NOVEL

•Paper 2
•Question Number: 33
SING TO THE DAWN
By Minfong Ho
 Targeted Content and Language Descriptors
MARK MARK
CONTENT CONTENT
RANGE RANGE
 Response is likely to be intermittently  Meaning is never in doubt but
relevant to the task specified. errors are becoming' more
5–6  Provides some textual evidence with 3 frequent.
little development.  Fairly well-organised.

 Response of little relevance to the  Frequent errors with some blurring

3–4 task specified. 2 in meaning.
 Little textual evidence.  Poorly organised.

 Response has no relevance to the  Makes little or no sense at all.

task.  Lacks organisation.
1-2  Has no understanding of the 1
 
requirements of the task.
ONE PAGE STORY
PLEASE REFER TO
HANDOUT 1/3
PLEASE REFER TO
HANDOUT 2/3
How to organize your paragraphs for the novel question?
PARAGRAPH ANSWER
1 INTRODUCTION
2 POINT 1
+
EVIDENCE
+
JUSTIFICATION
3 POINT 2
+
EVIDENCE
+
JUSTIFICATION
4 POINT 3
+
EVIDENCE
+
JUSTIFICATION
5 CONCLUSION / PERSONAL RESPONSE
SPM CLONE QUESTIONS

• QUESTION 1
The following are the novels studied in the literature component in English Language.
Dear Mr. Kilmer - Anne Schraff
Captain Nobody - Dean Pitchford
Sing to the Dawn - Minfong Ho
Choose any one of the novels above and answer the question below.
“Having a strong family relationship is essential in one’s life.” How is this shown in the novel you have
read? Support your answer with close reference to the text.
 
• QUESTION 2
The following are the novels studied in the literature component in English Language.
Dear Mr. Kilmer - Anne Schraff
Captain Nobody - Dean Pitchford
Sing to the Dawn - Minfong Ho
Choose any one of the novels above and answer the question below.
Choose one character that has undergone some major changes in his/her life. Describe the changes
and support each change with close reference to the text.
PARAGRAPH ORDER OF RESPONSES
RESPONSE
1 INTRODUCTION The novel that I have read is Sing to the Dawn by Minfong Ho. The novel is about a 14 year old Thai village girl
who wins a scholarship to study in the city and how she overcomes the challenges to pursue her dreams. We can
see the theme of family relationship in the novel. This is shown by the characters of Dawan, her grandmother and
Kwai, who is Dawan’s brother.

2 POINT 1 Dawan is very close to her family members. She loves her brother, Kwai very much. This is shown when
+ E1: Dawan wins the scholarship. She worries about Kwai’s feelings because he does not win the scholarship.
EVIDENCE E2: Kwai hurts Dawan at the market but she forgives him.
(2 or 3) E3: After the incident at the market, Dawan sees Kwai sitting in the rain on the bridge. She worries that Kwai will
+ fall sick and she gives her umbrella to him.
JUSTIFICATION This has shown that Dawan loves her brother Kwai and we should love our siblings too.

3 POINT 2 In the novel, Dawan’s grandmother also shows that family is important in one’s life. She is the first person
+ who supports Dawan to study in the city. The evidence is when
EVIDENCE E1: her grandmother wants to walk three kilometres with Dawan to Noi’s house to know more about the city.
+ E2: She is also very loving and wise. She advises Dawan to be brave and gives her a lotus bud before Dawan goes
to the city. The symbol of a lotus is the changes in life.
JUSTIFICATION This shows that, family members should support one another.

4 POINT 3 Lastly, Kwai also shows a strong family relationship because he loves and cares for Dawan very much.
+ E1: The evidence is Kwai does not want Dawan to leave him because he will be lonely without her.
EVIDENCE E2: Kwai does not listen to his father when his father wants him to take his sister’s chance to study in the city.
+  This shows that, Kwai gives up his dreams for his sister’s happiness. Therefore, I think that we must take care of
JUSTIFICATION our family members and always support them.

5 CONCLUSION/ In conclusion / In a nutshell, family relationship is important in one’s life as shown by Dawan, Kwai and their
PERSONAL grandmother. We can learn many good values about family life from this story.
RESPONSE  
 The novel that I have read is Sing to the Dawn by Minfong Ho. The novel is about a 14 year old Thai
village girl who wins a scholarship to study in the city and how she overcomes the challenges to pursue her
dreams. We can see the theme of family relationship in the novel. This is shown by the characters of Dawan,
her grandmother and Kwai, who is Dawan’s brother.

First and foremost, Dawan is very close to her family members. She loves her brother, Kwai very
much. This is shown when Dawan wins the scholarship. She worries about Kwai’s feelings because he does
not win the scholarship. Then, Kwai hurts Dawan at the market but she forgives him. After the incident at the
market, Dawan sees Kwai sitting in the rain on the bridge. She worries that Kwai will fall sick and she gives
her umbrella to him. This has shown that Dawan loves her brother Kwai and we should love our siblings too.

Apart from that, Dawan’s grandmother also shows that family is important in one’s life. She is the first
person who supports Dawan to study in the city. The evidence is when her grandmother wants to walk three
kilometres with Dawan to Noi’s house to know more about the city. She is also very loving and wise. She
advises Dawan to be brave and gives her a lotus bud before Dawan goes to the city. The symbol of a lotus is
the changes in life. This shows that, family members should support one another.

Last but not least, Kwai also shows a strong family relationship because he loves and cares for Dawan
very much. The evidence is Kwai does not want Dawan to leave him because he will be lonely without her.
Kwai does not listen to his father when his father wants him to take his sister’s chance to study in the city.
This shows that, Kwai gives up his dreams for his sister’s happiness. Therefore, I think that we must take
care of our family members and always support them.

  In conclusion / In a nutshell, family relationship is important in one’s life as shown by Dawan, Kwai and
their grandmother. We can learn many good values about family life from this story.
GROUP WORK
PLEASE DISCUSS AND DO
QUESTION 2
REFER TO HANDOUT 2/3