Contents

English Literature, Language and Culture

English B

Italian A Language and Literature

Art History

Economics and Business & Management

Geography

History

Biology

Chemistry

ESS

Computer Science

Physics

Maths

Music

Theatre Arts

Visual Arts

Subject Specific Blogs for IB Students from Oxford Study Courses

English Literature, Language and Culture

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 Time After Time, K. Atkinson

MEDIA (paper or online)

Time Magazine The Economist The Guardian The New Yorker Wall Street Journal The Times Selections of best Superbowl Ads Gender, Identity and Language in Teenage Blogs http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue2/huffaker.html

FlLMS The Reluctant Fundamentalist The Proposal Goodbye, Lenin The Edukators 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

NON-FICTION Black Gold, Anthony Wild Songlines, Bruce Chatwin Patagonia, Bruce Chatwin The Dust Diaries, Owen Sheers Into the Heart of Borneo, Redmund O’Hanlon The Language Instinct, Steven Pinker Planet Word, J.P. Davidson Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson The Year of the King, A.Sher The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms And: Blogs, documentaries, books on language by David Crystal. His homepage is on www.david.crystal.com

English B So many students spend the long summer holidays after exams speaking languages other than English! You need to rest and relax after all those exams BUT don’t forget to maintain all your hard work. Here are some suggestions about what you can do to maintain, develop and challenge your English: Literature: aim to read at least two works of literature (see the reading list for English A) Newspaper: purchase a quality English newspaper and have a read through. The weekend broadsheets like The Sunday Times, The Independent on Sunday or The Sunday Telegraph to name a few are packed with quality writing about a variety of topics from news items to culture, sport, films and fashion! Get online and check out what is happening in the world: what they are wearing on the Paris catwalks, how Italy is seen from abroad, what the latest football results are, the weather predictions for wherever you may be… Check out the BBC website for news, views and much more: www.bbc.co.uk Try some of the links on the school Intranet: intranet.sgbis.it Seniors – EAL - Useful links and articles Go to see some films in English or catch up on those films that you have been too busy to see over the last year. Read a book and then watch the film version. Which is best? Why? Here’s a link to some recommendations: www.totalfilm.com/features/50-best-book-to-movie-adaptations The TED website is a treasure waiting to be found! Go and have a look. Most of the talks are short and there are a range of accents to be heard. You can go to the home page and browse the talks using the search facilities – search by topic, by length, by rating. Each talk has a full transcript after it so you can check out any vocabulary you don't know, or read while you listen so you can follow the speaker's stress and intonation patterns: www.ted.com/talks

Italian A Language and Literature

TESTI DA ACQUISTARE PER IL CORSO DI ITALIANO A: Lingua e Letteratura SL e HL 2014/2016

E. Montale, Ossi di seppia, Mondadori (Oscar poesie)

M.Satrapi, Persepolis, Edizioni Lizard

C.Goldoni, La locandiera, Oscar Classici Mondadori

C.Pavese, La luna e i falò, Einaudi

Pier Paolo Pasolini, Ragazzi di vita, Garzanti (solo HL)

Giuseppe Ungaretti, Vita d’un uomo, Mondadori (solo HL)

E’ importante acquistare l’edizione del testo indicata nella lista (si tratta di edizioni tascabili). Gli altri testi, riguardanti la parte linguistica, verranno distribuiti in fotocopia dall’insegnante durante il corso. Gli studenti devono acquistare e leggere (il più possibile!) i testi prima dell’inizio dell’anno scolastico. Per la parte linguistica, questi testi sono utili per la comprensione del contesto culturale della lingua italiana e il suo uso nella società della comunicazione: 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) Media (online o cartacei): Internazionale

L’Espresso

Il Venerdì di Repubblica

La Repubblica

Il corriere della sera

Il Messaggero

Focus

Art History Summer Preparation for IB Art History The Smarthistory website provides a wealth of accessible material on art, arranged in terms of historical periods, styles, artists and themes. You could start by exploring the ‘themes’ section, and have a look at some of the video clips under the different ‘time’ periods. http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/ Many of the major museums and art galleries of the world have excellent websites with images of the collection and essays. For example, have a look at the artworks and thematic essays from the Metropolitan Museum’s Timeline of Art History: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ Wherever you find yourself this summer, make sure you visit at least one museum or art gallery, one place of worship, one ‘impressive’ building, and one art exhibition. Take a few notes and, if possible, photos of what you have seen so you can share your impressions with the class in September. Feel free to get in touch with me for further details of the course: helen.wilford@stgeorge.school.it

Economics and Business & Management For these two humanities subjects you require knowledge of what is happening in the real world. This can be gained from accessing reputable news sites and papers – the examples given below are by no means the only ones. If you are going on holiday or travelling abroad then learn about the country you are visiting – you can begin to understand a lot about a country by its shops, businesses, culture and economic environment. Some of the articles in these sites may be challenging and not be fully understood! Do not give up – you will become familiar with the language and terminology over time. http://www.economist.com/ - this allows you to register and read a few articles a week free http://www.bbc.com/news/ - includes business sections http://www.independent.co.uk/ http://www.theguardian.com/uk - especially good for their development section http://www.ansa.it/ - gives Italian news and also includes Italian news in English http://www.ilsole24ore.com/ - Italian business and economic news http://www.repubblica.it/ www.bized.co.uk - web site and accessing the economics section for students. There are also a number of books that have become best sellers and are very readable, providing a good introduction to the subjects and topics you are going to study – ones to consider

Additionally the series ‘A very short introduction ‘provide some interesting starting points

Geography

Geography directive for up and coming Year 12’s in preparation for the IB Geography course (Core and Higher

Level Extension). To assist with your understanding of starting topics and subject matter that you will be covering:

1. Populations in transition (part of Core 1 for Paper 1): Find out about the range of content studied by clicking below: http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/Population+change Explore the following websites that support the content being learnt: www.prb.org www.unfpa.org www.un.org/popin www.histpop.org www.census.gov www.statistics.gov.uk Define the following terms: Crude birth rate, population momentum, replacement level fertility, child mortality rate, sex ratio (you may have to do some independent research).

2. Disparities in Wealth and Development (Part of Core 1 for Paper 1)

Find out about the range of content studied by clicking below: http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/Responses+to+high+and+low+fertility Explore the following websites that support the content being learnt: www.mortality.org www.demographic-research.org www.chinadaily.com.cn www.optimumpopulation.org www.iussp.org Define the following terms: Dependency ratio, median age, population policy, pro-natalist policy (you may have to do your own research to find these out).

3. Hazards and Disasters (Part of HL Extension for Paper 2 exam). Find out about the range of content studied by clicking below: http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/Hazards+and+disasters+-+risk+assessment+and+response Explore the following websites that support the content being learnt: http://www.geographyalltheway.com/ib_geography/ib-hazards/hazards-disasters.htm (Username and password are both ‘stgeorge’ (but without inverted commas). Youtube: Get stuck in, looking at a variety of Natural and human- induced hazards. Pay particular reference to causes, effects, responses, adjustments and differences between countries of varying levels of development (Hurricane Katrina is a good example. So is ‘Deep Sea Horizons’ the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill). Define the following terms: Hazard, Hazard Event, Disaster, Risk, Risk Assessment, Vulnerability, Susceptibility, Response.

History

How to spend your summer holiday preparing for the IB History Programme.

1. Firstly, it would be very useful for you to do some background reading. The school library

is of course a good first port of call and Ms. Kennedy will be delighted to recommend

summer reading on these two preliminary topics.

2. Below you will find a brief description of our first topic area. This will give you some ideas

for any extra reading you would like to pursue in readiness for September.

Paper 1: The move to global war

This prescribed subject focuses on military expansion from 1931 to 1941. Two case

studies are studied from different regions of the world. The first case study explores

Japanese expansionism from 1931 to 1941, and the second case study explores German

and Italian expansionism from 1933 to 1940. The focus of this prescribed subject is on

the causes of expansion, key events, and international responses to that expansion.

Discussion of domestic and ideological issues are considered in terms of the extent to

which they contributed to this expansion, for example, economic issues, such as the long-

term impact of the Great Depression will be assessed in terms of their role in shaping

more aggressive foreign policy. This Paper is a source evaluation based paper and

develops further the skills you have already acquired during your IGCSE Paper on USA

1917-21.

Emperor Hirohito of Japan, 1926 - 1989

Paper 3: Versailles to Berlin: Diplomacy in Europe (1919–1945)

In this section we will study international relations in Europe from 1919 to 1945 with initial emphasis on

the Paris Peace Settlement: its goals, impact and the problems relating to its enforcement. Attempts to

promote collective security and international cooperation through the League of Nations and

multilateral agreements (outside the League mechanism), arms reduction and the pursuit of foreign

policy goals without resort to violence will be covered. This section also addresses the individual foreign

policies of Italy, Germany, France, Britain and Russia/Soviet Union, looking at the aims, issues and

success of each one.

Professor Margaret Mac Millan is a world renowned expert on the

Treaty of Versailles. We have some of her publications in the school

library.

3. Finally, one of the best resources for studying IB History at St. Georges is our IB History

Facebook page. We must ensure you are all members before you leave for the summer

break. You will then have access to four years of valuable resources, excellent web-site

links, recommended reading, and advice from past students of history and numerous

useful revision power points.

4. On a practical note, please also buy numerous A4 folders and lever arch folders to store

your notes and essays. Subject dividers are also useful! We will be writing lots of essays

and making lots of notes and reading lots of books…….welcome to IB History!

I am very much looking forward to working with you all over the next two years.

S. McCLAREN

Biology You will be embarking on a new IB Biology course. Here are some books that, although not essential, give a good background to some parts of the course.

Author Title Publisher

Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene OUP

Bill Bryson A Short History of Nearly Everything Black Swan

In particular Bill Bryson’s book is very readable and gives a great insight into “The Nature of Science”, an important component of course. Also you could download the “Bioninja” app. This is an excellent resource that will give you an idea of the level of work you will be doing over the next two years. Mr. Talbot (Head of Biology)

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

ESS

These books give a good background on some of the key topics we will cover.

Author Title Publisher

Rachel Carson Silent Spring Penguin

Jonathan Foer Eating Animals Penguin

Websites This site contains an excellent set of revision notes. Have a read through topics 1 and 2. We will be covering these in the first term. envirohome.wikispaces.com/IB+ESS+DOCUMENTS 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. Mr Talbot (Teacher i/c Biology)

Computer Science

Computer Science Illuminated – the textbook we shall be using

Useful Websites

Computer Science site at Frankfurt International School (teacher Dave Mulkey is one of the world’s leading experts on IB Computer Science)

Computer Science for Fun - Welcome to the fun side of computer science!

How Stuff Works – Computer Channel

Computer Science Portal – Wikipedia portal for Computer Science

Python – official site for Python programming language (download and install it at home.)

BlueJ – Java development environment (download and install it at home)

Code Academy – learn coding skills online here

Khan Academy – learn JavaScript programming here at Khan Academy

Background Reading

Computer Science – useful Wikipedia article

What is Computational Thinking? – on Computer Science For Fun

Exploring Computational Thinking – Google’s ideas on Computational Thinking

Viewpoint on Computational Thinking – the original article by Jeannette Wing

Object Oriented Programming – the option you will be studying for Paper 2

Java Notes – online textbook for learning Java (read Chapters 1 and 2)

Practice Questions 1. Write a Python program to simulate a user entering a username and a password on a computer. Access

can only be gained if the correct password for the user is entered. Possible Extensions:

Keep count of how many login attempts are made.

Limit the number of attempts to a maximum of 5.

Construct a flowchart that represents this algorithm.

2. Write a program that allows a user to choose a new password. The user must enter the new password two times. The new password must be at least 8 characters in length and contain a mixture of upper and lower case characters and at least one number. Possible Extensions:

Calculate a numeric ‘strength rating’ for the new password

User must first enter the previous password before choosing the new one. Research Tasks

Develop a series of rules that will determine the outcome of the “Rock, paper, scissors” game for two players (HINT: there are 9 possible game combinations)

Object Oriented Programming (OOP): find out how this programming paradigm is different from the traditional procedural paradigm.

Find out about the Raspberry Pi

Physics

If your Physics IGCSE course has gone well, then you need to get ahead with some general

background for the IB Physics course. Here are some suggestions:

The Institute of Physics in London has excellent resources for you as a senior student:

www.physics.org

You can find out about the IB Physics course at this website.

(Strictly speaking it lists the old syllabus, but it is not very different from your one.)

http://nothingnerdy.wikispaces.com/IB+PHYSICS

To see how your present knowledge of Physics fits with IB, try an online quiz at

www.gradegorilla.com

As part of your IB Physics course you will undertake a personal Physics project. To get an idea of what

these projects are like, have a look at the 10 sample projects on our school intranet page:

http://intranet.sgbis.it/pupils/Departments/Science/Physics/IB/IB%20Physics.htm

Personal interest is important, so we recommend reading up on some area. Here are a few

suggestions for light reads:

“Surely you must be joking Dr. Feynman” by Richard Feynman

“Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe” by Simon Singh

“The Particle at the End of the Universe” by Sean Carroll

Keep an eye on the news from CERN this summer: the Large Hadron Collider has just fired up to more

power than ever before. Maybe some new particles by September!

http://home.web.cern.ch/

The Hubble Space Telescope is still taking amazing images. Maybe we will solve the riddles of Dark

Matter and Dark Energy?

http://hubblesite.org/the_telescope/

Enjoy finding out stuff!

The Physics Team

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!

Music Performing

Prepare one piece to perform within the first few weeks of term. This might be in class or in an

assembly.

Theory

Make sure you continue with your Music Theory work. If you are not sure which level you should be

tackling, please consult your individual instrumental teacher or your class teacher.

If you have already passed ABRSM Grade 5, we will provide some harmony extension work.

Creating (Higher Level only)

Either compose a short piece of music based on one of the categories listed below under ‘Listening’ or

compose a short study for an instrument you play which shows its capabilities to the full.

Listening

Listen to a range of different pieces of music from each of the following four categories:

Classical Music

World Music

Jazz Music

Popular Music

Research Task 1

Choose one piece from each of the four categories above. Then prepare a short presentation in which

you explain where each piece came from, when it was composed and why you like it.

(None of the pieces can be taken from the GCSE Anthology)

Research Task 2

Write a short 300 word about a musical style that you admire (such as Impressionism)

Research Task 3

Attend a concert and write a review.

In your review, you should discuss the music from its historical and analytical point of view. You should

then comment on how well it was performed and on any other notable features of the concert.

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

Visual Arts

This work forms the beginning of your actual I.B. Visual Arts studio and research studies coursework upon which your 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. These will form part of your Process Portfolio that accounts for 40 % of your final grade. From September onwards HL students will be expected to complete between 8 & 10 sides in your A3 books each month. (between 5 & 7 for SL) The best work from these pages will be cut out and composed into larger sheets within your A2 Process Portfolio 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 (IWB)They Must be 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 A3 – no other format is acceptable (see Mr Morgan if in doubt) Only work on one side of your A3 book pages as these will often be cut up and recomposed/stuck into your larger A2 Process Portfolio (PP) You do not need your A2 PP until September and I will have some available for around €15 if you cannot find them yourself.

Your first school-based studio project will begin with the development and creation of Studio Work & PP pages that combine 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 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 – so 6 masks in total. 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 3 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: Exploring Persuasive Imagery: Propaganda and Posters In September you will design and produce an A3 format poster relating to the 2015 World Food Day theme (which is yet to be published at this time) In preparation produce 2 A3 pages:

1 page exploring posters and propaganda images related to food and farming from the 20th Century to the present day. Here are some EXAMPLES

1 page of visual research (sketches, painting, graphics, photographs) relating to the theme of agriculture around the world Aim to illustrate the idea of self-help rather than hand outs to the poor

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 IWB & PP coursework - make it look attractive and exciting.

Total 12 A3 sides, split between the four tasks. This is the same for HL & SL.

However, normally SL students will produce fewer pages each month

Only work on one side of each page in your IWB!!!

Acknowledge/reference all image and text sources on each page Example IWB pages from recent students: Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Here are a few of my Pinterest Boards (make and share your own!) : http://it.pinterest.com/gregelvis/interesting-portraits/ http://it.pinterest.com/gregelvis/drawing-is-important/ http://it.pinterest.com/gregelvis/art-general/ If you need further guidance my email address is greg.morgan@stgeorge.school.it Also join/follow/use our IB Art Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/501565903214141/ (St George’s Rome IB Visual Arts)

Subject Specific Blogs for IB Students from OSC

Advice & Tips for IB Students

Biology

Business & Management

CAS

Chemistry

Economics

English

Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS)

Geography

History

Mathematics

Music

Physics

Theatre

TOK

Visual Arts