Subject Code English 1 Communication Arts I and Philippine Literature in English

Module Code 26.0 Post-War Poems

Lesson Code 26.1 Bonsai
Time Limit 30 minutes

Components Time Allotment Actual Time Allotted

Target 1 minute

Hook 10 minutes

Ignite 13 minutes

Navigate 5 minutes

Knot 1 minute

STUDENT’S COPY

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 TARGET
By the end of this module, the learner should be able to:
ü Use structural, lexical, and contextual devices (denotation and connotation) in deriving
meanings of unknown words.

HOOK

Photo references: upper left: shorturl.at/jxySY, upper center: shorturl.at/mtzKP, upper right:
shorturl.at/vFO05, lower left: https://www.magiminiland.org/Paintings/Japan/Kasuga3a.jpg, and lower
right: shorturl.at/joAU3

These are bonsai. They are ornamental trees or shrubs grown in pots, intentionally done, to prevent their
growth from their normal size. The term “bonsai” is also used to refer to the art of growing these dwarfed
plants.
In addition, bonsai in Japanese means “tray-planted.” This art originated in China where over a thousand
years ago, trees were cultivated in trays, wooden containers, and earthen pots.
These plants are trained in naturalistic shapes as seen in the photos above. However, bonsai has been
popularized by the Japanese. The first Japanese record of bonsai is in the Kasuga-gongen-genki (1309)
in a picture scroll by Takashina Takakane (photo: lower left).
Trees that grow in rocky crevices of high mountains or overhangs cliffs which remain dwarfed and gnarled
are the direct inspiration of bonsai. The aged appearance of the trunk and branches added with a weathered

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character are the aesthetic qualities of all bonsai. These are the qualities that embody the philosophical
concept that all things change.

NON-GRADED FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: Reflection

Instructions: Look at the photos of bonsai above or check the internet for more images of the plant.
Likewise, if your family owns a bonsai, go to it and spend some time with it for this activity. After
appreciating its beauty and uniqueness for some time, list down the good and bad qualities that you see
from it. Save your answers for the next activity found at the end of this learning guide.

After working on the activity, read the poem and write down unfamiliar words. Look for the meaning of
these words then read the poem again with focus and understanding.

IGNITE
Edith L. Tiempo, poet, fictionist,
teacher and literary critic was one
of the finest Filipino writers in
English whose works are
characterized by a remarkable
fusion of style and substance, of
craftsmanship and insight. She was
born on April 22, 1919 in
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya. Her
poems are intricate verbal
transfigurations of significant
experiences as revealed, in two of Photos Retrieved from: http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/banner-artwork/edith-
her much anthologized pieces, tiempo/
“The Little Marmoset” and “Bonsai”. As a fictionist, Tiempo was as morally profound. Her language
has been marked as “descriptive but unburdened by scrupulous detailing.” She was an influential
tradition in Philippine literature in English. Together with her late husband, Edilberto K. Tiempo, she
founded and directed the Silliman National Writers Workshop in Dumaguete City, which has produced
some of the country’s best writers. National Artist for Literature, Dr. Edith L. Tiempo passed away on
August 21, 2011 due to myocardial infarction, at the age of 92 years.

Bonsai
by Edith Tiempo

All that I love It’s utter sublimation,

I fold over once A feat, this heart’s control
And once again Moment to moment
And keep in a box To scale all love down
Or a slit in a hollow post To a cupped hand’s size
Or in my shoe.
Till seashells are broken pieces
All that I love? From God’s own bright teeth,
Why, yes, but for the moment- And life and love are real
And for all time, both. Things you can run and
Something that folds and keeps easy, Breathless hand over
Son’s note or Dad’s one gaudy tie, To the merest child.
A roto picture of a queen,
Source: Retrieved from: shorturl.at/imtCE or
A blue Indian shawl, even https://docs.google.com/document/preview?hgd=1&id=1urI627
A money bill. M_SUYxQNXUfWrrOMgsi1zmeBXbGKw_jwZNwhk#

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 NAVIGATE
GRADED FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: Writing Test
Instructions: Based on the negative qualities you have listed down from the activity earlier, ponder on and
write about how a bonsai is able to achieve its positive qualities in spite of the negative ones surrounding
it. Furthermore, relate your reflection to human experiences. (20 points)

RUBRIC FOR SCORING

Feature 4 3 2 1 Score

Strong Developing Emerging Beginning

Ideas Establishes a clear focus Develops a focus Attempts focus Lacks focus and
Uses descriptive language Uses some descriptive Ideas not fully development
Provides relevant language developed
information Details support idea
Communicates creative Communicates original
ideas ideas
Organization Establishes a strong topic Attempts an adequate Some evidence Little or no
sentence and supporting topic sentence and of a topic organization
details supporting details sentence and Relies on single
Demonstrates an orderly Evidence of logical supporting idea
flow of ideas sequencing details
Sequencing is
attempted
Expression Uses effective language Diverse word choice Limited word No sense of
Uses high-level Uses descriptive words choice sentence
vocabulary Sentence variety Basic sentence structure
Use of sentence variety structure
Conventions Few or no errors in Some errors in grammar, Has some Little or no
grammar, spelling, spelling, capitalization, difficulty in evidence of
capitalization, punctuation punctuation grammar, correct
spelling, grammar,
capitalization, spelling,
punctuation capitalization,
or punctuation
Legibility Easy to read Readable with some Difficult to read No evidence of
Properly spaced spacing/forming errors due to spacing/forming
Proper letter formation spacing/forming letters
letter
Source: Cox, Janelle. (2020, August 27). Writing Rubrics. Retrieved from
https://www.thoughtco.com/writing-rubric-2081370

KNOT
Bonsai may live for a century or more and can be handed from one generation to another as a family
valued possession. They can be brought into the house occasionally for appreciation and enjoyment.
In Japan, they are customarily displayed in an alcove or on small tables in a living room and later returned
to their outdoor bonsai stands.

Edith’s Bonsai is about love. Love being an abstract idea is represented here with concrete things which
can be seen and touched. As an abstract, we cannot entirely measure its quantity. In the poem, Edith
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 compressed it into size grasp by palm. These mementos can contain the amount of love the sender and the
receiver have for each other. Even when they are gone, this love can thrive for centuries and more which
can be passed on to another containing the memories (sentimental value) of it. Whoever possesses it brings
and contains that love on and on wherever they go.

Let us keep the love burning, and appreciate the little things which actually mean big.

References:

1. Abad, G. H. (2015) The Likhaan Anthology of the Philippine Literature in English from 1900 to
the Present. (de Ungria, R. M., Dalisay Jr., J. Y., Hidalgo, C. p., Bonifacio, A. L.). Eighth printing.
Printon Press
2. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2017, February 27). Bonsai. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/bonsai-horticulture
3. GOVPH. (April 22, 2015). Edith L. Tiempo. Retrieved from
http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/banner-artwork/edith-tiempo/

Prepared by: Reviewed by:

SANDY F. MORENO FLORALIE L. INAYAN

Special Science Teacher III Special Science Teacher II
MIMAROPA Region Campus Western Visayas Campus

© 2020 Philippine Science High School System. All rights reserved. This document may contain proprietary information and
may only be released to third parties with approval of management. Document is uncontrolled unless otherwise marked;
uncontrolled documents are not subject to update notification.
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