Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
on
Sing to the Dawn
NAME : __________________________________________
FORM : __________________________________________
Prepared by
Pn. Azalina Mohd Yusoff
SM SainsTengku Muhammad Faris Petra, Kelantan
ABOUT THE AUTHOR...
village. After her grandmother convinced her, she finally went, leaving the village behind
her to pursue her dream.
The city
Note :
Sing to the Dawn is set in a time period in which
women are considered inferior to men and are perceived
to be undeserving of education.
CHAPTER SUMMARIES
CHAPTE
R
SUMMARY
Dawan (14 years old) and Kwai (13 years old) spent the morning talking about the
scholarship to study in a city school.
Kwai was quite hopeful and Dawan felt that she would not get the scholarship
because she was a girl.
Their parents thought that it was foolish and wasteful to send girls to school.
The teacher asked his students what they saw beneath their houses in the
morning.
He had a long discussion with the students about the landlord taking away sacks
of rice beneath their houses.
The headmaster headed to their class and listened to the discussion before going
off.
The teacher and students discussed what they should do if they won the
scholarship.
The teacher announced that Dawan won the scholarship.
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The classmates surrounded Dawan as soon as they heard that she won the
scholarship.
Kwai was unhappy and upset that Dawan won the scholarship, not him.
Dawan told her family that she got the scholarship and that made her father angry.
He accused Dawan of taking her own brother's chance away from him.
Dawans mother was reluctant to give her opinion (being scared and loyal to her
husband).
Dawan's grandmother however supported her.
Dawan and her grandmother planned to go to Noi's house. However, halfway
there, Dawan's mother decided to go with Dawan instead of her grandmother - her
grandmother was too old and it was a long journey (3 kilometres) to walk under the
hot sun.
The conversation at Nois house - Dawans mother, Noi (Dawans cousin, 5-6 years
older than her, married and had a small baby) and Ghan (Nois husband).
Noi said that going to the city was useless, not good and not healthy. She went to
the city to work, not to study but had to come back home because the city was an
ugly and cruel place to work.
Ghan worked in the city as part of a work crew.
Noi and Ghan tried to discourage Dawan from going to the city because it would
bring more harm than good.
Mr Phaspras (Army officer) made a deal with Noi's family in order not to take Ghan
into the army (Noi and Ghan had to pay him a lot of money)
After listening to what Noi and Ghan said, Dawan was still determined to go to the
city.
Kwai was upset when he knew that Dawan and their mother went to see Noi and
Ghan.
Kwai and Dawan argued over the issue of winning the scholarship.
Kwai came in second in the examination but he was hoping to go to the city.
At the same time, Kwai was scared of telling their father his result because Dawan
might not be allowed to go. He was in a confused state.
Dawan's father was very unapproachable. He did not want her to go to the city.
He thought that boys going to the city to study would be better than girls.
Kwai was hopeful after he heard that.
Dawans father would not listen to her reasons. She decided to see the gentle old
monk of the village temple. Maybe he could influence her father to change his
mind.
Dawan went to the busy and crowded marketplace alone early in the morning
because she wanted to meet the monk at the temple.
She met a girl, Bao who sold lotus buds and caged sparrows.
Dawan wanted to buy a lotus bud but Bao gave it for free to her.
She also wanted to free a caged bird to make merit but she did not have enough
money (only ten cents).
From their conversation, Dawan found out that Bao was Vichais sister (Dawans
classmate the boy who sat behind her in class).
Dawan went to see the old monk/head monk/elderly abbot in the temple.
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10
11
12
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MAIN CHARACTERS
Read each chapter and write notes about each of the characters below. Find the evidence to
support your description. Some examples have been given.
CHARACTER
DAWAN
DESCRIPTION
1) Determined/
Ambitious
EVIDENCE
Dawan tried very hard to convince her father that he
should give her the chance to study. She never gave
up and continued until she succeeded in going to a
city school.
2)
KWAI
1) Bad tempered
2)
FATHER
MOTHER
GRANDMOTHER
BAO
NOI
GHAN
HEAD MONK
TEACHER
___________
THEMES
MORAL VALUES
Love & Care
Responsibility
Sacrifice
Bravery
Courage
Patience
Friendship
Concern
Honesty
Kindness
Determination
Tolerance
Loyalty
Perseverance
Helpfulness
Obedience
Gratitude
Appreciation
Confidence
Discipline
MORAL LESSONS
1. Everyone deserves an equal right to education
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WHO?
WHAT
HAPPENED?
MORAL
VALUES?
CHAPTER:
______
WHEN?
WHERE?
WHY?
HOTS
:-
Give your own opinion about the main event(s) in the chapter.
Given a chance, how would you change the event(s) in this chapter? Why?
QUOTABLE QUOTES
The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.
~Robert Maynard Hutchins
Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one. ~Malcolm S. Forbes
Children have to be educated, but they have also to be left to educate themselves. ~Abb
Dimnet, Art of Thinking, 1928
Education is the movement from darkness to light. ~Allan Bloom
Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. ~John Dewey
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NOTE: Answering the question on the novel is not like doing essay writing.
However, the question requires you to use your higher order thinking skills
(HOTS). So, you need to be systematic and organised in your approach.
PARAGRAPH
1
2
3
4
5
ANSWER
INTRODUCTION
POINT
1
+
EVIDENCE
JUSTIFICATION
POINT
2
+
EVIDENCE
JUSTIFICATION
POINT
3
+
EVIDENCE
JUSTIFICATION
CONCLUSION
+
+
+
???
Point 1
Evidence
Justification
Point 2
Evidence
Point 3
Evidence
Justification
Justification
Change 1
Change 2
Change 3
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Justification
Justification
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Justification
Example:
DAWAN
[After she won the
scholarship]
POINTS
more
more
determined
EVIDENCE :
JUSTIFICATION
the
to further her
studies in the
city
:
more
courageous
approached
the old monk
& her father
To emphasize
mature
thought about
her future & how
to help her family
She needed to
To improve
on the equality
convince others
life of her family
of education
about her
& to get out of
(not only for boys)
ability
poverty
Based on the given points, try to write your answer. The introductory
paragraph is already done for you.
PARAGRAP
Based on the novel Sing to the Dawn by Minfong Ho, the character that
H1
has undergone some major changes in his/her life is Dawan.
PARAGRAP
H2
PARAGRAP
H3
PARAGRAP
H4
PARAGRAP
H5
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PRACTICE
1) Write about ONE important theme in the story. Relate the theme to
some of the characters in the story.
Theme
Character 1
Evidence
Justification
Evidence
Character 2
Character 3
Evidence
Justification
Justification
2) What lessons have you learnt from one of the characters in the novel?
Character
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Justification
Justification
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Justification
3) Did you enjoy reading the novel? Support your answer with evidence
from the text.
YES/NO
Reason 1
Reason 2
Reason 3
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Justification
Justification
Justification
4) State ONE event which you feel should not have happened. Explain
Reason 1
Reason 2
Reason 3
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Justification
Justification
Justification
5) Describe THREE events in the novel that have touched your feelings.
Give reasons for your choices.
Novel.
Event 1
Reason
Event 2
Reason
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Event 3
Reason
Justification
Justification
Justification
Achieve 1
Effect
Justification
Achieve 2
Achieve 3
Effect
Justification
Effect
Justification
How 1
Justification
How 2
Justification
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How 3
Justification
FURTHER ACTIVITIES
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SPM QUESTIONS:
2001
Based on the novel that you have studied, write about a character that you like.
Give three reasons.
2002
Write about an important moral value in the novel that you have studied.
2003
Based on the novel that you have studied, write about a character you sympathise
with. Explain why you choose him/her.
2004
Based on the novel that you have studied, write about the most memorable event
in the story. Give reasons for your choice.
2005
Based on the novel that you have studied, write about the theme, family love.
2006
Based on the novel that you have studied, write about determination. Support your
answer with evidence from the story.
2007
Based on the novel that you have studied, write about a character you look up to.
Give reasons for your choice.
2008
Based on the novel that you have studied, describe what happens at the end of
the story. Explain why you find the ending either happy or sad.
2009
Write about a difficult decision made by one of the characters. Do you think this
was the right decision?
2010
Write about an important incident that you remember. Give reasons why you
remember the incident.
2011
Which part of the story do you like most? Give reasons for your choice.
2012
Write about an event that makes you angry. Give reasons why the event makes
you feel this way.
2013
2014
2015
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