Grade 9 suggested reading and activities
The Heads of Department have provided suggested reading and activities in the courses in their areas These are provided to give you a “peek” into your new courses, and are not compulsory, but for your interest and inspiration!
Any reading or activities specific to the UWCSEA programme will have an asterisk*
Department Interesting reads/materials/activities
Art and Graphics
Visit galleries, festivals and other cultural events and take lots of photographs - photographs can form part of your portfolio and/ or be essential for your process journal. Carry a travel sketchbook with you all as much as you can and draw anything that takes your interest. Graphic Design students should look out for posters and advertising that are interesting and captivating. Arts events usually attract quite creative advertising. You can make a Padlet and keep all photos etc there.
Chinese Chinese Literature and Language:
● Read some literature works of your own choice, e.g., proses, novels, short stories and plays etc, and try to write reading journals for each work to practise Chinese Character writing skills. Recommended authors are 朱自清、
● Watch some movies that you like.
Chinese B:
● Read at your level: https://chinesereadingworld.sites.uiowa.edu/
● Watch some of this series
Computer Science*
It would be beneficial (but not necessary) for you to have some experience of computer programming in any language. There are many introductory courses but one which teaches beginner programming in a simple yet transferable way is Khan Academy’s Intro to JS. Any introduction to Python would also help as we will be learning this language in the first term. The W3Schools Python course is highly recommended as a reference during the initial months of the course.
Finally, the MIT Technology Review and MIT Comp Sci News will keep you up-to-date with some of the new and emerging technologies we will be discussing on the course.
Critical Perspectives
Spend time in the summer investigating current events and areas of interest. We will focus on environmental issues, human rights, identity, belief systems and the role of technology in society through the course. Engage with the following sources for reliable and varied perspectives.
Dance Watching - if you can get to a live show that would be great, but if not there are some good options here - Dance Suggested Watching List
Participate in as many dance classes as possible in a variety of styles. You can also find lots of different strength and conditioning classes online for pilates, yoga and dance (ballet, contemporary and jazz).
REMEMBER - make sure you warm up before participating in these activities at home and don’t do anything beyond what your body is comfortable with.
龙应台、琦君、曹文轩、欧亨利、鲁迅等。Design Technology Courses
Improve or familiarise yourself with CAD skills using Autodesk Fusion 360 tutorials. You can sign up Fusion 360 (it’s free and you must use a uwcsea email).
You will also be required to represent your design ideas as 2D and 3D drawings. Here are some tutorials you can work from.
If possible, visit the National Design Centre and the Red Dot Museum in Singapore. Systems and Control students could visit the electronic stores in Sim Lim Tower to investigate or purchase Do It Yourself electronic circuits.
You can view UWCSEA student work on Instagram @uwcdesigneast
Drama See as much live or online theatre as you can. Use the Dramaonline or Digital Theatre Plus platforms.
Digital Theatre Plus edu.digitaltheatreplus.com
Username: uwcseadrama Password: building@8896
Dramaonline dramaonlinelibrary.com
Username: uwcsea Password: research
Consider the production and performance elements and the way in which they create powerful moments of TEAM ( tension, atmosphere, emotion and meaning)
Economics Read: Keep up to date with current affairs–-read quality news!
Watch: ‘One Minute News’ (BBC) for a quick daily round up of current affairs.
Freakonomics:The Movie, Before the Flood, Seaspiracy, Troubled Water, Cod is Dead, Big Bird, American Factory, short clips on youtube-Economics Explained
You could also look at several of these youtube clips on microeconomics here. Listen to podcasts from ‘Planet Money’.
View some of these documentaries from Kanopy (you can access using your UWCSEA account):
● The Economics of Daily Life
● The Economics of Happiness
● Sustainable
● The Cost of Living
● When China Met Africa
● Green Economics-Living Well
● Clothes to Die For
English / English as an Additional Language (EAL)*
Read several works of your own choice, whether novels, non-fiction, plays or collections of poems, and including works you’re reading for other subjects, if you wish.These can be works written in English or another language. We encourage you to use the library link for ideas of what to read.
We know from the research that reading momentum and deep, immersive reading play a central role in your personal development and your overall academic achievement.
Come prepared to talk about your reading world - your different relationships with what you have read recently and at key moments of your life. Many works have probably, quite simply, entertained you. But what about those that stand out in your memory? What relationships do you have with those works? What do they show about you - your personality, your interests, your beliefs and values? Which works have changed you a little, made you think or feel differently about something?
Enterprise/ Social Entrepreneurship
Identifying and explaining these relationships with your reading will be your first assignment in English.
For EAL students, read several books in English to help prepare for reading works in English during the year. It can also be helpful to engage with other text types as well. Reading news articles, editorials, poems, biographies are all valuable and help you to improve your reading, expand your vocabulary and develop an understanding of different grammatical structures.
Learn about successful entrepreneurs. Think specifically about the skills and attributes they had and developed, and the rewards and challenges they experienced on their journey to success.
Websites:
● www.entrepreneur.com/
● www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/starting-a-business-what-is-enterprise
● www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-links-for-Social-Entrepreneurship
Movies/TV shows to watch: The Founder, Joy, Shark Tank, The Pursuit of Happyness, The Corporation
Books to read: Social Entrepreneurs and the power of new ideas by David Bornstein, Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard, A Path Appears by Kristoff & Wudunn
Film Watch two films from one or more of the following genres (suggested film titles):
1. Crime (Mission Impossible / Infernal Affairs)
2. Horror (A Quiet Place / Ringu) *recommended not required (it’s okay if this is not your type of film, yet…)
3. Western (True Grit / The Magnificent Seven (1960))
4. Science Fiction (5th Element / Stargate)
5. Romantic Comedy (My Best Friend’s Wedding / When Harry Met Sally)
6. Animation (Shrek)
Books:
1. Filmish: A Graphic Journey Through Film by Edward Ross
2. How to Make a Movie in 10 Easy Lessons by Robert Blofield
3. Kids Guide to Movie Making by Shelley Frost
4. Girls on Film by Alicia Malone
5. Introducing Media Studies: A Graphic Guide
Ask yourself: what makes these films a part of the genre? Content advisory: Before you watch any of these films, please have an open communication with your parents about the content in these films. Film websites, such as imdb.com, have clear content warnings; where in doubt, check in with your parents.
Food and Nutrition / Food Science & Nutrition
There is nothing compulsory for this course but it is highly recommended to read:
● What does Food Sustainability really mean?
● Scholarly articles for Food sustainability and food security, reformulating modern technologies
These articles will be beneficial to you and expand your knowledge. You should also start familiarising yourselves with food restrictions (vegetarianism, veganism, halal, etc.) It is suggested that you build a vocabulary list and build a contextual understanding of cooking and food technology.
Here are some interesting and engaging Instructional Youtube videos to watch.
● Master 5 Basic Cooking Skills
● Basic Food Hygiene
● Food Sustainability
● Food Preservation
You might also want to watch some cooking shows (not competitive ones, but training videos, like Nigella Lawson or Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay.)
This will give you some idea of cooking methods, styles and presentation. This also can be used to discover where your interests lie in your culinary journey.
French Read up to date authentic French articles tailored to your level from the great Le journal des Enfants websites or from Un jour 1 Actu covering a variety of topics. Revise and practice the essentials on YouTube with Alexa Practice conjugation of verbs and revise all major tenses: “présent, futur simple, passé composé, imparfait”. Listen to as many French songs as you can! Also, choose some French Easy readers (audio books) from the library. Finally, browse and find your favorite French YouTube channel
Geography
There is nothing compulsory for geography but here are some interesting and engaging things to watch, read and listen to.
Watch:
● Before the flood is an excellent climate change documentary to watch.
Read:
● Keep a general eye on the news as much of geography relates to real world global issues. Guardian environment is a good place to start.
Listen:
● Geographical podcasts
History Read
● Civilisation: the West and the Rest by Niall Ferguson
● Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall
● The Age of Extremes by Eric Hobsbawm
● A People’s History of the World by Chris Harman
LIsten
● Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast
● BBC In Our Time podcast
Watch
● WWII in Colour (2009)
● The Nazis: A Warning from History (1997)
● Cold War (1998)
● The Vietnam War (2017)
Japanese
You can find many classic literature pieces in 青空文庫 for free, including those of 芥川龍之介、夏
目漱石、宮沢賢治 Read one piece of your choice (anything you like, it doesn’t need to be from this website) before we meet in August. You will be asked to present it in the first couple of weeks.
You will get a kanji quiz regularly during the course, however, if you think that you are behind in learning kanji, you are strongly encouraged to work on kanji during summer. There are many websites and apps that you can use.
Read newspapers to expand your vocabulary and keep up with current issues. Online Newspaper websites:
● 朝日新聞
● 読売新聞
● 毎日新 For teenagers:
● 高校生新聞
● 朝日学生新聞
Mathematics These books tease out the mathematics of everyday, and not so everyday occurrences:
● Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner
● Why do Buses Come in Threes? by Easterway and Wyndham
● Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
This popular YouTube channel will stretch your brain on mathematical concepts.
Music To prepare for the G9 music course you should spend plenty of time practising your instrument/singing. Learn some new material and broaden your horizon by listening to a range of music. If you want to dig a bit deeper there are some excellent youtube channels to explore. Our favourites are: Nahre Sol, Adam Neely and David Bennett Piano.
School supported self-taught Languages
Read news articles, blogs, magazines, a novel and short stories of your own choice in your Language A. Also watch films and series in this language. Discuss your readings and the films with friends and relatives in your Language A.
Come prepared to talk about your reading world - your different relationships with what you have read recently and at key moments of your life. Many books have probably, quite simply, entertained you. But what about those that stand out in your memory? What relationships do you have with those books? What do they show about you - your personality, your interests, your beliefs and values? Which books have changed you a little, made you think or feel differently about something?
Science
Interesting reads
● A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
● Big Bang by Simon Singh
● Body by Bill bryson
● Napoleon's buttons by Jay Burreson and Penny Le Couteur
● Additional recommendations - Goodreads list - a little something for everyone
Interesting watches
To help appreciate the bigger picture of scientific endeavours:
● COSMOS SERIES (2016) (A spacetime Odyssey) By Neil de Grasse Tyson (available on Netflix)
● An introduction to the wonders of the natural world through: the Blue Planet series (BBC) and The Wonders of the Universe series presented by Brian Cox
● Explained series on Netflix
Excellent science video sites: Veritasium , The Periodic table of Videos, Crash course
Science of Learning* There is no specific reading that needs to be done as all the investigation and conceptual understanding happens during the time of the course. Perhaps a good ponder would be to think about “ How does one learn?”. There will be a deep dive to that question in the course. Enjoy the ride!
Spanish Beginners Spanish
*What do you know about the Spanish language? It is an important and interesting language to learn. This video will help you to understand about the history, the geography and the evolution of Spanish.
Listen to music and read the lyrics while singing with lyricstraining.com, it is a fun way to appreciate Spanish pronunciation and intonation while listening to a wide variety of accents and genres.
If you wonder how to read or say words in Spanish, studyspanish.com will help you to navigate through the basics of the pronounciation, intonation and stress in the Spanish language.
Continuation Spanish
Play a song and enjoy testing your listening comprehension with lyricstraining.com, it is a fun way to enhance your listening, expand your vocabulary, boost your grammar and improve your pronunciation You can also download the app lingoclip on your phone.
Have fun reading in Spanish with snappyspanish.com, you can use in your computer or download the app and have fun reading and listening entertaing graded short stories to revise your vocabulary, grammar and sentence structures.
Want to improve your Spanish reading and listening skills? You can find a variety of Spanish texts featuring words and phrases from themed vocabulary learnt in Middle School Spanish in lingolia Test your understanding and check new vocabulary with the Level A2 reading and listening comprehension texts.
First Language Spanish (Language and Literature course)
Cuentos de la Selva de Horacio Quiroga (short stories) - Humor y tragedia se combinan eficazmente en estos cuentos. La selva es el escenario y personaje omnipresente de estos cuentos. La selva misionera, con su violencia natural incontenible, frente al hombre, aliado a veces, destructor de esa naturaleza salvaje.
Serie de libros de Gael (graphic novels) - Gael y la red de mentiras / Gael y las sombras de la huida / Gael y el arte de la traición Gael es un ladrón de guante blanco, viajará por el mundo escapando de su pasado y buscando la siguiente pieza que robar. En la trama se mezclan el misterio, las mentiras, personajes buenos y malos, escenas de acción y divertidos diálogos. (We have these books in the library and in the languages department).
*Contexto histórico y geográfico. Recomendaría que vieras algunos videos sobre el orígen y evolución de la lengua del castellano; historia, mitos, verdades y leyendas sobre la colonización y descubrimiento de las Américas; el Imperio Azteca - la historia del mayor imperio de mesoamérica.
Novelas entretenidas para leer durante el verano. Aquí hay una selección de libros que una vez empieces no podrás dejar de leer: Invisible de Eloy Moreno Misterios a domicilio de Begoña Oro Un tritón en la mochila de Carlota Echevarría El ladrón de minutos de David Lozano Guardianes de la Ciudadela de Laura Gallego Memorias de Idhún de Laura Gallego