From what I’ve observed in lessons and seen in the Secondary 1 Lit Scheme of Work, the school takes a very methodical and rational approach to Lit. The Sec 1 students are doing Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter currently, followed by a short story (“Monkey’s Paw”) in Term 2 solely to introduce practical criticism skills. Then in Term 3, they will start on Rome & Juliet. I say they are taking a methodical and rational approach because Friedrich is a very short novel with equally short chapters and the lead characters in the novel are teen boys. So the text is very accessible for Sec 1 Lit newbies. Romeo & Juliet, naturally more complex, only comes in Term 3 but more importantly, it’s also the school’s choice of O-level drama text. So they get to ‘Shakespeare’ once which then helps them decide at Sec 2 if they want to take up Lit at Upper Sec.
Even the way Friedrich is covered is very methodical. Not all the chapters are gone through. Classes will cover key chapters in the novel and the key issues in those chapters. Students are then expected to read the chapters in between on their own but anticipating that they might not, every lesson gives a brief summary of the chapters in between key chapters being covered. I personally thought the Lit SOW was very precise. They even stipulate what NE messages can brought up in relation to the chapter. Like whoa.
Do you think we shd do the text that the students are doing at O level at Lower Sec level - understand this might be a 'trial run' - but does it limit their exposure to Lit?
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