Zimbabwe Lower 6 Curriculum - English Literature
This curriculum views literature as a tool for developing self-awareness and critical thinking skills. It exposes students to diverse literary works from Zimbabwe, Africa, and the rest of the world, while emphasizing the development of lifelong skills in literary appreciation.
Aims:
- To foster an appreciation for and informed personal response to a variety of literary texts in English across different genres, historical periods, and cultures.
- To develop interdependent skills in reading, analysis, and communication, enabling students to understand explicit and implicit meanings, comment on form, structure, and language, and effectively convey their understanding and evaluation of texts.
- To cultivate an understanding of literary study methods and the potential for diverse interpretations and valuations of literary works.
- To encourage wider reading and its contribution to personal development.
Assessment Objectives:
Students will be assessed on their ability to:
- Critically respond to texts from various types and periods.
- Understand how writers' choices of form, structure, and language shape meaning.
- Appreciate the contexts in which literary works are written and understood.
- Discuss personal and other critical interpretations of literary texts.
- Formulate knowledgeable, independent opinions and judgments on literary texts.
- Communicate their knowledge, understanding, and insight effectively.
Scheme of Assessment:
Students are required to take Paper 1 (Comment and Appreciation) and any two optional papers. All papers are offered in November and June of the following year.
- Paper 1: Comment and Appreciation (Unseen Passages) (Compulsory) - 3 hours (33 1/3% weighting)
- Paper 2: Zimbabwean and African Literature (Optional) - 3 hours (33 1/3% weighting)
- Paper 3: Shakespeare and Other Dramatists (Optional) - 3 hours (33 1/3% weighting)
- Paper 4: Contemporary Literature (Post World War II) (Optional) - 3 hours (33 1/3% weighting)
- Paper 5: World Literature (Optional) - 3 hours (33 1/3% weighting)
Paper Descriptions:
- Paper 1: Comment and Appreciation (Unseen Passages): This compulsory paper assesses students' ability to respond to unseen texts from poetry, drama, and prose. Questions may involve comparison of passages or imaginative responses. No texts or dictionaries are allowed.
Paper 2: Zimbabwean and African Literature: This paper includes one question from Zimbabwean Literature (two set texts) and two questions from African Literature (four set texts). Questions may be essay-based or passage-based. No texts or dictionaries are allowed. Setbooks for November 2013 and June 2014 included Every Stone that Turns by T.S. Bvuma, Writing Still edited by Irene Staunton, Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol by Okot P'Bitek, Scarlet Song by Miriama Ba, Mission to Kala by Mongo Beti, and The September Sun* by Bryony Rheam.
Paper 3: Shakespeare and Other Dramatists: This paper includes one question from Shakespeare (two set texts) and two questions from Other Dramatists (four set texts). Questions may be essay-based or passage-based. No texts or dictionaries are allowed. Setbooks for November 2013 and June 2014 included Measure for Measure and King Lear by William Shakespeare, A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde, In the Continuum and other Plays edited by Rory Kilalea, and The Colour of Hope* by Taban Lo Liyong.
Paper 4: Contemporary Literature (Post World War II): This paper focuses on contemporary issues in texts written after World War II. Students answer three questions on three of the five offered texts. Questions may be essay-based or passage-based. No texts or dictionaries are allowed. Setbooks for November 2013 and June 2014 included To My Children's Children by Sandiwe Magona, A Tragedy of Lives by Staunton and Musengezi, Secret Lives by Ngugi waThiongo, A Fine Madness by Mashingaidze Gomo, and Walking Still* by Charles Mungoshi.
Paper 5: World Literature: This paper includes works of prose, poetry, and drama from around the world. Students answer three questions on three of the five offered texts. Questions may be essay-based or passage-based. No texts or dictionaries are allowed. Setbooks for November 2013 and June 2014 included The Heinemann Book of Contemporary African Short Stories by Chinua Achebe and C.L. Innes, The Dragon Can't Dance by E. Lovelace, Echoing Silences by Alexander Kanengoni, The Chimurenga Protocol by Nyaradzo Mtizira, and Hunting in Foreign Lands and Other Stories* compiled by Nyota Muchadei, Barbara Manyarara, and Rosemary Moyana. |
Member 
