'Apa!

This task is about characters – thinking about them and how the author made them.

Read "'Apa!", pages 8 to 12 in the Choices series titled "Settling In", 1997.

a) How do you know the two older girls respect their grandfather? (Use evidence from the text to support your thinking.)

Page ____

b) Are the two older girls justified in their treatment of Fiso on pages 11 and 12?

Yes No Yes and No

Explain why you chose this:

c) Has the author been successful in making you like the two older girls?

Yes No Yes and No

Explain why you chose this:

Answers/responses:

For task a) we have listed evidence that shows us the two older girls respect their grandfather. We have not listed evidence that tells us they respect him since that type of evidence is relatively easy to identify. (NOTE: not all texts have evidence that "tells" about a character.) The evidence relates to what they look like (appearance), what they say (dialogue), what they do (action), what they think (thought).

a) How do you know the two older girls respect their grandfather?

Appearance (what the girls look like)Note that in 'Apa!, evidence for appearance as related to this question comes from the visual, not written, text.Page 9:

The way the girls are drawn: their heads are down; and they do not make eye contact with their grandfather (traditional signs of respect in Sāmoan culture).
The way the girls are drawn: they both look engrossed in what they are doing, as if they are concentrating intensely as they attend to their grandfather.
The way the girls are drawn: they both look very neat and tidy as they attend to him.

Dialogue (what the girls say) Direct dialogue (a direct quote; speech marks will always be used)

"'U a lā - there you are - fia poko" [Savali whispered]. (This whispered comment to Fanua can be translated as "This is what happens when you try to be clever". This suggests that Savali is concerned that Fanua has acted disrespectfully towards their grandfather.)

Action (what the girls do)

Page 8:

They take their grandfather the 'apa with "a towel folded neatly on a plate".

Page 9:

They wait patiently/ respectfully while their grandfather prays/ gives thanks.
They serve their grandfather before themselves.
They hear their mother's command and "leap silently into action as we had been taught".
They carry out each detail required for their grandfather's 'apa routine with expert precision: "Remove the dinner plate, replace it with the bowl of water, and place the plate with the towel on his right. When he reaches for the towel, remove the bowl of water. When he puts the towel back on the plate, remove those as well."

Page 10:

They carry out their 'apa duties "smoothly and in a quiet, dignified way".
Savali "darted off" to get the hand towel that her sister forgets for their grandfather's 'apa.

Page 11:

The storyteller "slipped out to get a big towel". This suggests she intends to mop up the spilt water and put things right for her grandfather out of respect for him.
They clean up the mess straight away.

Thought (what the girls think)

Direct thought (thought offered directly, as if we are over-hearing the character's own mind)Page 11:

"Horror of horrors!" (The storyteller's reaction to the water being spilt on her grandfather suggests she is shocked because what has happened is disrespectful.)

Diagnostic and formative information:

This resource was trialled by 26 students. The trial involved Year 9 and 10 students from 3 schools.

Task a): How do you know the two older girls respect their grandfather?

Appearance

No students noted the visual text as evidence of the girls respecting their grandfather.

According to Burroway, "our eyes are our most highly developed means of perceptionâ€¦it is appearance that prompts our first reaction to people" (pages 81-82). A character's appearance, clothing, features, shape, style, the way they hold themselves and objects associated with them such as the car they drive or the house they live in, make statements about who the character is, what kind of person they are, their character, the "inner" person.

In the picture on page 9, it is the way the girls hold themselves, their demeanour that gives strong evidence of them respecting their grandfather; their general bearing is one of dignity, humility, and concentration. The girls are also very neatly dressed.

Given that no students noted the girls' appearance, vital clues were overlooked. This may be because students at this level no longer value or recognise visual cues as valid evidence. It may also be that some students cannot infer from illustrations.Dialogue

One student noted the girls' dialogue as evidence of the girls respecting their grandfather.

By using dialogue, a writer can simultaneously suggest image, personality, and emotion, enriching the readers' understandings while conveying them economically through to the core of the text.

There is one piece of dialogue that is evidence of the girls respecting their grandfather:

"'U a lā - there you are - fia poko"[Savali whispered]. (Page 10)

This whispered comment to Fanua can be translated as "This is what happens when you try to be clever". It suggests that Savali is concerned that Fanua has acted disrespectfully towards her grandfather. It is probable that only one student noted this dialogue because only those who can read Sāmoan would be able to make this inference.

Action

Almost all students noted actions as evidence of the girls respecting their grandfather. Most students identified the girls hearing their mother's command and "leap[ing] silently into action" to attend their grandfather. Almost half of the students noted when the storyteller immediately "slipped out" to get a towel.

The storyteller "slipped out" to get a towel right away - she didn't want him to stay wet. (Page 11)

A small group made reference to the girls being expected to attend their grandfather "smoothly and in a quiet, dignified way".

They made sure they did it properly. No noise and no mistakes. (Page 10)

Thought

No students noted thought as evidence of the girls respecting their grandfather.

There is only one thought expressed, "Horror of horrors!" (Page 11). Since it is more an expression of shock at a disrespectful action than an actual sign of respect, it is not surprising it was overlooked.

Task b): Are the two older girls justified in their treatment of Fiso on pages 11 and 12?

NOTE: There is no right or wrong answer for this task. The purpose of this task is for readers to make a judgement of a character and justify their response, drawing on both the text and their prior knowledge. What is important is the quality of the justifications they give for their stance. Ability to use both text details and background knowledge when making a judgement about a character

About half of the students were able to use both. The judgements made by about half of the students were based both on background knowledge and on details from the text. For example:

Fiso's voice rang out, trying to sound like his mum's. He acted like a typical younger brother, cheeky as can be. Like typical siblings, the girls act upon this with a "treatment". This displays just the usual sibling behaviour, but Fiso is the younger one and therefore the girls need to be careful that they're sending the right message. (Yes and No response)

The judgements made by the other half of trial students were primarily based on background knowledge. For example:

In Sāmoa only the adults get 'apas to wash their hands in, not the kids. The teenagers do all the chores too and eat last, so the two older girls are justified in their treatment towards Fiso.

This finding suggests many students over-rely on their background knowledge for evidence, and under-use evidence from the text. Students who neglected to use details from the text cannot be said to have the necessary skills to evaluate a character.

Justifying

Most students were able to provide justification for their 'Yes and No' response. Responses were accepted only if they gave reasons why the two older girls were and were not justified in their treatment of Fiso. For example:

The 'Apa is supposed to be an honourable object and treated respectfully so it should not be put on someone's head. But the boy was being cheeky when calling for the 'Apa. He doesn't need it because it's not meant for him yet.

This was accepted because it gives a reason why the girls were not justified: The 'Apa is supposed to be an honourable object and treated respectfully so it should not be put on someone's head, and a reason why they were not: the boy was being cheeky when calling for the 'Apa. He doesn't need it because it's not meant for him yet. .

Some students failed to give reasons for both parts of their 'Yes and No' response:

They were sort of right to do it because he was cheeky. (Yes, they were justified.)

Task c): Has the author been successful in making you like the two older girls?

NOTE: There is no right or wrong answer for this task. This task requires readers to evaluate the author's construction of characters and justify their response using both the text and prior knowledge. What is important is the quality of the justifications they give for their stance.

The techniques used by authors to make readers like or dislike (or at least sympathise with/ not sympathise with) a character

Most students noted evidence that related to at least one of these techniques.

Writers reveal their characters to readers through what characters look like (appearance), what they say (dialogue), what they do (action), and what they think (thought).

In 'Apa! readers come to like the two older girls, or at least sympathise with them, mostly through what they say and do. They may also come to dislike them, or at least not sympathise with them, through what they say and do.Dialogue - A small group noted what the girls said when giving reasons for liking or disliking them. Evidence relating to the older girls' dialogue that reveals a lack of respect includes:

Savali hissed at Fanua and called her a brat. (Page 10)
Telling Fanua off about trying to be clever wasn't very nice because Fanua is only six. (Noted by only one student, page 11)

Evidence relating to the older girls' dialogue that reveals a sense of fun includes:

When Savali says, "At your royal service" to Fiso, she's fooling around pretending he's a king. (Page 12)

Action - Almost all students noted what the girls did when giving reasons for liking or not liking them.

Evidence relating to the older girls' selfless behaviour includes:

They serve the younger kids and the grandfather before themselves. (Page 9)
They went and cleaned up the mess that Fanua made. This shows they put themselves below everyone (they do all the bad jobs) which symbolises that the others are better than them. (Page 11)

Evidence relating to the older girls' respectful behaviour includes:

As soon as their mum calls, "'Apa!" they do what they are supposed to do. (Page 9)
They describe doing all the 'apa routines and make sure they do them properly. (Page 9)
Savali "darted off" to get a hand towel for the 'apa that Fanua had forgotten. (Page 10)

Ability to use text details when making a judgement about an author's construction of a character

About a half of the students were able to use text details. A small group made rather general statements. One student noted:

Yes, I like them both a lot, so I think the writer has hit it right on the mark.

This student is certainly able to form an opinion about the likeability of the two characters but has not explicitly based that opinion on detailed evidence. For example, they could have noted the author's use of details showing their respect, sense of fun, or selflessness.

This finding suggests a small group over-rely on their background knowledge for evidence, and under-use evidence from the text. Students who neglected to use details from the text cannot be said to have the necessary skills to evaluate an author's construction of a character. Responses such as the one above beg the question, "Why?"

Next steps:

The following section Students who need more work on using text details is presented as an example of how you might foreground the Key Competencies within reading. In particular, it exemplifies how you might foreground "Using language, symbols, and texts" and, to a lesser extent, "Thinking" within reading through a focus on the way authors construct characters with carefully chosen details. This approach requires students to not just understand the text but to understand how the text is constructed and why it is constructed that way. This idea is expanded below. In the table below, Using language, symbols, and texts has the largest bolded font because it is the most important to this particular example.

Students who need more work on using text details

Writers build characters with details. Good writers are meticulous in their choice of details, including only those that add value and meaning to the description of a character. It is these details, as well as background knowledge, that a reader uses in order to respond to questions such as "How do you know the two older girls are respectful?", "Are the two older girls justified in their treatment of Fiso?" and "Has the author been successful in making you like the two older girls?"

Details: telling and showingWriters may choose to use details that tell readers about characters if they want to convey information quickly. For example:

We loved this old man... (p.8)

In telling the reader that the children "loved" their grandfather, the writer/storyteller has not given the reader the opportunity to come to their own conclusions about the nature of the relationship between the grandfather and his grandchildren; and, increasingly, modern readers expect to have that opportunity. More commonly, writers of fiction will choose to use details that show characters to readers. For example:

We would sit at the table while our grandfather folded his arms, closed his eyes, and gave thanks for everything under the sun, then for the food, and last, but not least, for those who cooked the food. (p.10)

Here the reader must infer how the grandchildren might be feeling: perhaps they're bored; perhaps they're feeling restless, or perhaps they're patient and respectful.

Ask your students to compare how they respond to having the opportunity to come to their own conclusion about how the grandchildren might be feeling with how they would respond if the author had simply told them "We listened respectfully while our grandfather folded his arms, closed his eyes, and gave thanks for everything under the sun, then for the food, and last, but not least, for those who cooked the food."Details: general and specificWhen writers tell readers about characters they use details that are general or broad. For example, the author tells us:

But the old man [Grandfather] was cool. (p.11)

The word "cool" is general (or abstract); it has a broad rather than specific meaning because it can be generally applied to all sorts of situations. You might like to ask your students to tell you about the situations"cool" can be applied to in an attempt to show them that it is not specific to any particular situation. (Note that at this point your students will probably be unclear about why "cool" is general; in fact they may even argue that it has a specific meaning. It will probably not be until the end of the following exercise that they have a clearer understanding.)

However, when writers show characters to readers they use specific (or concrete) details. For example.

He would dip his hands in and roll them around without make (sic) a single splash, looking as if he were kneading the water. Once or twice, he would pat his mouth with a bit of water. Then he would lift up his hands and let the water slide down over his knuckles, past his fingertips, back into the bowl. After silently patting his hands and mouth dry with the towel, he would fold it up, put it back on the plate, and turn to us to give us his thanks and praise. (p.8)

Here readers create an image that is specific. They create a vivid picture in their heads; they can "see" this image. Most importantly, it is vivid pictures like this one that have impact upon readers.

Finally, ask your students to attempt to create a picture in their heads of someone who is "cool" (you may need to explain at some point that it is impossible unless they imagine a specific situation).

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'Apa!

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