Summer Reading
Summer Reading Assignment
7th-12th grade
100 point test and 50 point project (first test grades)
Students and parents, your future English teacher is excited about working with you this Fall. The first key to a successful year is to ensure you keep practicing your critical reading skills over the summer. The English Department has carefully considered the needs of our Upper School students in selecting this year’s texts and assignments. It is vital that you complete all three parts of the summer reading assignments. Please read all instructions, and do yourself a favor and do not put this off until the end of summer. All summer reading assignments are due the first day of school. If you have any questions about the summer reading assignments, please contact your English teacher.
Part I: Read the selected book and related additional materials for your class:
- 7th (Mrs. Pollard)— Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
- https://chinesecinderellawebquest.weebly.com/
- At the top of the page, click on “Process”. You will read the information/view the videos on these pages:
- A Daughter’s Place
- A Changing China
- Are Their Other Unwanted Children in China?
- Make sure you take notes at the back of your journal on any information that you find interesting or relevant to Chinese Cinderella.
- 8th (Mrs. Johnson)— The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- https://1.cdn.edl.io/xzaLalW00Md5wZL9Wcd4KzNJuDAMJ61jqQ7kARLVPOhHUzCs.pdf
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W55hBoQxn9Y
- Make sure to take notes in the back of your journal and/or print and annotate the document for any information you find interesting or relevant that might help you on your in-class essay.
- 9th (Mrs. Ledlow)— Night by Elie Wiesel
- Follow this link to the “Echoes of Memory” section of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum: https://www.ushmm.org/remember/holocaust-reflections-testimonies/echoes-of-memory
- Choose TWO of the survivor’s testimonies to print, read, and annotate, focusing on the tone of the survivor
- 9th Honors (Mrs. Ledlow) — Night by Elie Wiesel
- Print and read the epilogue to Sonia Schreiber Weitz’s memoir (including the poems) at this link and annotate the text, focusing on her attitude looking back on her experience: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iZN0cmSAFuI6eS1zInHHwo4MvevA_Zi0/view?usp=sharing
- 10th (Mrs. Pollard)—Code Talker by Joseph Brunchac
- Visit the website navajocodetalkers.org and watch two of the seven interviews with an original Navajo Code Talker. As you view the videos, take detailed notes at the back of your journal on the men’s opinions of America, their time in the military, and how they felt serving their country as a Code Talker.
- 10th Honors (Mrs. Ledlow)— Code Talker by Joseph Brunchac
- https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-holocaust-armenian-genocide-california/navigatin g-multiple-identities
- https://www.facinghistory.org/civic-dilemmas/transcultural-identities
- Print and read both of the above articles, annotating for any connection to the book.
- 11th (Mrs. Mann)— Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- Pre-Reading https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/its-time-to-revisit-fahrenh eit-451%3f_amp=true
- Post-Reading https://www.thoughtco.com/fahrenheit-451-themes-literary-devices-4177434
- Extra relevant reading Ecclesiastes 3:1-8: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes+3%3A1-8&version=ASV
- Make sure to take notes in the back of your journal and/or print and annotate the document for any information you find interesting or relevant that might help you on your in-class essay.
- 11th Honors (Mrs. Johnson)—Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- PRE-READING ARTICLE: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/10/books/review/fahrenheit-451-ray-bradbury.html
- READ DURING NOVEL STUDY/READING: https://www.thoughtco.com/fahrenheit-451-relevant-today-4140565
- POST-READING ARTICLE: https://bangordailynews.com/2012/06/07/news/10-ray-bradbury-predictions-that-came-true/
- Make sure to take notes in the back of your journal and/or print and annotate the document for any information you find interesting or relevant that might help you on your in-class essay.
- 11th AP Language (Mrs. Pollard)— 1984 by George Orwell
- The three primary themes in 1984 are language, privacy, and conformity. Read the following articles and watch the commercial, making notes on how each applies to one of these three themes.
- “Control the Language, Control the Masses”
- “How Companies Learn Your Secrets”
- 1984/Apple Commercial
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIE-5hg7FoA
- 12th (Mr. Follette)—The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells: The Invisible Man: Anonymity in a Scientific World
- Read the two articles along with the novel. Your first grade of the year depends on how well you do on the Summer Reading Essay. The Summer Reading Essay sets the tone for your senior year, so read each article thoroughly and carefully to start your senior year on the correct note. The titles and links are provided below.
- The Invisible Man: Inspirations, Interpretations, and a Deep Analysis -- A Spooky Spotlight on H. G. Wells' Sci-Fi Novel by M. Grant Kellermeyer: https://www.oldstyletales.com/single-post/2019/08/22/An-Analysis-Interpretations-and-Ins pirations-of-H-G-Wells-The-Invisible-Man-A-Spooky-Spotlight-on-the-Gothic-Sci-Fi-Novel
- H. G. Wells’s The Invisible Man: A Precursor To The Anonymous Netizen by Chandra Sekar V Durai and Chennai Kattankulathur: https://ijellh.com/OJS/index.php/OJS/article/view/5742/4854
- 12th Dual Enrollment (Mr. Follette)—The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni: Colonization and Its Effects
- Read the three articles along with the novel. Your first grade of the year depends on how well you do on the Summer Reading Essay. The Summer Reading Essay sets the tone for your senior year, so read each article thoroughly and carefully to start your senior year on the correct note. The titles and links are provided below.
- Afghanistan, resistance to 19th-century British invasion by Yury V. Bosin: http://www.unm.edu/~ybosin/documents/afg_res.pdf
- Country Profile: Afghanistan by Library of Congress– Federal Research Division Country Profile: Afghanistan, August 2008: https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/profiles/Afghanistan.pdf
- Lessons from Afghanistan’s History for the Current Transition and Beyond by William Byrd: https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/SR314.pdf
- 12th AP Literature (Mr. Follette)—Little Bee by Chris Cleave: Colonization and its Effects
- Read the three articles and the short story, along with the novel. Your first grade of the year depends on how well you do on the Summer Reading Essay. The Summer Reading Essay sets the tone for your senior year, so read each article thoroughly and carefully to start your senior year on the correct note. The titles and links are provided below.
- The Colonization of Africa by Ehiedu E. G. Iweriebor: http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-colonization-of-africa.html
- Refugees and migrants fleeing sexual violence, abuse and exploitation in Libya: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/07/refugees-and-migrants-fleeing-sexual-vio lence-abuse-and-exploitation-in-libya/
- Analysis of Colonialism and Its Impact in Africa by Stephen Ocheni and Basil C. Nwankwo: https://www.tralac.org/images/News/Documents/Analysis_of_Colonialism_and_Its_Impact _in_Africa_Ocheni_and_Nwankwo_CSCanada_2012.pdf
- Civil Peace by Chinua Achabe https://www.cusd80.com/cms/lib/AZ01001175/Centricity/Domain/2112/Civil%20peace.pdf
Part II: Complete a dialectical journal on your class’s book (50 point test grade) and annotate or take notes on the related materials As you read, you are required to keep a dialectical journal. Think of this journal as a dialogue between you and the book wherein you question it, make connections, etc. It should NOT be a summary of what happened in the book. Attached is a guide that will help you understand all requirements. To annotate your additional readings, you should print them off and underline or highlight main ideas or key phrases and words. Then, you should use the margins to note any connections to your book, questions you have, your own reaction to the text, and any paraphrasing that might solidify your understanding.
Part III: Complete an in-class essay on your book and additional readings on the first day of school (100 point test grade) Using the information you have gathered in your dialectical journal and in your annotations of your readings, you will write a formal in-class essay on your book, showing your comprehension of themes, ideas, and/or characters. You will be required to use evidence (quoted material) that you featured from the book in your journal or that you highlighted in the supplemental readings; however, you will not be able to consult the actual book during the writing of the essay. All aided material will come from your journal and your annotated readings.
Dialectical Journal Requirements
- You must have 20 total entries
- All journals must be handwritten in a bound notebook.
- You will be deducted points if your journal is not able to be read easily, which includes sloppy handwriting or more than one entry per page. Each entry needs to be on its own page.
- Each quote from the book is 1 or more complete sentences and are from the entire book (beginning, middle and end). This is indicated by page numbers. The quotes should also use appropriate grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
- All “From Me” entries have the required number of sentences per entry and demonstrate fully developed thoughts or connections about the text.
- 7th-8th grade: 4-6 sentences per entry
- 9th-10th grade: 6-8 sentences per entry
- 11th-12th grade: 8-10 sentences per entry
- You should not have the same comments as other students. This is cheating and will be treated as such. There is to be NO collaboration with other students. Any assistance from the Internet, movies, or secondary sources such as Sparknotes or Shmoop will be viewed as cheating. Please review MA’s cheating policy if you have any questions.
- The function of your "Dialectical Journal" is not to have you summarize your books, but instead to facilitate and/or record your thoughts, questions, confusions, frustrations and enlightenments resulting from your reading. Credit will NOT be given for simple summary!
The format of a dialectical journal has two distinct sections: the left side is the page number and quote or summary of an issue in the text; the opposite side discusses your thoughts on the issue or quote. Consider the following for reflection in your journal (as well as other thoughts you will have); however, do NOT write about the same thing in each entry. You might write about:
Any passage or item that puzzles you and how this might be resolved later (prediction)
2. Any text to text, text to self, or text to world connection with the book; make sure to explain
3. Why you think _____ acts as s/he does (characterization)
4. What you think it would be like to live in _____ and why (setting)
5. Ideas on causes/effects and why
6. Important metaphors, personification, and/or symbolism and how they advance the story
An example journal entry is below. You should format yours in the same way.
Page # | From Text: | From Me: |
82 | “Death wrapped itself around me till I was stifled. It stuck to me. I felt that I could touch it. The idea of dying, of no longer being, began to fascinate me. Not to exist any longer” |
This is a sad moment for Elie. He has fought to survive, but cannot fight any longer. I can’t imagine being fourteen and wanting to die. I can’t imagine being fourteen and losing my family, my dignity, my soul. What a tragedy. Wiesel personifies death to show the control it has over those who are suffering in the camps. This is important because we see that Elie has reached a breaking point. Death has come for him so many times but has failed. This time, however, Elie is too tired to run, too tired to fight. He has had enough. Death is offering a gift—an escape from this hellish existence |