2021 Summer Reading Assignment - Sequoia High School
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2021 Summer Reading Assignment
Introduction to IB English Year 1
Dear English IBY1 Students:
We are excited to start a challenging and fulfilling year of reading, writing, and thinking with
you. During the 2021 – 2022 school year, we will be working with various global issues, areas of
exploration, and fields of inquiry in order to explore how concerns relevant to your lives
connect to and explain further the literature that you read.
We are going to have a full first semester, so it is essential that you come to class in August
having done this assignment. The assignment is designed to give practical strategies for
completing the HL Essays, of which you will write three during first semester.
Below you will find the assignment, which needs to be completed by Friday, August 13th at
11:59:59pm. If you get it done by 11:59:59 on the first day of classes, Wednesday, August 11,
however, you will receive some extra credit. On the first day of school, your specific IB English
teacher will specify on which electronic platform you will turn in your summer reading
assignment. If you do not have computer/internet access at home, please ensure to bring a
hard copy of the assignment.
This should take, in total, about 3 hours to complete:
The new IB English curriculum is structured around a more student-centered, independent
model. For this reason, nearly all of the official IB Assessments contain an element of choice.
Below, you will choose from one of four short texts. You will answer the questions regarding
that narrative and produce a short writing in response.
This writing component is important as we will have a pre-assessment writing on your summer
reading within the first couple of weeks of classes. Your choices are:
“Two Kinds” This excerpt from the novel Audiobook
a short chapter involves the family dynamic of
from the novel a mother and a daughter, the
The Joy Luck Club former clinging to the
by Amy Tan traditions and expectations of
her Chinese heritage, the latter
trying to adjust and assimilate
to life in America.
“Desiree’s Baby” Set in the Antebellum (Pre-Civil Audiobook
Kate Chopin War) South, the short story
deals with the aristocratic,
slave-owning Aubigny family
on a plantation in Louisiana.
“Spin” This is a Set in the context of the Audiobook
short chapter from Vietnam War and its aftermath,
the novel The this narrative chronicles the
Things they Carried experiences of multiple
by Tim O’Brien soldiers.
“Names/Nombres” Set in New York City, this short Audiobook
Julia Alvarez story discusses the importance
A short story and the evolution of names
during the process of adapting
to a new home country.
Directions: Read the text once, as a human only. Then, reread, annotating the text as you go
along. You want to notate any significant authorial choices (see #4 below for examples) that
stand out to you. Answer the questions below, regarding the text that you chose.
Each response should be a paragraph of approximately 1/3 a page, double spaced:
Part I: Analysis of the Text
1. Recap: Summarize the content of this literary text (essentially, tell us what the narrative
is about in a robust summary of the text from beginning to end).
2. Connection to Global Issue:
What universal human/global/local issue/concern/controversy relates to your
chosen text? How?
3. Discourse:
What does this text contribute to the discussion about/ conversation
surrounding this issue topic as a whole? Does it add a new angle? Reinforce
something? Call something into question?
4. Authorial Choices:
What are some of the prominent authorial choices that the author uses to
convey the essence of the global issue? (For example: symbolism, motifs,
metaphors, tone + diction, syntax, organization,imagery, juxtaposition,
foreshadowing, allusion, hyperbole, etc., or structural choices (POV, linear vs.
non linear narrative)). Please also explain how the features you chose help the
author convey the global issue.
5. Effectiveness:
What is your personal response to the text, both in terms of its content and its
effectiveness? What did it make you think about or question?Did it reinforce or
challenge any of your opinions or beliefs?
Part II: Writing an Effective Introductory Paragraph
You’ve examined the underlying societal concern/problem or “global issue,” accentuated in the
short literary text. Now you will synthesize these skills of analysis into an introductory
paragraph for a hypothetical essay on this text in response to the question below:
How and with what predominant authorial choices does the author of the
narrative demonstrate the impact of your chosen “global issue”?
Your paragraph should demonstrate that you understand the text that you chose and its
corresponding global issue.
In the introduction: you must mention:
a. the title of the text
b. the date of publication
c. the author’s name
d. any historical context relevant to the time in which the text was written
e. a thesis addressing the global issue you chose and at least two authorial
choices and how they are at work in conveying that issue.
Word Limit: 400
If you have any questions about this assignment, feel free to contact the IB Year 1 English
teachers:
Lillian Humphrey - lhumprey@seq.org
Renita Spears - rspears@seq.org
Nichole Vaughan - nvaughan@seq.orgYou can also read
