In relation to the five levels of cognitive difficulty in questions according to Thomas Barretts taxonomy, questions need to construct from

simple or lower order or higher order. Based on the text, the first level is literal comprehension. This requires the readers to take details from the text directly. Reorganization requires the readers to reorganize and recall their memory on the main details, supporting details, making comparisons, associating cause-effect relationships and character traits. Inferential requires the targeted readers to make inferences on the text itself by forming an understanding based on his or her personal or existing experience. In evaluation level, evaluation is done based on the judgment on the subject matter of the text while appreciation is about giving emotional or aesthetic response to the text.

Table 1: The following table provides the examples of questions for each level. Levels of complexity Literal Comprehension Reorganisation Where does the death take place? When does the event happen? What is look that is mentioned in the poem? Who are the characters found in the poem? How do the neighbours respond to the death? How do the close ones respond to the death of someone they know? What has been thrown out from the house? What is the minister doing in the house? Is there a funeral taking place? How the town would know there is a death? How did the poet response to death when he was a child? What is the style and language used by the poet? Why are the neighbours rustling in and out of the house? Why the children hurry by when they pass by the house? The poem mentions It in stanza 3. What does It Examples of questions

represent? Inference What is the metaphor used in representing the family members? What are milliner and undertaker doing in the house? Why are the people in the house moving mechanically? In your opinion, do you think the numb look in stanza 1 is an opinion or observation of the event? Based on your experience, do people move mechanically and remain cold in dealing in death? Give your opinions and state evidence to support your opinions. Evaluation Based on your observation, what is the function of the milliner and undertaker for the event? Why? Do you agree on that death is a common event? In your opinion, do you think the poet and the deceased have a good relationship? Why? Do you think that it is natural for children to have curiousity about death and the way they behave against death? From the description given in the poem, what is the main purpose of the minister and why is he acting as he is the owner of the house? Give evidence to support your reason. Based on the text given, state your opinion on the dark parade mentioned in stanza 5. Why the word dark is used to describe the parade in stanza 5? Why do you think it is easy for the town to know there is a death occurs in the town? Based on your understanding, is death a common thing in life? Why? What do you think of the way the family members dealing with death? Why?

Do you think that the minister play a significant role in the poem? Why? Give evidence to support your answer.

Appreciation

If you are the minister of the funeral, would you act differently against death? Why? If you are one of the family members of the house, how would you feel? Why? How is the tone of the poem? Does the tone of the poem support the theme? If yes, why? If no, why? If you are the family member of the deceased, how would you respond to death? Do you agree that everyone respond to death the same way? Why? What would you do if death occurs in your family? If you are the poet, how would you portray death in the poem?

The above table shows the levels of complexity of questions for Theres death in the opposite house. It progresses from low order to higher order. The questions develop in such a way to help the readers to comprehend the poem and the questions asked will trigger the pupils mind and curiousity to explore the text given as well as connecting the readers with the poem itself. In brief, it is vital to construct questions based on the levels in order to assist the readers to ponder and reflect of the subject matter and gain better understanding of the issue.

References : Dr Wan Rozelezam Wan Yatya & Dr Teh Chee Seng, HBET 4203, Teaching Drama and Poetry in ESL, March 2010, Meteor Sdn Bhd. Parwathy Ratnam, Cynthia Richards, Bhajan Kaur, Thevy Rajaretbam, Seleced Poems and Short Stories, Ligh on Lit, The Literature Component made easy, form 4, 2007, Pearson Malaysia Sdn Bhd Taxonomy of Reading Comprehension by Thomas C. Barrett, Past President of the International Reading Association, 1976