Dandenong High School
VCE English/EAL Units 3 and 4
Headstart /Orientation Program 2013
(Includes Holiday Homework)
ORIENTATION PROGRAM for 2013
YEAR 12 COURSE OUTLINE – ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE
The following table is a summary of the outcomes for Units 3 & 4
Unit 3
/Unit 4
Outcome 1Analyse, in writing, how a selected text constructs meaning, conveys ideas and values, and is open to a range of interpretations. / Outcome 1
Develop and justify a detailed interpretation of a selected text.
Outcome 2
Draw on ideas and/or arguments suggested by a chosen Context to create written texts for a specified audience and purpose; and analyse their decisions about form, purpose, language, audience and context. /
Outcome 2
Draw on ideas and arguments suggested by a chosen Context to create written texts for a specified audience and purpose; and analyse their decisions about form, purpose, language, audience and context.Outcome 3
Analyse the use of language in texts that present a point of view on an issue currently debated in the Australian media, and to construct, orally, a sustained and reasoned point of view on the selected issue. /
School Assessed Coursework (SACs) will be set to rate each student’s achievement on these outcomes. The following table is a summary of the SACs for Units 3 & 4.
Summary of 2013 School Assessed Coursework (SACS) & Dates
UNITS 3 and 4
Assessment Tasks / Worth / Outline / ConditionsUNIT 3
Outcome 1: Reading and Responding
Text: Interpreter of Maladies / 35 / One analytical essay on Interpreter of Maladies600 – 800 words / Term 1
Dates to be confirmed
Conditions of the SAC:
A single planning session will be organised to explain and help all EAL students understand the topic and how to write the essay. The planning session will take place in the classroom and be supervised by the classroom teacher.
The planning session will be followed by 2 writing sessions at which time students will be expected to conference with their teacher, draft and write their final copy. The writing sessions will take place in the classroom and be supervised by the classroom teacher.
Outcome 2: Creating and Presenting
Context: Exploring Issues of Identity & Belonging
Text: Growing up Asian in Australia
/ 30 / A sustained written text between 900-1200 words or three to five shorter texts, 1000 -1500 in total, created for a specified audience and context.
Related to Growing up Asian in Australia. / Term 2
Dates to be confirmed
Conditions of the SAC:
A single planning session will be organised to explain and help all EAL students understand the prompt and how to respond. The planning session will take place in the classroom and be supervised by the classroom teacher.
The planning session will be followed by 2 writing sessions at which time students will be expected to conference with their teacher, draft and write their final copy. The writing sessions will take place in the classroom and be supervised by the classroom teacher.
Outcome 3: Using Language to Persuade
Oral Presentation / 35 / Analyse the use of language in persuasive texts. Present a sustained and reasoned point of view on an issue currently debated in the Australian media. Prepared in students’ own time. Performed in class time. /
Term 2
Dates to be confirmed
Conditions of the SAC:Four planning sessions will be provided to explain and help students understand the issue and how to prepare the presentation. Students are expected to prepare their presentations at home. Oral presentations will take place during class time in front of the teacher and classmates.
Mid Year Exam /
Term 2
Date to be confirm
Total worth of Unit 3 / 100 /UNIT 4
/ /Outcome 1: Reading and Responding
Text: The Old Man Who Read Love Stories / 50 / One extended written interpretation on The Old Man Who Read Love Stories.
600 – 800 words / Term 3
Students will have 2 writing lessons to plan and write their response. The SAC will take place in the students’ usual class under examination conditions. There will be no conferencing, no input or help from the teacher.
Outcome 2: Creating and Presenting
Context: Exploring Issues of Identity & Belonging
Text: Growing up Asian in Australia / 50 / At least one sustained or three to five shorter texts, created for a specific audience and context.
1500 words maximum / Term 3
Students will have 2 writing lessons to plan and write their response. The SAC will take place in the students’ usual class under examination conditions. There will be no conferencing, no input or help from the teacher.
Practice Exam / Sept/October
Exam / 50 / Administered by the VCAA
(3 hours 15 minutes) / Term 4
Date to be confirmed
Total worth of Unit 4 / 100
(These SAC dates are not fixed and will be confirmed closer to the time)
Order of Study for Texts1. Interpreter of Maladies
by Jhumpa Lahiri
(Anthology of short stories)
2. Growing up Asian in Australia
Edited by Alice Pung
(short stories) (Context: Exploring Issues of Identity and Belonging)
3. The Old Man Who Read Love Stories (film) / Unit 3 = 25%
Unit 4 = 25%
Exam = 50% / VCAA EXAM = 3 responses
Term 4
1 Text Response (40%)
1 Writing in Context (30%)
1 Note-taking &
Analysis of Language use (30%)
Achieving your VCE English requires you to successfully complete:
· School Assessed Coursework, which contributes 50% to your final assessment.
· The VCAA-set 3 hour written exam, which contributes 50% to your final assessment.
· All classroom learning tasks and coursework set by your teacher including the attached holiday study program and the Mid-year and October exams.
· A minimum 90% attendance.
Assessed Headstart & Holiday Study Program
1. Read the 2 print texts.
2. Watch the film text.
3. Complete the activities set out in this booklet.
4. Revise persuasive techniques and collect articles on issues.
This set work will be assessed as part of your coursework
Key to Success: Preparation
The only way to achieve success in the VCE is through hard work. Constant revision and completion of all set tasks is essential. In this booklet there are a number of introductory tasks that are designed to give you an excellent head start to an incredibly demanding year.
AREA OF STUDY ONE: Reading and Responding
INTERPRETER OF MALADIES
Pre-Reading Discussion Points
Group 1Migration
What were some of the challenges that you OR your family faced settling in Australia?
How did these issues make you feel?
In your experience, what are some of the barriers which prevent migrants from calling Australia home?
How is your experience of growing up in Australia different to someone who was born in Australia? / Group 2
Marriage & Relationships
What do you think are the most important elements in a successful marriage or relationship?
Would you accept your family to arrange your marriage for you? Why? Why not?
When do you think it would be ok to have secrets from your partner?
How important is it to you that you marry someone who understands your cultural background well? Why?
Group 3
Cultural identity
If you have children in the future, do you think it is very important for them to learn the language, history, geography and culture of the country you came from? All of these, some of these or none. Why?
Or is learning English and all about Australia enough? Why? Why not?
What are the experiences and rituals that help you maintain your connection to the culture of your homeland?
Which traditions from your culture would you like to pass on to any children you might have in the future? / YOUR NOTES
AREA OF STUDY ONE: Reading and Responding
INTERPRETER OF MALADIES
Author – Jhumpa Lahiri
Class Work
1. BRAINSTORM everything you can discover about this text by examining the front and back covers, including quite obvious facts, such as that it is a collection of short stories (anthology) and that it won a Pulitzer Prize in 2000. Do not open the book itself.
2. OPEN the front cover of the book to see the photograph of the author. Does this offer you any further information?
3. LOOK up the words ‘interpret’, ‘interpreter’ and ‘malady’ in at least three different dictionaries – copy the definitions you find.
4. WRITE down what you think the author, Jhumpa Lahiri, might have meant by an ‘interpreter of maladies’. Write down your guess as to the meaning.
5. WHAT is the Pultizer Prize, which was awarded to Jhumpa Lahiri in 2000 for Interpreter of Maladies?
Homework
6. READ all the stories in the anthology at least once.
7. As you read, take notes on each story. Use the note-taking sheet. Look at the example to help you. When you are finished write up your notes in sentences and paragraphs.
8. WRITE a journal entry after reading each story. Use the following questions as prompts to help you reflect on your response to the stories.
a. Did you enjoy the story? Why (not)?
b. Could you relate to any of the characters? Which ones? How?
c. What do you think the author is trying to show us is the story?
d. Did the story make you reflect on your experiences or the experiences of those around you? Explain.
*Note: Each journal entry should be about half a page long.
Interpreter of Maladies
Story Summaries
‘A Temporary Matter’
Told from the third-person perspective of the husband, this story deals with the disintegrating relationship of an Indian couple, Shoba and Shukumar. Their stillborn child has created distance between the two of them, and Shukumar observes as Shoba transforms from the attentive wife into someone more aloof and self-absorbed. As in most of Lahiri’s stories, food plays a significant role in the couple’s relationship. Shoba had always given the impression that their pantries were stuffed with endless supplies of food. When she begins to neglect this, Shukumar simply observes as the food vanishes, cooking what he can of it using Shoba’s old recipes. He makes no moves to create a new supply. In fact, he makes no move to cover up the signs of neglect throughout the house that he holds Shoba accountable for when in fact his own apathy and grief are to blame as well. Likewise, he does little to comfort Shoba in her grief, not quite realizing the seriousness of their relationship problems. One day, they receive notice that their electricity will be out for one hour every night for five days. They spend each of these nights in the dark sharing secrets with each other, things they had never shared before. Each confession becomes more bold and reveals a larger flaw in their marriage, until their impending separation becomes clear.
‘When Mr Pirzada Came to Dine’
Lilia is a ten-year-old Indian girl. She recalls events that occur in the autumn of 1971. Her family has a regular dinner guest at their home. Mr. Pirzada is from Dacca, the capital of Pakistan. He lives there with a wife and seven daughters whose names all start with A. Because of the war with India he does not hear from them in six months. Mr. Pirzada has a grant to study New England foliage. Lilia is unaware of country distinctions until she asks about setting a glass for the Indian man. They speak the same language, share the same customs and look similar, but her father says he is not Indian. He explains the British gave independence to India in 1947 and divided the country by Hindu and Muslim sects. When Mr Pirzada arrives for dinner each evening they all sit down in the living room to eat while they watch the news. Mr. Pirzada follows a nightly ritual of giving Lilia little candies. At Halloween, Lilia shows Mr. Pirzada how to carve a face on a pumpkin. While carving it, they overhear that Pakistan and India may go to war. When Mr. Pirzada hears that, the knife slips. The next night Lilia and her friend Dora dress up for Halloween as witches and they go trick-or-treating. When she returns, Mr. Pirzada and her parents do not greet her. They are not watching television and seem upset. They hear that evening and several nights after that Pakistan and India are drawing closer to war. On December fourth they declare war and twelve days later Pakistan surrenders. During this period Lilia's father does not ask her to watch the news with them. Mr. Pirzada brings no more candy and her mother fixes boiled eggs and rice for dinner. Some nights Mr. Pirzada sleeps on their couch. Lilia recalls they seem to share lives as if they are one. Mr. Pirzada is busy the rest of the year and they do not see him very much. In January he returns to Dacca. Months later they receive a letter from him. He is reunited with his wife and children. They survive the war by staying with his wife's grandparents. Lilia and her parents have a special meal to celebrate and toast Mr. Pirzada. For the first time Lilia misses him. Every night since January she eats one piece of candy for his family. Tonight she does not and in time throws them away.
‘Interpreter of Maladies’
Mr. and Mrs. Das, Indian Americans visiting the country of their heritage, hire middle-aged tour guide Mr. Kapasi as their driver for the day as they tour India along with their three children, Ronny, Bobby, and Tina. Mr. Kapasi notes the parents’ immaturity Mr. and Mrs. Das look and act young to the point of childishness, go by their first names when talking to their children, and seem selfishly indifferent to the kids. On their trip, when her husband and children get out of the car to sightsee, Mrs. Das sits in the car, eating snacks she offers to no one else, wearing her sunglasses as a barrier, and painting her nails. When Tina asks her to paint her nails as well, Mrs. Das just turns away and rebuffs her daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Das ask the good-natured Mr. Kapasi about his job as a tour guide, and he tells them about his weekday job as an interpreter in a doctor’s office. Mr. Kapasi’s wife resents her husband’s job because he works at the doctor’s clinic that previously failed to cure their son of typhoid fever. She belittles his job, and he, too, discounts the importance of his occupation as a waste of his linguistic skills. However, Mrs. Das deems it “romantic” and a big responsibility, pointing out that the health of the patients depends upon Mr. Kapasi’s correct interpretation of their maladies. Mr. Kapasi begins to develop a romantic interest in Mrs. Das, and conducts a private conversation with her during the trip. Mr. Kapasi imagines a future correspondence with Mrs. Das, picturing them building a relationship to translate the transcontinental gap between them. However, Mrs. Das reveals a secret: she tells Mr. Kapasi the story of an affair she once had, and that her son Bobby had been born out of her adultery. She explains that she chose to tell Mr. Kapasi because of his profession; she hopes he can interpret her feelings and make her feel better as he does for his patients, translating without passing judgment. However, when Mr. Kapasi reveals his disappointment in her and points out her guilt, Mrs. Das storms off. As Mrs. Das walks away towards her family, she trails crumbs of puffed rice snacks, and monkeys begin to trail her. The neglectful Das parents don’t notice as the monkeys, following Mrs. Das’s food trail, surround their son, Bobby, isolating the son born of a different father. The monkeys begin to attack Bobby, and Mr. Kapasi rushes in to save him. Mr. Kapasi returns Bobby to his parents, and looks on as they clean up their son.