Summer Learning 2026
"Summer is a season for growth, and not just in nature. Embrace the extra time to learn, explore, and conquer your school work. Your future self will thank you for the head start!"
IB SUMMER LEARNING
Please note: Unless otherwise stated, IB Summer Learning should be completed by ALL students taking that IB class, not just students enrolled in the IB Diploma Programme. If you have any questions, please contact the IB Coordinator, Trish Rigg.
IB Biology
Year 1
Read each excerpt below and then complete the quiz that is linked for each section. This is a review of material that was learned in Biology.
Chemistry - Reading and Quiz
Cellular Organization - Reading and Quiz
Evolution - Reading and Quiz
Ecology - Reading and Quiz
Year 2
Complete the following assignments on sub-topic C 1.2 and C 1.3.
C 1.2 Cellular Respiration
Complete C 1.2 Guiding Question Form - Page 382 of Pearson’s Textbook
Complete C 1.2 Kognity practice questions
Complete the following practice questions for cellular respiration. (SL/HL)
C
1.3 - Photosynthesis
Complete C 1.3 Guiding Question Form - Page 402 of Pearson’s Textbook
Complete C 1.3 Kognity practice questions
Complete the following practice questions for photosynthesis. (SL/HL)
Be ready to take a test on C 1.2 and C 1.3 within one week of returning in the fall.
IB Film
Click on this link for IB Film Summer Learning
Click here for the one-page Film Viewing Journal
IB SUMMER LEARNING
Identify 3 articles that involve environmental science. Read articleandsummarizethearticle(about5sentences)andexplain howthisissueisaffectingthesociety,culture,orecosystem describedinthearticle.
12thGrade-Year2
UsingtheprocedurethatyoudevelopedforyourInternalAssessment project, start the experiment and collect raw data. All students shouldentertheirrawdataintoGoogleSheetsandsharetheir withMs.Ross.
IB SUMMER LEARNING
IB SUMMER LEARNING
IB Mandarin
IB Mandarin Ab Initio Year 1
IB Mandarin Ab Initio Year 2
IB Mandarin Year 1
IB Mandarin Year 2
IB French
IB French Year 1
IB French Year 2
French B Ab Initio Year 2
IB Spanish
IB Spanish B Year 1
IB Spanish B Year 2
AP Chemistry
AP Chemistry students will receive a copy of our custom worktext AP Chemistry 1 (available May 22, 2026, or after), and will have assignments in this worktext and online. Click here for the details of this summer assignment.
UPPER SCHOOL
Dear Upper School Students and Parents:
The English Department has devised the Summer Reading Assignment to encourage students to enjoy reading as a pleasurable pastime and to maintain the skills they have worked so earnestly to cultivate during the school year.
Students will read and annotate both one required text—except English 11 IB, which has two required texts—and one free-choice text. The free-choice text is a book that students select. This book must be appropriately challenging, one that the student has not read before, and it cannot be a text for another course. If students need ideas for their free-choice text, the English Department has compiled a list of recommended texts. Students are not required to select their free-choice text from this list.
All students will be assessed on their “required” book(s) within the first few class meetings. Students will also engage in various assessment strategies for the free-choice books. These assessments will constitute the first major grades for Semester 1. To prepare for these class assignments, students are expected to:
Purchase their own copy of the required text(s) and their free-choice book.
Annotate required and free-choice books for character, setting, plot, and theme. Students are not expected to annotate every page. Rather, these annotations should demonstrate understanding, engagement, and earnest effort in completion. See the attached rubric for details. Have all texts annotated and available for assessment on the first day of class.
Students enrolled in a Senior Seminar must only complete the summer reading assignment for their Semester 1 courses.
UPPER SCHOOL
English 9 and English 9H
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman Alexie) ISBN: 0316013692
A free-choice book
English 10 and English 10H
Lord of the Flies (William Golding) ISBN: 0399501487 A free-choice book
English 11 and English 11H
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury) ISBN: 9781451673319
A free-choice book
In English 11H, students will be given prompts to write two short in-class essays on both their required and chosen summer reading texts.
English 11 IB
1984 (George Orwell) ISBN: 978-0451524935 and The Metamorphosis and “The Judgment” from The Metamorphosis and Other Stories (Franz Kafka, translated by Michael Hofmann) ISBN: 978-0143105244
An in-class essay comparing and contrasting 1984 and The Metamorphosis will be completed within the first few days of class
While the actual prompt will be revealed when students sit for the essay, the topic will focus on how individuals respond to larger societal forces
A free-choice book
English 12 IB
Fences (August Wilson) ISBN: 0452264014
In-class essay(s) that ask students to analyze a passage from Fences and/or to respond to a prompt about the larger thematic issues addressed in the play. To be completed within the first few days of class. A free-choice book
UPPER SCHOOL
Senior Seminars
Students enrolled in a Senior Seminar must only complete the summer reading assignment for their Semester 1 courses.
Senior Seminar in Creative Writing
(Semester 1 students only)
Writing Down The Bones (Natalie Goldberg) ISBN: 161180308X A free-choice book
Senior Seminar
in The Evolution of the Modern Horror Story (Semester 1 students only)
The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (edited by Chris Baldick)
ISBN: 0199561532
Required Reading and Writing Assignment A free-choice book
Senior Seminar in The History of Art
and Literature
(Semester 1 students only)
The Short Story of Art (Susie Hodge) ISBN: 1780679688 A free-choice book
UPPER SCHOOL
Senior Seminars
Students enrolled in a Senior Seminar must only complete the summer reading assignment for their Semester 1 courses.
Senior Seminar in Love and Identity in Literature
(Semester 1 students only)
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Jamie Ford)
ISBN: 0345505344
A free-choice book
Senior Seminar in The Moral of the Story
(Semester 1 students only)
Yellowface (R.F. Kuang)
ISBN: 0063250853
A free-choice book
Senior Seminar in Memior
(Semester 1 students only)
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness (Susannah Cahalan)
ISBN: 978-1-4516-2138-9
A free-choice book
We encourage students to spend the summer weeks discovering — or rediscovering — their love of reading.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Dear Middle School Students and Parents:
The English Department has devised the Summer Reading Assignment to encourage students to enjoy reading as a pleasurable pastime and to maintain the skills they have worked so earnestly to cultivate during the school year.
Students in each grade will read one required book and should bring this text to class when school begins. They should also be prepared for a brief quiz to assess their comprehension during the first week of school. In addition, students will write an in-class essay demonstrating the close reading of their required book. They will use this book during class lessons and to complete an in-class essay. These assessments will count for a significant portion of their grade.
Students must purchase, annotate, and have their text available by the first day of school. Please refer to “Helpful Hints for Great Annotations” and “Annotation Rubric” below for more details.
There is no other mandatory reading beyond the single required text. Instead, the English Department encourages students to spend the summer weeks discovering—or rediscovering—their love of reading by selecting books that fit their tastes and interests. Read deeply and widely!
To that end, we have compiled a list of recommended books for students to explore over summer vacation and beyond. These titles are simply intended to guide students toward books they may find engaging, enjoyable, and appropriately challenging. They are free to read other works that better fit their tastes and interests. Explore within, between, and beyond these lists!
We hope this summer reading assignment provides enjoyment for your family.
New this year: The Math Department has created packages for various Math classes. Check out the section at the end of the booklet
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Students Entering 8th Grade (Honors)
TwelveAngryMen(ReginaldRose)ISBN:979-0817293214
Students Entering 8th Grade
Stories of Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes, adapted by James Baldwin) ISBN: 9781481275101
Students Entering 7th Grade
The Wave (Todd Strasser) ISBN: 0440993717
Students Entering 6th Grade
Turtle in Paradise (Jennifer L. Holm) ISBN: 037583690X
are you bored?
Where are you unsettled? Fearful for the protagonist?
Stereotypes: Do the characters break stereotypes? When? How?
Attention to detail: What does the author spend his/her time describing?
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Characterization: Do you care about the characters? Which ones? Why? they haunt you?
Why do you keep thinking about them after you stop reading?
Narrator: Is s/he telling the truth? How do you know?
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Annotation Rubric:
Excellent:
The text has been thoroughly annotated
Written comments/notations show thoughtfulness and a thorough understanding of the text
Frequent and perceptive comments throughout the text (not bunched in one section)
Good:
The text has been reasonably well annotated
Written comments/notations show a good understanding of the text
Margin notes may be well done in some chapters but not in others
Adequate:
The text has been somewhat annotated
Few and inconsistent markings throughout the text
Spotty markings show basic comprehension
Not Satisfactory:
The student made little to no effort to annotate
The text is very clean and shows little evidence that it has been read
There are very few if any notations/comments
LOWER SCHOOL
Assignment One:
Create a My Learning Survival Guide that explains how you learn best. In your project, include what helps you learn, what makes learning challenging, strategies that work for you, and advice for your future fifthgrade teachers. You may present your work as a tri-fold brochure or mini booklet with labeled sections and pictures. In your explanation, make a connection to Fish in a Tree by describing how your learning is similar to or different from Ally’s and what you can learn from her experience as a learner.
Assignment Two:
Write a One Moment That Mattered piece by describing one meaningful moment from your summer in a 3-paragraph response. In the first paragraph, describe what happened. In the second paragraph, explain why the moment was important to you and what you learned or realized. In the third paragraph, make a connection to Fish in a Tree by explaining how your experience relates to a theme in the book, such as growth, perseverance, or understanding yourself or others.
FifthGradeSummerMathPractice:
Check out the Math section to learn about our 5th Grade Math Package
LOWER SCHOOL
LOWER SCHOOL
Please note that there are multiple books in this series
Third Grade Summer Reading Project Instructions:
Use the linked graphic organizer to make a character web about any character from the book.
Draw a picture of the character you chose.. How does the character you chose demonstrate the Portledge Pillars ( Kindness, Purpose, Honor, and Respect)? Use examples from the book, complete with page numbers, to support your thinking. Hint: Keep Post-it notes with you while you read and use them to bookmark parts in the story where the character is demonstrating one of the pillars! Bring your character web to school and be prepared to join a conversation with the class about the story and the Portledge Pillars.
ThirdGradeSummerMathPractice:
Check out the Math section to learn about our 3rd Grade Math Package
LOWER SCHOOL
Mercy Watson Project:
Make a poster based on one of the Mercy Watson books (Kate DiCamillo).
Fill in the title and author.
Draw a picture representing your favorite part of the book.
Please include a written description of the scene and why you liked it. Write five or more sentences.
First Grade Summer Reading Project
Instructions:
Draw a picture of your favorite scene from one of the books you read in the series. Make sure the picture is colorful and full of details Label the parts and characters in your picture. Write one or two sentences that describe/explain the scene you picked. Write one or two additional sentences explaining why this was your favorite part.
Please note that there are multiple books in this series
Please note that there are multiple books in this series
Students entering Geometry
For students entering a Geometry class in the 2026–2027 school year, please complete this package. This packet needs to be completed by the first day of school, and an assessment on its content will follow in the first week of classes.
Middle School Math
To help students stay mathematically engaged over the summer and feel confident entering math in September, a Summer Math Packet has been assigned. This packet must be completed before the first day of classes in September. The packet is designed to review important skills while also helping students build strong problem-solving habits and maintain academic momentum during the summer months. The packet should be completed carefully and neatly. Students MUST show all work for each problem. Spending a small amount of time working on math consistently throughout the summer is much more beneficial than trying to complete the packet all at once at the end of vacation. Completed packets will be collected at the beginning of the school year and will be used as part of our initial review in September. After the review, these concepts will be tested on the first assessment. More importantly, the work will help students begin the school year feeling prepared and ready for success. Students should take pride in their work and use this opportunity to strengthen their math skills before the new school year begins.
Students Entering 8th Grade
Students Entering 7th Grade
Students Entering 6th Grade
Students Entering 5th Grade
5th-grade teachers have linked a packet to practice math concepts throughout the summer.
Students Entering 4th Grade
You must come to fourth grade knowing your multiplication facts. You also need to be solid with adding and subtracting with regrouping. Complete and return this Summer Practice on the first day of school.
Students Entering 3rd Grade
3rd-grade teachers have linked a packet to practice math concepts throughout the summer. Additionally, please practice addition and subtraction facts to 20. Try to find fun ways to do this, such as with apps, web-based games such as http://www.hoodamath.com, or card games.
