DRAFT

Form 2
Heir Conditioning

Table of Contents
Introduction
Synopsis
Elements
Activities
Assessment
Answer Key
Glossary
Panel of writers
 Curriculum Development Division. Ministry of Education Malaysia
. 2010
HEIR CONDITIONING
POETRY

Introduction

M Shanmughalingam
M Shanmughalingam studied at Victoria Institution
School, Malaysia from 1952-58. He later attended the
University of Malaya and holds an Honours degree
and a Masters from Harvard University and later a
Doctorate from Oxford University. At Oxford he won
the Gertrude Hartley Memorial prize for Poetry and a
graduate scholarship from Balliol College and the
second prize in the Short Story competition judged by
the novelist, Iris Murdoch and John Bayley, Prof. of
Literature, and sponsored by ISIS, Oxford University
and The Observer. His stories, short stories and
poems have been published in Commonwealth
Anthologies (London), international anthologies
(Singapore), in universities (Harvard, Malaya, Oxford and Singapore) and in
national literary journals. His poems have been the subject of theses in local
universities as well as in Germany. He is actively involved in the debating,
literary and drama fields and is the co-editor of an anthology of Malaysian
poetry. He has been invited to participate and read from his own work at
seminars. An Australian website on International Poets has a video recording of
his Performance Poetry.

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HEIR CONDITIONING
POETRY

Synopsis

This poem is written in London, May 4, 1995. It talks about issues regarding different
lifestyles and values of two generations. It also talks about the generation gap that exists
between grandparents and their grandchildren. This poem is like a dialogue between them.
In the first stanza, the grandchild asks his grandfather if he could breathe without air
conditioner and how people manage to survive without modern devices such as air
conditioners, fans, faxes and telephones. The child asks his grandmother if she was
uncomfortable fanning herself with paper fans. He inquisitively questions how they could
communicate without today’s modern media of communication which he cannot do without.

In the second stanza, the grandparents’ answer sets the two generations apart.
Though they lived void of the ‘basic necessities’, they lived contentedly and respected
nature. Also, they were God-fearing people. The grandparents warn the younger
generations that they have inherited much technological advancement and it has led to a
separation from his spiritual well-being. God has been replaced by money and nature has
begun to fear man. Natural surroundings are being taken over by rapid development and
that has led to pollution, deforestation and destruction of natural habitats that now threatens
man.

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HEIR CONDITIONING
POETRY

Elements

Title
The title implies the transfer of a generation and highlights the gap that existed and apparent
in societies today. This gap existed due to he results of the conditioning affect that took
place in the name of development and modern times.

Theme
Modernisation comes with a price.
Differences in time between two generations
Spirituality vs. Materialism
Traditional vs. Modernisation
Wisdom vs. Ignorance

Literary devices

Alliteration
Alliteration is used to reflect the sound of the wind from her grandmother’s paper fans
The repetition of similar consonants at the beginning of words put close to each other.

Example:

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Consonant: /f/

Grandma weren’t you flustered

As you fluttered with paper fans?

Rhyme Scheme
Contemporary. Followed no rhyme scheme.

This poem is a good introduction for contemporary poem.

Pun
Pun is used as an irony as the usage of air-conditioner is causing harm to the nature as we
enjoy the cool air.

Example:

Heir conditioning and air-conditioning

Heir
An heir is a person who will legally receive money, property or a title from another
person, especially an older member of the same family, when that other person dies;
someone who now has the responsibility for dealing with a problem or situation that
existed or was created earlier.

Condition/ Conditioning (INFLUENCE)

It is to train or influence a person or animal mentally so that they do or expect a
particular thing without thinking about it.

Repetition
Words or ideas that are emphasized to show the importance of a certain concept

Example:

Line 1- 9 : You”
Line 10- 18 : “We”
Line 18- 20 : “You & We”.

Here the poet emphasize the word “you”, focusing all attention to the grandparents.
Also signify blaming; “you” as pinpointing.

Style
The style use is simple but rich in contrast.

Example:

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 The lines in the poem are presented in a non standard tradition of style.
The poem is presented in 9 lines in the first stanza.
The second stanza contains 10 lines.

Tone
This poem has a rather serious and sarcastic tone. This is because the use of all these
technological appliances that are supposed to make our lives more comfortable is actually
destroying the world we live in.

The tone of the grandchild (line 1-9) poses question. The tone is puzzle. The
grandchild saw nothing good of those times. The tone here is “ignorant, and looking
down”. Blatant with a series of stupid questions. The tone is anticipation of trivial
answers.

The tone of the Grandparents (line 10-18) reflect a “more experienced” that the
grandchild did not have the privilege and contrarily should not look down towards.

The tone argues that despite the grandchild’s “backwards” view towards them,
wonderful experience is evident at the time. The tone here also suggests wisdom, as
a sharp contrast to the ignorance.

The tone here suggests their perception of wrongful ideas followed by youngsters
today.

Irony
An expression of meaning often humorous or sarcastic, by the use of language of a different
or opposite tendency

Example:

In this poem, the poet highlights the comforts of modernization (telephones, air-
conditioner and modern transportation), and the consequences (stress,
consequences of traffic jams and pollution) they have brought unto us.

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 HEIR CONDITIONING ACTIVITY 1

What‘s in
the picture?
Time : 40 minutes

Aims Materials

1 To develop the faculty for observation and 1 Picture 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e
memory
2 To state object used in olden and modern days
3 To develop reasoning skills

1 Class is divided into groups of 4-5. Show Picture 1a for 20-30 seconds.
2 Groups write down what they have seen on a piece of paper.
3 Group will be given one point for each correct answer.
4 Picture 1a is a composition of a considerable amount of smaller pictures in it.
5 Steps1b.
Show Picture
6 Give the students 20-30 seconds to study it then put Picture 1b away
7 Groups write down what they have seen.
8 Ask a number of questions to test the observation and memory powers of the
group.
9 Each group leader is to submit the group’s majority view on each question in
writing. 7
10 The sample picture given is a simple reflection of the poem’s theme of Traditional
vs. Modernisation
 Notes

Suggested questions for Picture 1a and 1b:

1. How many objects did you see?
2. How many can you identify?
3. Where can you find these?
The group giving the most correct series of answers wins.

Suggested final questions:

4. How many of the objects shown are you using at present?
5. Why are you using them?
6. Can you do without any of them? And why?
The group giving the most correct series of answers wins.

** Kim's Game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kim's Game is a game or exercise played by Boy Scouts and other
children's groups. The game develops a person's capacity to observe
and remember details. The name is derived from Rudyard Kipling's
1901 novel Kim, in which the hero, Kim, plays the game during his
training as a spy. As with Kim, the purpose of this requirement is to
develop the faculty for observation and memory.

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HEIR CONDITIONING WORKSHEET 1

What ‘s in
the picture?

9
Picture 1a

10
 Picture 1b

HEIR CONDITIONING ACTIVITY 2

Conditioned
Minds
Time : 40 minutes

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 Aims Materials

1 To read and understand the poem 1 Worksheet 2

2 To relate key words in poem and title to theme

Steps

1 Ask students to discuss in groups of four what modern inventions they cannot live
without.
2 Select some students to present the outcome of the discussion to the class.
3 Distribute worksheet 2 to students.
4 Instruct students to read the poem and match the lines in the poem to the
meanings.
5 Discuss the answers and create awareness that the poem can be looked at from
two perspectives that is a child or teenager and his grandparents or the younger
generation and the older generation
6 Tell students to identify what is important to the younger generation by studying the
poem
7 Discuss answers.
8 Discuss the meaning of ‘heir’ and ‘conditioning’. Ask students to give the theme as
seen in the title of poem.

Notes

Heir means a legal successor to property or rank; morally entitled to something; examples:
the heir to the throne; inherit the Earth or heirs to Earth;

Conditioning means to teach or accustom to adopt certain habits. The mind conditioned
by the people around and society.

HEIR CONDITIONING WORKSHEET 2

Conditioned
Minds
Write lines from the poem that have the meanings given in the table below.

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 Meanings Lines from the poem ‘Heir Conditioning’
1. Were you not disturbed by the heat
when you used paper fans to cool
yourself?
2. Were you able to talk to others who
lived far away?

3. Was it difficult to live without

handphones, fans, computers, washing
machines, cars and other inventions?
4. Did you really live and breathe in air
before air-conditioners were invented?

Work in pairs and discuss the answers for the following questions.

1. Who is asking the questions in stanza one?

__________________________________________________________________

2. Who is answering in stanza two?

__________________________________________________________________

3. Analyse the poem and circle the words which show what is important to the younger
generation.

fans forests air conditioners paper fans cars

God money telephones nature hills

4. What are the minds of the younger generation conditioned to think?

__________________________________________________________________

5. Who are the heirs to the Earth and everything on it?

__________________________________________________________________

6. Is the title of the poem suitable? Why?

__________________________________________________________________
HEIR CONDITIONING ACTIVITY 3

Bare
necessities
Time : 40 minutes

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 Aims Materials

1 To identify objects/items used in to the past and 1 Worksheet 3a

present 2 Worksheet 3b
2 To state objects/items students think are
important
3 To reason why certain objects are more
important than others

Steps

1 Groups are given Worksheet 3a.

2 Give students 10 minutes to study the pictures on Worksheet 3a.
3 Group members will orally state all that they see.
4 Group members will state the objects/items they think are important in their lives.
4 Students will state the reason/s for their choices.
5 Other students are allowed to ask questions or challenge the choices made.
6 Teacher must decide the number of questions allowed. Suggested number could
be between 2-3 questions.
7 Repeat with other group until all groups have presented
8 Repeat the whole process using Worksheet 3b.

Notes

For this activity, an ideal group size would be 2-3 members per group.

HEIR CONDITIONING WORKSHEET 3a

Bare
necessities
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Look at the pictures in the boxes then decide what item/s you would want to keep and
what item/s you would want to discard. State reason/s why do so. You can use the
boxes below the pictures to write your notes.

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HEIR CONDITIONING WORKSHEET
3b

Bear
necessities
Look at the pictures in the boxes then decide what item/s you would want to keep and
what item/s you would want to discard. State reason/s why do so. You can use the
boxes below the pictures to write your notes.

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HEIR CONDITIONING ACTIVITY 4

Generation
al Gap
Aims Materials

1 To compare and contrast the lifestyle of the 1 Worksheet 4a

older generation and the present generation. 2 Worksheet 4b
2 To understand the themes in the poem.

Steps

1 Distribute Worksheet 4a to the students. Ask students to match the pictures to the
appropriate answer.
2 In pairs, ask students to compare the lifestyle of ‘grandfather’ and ‘grandmother’ to
the ‘grandchild’. Ask them to discuss whether they would prefer life in the older
times or the present. Select a few pairs to present in front of the class.
3 Distribute worksheet 4b. Discuss the answer with the students.

Notes

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 HEIR CONDITIONING WORKSHEET
4a

Generation
al Gap
Match the pictures to the phrases in the box.

Cooling breeze

The borderless communication

The cooling machine

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 Environmental threat

Chatting at the coffee shop

HEIR CONDITIONING WORKSHEET 4b

Generation
al Gap
Based on the poem ‘Heir Conditioning’, compare the lifestyle of ‘grandfather’ and
‘grandmother’ to the lifestyle of ‘grandchild’.

Grandmother and Grandfather’s Grandchild’s Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Write the textual evidence from the poem that supports the themes given below.

Theme Textual evidence

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 1. Modernisation comes with a price

2. Differences in time between two

generations

3. Spirituality versus materialism

4. Traditional versus modernisation

5. Ignorance versus Wisdom

HEIR CONDITIONING ACTIVITY 5

Is more
better?
Time : 80 minutes

Aims Materials

1 Compare basic necessities of the past and the 1 Picture cards

present. 2 Samples of everyday
2 Give opinions on the setbacks of pursuing technology (mobile phone,
material wealth. laptop, calculator, etc)
3 Justify opinions by providing reasons 3 Worksheet 5a and 5b

Steps

1 Teacher shows a set of pictures and samples of everyday technologies.

2 Students identify these items and give a brief description of their function.
3 Teacher divides the class into groups of fours and sets the task.
4 Students brainstorm for setbacks or negative effects of pursuing material gains and
present their findings in graphic form.
5 The group leader presents the group’s20 work to the class orally. Others listen and
evaluate their peers’ works.
 Notes

Teacher explains the different types of graphic organisers that

students may use to show their findings.

HEIR CONDITIONING WORKSHEET 5a

Is more
better?

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HEIR CONDITIONING WORKSHEET 5b

Is more
better?
TASK
1. Work in groups of four.
2. Brainstorm for ideas and opinions on the
setbacks or
negative effects of pursuing material wealth.
3. Present findings and opinions in graphic form.
4. Justify and provide reasons to support the
group’s findings
or opinions orally.

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 HEIR CONDITIONING ACTIVITY 6

Conditionin
g me
Time : 80 minutes

Aims Materials

1 To introduce students to the words used in the 1 Dictionary

poem 2 Worksheet 6
3 A stop clock

Steps

1 Tell students to read the poem.

2 Let them identify some difficult words from the poem.
3 Tell students to take out their dictionary and find the meanings of these words.
4 Give Worksheet 6 to each student.
4 Start the clock and let students complete the puzzles in 20 minutes. Make this a
competition in the class and the best three
23 answers will be given a reward. ( In case
of a tie, the fastest time will decide the three winners)
 Notes

Alternatively, this activity can be made into a SNAP Game. Teacher

make two sets of cards (use two colours). Write the words found in the
poem on one set and the meanings on another. Let students work in
pairs and let them snap and snatch the correct pairs.

HEIR CONDITIONING WORKSHEET 6

Conditionin
g me
Complete the crossword puzzles as fast as you can. The maximum time you may use
to do this task is 20 minutes. Best of luck!

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 6. 8. 10.

1. 9.

5.

2 .

7.
3.

4.

CLUES

Across

1. Take air into the lungs and then expel it as a regular process
2. Lack of knowledge and information
3. Share information news or ideas
4. Make you agitated
5. The physical world including plants, and animals.

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 Down

6. Electronic scanners that transmit data by telecommunication links

7. Relating to present or recent time
8. The action that cause much damage to something
9. Modern devices that are being created
10. The motion made by flapping up and down
HEIR CONDITIONING ACTIVITY 7

Past versus
Present
Time : 40 minutes

Aims Materials

1 Listen to a poem read aloud and list down 1 Handout 7

relevant information related to the poem. 2 Worksheet 7a and 7b
2 Talk about issues related to the poem and
answer questions about the issues.

Steps

1 Students study pictures in Handout 7 and discuss with partner what they see .
2 Students then listen to the poem read aloud.
3 Teacher distributes Worksheet 7. Students carry out the required task while
listening to the poem again.
4 With a partner, students discuss the differences between the past and present.
What are the changes they see around them?
5 Students present their answers orally in class.

Notes

Students can create and present a mini dialogue between a

grandparent and grandchild based on the poem.

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HEIR CONDITIONING HANDOUT 7

Past versus
Present

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HEIR CONDITIONING WORKSHEET 7a

Past versus
Present
Fill in the bubbles with words or phrases from the poem that are associated with the
environment. Pollution

i y

Environmen
t

y y

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HEIR CONDITIONING WORKSHEET 7b

Past versus
Present
List the differences between the past and present and write your answers in the
spaces provided. You may refer to ideas in the poem as well as include your own
 Paper fans
ideas.
 Air
PAST PRESENT
Conditioner









 vs



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
 HEIR CONDITIONING ASSESSMENT 1

Have I
understood
Fill up the blanks with the correct words.

The poet’s style is simple and direct. The poem, Heir Conditioning, is a dialogue
between a ………………………………..(1) and his ………………………………..(2) . It
consists of ………………………………..(3) stanzas, The first stanza which is
………………………………..(4) by the grandchild and the second, which consists of
the grandparents’ ………………………………...(5) The grandchild is
………………………………..(6) all the questions and the grandparents are
………………………………..(7) them honestly.

Answer the questions that follow.

1. When grandma ‘fluttered with paper fans’, she did it…………..

A. slowly
B. merrily
C. quickly

2. Name two things that are important to the grandparents.

A. money and God
B. God and nature
C. Paper fans and stress
D. Air conditioner and nature

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3. Basic necessity means something is………………
A. trivial
B. important
C. essential
D. expensive

What do you think? Read the statements carefully and write ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ in the space
provided. You can state your reason/s for your answer.

1) In the poem ‘Heir Conditioning’, the grandchild wonders if his grandparents

enjoyed their life when they were younger.

2) The poet believes that stress was a major problem in the past.

3) The poet highlights the need to respect nature and believe in God.
HEIR CONDITIONING
POETRY

Answer Key
Activity 1 : What is in the picture?
Possible answers to Picture 1a, 1b and 1c
1. Picture 1a has 9 smileys, Picture 1b has 20 smileys and Picture 1c has 16 smileys
2. Happy, elated, loved, cheerful, bewildered., sad, confused, disappointed, troubled,
stressed

Possible answers to Picture 1d and 1e

3. 12 objects.
4. digital watch, car, camera, aeroplane, money, air conditioner, compact diskette,
calculator,
personal computer, mobile phone, bulb/electricity.
5. In our house and school; in our society

Activity 2 : Conditioned minds

A. 1. Grandma weren’t you flustered as you fluttered with paper fans?

2. Could you communicate before faxes and long distance calls became basic
necessities?
3. Was it hard staying alive without modern inventions?
4. Grand dad did you breathe before air cons were invented

B. 1 a child/ a teenager/ a young person/ the younger generation

2 the grandfather/ grandmother/grandparents/the older generation
3 air conditioners, telephones, fans, money, cars, modern inventions, fax machines
4. They have become conditioned to think that they cannot live without modern
inventions and that money is more important than nature and God.

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 5. Young people and future generations.
6. Yes. It is suitable as the poem is about young people or heirs of Earth whose minds
have been conditioned by modernization and materialism.

Activity 3 : Bare necessities

Possible answers to Picture 2a
1. 7 objects
2. Hand fan, mails, tape cassettes, horse caravan, sundial, abacus, bicycle
3. In the olden days, museum, antique stores

Possible answers to final questions (accept any possible answers)

4. 11 to 15 objects
5. To make our lives more comfortable, more livable
6. Yes. Because…………………………….
No. Because……………………………

Activity 4 : Generational Gap

4a(i) Grandmother/Grandfather’s Lifestyle

• Using paper fans
• No faxes / telephone
• No pollution / stress / traffic jam
• Abundance of nature
• Religious

Grandchild’s Lifestyle
• Air-condition
• Faxes / telephones
• Destruction of forests, streams and hills (nature)
• Worships money rather than God

4b (ii)
a. “we did not know pollution, stress, traffic jams …”
b. “Grand dad did you breathe before air cons were invented … was it hard staying
alive without modern inventions?”
c. “we feared God and nature, now nature fears you, and money is your new God”
d. “Grandma weren’t you flustered and fluttered with paper fans, could you
communicate before faxes and long distance calls became basic necessities?”
e. “Grandchild we lived before your age. Because of our ignorance we did not know
pollution, stress, traffic jams, destruction of forests, streams and hills”

Activity 6 : Conditioning me

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 6. 8. 10.

F D F
9.
1. B R E A T H E L
I
X S N A
5. T U R E
2.I G N O R A N C E T V T
S R E T

U N E
7.
R
3. C O M M U N I C A T E
O T I E
D I O D
E O N
4. F L U S T E R E D N S
N

Activity 7 : Past versus Present

7a 1. forest
2. streams
3. hills
4. nature

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 5. traffic jams

7b Paper fans Air-cons

Clean, fresh air Polluted air
Clear streams and rivers Versus Dirty streams and rivers
Beautiful green forests Deforestation
Small population Large population and more
Few roads and cars immigrants
More roads and traffic jams

Assessment 1 : Have I understood?

FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE CORRECT WORD

1. grandchild 5. reply
2. grandparents 6. asking
3. two 7. answering/replying
4. spoken

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW

1. A
2. B
3. C

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

1. YES
2. NO
3. YES

HEIR CONDITIONING
POETRY

Glossary
34
Literary devices : specific aspects of literature which can be recognize, identify, interpret

and or analyse.

Alliteration : the repetition of the initial consonant. There should be at least two

repetitions in a row.

Assonance : the repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sentence

Pun : a word is used which has two meanings at the same time, which results

in humour

HEIR CONDITIONING POETRY

Panel of
Writers 35
Coordinators
Diana Fatimah Bt Ahmad Sahani
Masreen Wirda Bt Mohammad Ali
Tengku Ireneza Marina Tunku Mazlan
Eileen Jessie Ah Guan
Ng Yew Kee
Jimmy Then Choon Jing
Panel of Writers
Andrew Leong Kong Meng
(Panel Head)
Adrian Robert
Vasanthi Sandra Gasam
Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum, KPM
Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia
Aras 4-8, Blok E9
Kompleks Kerajaan Parcel E
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan
62604 Putrajaya
SMK Bintulu, Peti Surat 97
97007 Bintulu, Sarawak.
SMK Air Itam, Jalan Thean Teik,
11500 Pulai Pinang
SM La Salle, P.O. Box 10282
88803 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
SMK Tun Habab, Jalan Tajul.
81900 Kota Tinggi, Johor.
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