’09 Summer Assignment

 

Welcome to Honors English

I’m excited that you’ve all chosen to challenge yourself, and I hope that we’ll all have a fantastic year together.  The first key to a successful year is to ensure you guys all keep practicing your critical reading skills over the summer.  I would hate for your brains to atrophy!   It is vital that you complete all of the parts of this summer assignment as our first few weeks of class (and therefore a large chunk of your first quarter grade) will be dealing with the books you read this summer and the notes you take over them.  This means, that if you walk into class without having these assignments completed, you have just placed yourself on the failure list for the course and will be placed on a “Course Failure Corrective.”  You’ve all earned a well-deserved break, and I sincerely hope you enjoy your summer.  Just do yourself a favor and don’t put this all off until July.  You’ll want to kick yourself if you have to spend the last two weeks of break doing homework instead of enjoying your last summer hurrahs – especially if you are enrolled in any other AP or Honor courses. 


There are four parts to this assignment.  First, you will write a short paper for me to have insight into you as a reader; follow the instructions provided to complete this part of the assignment.  Second, you will be reading two novels and completing assignments for each.  One novel is a required text and the same for all students, which will be submitted to Mrs. Good on the first day of school; this will count as a test grade.  Ten points will be deducted per school day for work handed in late.  There was a PowerPoint provided in the original packet given to you; consult the Gatsby links on THE GREAT GATSBY webpage.  Next, there is a list from which you may choose a second novel.  Complete the assignment for this novel and be prepared to discuss the text in depth in class – this includes citing portions of the book during the discussion.  Lastly, you will need to know the 25 terms attached.  Many of these terms should be review, but if you don’t know one now – be sure you know it by the time school starts.  This does not mean you need to be able to recite the definition provided here word-for-word; it does mean, you need to know what it means in your own words.  We will be using these words from the beginning of the semester, and if you do not know them, you will be lost – especially as we begin adding words to the list.


If at any point you get stuck or confused about the assignment, contact me.  My website has a link to send me an email – use it.  I check my email throughout the summer and will respond. 


Acquiring the books:

  1. ‣A copy of the required book will be provided to students enrolled at GHS at the end of the 08-09 school year.

  2. ‣A limited number of choice books may be borrowed from Mrs. Good.  (Unreturned books will be charged to student’s accounts in the school bookstore.)

  3. ‣Books may be borrowed from the public libraries.

  4. ‣Books may be purchased at books stores.

  5. ‣Books may be purchased online (shipping will take several weeks, so please plan accordingly)

Try amazon.com; barnesandnoble.com; ecampus.com; mediaplay.com. For your convenience, the required book titles for chosen books are linked directly to Amazon.Com from Mrs. Good’s summer assignment website.


Don't even think about procrastinating:

Commit yourself to reading a pre-determined amount of chapters per day so that you're not overloaded with work the last few weeks of the summer. Also, set aside a specific time during the day for reading and make sure your friends and family know that you are not to be disturbed during this time. Don't expect to get much reading done late at night while lying in bed; choose a time early in the day. Complete the written portion of the assignment right after you finish reading each book.  Delaying will not only result in you forgetting key points of the book, but it will also result in a decreased quality of your work.

________ Read the instructions for each section closely ________ Write a 1-2 page introduction following the instructions ________ Read the PowerPoint and notes provided ________ Read The Great Gatsby ________ Complete the written assignment for The Great Gatsby ________ Read the second novel chosen from the list provided ________ Complete the assignment for the second novel ________ Know the vocabulary terms and definitions Final Warning: be prepared for a test over any portion of this assignment Instructions: Write an autobiography of yourself as a reader. Describe as accurately and honestly as possible your development as a reader from your earliest memories through today. Some things you might want to consider for inclusion are: What kinds of memories do you have about books and reading? When did you learn to read? How did you learn? What did you read the most? Why? Was there an individual who influenced what you read? If so, you might want to describe something about that that person, your relationship to them, and how you feel about that person/relationship now. Did you read mostly in school or out of school? On the whole, was learning to read a positive or negative experience? What are some of the reasons you read now? What are some of the types of reading you do now? If you could read more, what type of reading would it be? Why? What has been the significance of reading in your life to date? Has reading played a major or minor role in making you who and what you are today? Describe why you think reading is or is not important to you now. How are your feelings and attitudes about reading related to your job/career goals? Please write between one-to-two pages, typed, and double-spaced. Do NOT feel that you have to include answers to all of the questions listed above. Use those that you feel will help you most accurately and succinctly encapsulate your life as a reader. I have completed this assignment on the next page as an example for you. (60 points possible) EXAMPLE Mrs. G’s Introduction As a child, I remember my mother would read stories to my brothers and I before bed. This is where I first became fascinated with fairy tales and myths. I did not see the value of the written word at that point, as I was too young to really understand anything other than the pictures. As I grew, my mother continued to support reading as an important piece of our lives, but as it happens with most people – life began to get in the way and books fell to the side of basic necessities, like food and clothing. I don’t remember a lot from my years in elementary school, not in the way of literacy anyway. My life was more focused on survival as a family, then on success in school. I remember that by 6th grade, I hated reading. Teachers always required us to read the stupidest books that had nothing to do with me, or my life. The books were always really hard to understand and boring, and I started reading for answers to packets they insisted we complete instead of reading the books. By 7th grade my life had stabilized at home, and I had learned the system of English teachers. The books were always assigned with this packet to complete as you read the book. The packets were separated into chapters, so I knew where to find each answer. I don’t think I read a single book my 7th grade year; I skimmed and found answers to packet questions – which usually focused on plot or characters. At the same time however, I started to notice that my mother always had books she was reading. The books were huge to me, 300-400 page novels. I couldn’t understand why my mom would willing read this stuff that I thought was really pointless and boring. It was during the summer between 7th and 8th grade that I finally gave in; I picked up one of her books and started looking at it. I didn’t start at the beginning of the book, but started looking at it were the bookmark was - about halfway through the book. At first it was just one or two pages, and then before I knew it, I was reading - really reading. I didn’t understand all of the words, but that was ok, because it was the middle of the book; I knew I shouldn’t understand what was going on in the book. My mother love historical romance novels, so, of course, this is what I was reading. Because I hadn’t really been reading for years, my speed was awful – it took me forever to get to turn the page. But for some reason I was trapped, I couldn’t put down the book. I had to know whom this character in the book was and how she was going to survive. Now, I know the books were loosely based on the fairy tales and myths my mother used to read to me as a child, but at that time I had no clue. During the summer I read, that’s all I did, and my mother totally supported it. Although the novels were obviously meant for adults, my mother did not care. She took my to used book stores and would buy me any type of book I wanted – as long as I was going to read it. I wasn’t allowed to take my books to school in 8th grade, because of the explicit covers on the historical romance novels, but in 9th grade I was. I lived in my books. I discovered horror and sci-fi, and found authors I liked and disliked. By 10th grade, I had no problems cruising through the texts teachers assigned. However, if I wasn’t interested in the assigned text, I still resorted back to the skim and answer technique – which surprisingly went much faster than it did in 7th grade. My love of books led to writing. I found myself copying portions of books I liked, and then rewriting them with my stories using the same voice and style as the author I had copied. I would write for hours; in fact, I have several novels in my closet waiting for revisions to be submitted for publishing. I wrote what I primarily read at the time – historical romance. Which also meant I spent hours in the library researching a time period to write coherently and believably about that time. This meant learning how to navigate non-fiction text, which was something I normally hated when taught in class, yet here it was no problem. Now, looking back as a teacher, I can see that many of my reading problems were caused by teachers demanding the completion of busy work. It‘s obvious how important literacy and reading was to my mom and how it was her influence that led me to develop my literacy. The keys to the door, however, were in what I was being asked to read and how we were studying it in school. I try to keep this in mind as I form assignments for my classes, embracing the idea of NO BUSY WORK. Everything must have value and reason, not only for the students but also for the course’s ultimate goal. PART II: REQUIRED TEXT A theme is the general idea or insight about life that a writer wishes to convey in a literary work. Theme is generally not found in works written specifically for entertainment but in works that comment about humanity and life. Most often the theme is implicit in the work and needs to be dug out and thought about by the reader. the corruption of the American dream reality versus illusion self-discovery carelessness/violence The following quotations from The Great Gatsby all relate to one of the themes listed above. Choose three of the quotations below and decide which theme each quotation supports and explain how it does so within the context of the novel. Identify any other literary techniques. Also write down any questions that occur to you as you look at each passage. Look at the example below. Due to length some passages have been shortened using ellipses in the list. You should find the whole quote in the book and respond to the entirety of the quotation. (60 points possible) EXAMPLE  QUOTES FOR PART II “I wanted to get out and walk eastward... simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life” (40). “Myrtle pulled her chair close to mine...‘You can’t live forever; you can’t live forever’” (40). “‘My dear,’ she cried, ‘I’m going to give you this dress...so I won’t forget all the things I got to do’” (40). “Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face…Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (41). “He smiled understandingly…picking his words with care” (52). “It was on that same house party that we had a curious conversation about driving a car... That’s why I like you” (63). “‘Meyer Wolfsheim? No he’s a gambler... They can’t get him, old sport. He’s a smart man’” (78). Color Tracking in The Great Gatsby (highly recommended that you track the following aspects of colors in the book for discussions that will take place in class the first week of school) Page # Color Passage in text begins… Related Character(s) Comments / Notes / Implied Meaning PART III: CHOSEN TEXT Instructions: First, read one of the novels from the list below. Choose a book you have not read, reading a book you have already read is doing yourself a disservice as you want a large range of books to pull from when you face the AP exam, SAT, and PSAT. There are several titles and authors to choose from, which you may or may not be familiar with. Complete the assignment below for the book. This is due the first day of class. (80 points possible) After reading the book chosen, choose three quotes from the book that you found particularly interesting and mark them – use sticky notes in the book to mark the quotes. Be prepared to discuss the quotes, what is taking place in the book and why you marked the quote. Next, choose one of the main characters in the book and assume their perspective as you have understood it from the book. Write three paragraphs explaining how the character would react/respond to three of the current issues listed below: the economic downturn nuclear proliferation and testing by countries other than the U.S. cloning humans school violence 2ND NOVEL READING CHOICES My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult Thirteen-year-old Anna, conceived specifically to provide blood and bone marrow for her sister Kate who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia at the age of two, decides to sue her parents for control of her body when her mother wants her to donate a kidney to Kate. Life of Pi by Yann Martel Pi Patel, having spent an idyllic childhood in Pondicherry, India, as the son of a zookeeper, sets off with his family at the age of sixteen to start anew in Canada, but his life takes a marvelous turn when their ship sinks in the Pacific, leaving him adrift on a raft with a 450-pound Bengal tiger for company. Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold Fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon, the victim of a sexual assault and murder, looks on from the afterlife as her family deals with their grief, and waits for her killer to be brought to some type of justice. The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon Presents the true story of Brent Runyon, who at fourteen set himself on fire and sustained burns over eighty percent of his body and describes the months of physical and mental rehabilitation that followed as he attempted to pull his life together. (NF) Feed by M.T. Anderson In a future where most people have computer implants in their heads to control their environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble. Mrs. Good has a limited number of books available to check out before the end of school. If you are unable to obtain a book from Mrs. Good, these books are available at the public library, local bookstores (new and used), and online; you are responsible for obtaining a copy of this book to complete the assignment. PART IV: TERMS Instructions: You should know the following terms when you walk in the classroom the first day of school. Many of the terms should be review for you; however, if there are new words, add them to your vocabulary. 1. alliteration: the practice of beginning several consecutive or neighboring words with the same sound, e.g. The twisting trout twinkled below. 2. antagonist: character whom the protagonist struggles or contends 3. colloquial: slang 4. diction: word choice 5. elevated language or elevated style: formal, dignified language; it often uses more elaborate figures of speech. Elevated language is used to give dignity to a hero (note the speechs of heroes like Achilles or Agamemnon in the Iliad), to express the superiority of God and religious matters generally (as in prayers or in the King James version of the Bible), to indicate the importance of certain events (the ritual language of the traditional marriage ceremony), etc. It can also be used to reveal a self-important or a pretentious character, for humor and/or for satire. 6. foil: a character that is very different from another character. The author puts the two together so the reader comes to understands the characters better. Example: The only thing Captain Ahab wants is to get Moby Dick. His first mate, Starbuck, just wants to make a living hunting whales. When we have the two characters together, the comparison makes Ahab look even crazier. Starbuck is a foil to Ahab because he is a rational sailor who hunts whales just so he can support his family. Ahab is clearly crazy because he hunts the whale just for revenge. 7. foreshadowing: hints and clues of events to occur later in the plot 8. hyperbole: deliberately exaggerates conditions for emphasis or effect, e.g., The shot that was heard 'round the world. 9. imagery: words or phrases that appeal to the senses of the reader, is usually developed through the use of figurative language, or words that are used to convey images beyond their literal sense 10. informal: conversational 11. irony: the result of a statement saying one thing while meaning the opposite. Its purpose is usually to criticize; this is also frequently can be humorous or sarcastic. e.g., It is simple to stop smoking. I've done it many times. a. dramatic irony: when the audience or the reader is aware of something that a character does not know. For example, when Romeo believes Juliet is dead, but the audience knows that she has only been given a potion to sleep. b. situational irony: when the outcome of a situation is inconsistent with what we expect would logically or normally occur. An example of situational irony would be if a thief’s house was broken into at the same time he was robbing someone’s house. c. verbal irony is when a speaker or writer says one thing but actually means the opposite. For example, when your mom walks into your filthy bedroom and says, “I see you’ve cleaned your room!” Sarcasm is one type of verbal irony. d. sarcasm is one kind of irony; it is praise which is really an insult; sarcasm generally involves malice, the desire to put someone down, e.g., "This is my brilliant son, who failed out of college." 12. metaphor: two different things by speaking of one in terms of the other (metaphor asserts that one thing is another thing, not just that one is like another) 13. mood: the atmosphere or emotional state created by a piece of literature 14. onomatopoeia: is the use of words in which the sounds seem to resemble the sounds they describe, e.g., hiss, buzz, bang 15. personification: metaphorically represents an animal or inanimate object as having human attributes--attributes of form, character, feelings, behavior, and so on, e.g., The wind cried in the dark. 16. point of view is the perspective from which a story is told. The point of view from which a story is told determines how the reader interprets the story and understands the characters. There are three main types of point of view: a. First Person: narrator is a character in the story; uses the first person “I” to tell the story b. Third Person Limited: narrator does not participate in the action of the story; relates the thoughts and feelings of only one character c. Third Person Omniscient: narrator does not participate in the action of the story; relates the thoughts and feelings of all the characters 17. protagonist: The main character in a drama or other literary work. 18. setting: the time, place, and atmosphere in which the action of a story takes place. Setting can include time of day, weather, season, era, location, and social or political atmosphere; for example: It is night; an old barn outside of Greenbow, Alabama; Spring, 1932; Depression Era. 19. simile: a comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of the words like or as. It is definitely stated comparison, where the poet says one thing is like another, e.g., The warrior fought like a lion. 20. syntax: the way in which linguistic elements (as words) are put together; a connected or orderly system : harmonious arrangement of parts or elements; word order 21. theme: is the central idea or message in a work of literature; the insight it offers; theme is not typically stated directly. Shakespeare is known for telling stories with universal themes, or ideas to which people across time and cultures can relate. The plot, characters, setting, mood, and even the title, are important in determining the message or lesson the author would like the reader to grasp. 22. tragedy: According to Aristotle, “Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions.” In other words, to be a true tragedy, a play must make the audience pity the characters and make them fear the same consequences the character (usually the protagonist) experiences. 23. tragic hero: a protagonist with a tragic flaw (also called hamartia), which eventually leads to his downfall. The Aristotelian tragic hero is introduced as happy, powerful, and privileged, and ends up dying or suffering immensely because of his own actions or mistakes. The tragic hero must have four characteristics: goodness (a moral and ethical person), superiority (such as someone with supreme or noble authority or control), a tragic flaw (will eventually lead to his own demise), and the eventual realization that his decisions or actions have caused his own downfall (faces death or suffering with honor). 24. understatement: the opposite of hyperbole. It is a kind of irony that deliberately represents something as much less than it really is, e.g., I could probably manage to survive on a salary of two million dollars per year. universal theme: ideas to which people across time and cultures can relate. 

SUMMEr assignment checklist

Part I: Introduction