| A
book rap uses email to circulate discussion points, known
as rap points, about a book. It can stimulate classroom
activities and provide opportunities for students to share
responses and ideas with other schools. The Only
the heart online book rap will run over the next
five weeks and will consider several key points of the
novel.
As Only the heart is a prescribed text
for the new HSC English ESL course Area of study: Perspective,
rap points will look at key aspects in relation to this.
As well, students will be required to explore and examine
relationships between language and text. The rap points are
not the only key aspects of the novel. They should be used
to supplement classroom programs and may guide and stimulate
further work.
| The
timeline and themes for this rap are: |
| Rap
live for subscribing |
Only
the heart site live. Schools can register their
participation from this date. |
Now
live |
Preliminary
activities |
Schools
introduce themselves. Registration continues. |
24
February 2003 |
Rap
point 1 |
Who
are the family? |
03
March 2003 |
Rap
point 2 |
What
do we learn from each key character's story/perspective? |
10
March 2003 |
Rap
point 3 |
How
is the main story/message conveyed? |
17
March 2003 |
Rap
wrap up |
Final
week of sharing responses. |
24
March 2003 |
The author,
Brian Caswell, will be online during the rap to
comment on specific ideas and discussions submitted by
rappers for each rap point. Questions prepared during the
introduction, and not answered during the rap, may be submitted
during the rap wrap up in the final week.
Continue
to scroll down this page to register your class group
for the rap, and also to join the teacher support listserv.
From
21 October 2002 you may participate in the Only the
heart rap by entering your email in the boxes below,
and clicking the 'Submit' buttons.
Archives
of the class email discussion
Continue
to scroll down this page to view the support materials
provided.
Coordinator
Lyn Nguyen,
ESL and English teacher (Cabramatta High School), is the
coordinator of this book rap. She will guide us through
the rap, post the rap questions and focuses for each week,
and liaise with the authors. She will also provide encouragement
on the Teacher support listserv for this book rap, where
teachers will be able to ask questions about and discuss
professional issues related to the rap and how they are
managing it with their classes.
This
rap is a joint project of the Library and Information Literacy
and English Units, Curriculum Support Directorate, and
the Multicultural Programs Unit.
Continue
to scroll down this page to view the support materials
provided.
Only the
heart book rap: support materials
Rap
introduction
During
the Preliminary activities week, students undertake
activities as suggested in the Introduction of Program
and planning Stage 6. In this week students would:
- Submit
a class introductory message to the rap.
- Compose
questions they have about the book that they would like
answered. If these questions are not answered during
the rap, submit them as a class during the Rap wrap
up.
Rap
points
These
discussion questions guide the book rap. The question for
the week is posted to the rap at the beginning of that
week by the coordinator. Class groups post their answers
and can respond via the rap to other school's replies during
the relevant week for that rap point.
Rap
Point 1
Rap Point 2
Rap Point 3
Rap
Point 1 (For related class activities see Program
and planning)
For week of 4 November 2002.
Only
the heart begins with a diagram of the Vo family
tree facing chapter 1. This, however, does not really
represent the relationships between people, or the changing
nature of the family. Rap Point 1 will look at this.
Rap
Point 1 (a):
Discuss
with the rap how, in each of the three sections of
the book, the inter-personal relationships between
characters are shown.
Activity: Look
at the Vo family tree. From your knowledge of the
novel redesign the family tree for each section of
the book showing:
- births,
deaths and marriages;
- main
characters and minor characters;
- the
physical location of people - Vietnam, Indonesia
or Australia.
Rap
Point 1 (b):
Only
the heart tells the story of the Vo family's
escape from Vietnam to resettlement in Australia.
Discuss
with the rap what you have learnt from the book about
the function, values, and relationships within a
Vietnamese family as portrayed by the Vo family.
Rap
Point 1 (c):
Explain
to the rap how gangs represent substitute families
in the book. What impact do they have on the Vo family?
In
order to help you answer this question, consider
the 'gangs' at sea, in the refugee camp, and in Cabramatta.
How are their values and function similar to, or
different from, the Vo family's?
|
Rap
Point 2 (For related class activities see Program
and planning)
For week of 11 November 2002.
Only
the heart follows the events in the life of the Vo
family through the perspectives of different characters.
Through the authors' use of this technique, we come to
understand the story more fully, and gain a more rounded
and comprehensive picture of events.
Rap
Point 2 (a):
Discuss
with the rap how four different accounts of the Vo
family's escape from Vietnam help to create a vivid
picture for the reader. Consider how the authors
use language to do this.
Activity: Consider
the family's escape from Vietnam through the eyes
of:
- Grandma pp
37-39
- Toan pp
45-47
- Minh pp
47-49
- Hoa pp
51-54
Use Rap
sheet 1 to note down the following:
- What
feelings are expressed by each character?
- What
are the reasons for these feelings?
- How
do things such as age, personality and past experiences
influence each characters' view of the event?
- Note
language features which characterise each account
eg. first person/third person; descriptive/factual
etc.
|
Rap
Point 3 (For related class activities see Program
and planning)
For week of 18 November 2002.
Although
the story, Only the heart, is shared mainly between
Toan and Linh, the voice of the primary narrator is Toan.
Rap
point 3 (a):
Examine
the following extracts carefully, then discuss why
Toan is shown as the primary narrator:
- Toan pp
112-115
- Linh pp
115-116
Rap
point 3 (b):
Brian
Caswell has called Toan an 'observer' in the novel: "Toan
is outside of the trauma to a great extent." What
evidence can you find in the novel to support Caswell's
view of Toan?
|
Program and
planning Stage 6
Suggested class
activities suitable for the rap points, taking
account of the and time frame and linked to syllabus
outcomes.
Rap
wrap up
During
the Final activities week, students undertake activities
as suggested in the Rap wrap up section of Program
and planning. In this week students could:
- Submit
to the rap any questions they still have unanswered.
Implementing
a rap
Book
rap FAQs
About
rap email
Additional
support materials for Only the heart site rap
points and further investigation
Interview
with Brian Caswell about Only the heart
Resources
Rap
maps
View
and select versions of maps
and tally sheets. Students may use these to identify
and locate schools participating in the Only the
heart rap. Use these or create your own based
on ideas from these examples.
Rap
Lingo
| Book
rap |
An
online discussion about a book |
| Rappers |
The
people involved in the book rap |
| Rap
map |
A
map marking other rappers' locations |
| Rap
point |
A
topic, issue or event from the book for discussion |
| Rap
record |
Print
out of messages responded to |
| Rap
reflections |
Sheets
for rappers to reflect on their experiences and skills |
| Rap
rep |
The
person typing the responses |
| Rap
reporters |
The
people relaying rap news to others |
| Rap
rules |
Guidelines
of a book rap discussion |
| Rap
wrap up |
Final
message about a book rap |
Rap
sheets
These
sample proformas relate to the rap points, and are for
class use to assist students to develop email responses
to the rap points. At the bottom of each page, a link will
download a PDF file to print out A4 size worksheets to
use with students.
Rap
sheet 1
|
