Summer Assignment Instructions and Introduction
Pre-IB English I
Mrs. Kathleen Licht (Kathleen McPadden)
To the IB Class of 2020:
Before our journey actually starts in August, I would like for you all to read the two books that I have picked for you. One book is a young adult book that shouldn’t take you too long to read (I couldn’t put it down). The other may take a little longer because it is not your typical book. The first book is called Unwind and it is set in a not too distant future and centers around the lives of three children who are forced to come together in order to stay alive. I really liked this book and I think you all will too! The other book, Mythology, by Edith Hamilton, discusses exactly what you would think. Our yearlong journey will focus on Taking a Stand and Understanding Others. Keep that in mind as you read each book and complete the tasks. And remember, half the fun in completing a journey is the things you do along the way.
There is an assignment for each book attached to this. Please do not wait until the last few days of summer break to start these. The assignment is due the FIRST FRIDAY WE COME BACK TO SCHOOL. Please make sure that you follow the instructions completely or the assignment may not be graded until it is corrected. Please actually read the books, not the sparknotes. I will know if you didn’t and it will hinder your input during class discussions.
I am really excited to be your teacher next year! I promise that we will have as much fun as we can while still learning all about Literature! If you have any questions over the summer you can email me through the school email.
Have a wonderful summer! See you all in August!
Mrs. Licht
UNWIND
By Neal Shusterman
Summer Reading Assignment Part 1
Created by Eric Elfman
While you are reading Unwind, or after you finished if you would rather, you will need to read and respond to the following questions. Be sure to ALWAYS include textual evidence when necessary in your response. Please, cite your quotes in the correct MLA format. Example – “If the rest of his heart were to stop now, in this moment, the Admiral would die more content than any man on Earth,” (Shusterman, 334). Make sure that you respond to all parts of the question. Some of the questions may require that you do a bit of research, so please don’t leave this until the night before. While I would prefer that the assignment be typed, I will accept handwritten work. (blue or black ink only, skip lines, and legible) I will return it to you ungraded if I cannot read it.
The following questions will require that you do some additional research in order to correctly respond to them. Make sure that you include the sources you use at the end of your response. Please respond to 1 of the 3 issues. Each response should be between 300-500 words.
1. Research those who helped endangered people. You can study the pre-Civil War “Underground Railroad,” a vast network of individuals who helped runaway slaves make their way to freedom. Also research the stories of those who helped Jews escape the Nazi holocaust, including Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg and Chiune Sugihara. If you would like to write about any other people who actively work to provide aid to endangered people, please do so. Maybe consider The Invisible Children? Darfur? The brutality in Africa? Discuss what you have discovered.
2.The novel takes places after the “Second Civil War,” which dealt with Pro-Life advocates vs. Pro-Choice advocates. The real Civil War was fought, primarily, over the issue of slavery. Learn about recent civil wars in other countries. What issues have they been fought over? (For example, religion, race, politics.) Do you think it could happen here?
3.Find out how many people today elect to donate their organs after their death. What is the process to do so? How are the organs handled and delivered? How many lives do they save? Discuss whether it is a good idea to donate organs and, if so, why do so few people do it? Ask other students how many of them intend to donate their organs (there are a couple ways you can do this- talk to the people you know through text, or maybe you all could start a Facebook discussion).
Pick 3 of the 7 questions to answer in their entirety. Make sure that you use textual evidence either from Unwind or research you have done in order to better support your response. Be sure to correctly cite your evidence. Each response must be at least 250 words.
- How would you feel if you were in an accident, or had a rare disease, and you could only be cured if your damaged organs were replaced by parts taken from unwound teens. What would you choose to do? What if you were certain to die if you refused the parts? What if it wasn’t you, but someone you loved (a parent, a sibling) who was in an accident? Would your answer be different?
- Which of the three main characters, Connor, Risa or Lev, do you most identify with? Why? What traits do you have in common? Which of their traits work for them, and which make their lives harder? Which of your own traits would you like to give up? Which would you want to keep?
- Another question the kids in the book discuss is, “If every part of you is still alive but inside someone else, are you alive or are you dead?” They also wonder if consciousness can exist even if it’s spread out, and if the soul remains intact? What do you think?
- Which adults in the story are depicted sympathetically? Which do you feel are non-sympathetic? Do any shift from one to the other? How did the author describe these characters to make you feel one way or the other about them?
- Risa is assigned to play in a band at a Harvest Camp, performing upbeat tunes while teens are marched to their unwinding. Risa is conflicted: she knows playing in the band will keep her alive longer, but it’s at the expense of others, and her joy at having her fingers on a piano is matched by the horror of knowing what’s going on around her. How would you feel in this situation? Would you accept the position? Are there any situations in history similar to this?
- In the novel, unwinding becomes big business, as there’s a lot of money to be made from ill people and accident victims requiring fresh organs, and the population looks the other way, not considering the source. Are there any present-day situations you can think of where ethics have been compromised because of money, or because it’s simply easier not to think about it? Predict a situation in the future where greed or denial could defeat morals.
- Risa’s band plays “Don’t Fear the Reaper” among other songs for the teens who are going to be unwound. Put together a set list of songs your band would play if you were performing at a Harvest Camp. Explain your choices.
Pre – IB English I
Summer Assignment Part 2
Edith Hamilton Mythology
Read Edith Hamilton’s Mythology (you will use this text again). AS YOU READ THE STORIES, prepare a Character Bank on 3x5 index cards with information on the Gods, Goddess, heroes, and places listed below. Write the name of the person at the top of the card on the red line. Then write at least three sentences describing this character or place. All cards must be hand written, alphabetized, and numbered sequentially in the upper right- hand corner. You will need to hand in you 74 index cards on the first Friday we return to school.
- Acheron
- Achilles
- Adonis
- Antigone
- Aphrodite/Venus
- Apollo
- Arachne
- Ares/Mars
- Argonauts
- Artemis/Diana
- Athena/Minerva
- Atlas
- Baucis & Philemon
- Bellerophon
- Calypso
- Cerberus
- Ceres/Demeter
- Charon
- Cronus/Saturn
- Cyclopes
- Daedalus
- Deucalion & Pyrrha
- Echo
- Delphi
- Dionysus/Bacchus
- Elysian Fields
- Epimetheus
- Eros/Cupid
- Europa
- Eurydice
- (The) Fates
- (The) Furies
- Hades/Pluto
- (The) Harpies
- Hecate
- Helen
- Hephaestus
- Hera/Juno
- Hercules
- Hermes/Mercury
- Icarus
- Io
- Ixion
- Jason
- Lethe
- Medea
- Medusa
- Midas
- Minotaur
- Muses
- Narcissus
- Odysseus
- Oedipus
- Olympus
- Orpheus
- Pandora
- Pegasus
- Penelope
- Persephone
- Phaethon
- Poseidon/Neptune
- Prometheus
- Psyche
- Pygmalion
- Rhea
- Sirens
- Sisyphus
- Sphinx
- Styx
- Tantalus
- Tartarus
- Telemachus
- Theseus
- Zeus/Jupiter