Her sharp
● Present
Communicating ● Non-verbal
● Written
Collaborating ● Contribute respectfully
● Attain goal
In groups of four, look for a photograph of any person featured in The Star. Cut it out and paste it on a sheet of A4 paper. Imagine that 20 years have passed and you are looking at the same photograph in the year 2037. What do you think you would say about the photograph? Use the lines of the poem as a guide and replace some of the words based on the photograph. When you have finished, take turns to read out your poem in class.
EXAMPLE