Summer Reading: Walking on Sunshine*
English Summer Reading Assignment--IB Language and Literature HL/SL 1
There are two parts of this year’s summer reading assignment. You will read one books and a variety of media.
This will serve as a lead-in to the DP Language and Literature curriculum, but first and foremost it should foster
your love of reading and allow you to select works that are of interest to you. Keep an open mind and HAVE FUN!
Objectives of summer reading
1.
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Students will exercise their brains by reading continuously over the summer. Don’t let the summer slide
overtake you!
Students will start school prepared to discuss their reading choices and analyze literary and nonliterary
texts.
Students will (hopefully) enjoy the freedom of reading texts of their own choosing.
Part One: A book of your choice (fiction or otherwise)
Choose a book, any book! Select something that you’re interested in reading: a novel, a poetry collection, a
historical work, manga, a play, or a book about science, sports, finance, or otherwise. Read it and enjoy! Use your
e-reader or phone if you’d like! Be prepared to share a bit about the book with your classmates.
You may use something that you’ve read before (great opportunity to resurrect an old favorite!), but you are on
your honor to actually read it again this summer.
And here is a link to suggested readings for part 1, assembled by Mr. Bellew:
http://blog.canacad.ac.jp/wpmu/kiaora/files/2014/05/Suggested-Reading-List-for-G11-Language-and-LiteratureStudents-2014.pdf
Assessment:
You will give an overview of the book you read to the class. You should be prepared to share the title, the author, a
brief summary, and a review. Be prepared to answer questions from your classmates and me about the book.
Details about the assignment will be provided on the first(ish) week of school.
Oh, and by the way, OF COURSE you can read more than one book! In fact, you should! If you read lots, just pick
one book to use for your “official” one.
Part Two: Language and the mass media
One phrase you will hear throughout IB Lang & Lit is “The medium is the message.” In order to prepare you for
the mass media unit this year, you will read a number of texts that represent a variety of media. This assignment is
a variation on one that was set for new Lang & Lit students two years ago. You might like to look back on that one
for inspiration.
*Originally constructed by Tony Bellew (May 2014), , modifed by Peter Born, (June 2015)
What you should do:
1.
3.
Select one current news story that is of interest to you. This topic could relate to world events, sports, pop
culture, education, science, or something else.
Find and read/view five print or online texts that relate to this topic. At least three (3) the texts should
include visual elements like photographs, videos, or charts. Your selection of texts should represent at
least three different forms of media. A “text” as anything from which you can extract information.)
Some acceptable text types (forms of media) (this list is not all inclusive):
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Blog posts
Twitter hashtags
Videos
Magazine/journal articles (print or online)
Memes
Political cartoons
Essays
OpEd pieces
Song lyrics
Advertisements (print or non-print)
Infographics
News reports (newspaper articles, TV/radio, podcasts, etc.)
4.
Put together a Google Doc that contains links to all five texts. Use this template. If some of your texts are
print texts (like a physical newspaper or magazine), indicate that on your GDoc and give as much
information about the text as possible (a scan or photo would be most helpful!). Additionally, save the
hard copy of the text so you can bring it in for our discussion. You do not need to write anything about the
texts. Yet! See below for assessment procedures.
5.
Share your GDoc with your English teacher.
2.
Assessment:
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Part 1: In-class discussion during the first couple of weeks of school. Write a blog post as a follow-up to
our discussion (you will receive detailed assignment sheet in August)
Part 2 : Complete the THREE prompts listed above. Due August 29, 2014.
Part 3: Your GDoc. Use the template provided as described above. Share GDoc with your English teacher.
Some media terms that might help:
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Media – the main means of mass communication (esp. television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet)
regarded collectively
New media – Communication technologies created by the convergence of computers and traditional
media technologies (print, still photography, audio, and video)
Text – any form of media that conveys a message
Literary text – a written text that uses traditional literary devices to tell a story or convey a message
(short stories, poems, novels, etc.)
Nonliterary text – a text that uses nonliterary devices to convey a message (arguments, analyses,
etc…usually nonfiction)
Print text – any text that conveys a message through printed words
Nonprint text – any text that conveys a message through images, sounds, or other non-print
communication techniques
Language – the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words
in a structured and conventional way; the system of communication used by a particular community or
country; the manner or style of a piece of writing or speech
Purpose – the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists
Audience – the people giving or likely to give attention to something (reader, viewer, listener, etc.)
And here is a link to suggested readings for part 1, assembled by Mr.
Bellew:http://blog.canacad.ac.jp/wpmu/kiaora/files/2014/05/Suggested-Reading-List-for-G11-Language-andLiterature-Students-2014.pdf