Tanzania Ordinary Secondary Education Literature in English Curriculum (Form III-IV)

This curriculum is designed to equip students with the skills to appreciate, analyze, and create literary works. It covers oral and written literature, focusing on plays, novels, short stories, and poetry.

Form III

1. Introduction to Literature

• Overview of Literature: Definition of literature and key terms such as art, creativity, language, aesthetics, message, society, form, and content.
• Functions and Importance of Literature: Exploring the role of literature in society and its impact on personal development and cultural understanding.
• Forms of Literature: Differentiating between oral and written literature, including plays, novels, short stories, and poetry, and understanding their respective functions.
• Language and Literature: Examining the relationship between language and literature, and the difference between ordinary and literary language.
• Literary Devices: Identifying and analyzing literary devices such as imagery, metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, satire, symbolism, and sarcasm, and understanding their importance and usage in literature.
• Basic Elements of Literature: Identifying and explaining the features of key literary elements, including character, theme, plot, point of view, setting, conflict, and tone, and their interrelationships.

2. Oral Literature

• Genres of Oral Literature: Identifying and explaining various genres like songs, proverbs, sayings, riddles, myths, folktales, fairytales, and legends, including their features and importance in society. Activities include reciting, telling, retelling, and dramatizing selected genres.

3. Written Literature

• Genres of Written Literature: Identifying and describing genres such as poetry, plays, novels, and short stories, including their features and providing examples. Understanding the concepts of fiction and non-fiction.

4. Appreciating and Analyzing Plays

• Conceptualizing Common Terms: Defining and explaining terms used in play analysis, such as act, scene, dialogue, conflict, character, plot, stage direction, and script. Differentiating plays from other literary genres.
• Title of the Play: Analyzing the meaning of the title and its relationship to the content and message of the play.
• Setting of the Play: Describing the setting, including the cultural context, historical period, and geographical location.
• Plot of the Play: Identifying different parts of the play, including acts and scenes, and describing their sequence and relationship to the overall plot.
• Language: Analyzing the kind of language used, dramatic techniques, style, and its relevance to the audience.
• Character and Characterization: Identifying characters, their roles, relationships, and how they project themes, messages, and lessons. Evaluating the relevance of characters in contemporary society.
• Themes and Messages: Identifying themes, ideas, and messages, supporting them with evidence from the play, and relating them to real-life situations. Presenting and explaining the usefulness of literary devices in conveying messages. Assessing the relevance of the play to contemporary society. Activities include summarizing and dramatizing the play.

Form IV

1. Appreciating and Analyzing Novels and Short Stories

• Conceptualizing Common Terms: Identifying and explaining terms used in novel and short story analysis, differentiating between fiction and non-fiction, and identifying the features of specific works.
• Title: Explaining the meaning of the title and its relevance to the content/message.
• Setting: Identifying and describing the setting, including time, geographical location, and cultural context, and analyzing its significance.
• Plot: Identifying different parts, explaining features, examining the sequence of events, and analyzing how events relate to each other.
• Character and Characterization: Identifying characters, describing their types and roles, and analyzing their relationships, how they project themes and messages, and their relevance to contemporary society.
• Style: Explaining the language used, describing techniques, and analyzing how the writer uses language devices to convey the message and its relevance to the audience.
• Themes and Messages: Identifying themes, ideas, and messages, finding supporting evidence, presenting them, identifying lessons learned, and assessing their relevance to contemporary society. Summarizing the main themes, messages, and issues.

2. Appreciating and Analyzing Poetry

• Common Terms in Poetry: Identifying and explaining common poetic terms used in analysis, differentiating between categories of poetry, and distinguishing poetry from other literary genres.
• Poetic Devices: Identifying and explaining poetic and musical devices used in selected poems.
• Language Devices: Identifying and explaining figures of speech, poetic diction, language style, and how the poet uses language to convey the message.
• Structural Devices: Identifying and describing the number of stanzas, verses, and their length, and analyzing punctuation marks.
• Plot and Setting: Examining the plot, identifying and describing the setting, including time, geographical location, and the period when the poem was written.
• Persona/Speaking Voice: Analyzing the persona, describing its type, analyzing the message conveyed, and evaluating its relevance to society.
• Theme and Message: Identifying themes and messages, finding supporting evidence, describing lessons learned, and analyzing their relevance to contemporary society.
• Reciting Poems: Identifying the voice, rhyme, and rhythm of the poem. Activities include memorizing, reciting, and composing short poems on contemporary issues.