Teaching Unseen (NHHS)

Hi all I have not been teaching the unseen for the past 3 years as I am only teaching the set text for the time being. This is what I remember about teaching the unseen: I believe students need help, especially in the initial stages, to activate schema and spark off their analytical skills. The first unseen lesson, I showed the students a picture of the painting 'St George and the Dragon' by Uccello. We considered the two characters in the painting and raised questions about them. Following that we used 'Not my best side' by Fanthorpe, which is based on that painting, to explore characterisation and point of view. I remember that lesson because the students were engaged and intrigued by the unexpected version of the story in the poem. From there I would at times use pictures/photographs to activate schema or start discussions. I also tried my best to use excerpts from texts of different genre and cultures (incl Singaporean literature) to expose students to various types of writing and perspectives. Lastly, I feel that once the core skills are taught, students should be exposed to many types of questions and have sufficient timed practice