NOTECARD
 Please tell me about your student:
 Your name and student’s name
 Something you are proud of or that impresses you about
your son or daughter
 Anything else you want me to know about
 Learning styles
 Personality
 Family background
 Challenges
 Questions for me
THANKS!
IB English Literature
Higher Level
Ms Lauren Jackson
Haverford college, BA English Lit
University of Pennsylvania,
MSEd Secondary English Education
lauren.jackson@seoulforeign.org
Phone: 3140-6614
IB English is . . .
 A college-level course
 Administered by the International
Baccalaureate Organization (IBO)
 Held over two school years
 Fast-paced, intense, demanding,
intellectually stimulating, fun and
rewarding
 Focused on “literary reading”—
reading closely for context (plot),
word play (art), and subtext (deeper
meaning)
IB English . . .
 Engages students in reading, discussing,
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thinking and writing about literature
Equips students to analyze literature
independently– what, how and so what?
AND to write articulately and concisely about
it in a personal, natural voice
Gives students exposure to literary criticism
Enables students to learn more about
themselves, others and the world
IB English has . . .
 A strong focus on World Literature (Lit in Translation)
“One of the most effective and humanizing ways that
people of different cultures can have access to each
other’s experiences and concerns is through works of
literary merit.”
Salma Jayyusi
The Literature of Modern Arabia
 At the same time,
“A work of world literature has an exceptional ability to
transcend the boundaries of the culture that produces it.”
David Damrosch
How to Read World Literature
We will study the context of literature, avoid “premature
universalization,” and examine both the specific and the
universal in each text.
The course is . . .
Divided into four parts:
1. Literature in Translation (3 works)
2. Detailed Study (3 works)
3. Genre Study (4 works)
4. Options (3 works)
The parts are NOT completed in this order
Options
Semester 1, Grade 11
Three texts chosen by teacher/school:
 The Waste Land and other poetry of T.S.
Eliot
 Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi
 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey
+ film by Milos Forman
Assessment
 Individual Oral Presentation (IOP)
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based on one or more of the Part 4 texts
Internally assessed, 15%
10 – 15 minutes; not read verbatim;
discussion follows
Students select text(s) and topic, work
independently with some guidance
Class is audience
Works in Translation
Semester 2, Grade 11
Three works in translation chosen from
PLT
 A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen
(Norwegian drama, 19th century)
 Wislawa Szymborska
(Polish poetry, 20th century)
 Kitchen, Banana Yoshimoto
(Japanese novel, 20th century)
Assessment
 Written assignment – externally assessed, 25%
 Four Stages:
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Interactive Oral: part of class teaching; one for each text;
focus on culture and context of the works; teacher gives
prompts (done in pairs or groups)
Reflective Statement: written soon after and in response to
Interactive Oral (300-400 words)
Supervised Writing: done in class for each work studied;
notes and texts but no internet; prompts provided at the
start of the writing time; independent thinking
Essay: students choose one of the SWs to develop into the
essay; teacher can guide development of the topic; teacher
can give feedback on first draft (1200-1500 words)
Detailed Study
Semester 1, Grade 12
Three works of different genres
chosen from PLA (one must be
poetry)
 An Evil Cradling, Brian Keenan
(Ireland, nonfiction, 20th century)
 John Keats and supplemental British
Romantic poetry
(18-19th century)
 Hamlet, William Shakespeare
(drama, 17th century)
Assessment
 Individual Oral Commentary (IOC)
 Internally assessed, 15%
Recorded:
 20 minutes: independent preparation of a
passage from one of the texts studied (chosen by
teacher)
 8 minutes: students speak to teacher on passage
 2 minutes: questions from teacher
 10 minutes: discussion on another genre
Genre Study – Novel
Semester 2, Grade 12
Four texts chosen from PLA:
 The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien
(USA/Vietnam, 20th century)
 The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
(USA, 20th century)
 Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
(Europe/Congo, 19th/20th century)
 The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood or
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte (TBD)
Assessment
 2 hour exam, May 2014 (Paper 2 Exam)
 Externally assessed, 25%
 3 questions given for each literary genre.
 Students choose 1 question and write a
compare/contrast essay based on at least 2
works studied in part 3
 Explore the ways the writers have used
the conventions of the genre
Paper 1 Exam
 2 hour exam, scheduled in May 2014, 20%
of IB grade
 Externally assessed
 Written commentary on EITHER a poem
OR a prose passage (one of each given;
they choose)
 Passages come from texts we have NOT
studied (not even from PLA)
Assessment for SFS
Students will be assessed in a variety of
ways:
 Oral work: discussions, presentations,
recorded commentaries
 Written work: essays (in-class and
processed), commentaries, informal
responses, reflections, creative responses
 Exams – end of second semester, mock IB
exam
 Participation and “Responsibility”
 Self-assessments and portfolios
How to succeed in IB English?
 Get enough sleep and have balance
 Attend all lessons well-prepared
 Read actively—responding to text through
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notes, sticky notes, questions—and reread
Participate actively in class—take risks
Collaborate appropriately
Think and write independently—take
risks
Ask for help
How can you help?
 Take an interest in what your child is doing in
English. (Read and discuss the texts with your
child.)
 Check Haiku to keep abreast of tasks, due dates
and what we’re doing during class time
https://sfs.haikulearning.com/lauren.jackson/iblit
eraturehly1/cms_page/view
 Attend conferences with your child
 Don’t bail them out! Let them be accountable
for their own learning.
 Email me if you have questions or concerns
Questions?
Photo source: battensby.com
Powerpoint adapted from Cathi Wiebusch, IB Lit HL 2010-2012 Parent Night Powerpoint