Chapter One:
Chapter Six:
 Dawan and Kwai sat on the rickety old
bridge above the river
 Dawan asked Kwai what would he do if he
got the scholarship
 Dawan felt that she would not get the
scholarship because she is a girl, instead
Kwai might get the scholarship
 Talked about how unfair it is that the sacks
of rice stacked up beneath the house is for
the tax collector
 Their parents thought that it was foolish
and wasteful to send girls to school
Chapter Two:
 Teacher asked students what they saw
beneath their house in the morning
 Had a long discussion with the students
about the landlord taking away sacks of
rice beneath their houses
 A student spotted the headmaster heading
to their class and the student shouted "he's
coming"
 Teacher and student immediately
pretended that they are having Geography
lessons until the headmaster went away
 Teacher and student discussed what they
should do if they won the scholarship
 Teacher announced that Dawan won the
scholarship
Chapter Three:
 Classmates surrounded Dawan as soon as
they heard that she won the scholarship
 Kwai was unhappy and sad that Dawan
won the scholarship instead of him
 Dawan told her family that she got the
scholarship and that made her parents
angry. Her father was especially angry and
said that she took her own brother's
chance away from him.
 Dawan's grandmother however supported
her
 Dawan and her grandmother headed to
Noi's house and halfway, Dawan's mother
decided to go with Dawan instead of her
grandmother
Chapter Four:
 Noi said that going to the city was useless
 Army officer made deal with Noi's family in
order not to bring Ghan to the army
Chapter Five:
 Kwai realised that Noi and Ghan do not
support Dawan in going to the city
 Kwai came in second in the examination
 If Dawan does not go to the city, Kwai gets
to go instead of her
 Dawan's father didn't want her to go to the
city
 Kwai asked his father if he had won the
scholarship, would he allow him to go to
the city
 Kwai's dad thought that boys going to the
city to futher his studies would be better
than girls

Chapter Seven:
 Dawan went to the marketplace alone and
met a girl that sells lotus bud and caged
sparrows
 Dawan realised that the girl, Bao, was the
sister of her classmate
Chapter Eight:
 Dawan went to see the old monk
 Dawan's teacher and the old monk are
good friends
 Old monk does not really see why Dawan
should go to the city school
Chapter Nine:
 Bao allowed Dawan to free a bird for free
 Bao's brother, Vichai, came to the market
stall and hit her because she freed a bird
for free
 Kwai stopped Vichai from hitting Bao
 After realising that Bao knew about what
happened between Dawan and Kwai, Kwai
wanted to slap Bao
 Kwai pushed Dawan away when she tried
to stop Kwai, unfortunately she landed on
top of a pile of broken bird cages, injuring
herself
 Cousin Noi helped Dawan with her wound
Chapter Ten:
 Dawan and Kwai were at the river
 Kwai was thinking about Dawan's words,
about him being a bully
 Dawan passed Kwai her umbrella caringly
as it was raining
 Kwai made a decision
Chapter Eleven:
 Kwai's father heard from his teacher that
he got second in the test and was angry at
Kwai for not telling him so
 Father spoke to both Kwai and Dawan
together
 Father was very reluctant and unconvinced
that Dawan should go to the city school
  After much persuasion from Dawan and • Give three reasons to support
Kwai, father finally allowed Dawan to go to your answer.
the city school
• Give textual evidence to
Chapter Twelve:
support each of the three
reasons.
Kwai will miss Dawan once she goes to the city Model Answer
school, no one will be there to watch the sunrise The novel, Sing to the Dawn by
with him Mingfong Ho, is about Dawan, a young Thai
girl who lives in the village with her family.
Chapter Thirteen:
She won first place in a test and was
At first Dawan was unsure if she wanted to leave as announced as the winner of a scholarship,
she will miss everything in her village giving her an opportunity to pursue her studies
After her grandmother talked to Dawan, she in a City school. Her brother, Kwai, came in
decided to go second after her. Both of them have great ideas
When she was boarding the bus to go to the city, of using their education to improve life in the
Kwai was nowhere to be seen village.
Although many people in the village sent her off,
she was not happy as Kwai was not there The character whom I sympathise with
During the bus journey, she saw Kwai on the bridge in the novel is Dawan. Instead of getting
that they usually went to, he was waving at her.
Bidding goodbye support and encouragement for her
achievement, Dawan faces anger and rejection
from her parents. Her father is angry with her
THEMES
1. Family love because he wants his son to get the
2. Poverty scholarship. Her mother does not encourage
3. Gender discrimination her because she thinks it is foolish to give her
4. Responsibility hope. Dawan’s close relationship with Kwai
5. Sibling rivalry
6. Being fair and just
suffers because her brother is jealous of her
7. Standing up for what is right success. He threatens to take the scholarship
from her, making her worried and defensive.
MORAL VALUES
1. Do not be jealous of our siblings' success
The conflict between them worsens
2. Love our family members
3. Be responsible with Dawan thinking ‘It’s either him or me.’
4. Be helpful His betrayal causes her pain. She even gets
5. Be fair and just hurt physically when Kwai pushes her, causing
6. Be rational her to injure to her ankle. Thirdly, Dawan is
7. Be hardworking and courageous
sad to leave home. After all, she is only
fourteen years old and she is leaving her home
Based on the novel you have studied, which for the first time. She will be alone in the
character do you sympathise with? Give reasons for ‘ugly, cruel city’. She will also be far away
your answer with close reference to the text. from nature which she loves.
RECOMMENDED OUTLINE
For these reasons, I sympathise with
• State the novel you have Dawan. She has to struggle to pursue her
studied and the author. dream. By right, she should have received
• Name the character you support from her family and her community.
sympathise with. Give some She will also face a lot of challenges in her
information about the new life in the city.
character in the story.