By Yeoh Lai Lin Rachel Do not replicate without permission

LESSON PLAN – PLACE AND BELONGING

Subject: English Literature Class: Secondary Two (Express)

Unit: Singaporean Poetry Date:

Topic: Place and Belonging Duration: 35 minutes

Prior Knowledge

Students should already: 1. Have experience in annotating texts ie. short stories and drama from their prior experience in secondary 1 2. Understand theme and how to identify themes in a text through their prior experience with short stories and drama 3. Understand how ideas of ‘place’, ‘belonging’ and ‘identity’ are linked and comprise a common thematic pillar of Singaporean poetry (as established in Lesson Plan 7) Instructional Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to: 1. Identify the use of imagery, figurative language (specifically personification and metaphor) and diction as well as explain the

effect of such literary devices on the reader 2. Understand how urbanization and redevelopment are concepts involved in the changing nature of “place and belonging”, a

common thematic concern in Singaporean poetry.

Time Lesson Development Rationale (optional) Resources

10 mins Introduction OR Pre-activity Starter Activity

● Teacher screens a short video on a live heart-bypass surgery explained to prepare students for learning the key metaphor in

● The visual representation of a heart bypass surgery via video helps students gain a deeper understanding of the metaphor

“Singapore River” by Lee Tzu Pheng and “Old House at

By Yeoh Lai Lin Rachel Do not replicate without permission

the poem “Singapore River” by Lee Tzu Pheng.

● Teacher warns the class that the video is graphic but will help in their understanding of the poem they will encounter during the lesson

● Teacher hold a short class discussion surrounding the video with the following possible guiding questions:

○ What words would you use to describe the heart bypass surgery?

○ How does spectating a heart bypass surgery make you feel?

○ Do you think a heart bypass surgery is an easy or a difficult procedure?

● While moderating this discussion, the teacher ensures that appropriate answers are offered, and will provide them to the class if they are not.

● Teacher shows students a short powerpoint presentation providing some historical context of the Singapore River context (image heavy) to contextualize the poem.

● Teacher gives a brief description of what the old Singapore River was like and of the clean-up process.

used in the poem, which they might otherwise find difficult to grasp.

● This addresses the problem of how students often dismiss poetry because the content within it is too far removed from their context and experience. Furthermore, as the video is graphic in nature, it helps to capture their attention and stimulate intrigue towards the poem.

● This class discussion helps to stimulate ideas which would facilitate the explanation of the metaphor of the surgery performed on the old lady in the poem. This is because it encourages students to think about the feelings and impressions the poem evokes in them as readers. The teacher guides this discussion to ensure that points offered are relevant.

● This provides students with a visual representation of what the old Singapore River used to look like before the cleanup, which they would be able to compare with their representations of the

Ann Siang Hill” by Arthur Yap. Video of Heart Bypass Surgery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpyqtPjuPIw Slides

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● Teacher explains that the poem the students will be studying demonstrates a link between a heart bypass surgery and the cleaning up of the Singapore River.

present-day Singapore River, thereby allowing them to understand the scale of transformation with which the poem is concerned.

● This helps the students understand the concepts of personification and metaphor – in this case, that the old lady is a personification of the Singapore River itself and that the surgery is a metaphor for the cleaning up of the Singapore river.

15 mins

Main Activity – Reading and Close Analysis of

Singapore River by Lee Tzu Pheng

● Teacher hands out the worksheet and asks for a student volunteer or chooses a particular student to read “Singapore River” by Lee Tzu Pheng aloud to the rest of the class.

● Teacher holds a short class discussion surrounding the poem, posing the following questions the class:

○ What do you think this poem is about?

○ Who does the old lady represent? ○ What do you think the surgery

represents?

● Reading the short poem aloud to the rest of the class could be designated to a student who is usually soft-spoken or timid in order to help boost confidence.

● This discussion allows for the analysis of the poem as a class. Here, the teacher plays the role of facilitator to ensure that the discussion is relevant and appropriate.

Worksheet

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○ How does the poet feel about the operation?

● Students are to write their responses to these short answer questions in the worksheet provided.

● Teacher re-reads the poem while getting the students to annotate it simultaneously, pausing at appropriate moments to introduce and explain the use of metaphor, personification, imagery and diction in the poem (see poem annotation link in the resources section).

● This allows the teacher to model the explanation of how metaphor, personification, imagery and diction are used in a poem and allows the teacher to explain what sort of effect each literary device has on the reader in the context of the poem.

Refer to https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WMqYVURc0JSi2N6xfVCcME67GsopesBCqUiYVIxL3TQ/edit?usp=sharing for an annotation of the poem

10 mins

Closure and Consolidation OR Post-Activity ● Teacher hands out Old House at Ann Siang

Hill by Arthur Yap. ● Teacher explains that like the previous

poem Singapore River by Lee Tzu Pheng, Old House at Ann Siang Hill is concerned with the “place and belonging”, a common theme in Singaporean poetry which involves ‘lamenting’ the ‘loss of tradition and identity’ that comes with ‘ redevelopment’, ‘ urbanization’ and ‘ gentrification’.

● Teacher writes out these terms on the whiteboard as well as their definitions, ensuring students copy them down in the worksheet.

● This familiarizes students with the

interconnectedness of ideas involving ‘place’, ‘belonging’, ‘identity’, ‘loss’, ‘tradition’, ‘redevelopment’, ‘urbanization’, ‘gentrification’ and ‘change’ which comprise a common thematic concern of Singaporean poetry.

● Exposing such terms and ideas and unpacking them for students prepares students with useful vocabulary and necessary understanding to be able to explain common themes in Singaporean poetry.

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● Teacher plays the video reading of the poem for the students, asking them to take note of what an old house in Ann Siang Hill looked like.

Homework ● Students are to write two PEEL paragraphs

on Old House at Ann Siang Hill . One of these paragraphs will focus on the poet’s use of imagery and the other will focus on the poet’s use of diction.

● This allows students to practice writing PEEL paragraphs and demonstrate their understanding of how to identify and explain imagery and diction present in the poem. It also provides them the opportunity to explore and practice their understanding of the ideas and concepts surrounding ‘tradition’, ‘place’, ‘urbanization’, ‘gentrification’ and ‘belonging’, which form a common thematic focus of Singaporean poetry.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDvK00spG9k

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VANDA INSTITUTION

SECONDARY 2 EXPRESS ENGLISH LITERATURE

Name:

Class:

Date:

Poetry Unit: Place and Belonging Singapore River by Lee Tzu Pheng

The operation was massive;

designed to give new life

to the old lady.

We have cleaned out

her arteries, removed

detritus and slit,

created a by-pass

for the old blood.

Now you can hardly tell

her history.

We have become

so health-conscious

the heart

can sometimes be troublesome

By Yeoh Lai Lin Rachel Do not replicate without permission

Answer the following questions

1. What is this poem about?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Who does the old lady represent and what does the operation represent?

(metaphor)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

3. How does the speaker feel about the operation? Explain your answer with evidence from the text.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Singapore River ThenandNow

• Backinthe1970s,squa8ers,hawkersandmanufacturingindustries

crowdedthebanksoftheriver,leadingtoseverepolluAon.

•  thenPrimeMinisterLeeKuanYewwhocalledforthecleanupofSingapore'sriversin1977.TheSingaporeRiverclean-uptook10yearsandcosttheGovernment$170million

•  “Itshouldbeawayoflifetokeepthewaterclean.Tokeepeverystream,culvertandrivulet,freefrompolluAon…TheMinistryof

Environmentshouldmakeitatarget:In10yearsletushavefishingin

theSingaporeRiverandKallangRiver.Itcanbedone…”

•  -ThenPrimeMinisterLeeKuanYew

The Singapore River Today…

Weevenhaveo8ers!!!