Online Task 1

Folktale

List some of the well-known folktales from Malaysia.

 a. Unlucky Si Belang
 b. Paddy that turns to Gold
 c. Greed does not pay
 d. The Clever Servant 
 e. The Disobedient Boy 
  f. The Stingy Rich Man 
 g. Awang’s Large Hand
 h.  How Malacca got its name 
  i.  The Curse of Batu Gajah 
  j.  Mosquitoes from the Swamp
 k. The Owl Misses the Moon
  l.  The Cursed Princess 

List some of the possible issues found in The Son of the Turtle Spirit.

a. Super nature power. Turtle can transform into human. 

b. Obeying. The young girl  in the story obeys what ever her parents have decided. Her son  

    also obeys what she tells him to do.

c. Morality. It is not suitable to fall in love with someone you don't know where he comes from. 

    This will make our parents feel anxiety.

d. Honesty. The young girl does not lie to her parents. She does not run away after knowing she 

    is pregnant. She admits to her parents.

e. Dreams. Chinese believe that who ever get  dream of the ancestors wanting something or  
    move their remains, they must do so. Or else bad luck will fall upon to the family. 


Are those issues universal in nature or are they only relevant in the Chinese culture?
Only 'e' is relevant in the Chinese culture. Others are all universal in nature. 

Fables

What are the other morals that can be gotten from the other fables by Aesop? List at least two. 

The dog and the hare - No one can be a friend if you know not whether to trust or distrust him.

The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass - Happy is the man who learns from the misfortunes of others.

The Crow and the Raven -  Those who assume a character which does not belong to them, only make themselves ridiculous.

The Crab and the Fox -  Contentment with our lot is an element of happiness.

 

Myths

One well-known literary figure from the Elizabethan age used Ovid’s Pyramus and Thisbe as a model to one of his famous plays. Who is he and what is the play? 

 He is William Shakespeare. The play is 'Romeo and Juliet'.

Legends
List some of the popular legends we have in Malaysia.

a. The Legend of Mahsuri

b. The Legend of Princess Sa'adong

c. Magic lake of Pregnant Maiden

d. Legend of Perhentian Island

e. Langakawi ‘s Legendary Brawl

The Legend of Le Mort d'Arthur by Thomas Malory

1. Who is Thomas Malory?

    Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur.  

2. When was Le Mort d’Arthur written?

     It was written in the early 1450s and completed it by 1470. 

3. How many books/ parts are there in LMDA?

    There are 8 parts in LMDA. 

4. What is book 8 about?

     Book 8 is about death of King Arthur. 

5. Who were the two people who had an affair?

     The two people who had an affair are Sir Launcelot Lancelot and Queen Guinevere. 

6. Book 6 has a strong connection to a popular modern fiction which is now a movie. 

    What is the title of the popular modern fiction?

     The title of the popular modern fiction is 'The Noble Tale of the Sangreal'. 

7. State three well-known facts about King Arthur/ his time as a King  

    a. King Arthur was betrayed by his greatest knight, Sir Lancelot.

    b. King Arthur was a legendary leader.

    c. King Arthur was the son of Uther and Igraine.

Think of 2 ways in which you can use folktales/fables/myths or legends in the classroom. Explain briefly. 

            I will choose role-play and  graphic presentations.

         Role-playing is the easiest way to help students to understand better the story. Since students have to act, they will need to learn and prepare a scripts. Thus, they will be encouraged to analyze the characters, plot and theme indirectly. Furthermore, students can learn to be cooperative as they need to work in group.

         Graphic presentations can be mind-mapping and comic drawings. With this method, students will feel more interesting and easily memorize all the important elements in the story. For example, students can design a mind-map which includes characteristics of each character in any shape they preferred. As for comic drawings, students who preferred visual learning can draw out the plot story using their own style. When they do revision, they just need to go through the comics. By using this method, teacher can also motivate low proficiency level students to learn and love literature indirectly.