PREPARING FOR YOUR IB DIPLOMA AT ST GEORGE’S BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
SUMMER TASKS AND READING LISTS 2013
English Literature, Language and Culture This summer try reading some of these books and or the media suggestions NARRATIVE My Name is Red, O. Pamuk Great Expectations, C. Dickens Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, D. Sijie Short Stories (any collection), Hemingway Persepolis, M. Satrapi Pride and Prejudice, J. Austen The Name of the Rose, U. Eco Atonement, I. McEwan The Outsider, A. Camus If This is a Man, P. Levi City of Glass, P. Auster (graphic novel version) The Unbearable Lightness of Being, M. Kundera Kafka on the Shore, H. Murakami MAUS, A. Spiegelman Possession, A.S. Byatt Mr Gwyn, A. Baricco Fear and Trembling, A. Nothomb The Great Gatsby, F.S. Fitzgerald A Passage to India, E.M. Forster Planet Word by JP Davidson
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MEDIA (paper or online) Time Magazine The Economist The Guardian The New Yorker Wall Street Journal The Times Selections of best Superbowl Adds Gender, Identity and Language in Teenage Blogs (http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue2/huffaker.html)
FlLMS The Reluctant Fundamentalist The Proposal Goodbye, Lenin Whale Rider Rabbit-proof Fence Little Miss Sunshine Blood Diamonds City of God Miss Representation (documentary) TED Talks Colin Stokes: How Movies Teach Manhood Lisa Donnelly: Drawing on Humour for Change Steven Johnson: Where Good Ideas Come From Lisa Kristine: Photos That Bear Witness to Modern Slavery Megan Kamerick: Women Should Represent Women Cameron Russell: Looks Aren't Everything, Believe Me, I'm a Model Scott McCoud: On Comics Naif Al-Mutawa: Superheroes Inspired by Islam Bahia Shehab: A Thousand Times No Rives, A Story of Mixed Emoticons John McWhorter: Texting is Killing Language Shereen El-Feki, Pop Culture in the Arab World
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NON-FICTION Black Gold, Anthony Wild Songlines, Bruce Chatwin Patagonia, Bruce Chatwin The Language Instinct, Steven Pinker Planet Word, J.P. Davidson Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms
And: Blogs, documentaries, books on language by David Crystal. His homepage is on www.david.crystal.com
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Italian A Language and Literature In preparation for next year, Italian A Language and Literature students should buy and read, as much as possible, the following books: LANGUAGE: Benvenuto Terracini, Conflitti di lingue e di cultura, Einaudi Maurizio Dardano, La lingua della Nazione, Editori Laterza Giuseppe Antonelli, L’italiano nella società della comunicazione, Il Mulino (Universale Paperbacks) LITERATURE: E. Montale, Ossi di seppia, Mondadori (Oscar poesie) M.Satrapi, Persepolis, Edizioni Lizard C.Goldoni, La locandiera, Oscar Classici Mondadori N.Ginzburg, Lessico famigliare, Einaudi Pier Paolo Pasolini, Ragazzi di vita, Garzanti (solo HL) Giuseppe Ungaretti, Vita d’un uomo, Mondadori (solo HL)
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Physics You are strongly advised to do preparatory work this summer before the start of IB Physics lessons in September. You should 1. Sign up for the St George IB Physics Wiki http://stgeorgesibphysics.pbworks.com 2. Read about physics, watch physics videos and use animations on the wiki for Unit 1: Measurement and unit 2: Mechanics 3. Review IGCSE Physics by using our wiki http://stgeorgesigcsephysics.pbworks.com 4. Download and read through the syllabus from the school intranet IB Physics page.
You could 1. Use another wiki http://nothingnerdy.wikispaces.com to read, watch, use animations for IB Physics units 1 and 2 2. Read a good book about how physics works, for example “Six Easy Pieces” by Richard Feynman. 3. Watch youtube documentary about modern physics, for example, videos by Jim Alkalili or Brian Cox or Richard Feynman. 4. Try a few multiple choice questions for IB Physics on the website http://gradegorilla.com
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Chemistry These books are more interesting and informative to get you thinking scientifically rather than a course pre-requisite Author
Title
Publisher
P.W Atkins
Molecules
Scientific American
*J Keeler & P Wothers
Why Chemical Reactions Happen
O.U.P.
A good website to visit is www.youtube.com/user/richthornley This website has all of the syllabus statements from the IB syllabus in video form suitable for both SL and HL. Make sure you review from IGCSE: Moles, Equations, Bonding, Enthalpy, Rates of Reaction, Alkanes and Alkenes
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Maths Higher Level Core 1 is a pre-requisite for HL so students need to either have sat the exam and obtained at least a B, or ready to sit an internal test at the start of the year in September. In order to do so you need to work through you Core 1 textbook and practise past papers available online. Those aiming for a top grade may also want to study Core 2 topics. A good website is Mr Barton’s: http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/alevel.htm, which has a section on Core 1 and 2.
Standard Level No specific work is needed, but students may wish to use Mr Barton’s website to revise their weaker IGCSE topics and study some Core 1 topics, especially algebra. The SL course is a challenging and fast-paced one and a solid algebraic background is required. Studies No specific work is needed, but again some IGCSE revision would be appropriate so as not to forget what you have learnt so far!
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Biology You will need to buy several A4 folders and at least two lever arch folders to store your notes! Subject dividers are also useful‌organisation is everything! Generally speaking you should make sure you start the year with a good knowledge of living things – as seen in the first part of the IGCSE syllabus. Make sure you know the differences between bacteria, fungi and viruses. It is also useful to remind yourself of how substances move in and out of cells. The first topic we will study is statistics followed by cells. The podcast below is a great introduction to cells. It also talks a little about microscopy and is only about 15 minutes long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z9pqST72is&feature=youtu.be This webquest is also a useful start point in studying cells
http://www.biologyjunction.com/cell_exploration_webquest.htm General knowledge and reading is a fantastic way to boost your understanding and enjoyment of Biology. Have a looks at www.cellsalive.com the real time cameras and images of real cells are fabulous. And lastly, http://www.carolina.com/teacher-resources/Interactive/onlinegame-cell-structure-cellcraft-biology/tr11062.tr has an entertaining online cells game.
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Computer Science COMPUTER SCIENCE (SL) PREPARATION - SUMMER 2013 Reading list
Computer Science Illuminated – the textbook we shall be using
Useful sites on the web
CSopedia – wiki of resources for the new IB computer science course Computer Science site at Frankfurt International School (teacher Dave Mulkey is one of the world’s leading experts on IB Computer Science) Computer Science Wiki – being revised to reflect the new content of the syllabus Rasberry Pi website – official site for the “Pi” Raspberry Pi Wiki – the hub for everything to do with RP Mr Gordon’s Computer Science site – at mysgbis.net Computer Science at Khan Academy Computer Science for Fun - cs4fn How Stuff Works – Computer Channel Computer Science Portal – Wikipedia portal BlueJ – Java development environment (download and install it at home)
Background reading
Rasberry Pi – Wikipedia article Computer Science – Wikipedia article What is Computational Thinking? – on Computer Science For Fun Exploring Computational Thinking – Computational Thinking—What and Why? – original article by Jeannette Wing Object Oriented Programming – the option you will be studying Java Notes – online textbook for learning Java (read Chapters 1 and 2)
Practise question When the wages for a company’s employees are calculated, all hours worked above 38 are paid at the overtime rate of 1.5 times the base rate. Construct a flow chart that represents this algorithm and works out the wages to be paid.
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Research task
“Rock, paper, scissors” game – develop a series of rules that will determine the outcome of the game for two players (HINT: there are 9 possible game combinations)
“Wolf, sheep and cabbage river crossing” – determine a sequence of moves that will allow all three to cross the river safely. Suggest a way of representing the possible states of the scenario at any time and the possible actions that can happen to change the state of the game. What are the preconditions and postconditions for each action? Is there more than one way to solve the problem?
Carry out some research about Linux, the operating system used by the Raspberry Pi.
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ESS These books give a good background on some of the key topics we will cover Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer Silent Spring by Rachel Carson Websites This site contains an excellent set of revision notes. Have a read through sections 1 and 2. We will be covering these in the first term. ESS Revision Notes Task Over the summer compile a brief report of no more than two sides of A4 of environmental issues that are currently happening. Bring this along to your first ESS lesson.
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Theatre Arts Reading List
The Empty Space by Peter Brook The Theatre and It’s Double by Antonin Artaud An Actor Prepares by Stanislavski
All books can be collected from Mrs Angeletti before the end of term Research Have fun researching the following World Theatre Forms looking for related websites etc: Kabuki Theatre Noh Theatre Bunraku Theatre Butoh Dance You can think about design, costumes etc as well as performance techniques
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Music 1. Prepare one piece to play within the first few weeks. It can be written by themselves if they would like but does not have to be. 2. Please could they present one piece from each of the following categories and say where it has come from, when it was written and why they like it: a) Classical piece b) Jazz piece c) World music piece d) Popular music piece (none of the above can be from the GCSE Music Anthology!) 3. A short 300 word description of a style of composition that they admire (e.g. 20th century Atonality)
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Introduction to the IB • Geography is in Group 3, and can also be an elective in Group 6 • Paper 1: Core (population and resources) • Paper 2: Optional units • Internal assessment (coursework) • The course is the same for HL and SL with these differences: ▫ HL also do “Paper 3: Global Interactions” ▫ HL also do an extra topic from Paper 2 ▫ The weighting of the papers is slightly different
SL
HL
Useful resources
• Username: rosario Password: stgeorge • Explain the causes and impacts of future population change. ▫ How would you approach this question geographically?
Starting some research • You can use YouTube as well! • Watch a video about population growth e.g. “Hans Rosling: The Joy of Stats”* and make notes ▫ Notes: specific factual details, plus general ideas
• What are the main points it raises? • Where could you go for further information? •
Find it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo&list=PLA9F341A956449E1E
Answering a typical question:
Explain the causes and impacts of increasing population. Brainstorm: what would you need to include? If you want, get going straight away by answering this question in a full essay!
Summer Holiday Task for Pupils Beginning I.B. Art in September 2013 Your summer holiday task forms the beginning of your actual I.B. Visual Art practical work and research studies coursework upon which your entire final grade is based. It should therefore be completed to a very high standard of presentation and content. The first part of the task is to produce written and visual research in your first Investigation Workbook. The Investigation Workbooks record your personal investigations, practical experimentation, critical, historical and contextual studies and developing studio work in the form of essays, illustrations, experimentation, notes, photographs etc. They account for 40 % of your final grade. From September onwards you will be expected to complete between 10 & 12 sides in your books each month. You will need to use all of the skills from your other subject areas in Art – descriptive, experimental, critical and analytical writing and visual exploration... First get yourself a Investigation Workbook ! They Must be either A4 size (30cm x 21cm approx.) or A3 (30 x 42 cm) hard bound (usually in black ) with 140 pages (280 sides). They normally cost around €15. Don’t worry if your book has less pages though. We count pages not books! Please check that the pages are either A4 or A3 – no other format is acceptable (see Mr Morgan if in doubt) For this research task A3 pages count as around 1.5 A4 pages (so instead of 20 A4 pages you would produce 12 A3 pages) Many examiners, myself included, recommend the A3 format. Your first school-based project will begin with the development and creation of Studio Work that combines ideas of individual identity, portraiture and representations of the human head from a variety of cultures.
The Research tasks: Part One : Human Identity Gallery Based Research: During the summer you are to visit at least one gallery or exhibition that includes some works of art that take the human identity – including the face or head as their main theme (it doesn’t have to be in Rome). Write and illustrate (draw/paint) a review of your visit. It is often better to write about work that you have seen which you like - but it isn’t essential. Whether your critical writing is positive or negative, it must be thoughtful - not just “I don’t like this, it’s boring” or “ I like this because it’s realistic”. You’ve all done critical writing in your G.C.S.E. Art course - remember?!!! Over 3 A3 sides of your IWB consider issues such as: Scale - how does a work of art’s size affect the viewer (and how is seeing an actual work of art different from seeing a reproduction in a book or on the internet for example?) Materials - what is it created from ?- why? - what effect does the material give? Content - what does the work represent ? Narrative - does it tell a story ? Does the time and place in which the piece was made affect the style and intended meaning of the work? give your personal interpretation. The Artist - Who ? When ? Even basic descriptions of colour, shapes etc. are useful - how is the mood or atmosphere of a piece affected by the artists use of colour, texture, line, pattern etc. ? Value judgement - is the piece successful ? Why ? Why was this piece of Art created? Who paid for it? Why? What task does this piece of Art hope to perform? Instruction etc? Experiment with use of metaphor and simile in your descriptions – make them rich and exciting to read.
Part Two Human Identity in Diverse Cultures: One art form that is present in many diverse cultures is the mask or head dress. Therefore, as part of your research will fill at least 3 A3 sides with drawings, paintings, photographs and notes on this theme which will form the basis of your research. For example: Native American headgear, gas masks, gimp masks, Japanese theatrical masks, motorcycle helmets, Venetian carnival masks, traditional tribal masks from various African nations, cricket masks, hockey masks, armour, skulls of animals, fish and birds, diving masks and helmets, welding masks, Egyptian burial masks, etc etc etc…. Describe/compare 2 or more masks on each A3 page It is vital that you describe the masks and headgear in detail, both through your drawings & paintings and through notes which discuss their visual appearance, function and also WHY THEY WERE MADE. What function do they serve in the society that uses them?
Part Three: Recording & Changing your own HUMAN identity: Over 4 A3 pages produce a range of visual and written studies in which you record/and or change your appearance in a way that expresses something about your identity, cultural heritage, interests, personality and character. This means drawing, painting and photographing yourself, sometimes wearing or using objects that change your appearance (makeup, masks, headdresses, scarves, glasses, hats etc) In other pictures in can be ‘just you’ . Include written notes explaining how each image that you draw/take/make says something about you, through your use of props and disguises or the way in which you pose (how does a photograph of someone taken from above give a different effect to one taken from below? How do hats, crowns, masks etc change the image and appearance of the wearer?)
Part Four: Your IB First Studio Project: Design and create a poster for World Food Day. (This is a formally assessed coursework project) The theme of the poster is
Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition This must be written clearly (and artistically!) on your poster (in any language) Your poster can be between A2 & A1 size (see me for paper). Aim to illustrate the idea of self help rather than hand outs to the poor. Have a look at http://www.fao.org/getinvolved/worldfoodday/en/ and also www.feedingminds.org for more ideas. Do at least 2 A3 pages of research and studies in your book before making the final poster. Be bold – which existing posters do you remember most clearly? which were most effective in communicating their message to you? Research into effective posters and visual communication should form part of your IWB research for this project.
Remember lots of VISUAL studies in a range of styles and media, clear, thoughtful, legible notes, a few photographs - this is the start of your first Investigation Workbook - make it look attractive and exciting. Total 12 A3 sides, split between the three tasks plus the finished poster.
http://saintgeorgesart.blogspot.com is the Art Department blog. I add useful ideas, information and links to this fairly regularly so check it out (and look back through the archives for interesting websites to help with your research. In fact you should stick the address on the inside of your IWB! My email address is greg.morgan@stgeorge.school.it Also join/follow/like our IB Art Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/501565903214141/ (St George’s Rome IB Visual Arts) and departmental FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/StGeorgesArtDepartment
NO PART OF THIS WORK IS ‘OPTIONAL’ !!! It’s all real coursework HAVE A GREAT SUMMER ! MR MORGAN 2013