Internal assessment resource reference Eng/2/8_C7
PAGE FOR TEACHER USE
2009
Internal Assessment Resource
Subject Resource: English 2.8
Internal assessment resource reference number:
English/2/8_C7
What’s on their minds?
Supports internal assessment for:
Achievement Standard 90381 v2
Investigate a language or literature topic and present information in written form
Credits: 3
______
Date version published: February 2009
Ministry of Education For use in internal assessment
quality assurance status: from 2009
21
© Crown 2009
Internal assessment resource reference Eng/2/8_C7
PAGE FOR TEACHER USE
Teacher Guidelines:
The following guidelines are supplied to enable teachers to carry out valid and consistent assessment using this internal assessment resource.
Context/setting:
This activity requires students to investigate the themes or concerns of a writer or director which could emerge from a text study and be extended into further personal investigation of that writer or director. The requirements of the standard could also be fulfilled through the investigation of several shorter texts, such as short stories and poetry or the work of a journalist or column writer.
Students could chose individual writers or directors to research, or the class could focus on the work of one person. In this case, students should select works to investigate from a range of texts.
Conditions:
This activity requires a combination of class and homework time. Students can collect information and develop their reports in and out of class time. Teachers will need careful checkpoint procedures to ensure authenticity of student output.
Students should use the formats modelled in this activity for their research plan, for recording sources and information in the research process, and for structuring and organising their research reports. Explanatory Note 6 requires that a written bibliography be provided.
Resource requirements:
Access to the library.
Template form.
Possible local adaptation:
Where local adaptations are made, teachers and schools should ensure that they have:
· checked that the adapted assessment validly assesses the achievement standard;
· checked the copyright status of any material imported into the assessment resource;
· complied with all internal and external quality assurance requirements.
21
© Crown 2009
Internal assessment resource reference number Eng/2/8_C7
PAGE FOR STUDENT USE
2009
Internal Assessment Resource
Subject Reference: English 2.8
Internal assessment resource reference number: English/2/8_C7
What’s on their minds?
Supports internal assessment for:
Achievement Standard 90381 v2
Investigate a language or literature topic and present information in written form
Credits: 3
Student Instructions Sheet
This activity asks you to report on an investigation that you will undertake into the work of a writer or director, drawing conclusions about his/her themes or concerns.
As you work through stages in the research process you will be guided by examples in this activity. You may not repeat this specific material in your own research, although you can complete research on this author or on the authors in the student exemplars. You may also incorporate the texts referred to in the exemplars with texts you have chosen, but you may not include any material from the exemplars in your report or in your notes.
You will complete work in class and for homework. Your teacher will guide you on how much time you have for this task. Your report must be presented in written form.
You will be assessed on how well you:
· propose your research questions and select relevant information from a range of resources that are documented in a bibliography
· present observations that are supported from your texts and draw conclusions
· structure and organise your information and ideas in an effective written format.
Introduction
Poets, directors, writers, journalists - all those involved in producing work for publication frequently want to challenge us to think about issues relating to people and society. They have something on their minds. You will investigate the work of a writer or director and draw conclusions about what is on their mind as evident in a range of their texts. Some writers are comfortable using one genre to express their ideas, whereas others work in a range of genres. For this reason your investigation may span one or more genres.
Task 1: Selecting a Focus
a) The first important decision to make is who are you going to investigate. A starting point could be a text you have studied in class and from there exploring:
· what you know already about the person and their work – and what you need to find out. This will lead you to developing research questions which direct your investigation.
· what resources are available in your school and local library.
b) Some possible subject choices include:
· writers, like Apirana Taylor, Kate de Goldi, Katherine Mansfield, Frank Sargeson, James K. Baxter, Alan Duff
· film makers, like Lee Tamahori, Peter Jackson, Vincent Ward
· columnists/journalists, like Joe Bennett, Rosemary MacLeod, Jane Clifton, Brian Edwards
c) If you choose to work with short texts, you should select several texts. If you choose to work with long texts, you may select fewer texts. Your investigation could also be based on texts of varying lengths. As you read your selection of texts, make notes on information that will help you identify the issues or concerns raised. Your teacher will decide whether the investigation will be based on one writer or director, or several, with students having a choice.
Task 2: Recording the focus
Use the following template for each of your selected texts to record notes for your report.
Look for links between texts as you read.
Two samples of student notes are illustrated here. Do not use any of this material in your own work.
Title and publication details: ‘Tihei Mauriora’ in Growing up Maori : Ed. Witi Ihimaera Tandem Press 1998
Author/Writer/director: Apirana Taylor
Brief notes on:
· Issue
· Supporting details
Strong nurturing family background. Strong role models to follow on both sides of the family. Pride in family’s achievements
· “A happy memory that I have of my childhood is one of our house being often filled with Maori …. endearing characters …. wrinkled smiles …. crackling laughter.”
‘Aware’ of racial discrimination. Reacted violently to racist taunts as a child.
· “Jeered and chanted ‘Maori Maori do a haaaka for me’”.
Title and publication details: ‘In the Rubbish Tin’ in He Rau Aroha Penguin 1986
Author/Writer/Director: Apirana Taylor
Brief notes on:
· issue
· Supporting details
Concern with family violence, abuse and neglect in N.Z society. Daughter Phillipa imitates abuse she is subjected to. Agencies not dealing with problem.
· Phillipa has been removed to a family home but is back in the same situation where her mother “forgot to lock Phillipa in.”
People accept and ignore violence around them.
· “As it is he’ll just kick her around a bit, but if you interfere he’ll kill her.”
Society not doing anything about the problem – not hearing Phillipa’s cry for help
· “But no one would hear her. Because of the rain.”
Task 3: Refocusing
a) From the notes you have gathered, decide what is on your writer’s mind. He/she may offer contrasting viewpoints on the same issue or you may find a consistency in what is said. There may be more than one issue that emerges in the works.
b) In task 1 you developed some initial ideas for research questions. From these ideas, develop two or three open questions that will help you process the information you have gathered and draw conclusions and make judgements. You could also use these as headings in your report. Some examples of possible research questions are:
· What patterns are evident in key issues which Apirana Taylor deals with?
· How has Apirana Taylor developed or changed those ideas over time?
· How does Apirana Taylor resolve the issues he writes about?
You should also consider and discuss the research questions used in the student exemplars on the following pages.
c) Before you begin your report, read the research reports from the student exemplars and discuss their strengths and areas where they could be improved. Note especially how judgements are included in the report in the excellence exemplar. You may not include any material from the exemplars in your report or in your notes.
d) You are now ready to present your conclusions in an appropriate written format. Structure and organise your information and ideas in your report to include:
· An introduction stating the focus and scope of the research. You should include details about the writer you have selected, the works you have read and the issue[s]/theme[s] raised in these works.
· A body of accurate information from which relevant conclusions are drawn linked to your research questions, together with evidence to support the points you make.
· a conclusion
· a bibliography
Your report should show the use and control of writing conventions without intrusive errors. For excellence, the accurate use of writing conventions is required.
e) Write at least 500 words in your report. Include a bibliography. Attach to your report the notes you have taken to show the information you have selected from each text. Refer to the student exemplars for suggested appropriate formats.
Exemplar A: Excellence
Research topic:
What’s on Amy Tan’s Mind?
Research questions:
§ What issues stand out in Amy Tan's writing?
§ How do the narrative techniques used highlight these issues?
§ Why does Amy Tan highlight these issues?
Research Notes:
The Kitchen God’s Wife Author: Amy Tan.
ISSUES
Sense of self identity:
§ Revelation of her mother's secret past brings the identity of who Pearl's biological father really is.
§ To Pearl this news is horrific especially when she was conceived from rape and violence from a man who had tormented her mother for many years as her arranged husband. She passionately hated him.
§ “And I thought, then it's true. Wen Fu was my father, That awful man, the one she hated. His blood is running through mine. I shivered at the thought.” Page 707
Family secrets:
§ Pearl’s mother kept her unhappy former marriage secret. She did not want the family to know how of things past, the rape and violence.
§ “So I never told him. I never told anyone. And nine months later, maybe a little less, I had a baby. I had you.” Page 705
The Bonesetter’s Daughter Author: Amy Tan.
ISSUES
Sense of self identity:
§ Luling is upset when she cannot remember her family name. She feels a loss of identity and connection with her ancestors.
§ “She nodded towards me and said with her hands: My family name, the name of all the bonesetters. She put the paper name in front of my face again and said, Never forget this name . ... And the name was Why can't I see it now? I've pushed a hundred family names through my mouth and none comes back with the belch of memory.” Page 6
Family Secrets:
§ Luling has kept many secrets from even those she loved the most to protect them and herself. Her hidden past of marriage, unfair treatment and her mother’s true identity are all hidden for decades until the truth must be told to set the record straight.
§ “Luling answered: `this because my mother just die'... Lining and GaoLing's mother had died in 1972. Ruth pointed to the photo. `See? Your mother is right there. And that's you.' Luling shook her head. `That not my real mother.'
`Well, if that's your sister's mother, she must be yours as well.' Luling snorted. `Gaoling not my sister!' Her mother went on: `She is my sisterinlaw.' Page 81
`Here' she said in Chinese, `this one right here, she's my mother `... It was a photograph of her mother's nurse maid, BaoBomu, Precious Aunty.” Page 82
The Joy Luck Club [Short stories] Author: Amy Tan.
ISSUES
Sense of self identity:
§ Mothers believe their daughters have no sense of their heritage and Chinese background. The daughters don’t listen to their mothers and believe they all live in the past – old China..
§ “When I was a young girl in China, my grandmother told me my mother was a ghost. This did not mean my mother was dead .... So I knew Popo wanted me to forget my another on purpose, and this is how I came to remember nothing of her.” Page 42
§ “And I want to tell her this: We are lost, she and I unseen;,and not seeing, unheard and not hearing, unknown by others.” Page 67
Family Secrets:
§ Secrets mainly of life from China, previous marriages, unhappy tales of ancestors and family.
§ “She has thrown her face into the eastward flowing stream. Her ancestral spirit is lost forever.”
§ “In truth, this was a bad thing that Yan Chang had done, telling me my mother’s story. Secrets are kept from children, a lid on top of the soup kettle, so they do not boil over with too much truth.” Page 237
Research Report:
Introduction
My research into the literature of Amy Tan clearly showed common themes in her writings. The works I used were two novels The Kitchen God’s Wife and The Bonesetter’s Daughter and short stories from The Joy Luck Club.
What issues stand out in Amy Tan’s writing?
Amy Tan clearly deals with two main issues in all of the texts studied: loss of self identity and family secrets.
Loss of self identity
The daughters from the texts feel a loss of self identity that they attribute to their mothers, themselves or their American lifestyle. To Luling in The Bonesetter’s Daughter, the loss of her family name leaves her with a loss of self identity and in conflict with her ancestral ghosts:
“She nodded towards me and said with her hands: My family names the name of all the bonesetters. Never forget this name ... And the name was – Why can’t I see it now? I’ve pushed a hundred family names through my mouth and none comes back with the belch of mernory.”