Summer Assignment

[Omar_elsherif]

Hey guys,

I received the booklist and assignment papers yesterday, and the papers said that i need to read 4 different stories listed on the paper.

Is this really needed? because i might not have time to read at all, since im moving to a different house and i need to be helping with the packing and un-packing. So will it affect if i dont read them? or its alright because we'll read it in school when we start the year?

(Entering IB next year in Sept.)

thanks

Edited May 29, 2009 by Mahuta
Please do not use text speak in the forum, thanks- Maha :)

[Mahuta ♥]

Um, I never heard of this summer assignment before IB, so I am guessing its your school having this policy. I didnt read any of the books I used during the past two years before I started in september.

[Omar_elsherif]

How sad, only my school with the assingment... oh well, thank you though

[biochem]

No you need to read those assignments. My school, has always made us read a book (2 this time around) over summer - and this reading that we do is a head start for the year. We merely discuss the book and go on to a huge test. What you read and how much time you put into the book is a direct reflection of the understanding which you will have of it. So this summer, my class is going crazy to gain everything they need in order to have a solid understanding of the book, since the teacher wont spend much time on it.

most summer assignments, that I am cognizant of, have a purpose to sustain the knowledge or give a teacher a good reference of where you are at. Establishing rudimentary excellence is never a bad thing - in my experience it leads to many open doors and a "easy" year based on some pre-conceived reputation the teacher might have of you.

I would suggest you do the assignments. Moving is not a 2-3 month work of a 10-hour daily labor. Handling a book + strenuous physical activity + more stress will do you some justice for what's coming up

[CommeDesEnfants]

My school also gave us a reading list; we were actually responsible of buying all these books ourselves. It was recommended that we read them over the summer, and that really helped a lot with actually understanding the details and doing close-readings (you will have so much fun with those, trust me) afterwards. It's important to be diligent even before IB starts; doing something as simple (well, compared relatively to other tasks in IB...) as reading some books shouldn't be too bad. However, try to keep in mind that enjoyment of your summer is absolutely crucial. Remember, you're a teenager: go have some fun.

[biochem]

We had to buy our books as well. This year the teachers are getting very. erm. for lack of a better term - stringent.

We get our assignments emailed and have a certain time to complete them.

Other classes have online quizzes to complete that count for a huge part of the grade for the 1st semester.

Packets worth more than any assignment that we will get my school I think is crazy.

we even read a 550-600 book for TOK last year - something even other schools in my area complained about on our behalf!

However I do think summer work, has made me into a monster. in a good way of course. I am taking a lot of online classes. more classes than I would have with IB, but at a honors/AP level. More than 7 that is.

no rest. Last year. I didn't "feel" a summer. Just the breeze that flew me into a scenery of poetry and crunching numbers on the first day of school (along with a 100 point test on the summer reading )

[Mahuta ♥]

As I said, I was never told to do any of those and I managed to go through IB without grest difficulty, so unless you want to do it because your school says so, it doesnt matter I dont think.

[Xelar]

When I was entering IB year 1 my summer assignment was to read The Great Gatsby for part 4 works (school's choice). Asking to read 4 novels seems over the top to me. You won't be discussing all four at the same time I assume, so ask your teacher which one you really need to read because it will be discussed first. Then prioritize

[Tilia]

If it's your A1 books, it'll be a good idea to read them. If not, it might be good to get used to work, but if you don't want to, then don't read them.

[Vvi]

Is moving house and unpacking/packing going to take all summer? Probably not, which means that you do have time to read. It's a lot easier to skim read books once you've already read them once, and if you don't want to waste time in class/during the week reading books when you should be doing other homework, just read the books over the summer. Hopefully they won't all be boring, there are always some that are.

[idIB]

That's odd. We have never gotten a summer assignment before. But if the books are going to be discussed when you get back to school, it won't hurt to read them right? it'll lessen your work load in the school year.

[x_anne]

Summer assignments are usually assigned by the school, not by IB. However, many of the readings assigned will be used for your IB courses, so you should read them to take some load off of the actual school year. How crucial it is for you to actually read the works during vacation entirely depends on your school. For example, the summer before my first year of IB, I was required to read three novels for part 4 (school's choice) of English A1. We had to write an essay on two of them during vacation and another essay on the first day of school on the third book, so of course we were forced to read all of them during the summer. This summer I have to read four books, write a comparative essay on two of them, record a presentation (skit) on one of them, and start my second world lit. paper with one of them. Again, I will actually be forced to read the books before vacation ends .

[DeStijl]

The only time I recall ever having to do schoolwork over the summer was for our Extended Essays. It was assigned to us in the late spring of IB1, and we were urged to do research and to at least begin the essay over the summer break. So I got all of my books and began to do some research...only to change my topic in the fall.

Thus, the summer was wasted. *heavy sigh*

[lilliannn]

My subject teachers decided to learn from the mistakes previous IB yeargroup and so are pushing us to finish all our IAs by the end of this year. just received the final deadlines for everything. so i have soooo much to do this summer. plus, im actually going away for the summer for abut a month. no break at all, seriously. here's the things i have to complete over this summer:

1. Extended essay

2. Biology Option E/Write up internal assessment

3. Business Internal Assessment (higher)

4. Geography fieldwork report

5. English IOP

and quite possibly a TOK essay.

so you guys don't actually have it as bad. i just want IB to end. one more year to go!

[Monkey-en-TuTu]

My school is very rigid about summer assignments. We do them in order to get ahead and not spend as much time as we would on a book that we had not previously read. Just think of all the time you're not wasting! Anyway, they're pretty strict about it. If you don't do them they force you to drop your status as an IBDC. I would recommend doing it, not only because it will enormously help with your understanding of the book, but also because it's time that you won't have to waste during the school year, when you might need this time to be doing other assignments for other classes. Yes, I've been on the bad side of summer assignments (500+ page books, essays, packets, etc.) but if you space them out it's really not that much work.

[adrianmclo]

i think its going to help by starting early. if you can spare some time during your summer preparing for a book or two, all it does is save some of your time during the year when others are rushing through their reading or preparing their essays.

Our school wont have a reading list and in fact I am looking for books that i should read and can help with my IB starting this fall because I have a pretty free summer and I think its always good to start early...any ideas?

[powa2]

Our school bought our books and our assigned reading isn't that bad. We're suppose to read Othello and know it well and to read Crime and Punishment. We also have to read a short story compilation novel by Chekhov. I find them really nice since I'm not really doing anything right now and I could just sit down and relax and spent a few hours reading without pressure to do any analysis on them.

Adrianmclo, if you're looking to read some good literature you should go with some classics, The Great Gasby, Crime and Punishment, The Outsider, The Metamorphosis and The House of the Spirits. Their interesting and their usually the world literature books that teachers most often use to teach with.

[Tilia]

My subject teachers decided to learn from the mistakes previous IB yeargroup and so are pushing us to finish all our IAs by the end of this year. just received the final deadlines for everything. so i have soooo much to do this summer. plus, im actually going away for the summer for abut a month. no break at all, seriously. here's the things

That's just stupid by the teachers. Sure, year 2 will be less stressful, but how well are the IAs going to be if you're doing them all at the same time?

[sweetnsimple786]

Aww I agree with Tilia. I'm so thankful to my teachers because I'm done with my history, math, physics, and Spanish IAs. However the first two spread out the process and the second two crammed it in terribly. I can look back and be thankful, but it was quite a ridiculous disparity!!

To answer the original question, if you're not even going to bother doing what your teachers have specifically told you to do, that's an inauspicious beginning. I know many students haven't even heard of summer reading/assignments, but my IB1 assignments >> IB2 [read: IB1 assignments were much greater than IB2 assignments]. Like others have said, you will most likely be tested on the material and discuss it throughout the two years.

However, on that note, if you're not assigned a book to read, but you know you will be reading it sometime in the year, do yourself a favor and do not read that book! Also, no use writing essays super early because your skills develop rather quickly during a short amount of time. It's crazy! I complain that my English teacher hasn't taught me how to write at all, and yet my essays have improved drastically [in his eyes! and his wife's]. It's surreal

[Tiara Angel]

OP, it really depends on your school's policy. For example, I'm a 2011er as well and we have not been assigned any particular tasks however I am thinking of buying a few books and reading them not for writing commentaries on them but just so you get the gist of the story. I've looked at your sig and I know what subjects you're doing.

English - just read through a couple of the books for pleasure. If you're travelling, it's a good idea to kill time reading in the bus station, airport, etc.

Arabic - I'm assuming it's your native language so I don't think you have to do a lot of practice for this one.

Maths, Physics and Chem - it's your holiday so enjoy it! But you may want to buy a GDC this summer and play with it so you know how your GDC works. It's really fun seeing the nice looking graphs!

It's your holiday and probably the last fun holiday you'll get in years from what I've heard. Have fun! But prepare yourself for an empowering journey!