IB English - Year One

Hartsville High School

Summer Reading 2025  

IB English - Year One

Assignments #1 & 2 - Annotations & In-Class Writing

Purchase a copy of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and Other Short Stories (Dover Edition).  

You are expected to annotate thoughtfully as you read to help guide your understanding.  You will need to bring your annotated copy to class for grading and an in-class writing assignment (using your annotated copy).  On average, you should have two annotations per page.

Thoughtful annotations include but are not limited to:

• character development (actions, speech, appearance, private thoughts)

• tone (attitude of the author)

• mood (attitude of the speaker)

• diction (word choice)

• syntax (how words are arranged in the sentences)

• conflict (person v. person, person v. self, person v. society)

• motifs (recurring ideas)

• themes

• imagery

• irony (verbal, situational, or dramatic)

• figurative language (symbolism, simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, etc.)

For advice on annotations, watch these two YouTube videos:

“How to Annotate” (by Studyign--not a misspelling) -- a student’s perspective (about four minutes) and “How to Annotate a Text” (by Heather Butz) -- a teacher’s perspective (about three minutes)

Also, peruse the next page of this document, for it is a sample of an annotated page.

Assignment # 3 - Soundtrack

Select one song that you think relates to each of Franz Kafka’s stories, so you will have a total of five songs. Create a playlist on your device.  Create a booklet using Google Slides with a cover that would represent an album’s cover. In this booklet, include each song’s lyrics. Write a paragraph for each song in which you explain the song’s connection to the story, using literary evidence such as setting, plot, symbols, and themes. Use text-based evidence for support. (Quotations will enhance your explanations.)  Remember to arrange the songs in chronological order according to the order of the stories listed in the text.  You have the option to submit a hard copy of the booklet or to submit a Google link to an electronic version of the booklet to the teacher on the first day of school. The soundtrack should be available upon request.)

To see an example, visit bit.ly/hhsibenglishone or scan the QR code.  

***The example only contains references to three short stories by three authors and three songs; your example should be about Kafka’s five short stories and include a different song for each of Kafka’s five short stories in The Metamorphosis and Other Short Stories (Dover Edition).***

Regardless of whether you attend IB English on A Day or B Day, your copy of The Metamorphosis and Other Short Stories and your link to your booklet or a hard copy of the booklet are to be submitted to the teacher listed on your schedule on the first day of the school year.

Be certain to cite all sources in MLA Format on a final Works Cited slide. This includes Kafka’s short stories, websites from which you obtained song lyrics or information, and images. Owl.purdue.edu is a wonderful resource for assistance with proper citation.

Students who have questions about the summer reading assignment for IB English - Year One should contact hannah.mcfadden@darlington.k12.sc.us.