To All Rising IB 11Th Grade Students

June 16, 2015

To all rising IB 11th grade students:

Welcome to the IB Diploma Programme! The English course you are taking is essentially a two year course, consisting of five assessments. Two of these assessments are graded in house, by your teachers, and 3 of them are sent away for external testing. You are required to be proficient in three to four texts per semester; starting with the two I am assigning for summer reading. I have used this method in the past to pace our IB reading, and assist in decreasing the day to day workload IB students often face. In the fall semester, 11th grade IB students will read three texts: The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises, and Their Eyes Were Watching God. All three texts are from the same era, and will be studied both in isolation and in relation to each other. It is essential that students come into the course having read and completed the study guide for The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises. During the grading period of the fall, I will be assigning Their Eyes Were Watching God while we dissect the other two books in class. The first IB assessment of the 5 will take place in November, and will be using the three books mentioned above.

Please print out the study guide and answer each question. If it asks about a literary device or uses a term you don’t understand, please underline the term, look it up and attempt the question. We will then go over that term in class to solidify your understanding. Answer every question, even if you have to offer a researched guess. If you have read a text previously, you may attempt to fill in the study guide without reading, but you will need to know that book in great detail beginning on day one. I appreciate your hard work on this. It will definitely pay off, and you will start the year off with a great grade!

Summer Reading:

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway

First Quarter Reading:

Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at . Here’s looking forward to a great 2015-16.

Sincerely,

Mr. Tinsley