St. Theodore Guerin Catholic High School. Summer Reading List

Transcription

1 St. Theodore Guerin Catholic High School Summer Reading List Summer Reading Rationale: Guerin Catholic High School desires to give students ownership of their reading. Our summer reading program is designed around the ideology that in order for one to become an established reader, each individual must be given the opportunity to select literature that he or she finds enjoyable and stimulating. Reading lengthens attention span, increases vocabulary, and encourages a more disciplined approach to learning. All of these add to a student s academic experience. But reading provides much more. It fosters a greater understanding of the human condition and aids in developing empathy for others. Instructions: Students are required to select ONE of the following books from the list to read and about which to complete a project (from Summer Reading Projects, p. 2). The student s project for the Summer Reading novel will be graded by the student s English teacher and will be part of the student s English grade for the first trimester in which they have an English class. Students are required to select a book not previously read for Summer Reading. Those who do not comply with this mandate will receive a NC for their Summer Reading Project grade. Recommendations for grade appropriate novels/non- fiction are noted below. These recommendations are for guidance only; students are free to select any book from the fiction or non- fiction reading list. The Summer Reading project is due to STUDENT S ENGLISH TEACHER BY FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, FICTION Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko **11/12 The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexander Dumas The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, Mark Haddon **9/10 Playing for Pizza, John Grisham **11/12 Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd**9/10 Season of Life, Jeffrey Marx Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson **9/10 A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams **11/12 Set All Afire, Louis de Wohl NONFICTION The Ascent of Money, Niall Ferguson Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Aron Ralston The Emperor of all Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, Siddhartha Mukherjee Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption, Katie Davis The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch No Easy Day, the Autobiography of a Navy Seal, Mark Owen continued on next page 1

2 The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Tales, Wes Moore Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson Thomas More A Portrait of Courage, Gerard B. Wegemer Witness to Hope The Biography of John Paul II, George Weigle Parent Information: The St. Theodore Guerin Catholic High School Summer Reading program strives to present current, relevant and high interest literature to foster reading for pleasure in young adults. This is an extensive list of titles, in a variety of genres to appeal to a wide audience. Parents may wish to review the novels through a website of the listed author. Some novels contain mature content such as war, relationships, civil rights, death, and acceptance. Parents with questions regarding the novels content may contact English Department Chairperson, Shelley Horn, at the following address: shorn@guerincatholic.org. Projects for Summer Reading Each student must complete a Summer Reading Project from the appropriate grade level below. The freshman project begins on page 2, sophomore projects begin on page 3 and junior- senior projects begin on page 4. Freshman Reading Project Reflective Essay A reflective essay is a unique type of written work that deals with your feelings and experiences. What you are asked to do is to write about your personal connection to one of the selections on the Summer Reading List. Write a paper about your emotional or personal response to the book using information from the book. Remember! You need to quote passages or write about specific sections and what it made you think about. A great way to get into the essay is to reflect on a personal event that was stirred up by the assigned reading. How do you format your paper? Make sure you have an introduction, body, and closing. Here are some suggested guidelines: Introduction: A reflective essay should introduce your reader to the book and what you connected with. You don t need details but let your reader know what he or she will be reading about (including principal characters/persons, setting, plot, etc.) Then, at the end of the introduction, the author makes a statement, which may be a reflection on your emotional reaction to the text and/or something you connect with or disagree with. Make it personal! Make us interested in you! 2

3 Body: The body contains the specific details. This means that you will be discussing what you have learned or connected to. Do two things 1) be clear about the story or information in the text, the details and 2) be clear about the details of how and why you reacted to it. Don t give us a full summary. Just make sure that we know what it s about. Conclusion: The conclusion should be your reflection on the outcome of your reading and the connection you made to it. It s a wrap- up of the essay. Repeat your main points and give a nice strong statement right at the end so that we feel the essay is complete Remember!!!! The goal is to express your thoughts, opinions and observations regarding the literature on which you are writing. In order for the essay to be comprehensive, you will have to provide your point of view as well as back it up with facts. The reflective essay is not an informational essay to see how many quotes from the book you can make. It s not a summary. Make it personal and support your reasons. It s also not a diary entry. It s a great idea to include your own feelings or events, just back them up with facts. Follow the MLA guidelines. We need to know where you got your information and that you can follow formatting directions. Think about your audience and make it as clear to read as possible. Refer to the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) website: Have fun with it! The more you enjoy what you are reading and writing about, the more we care too. Sophomore Summer Reading Project Select either Option A or Option B to complete for Summer Reading Project. Please note general directions indicated for this assignment in the introductory Project paragraph for Summer Reading. Option A: TIME WITH A CHARACTER Some people in our lives can really affect us, and the same goes for the people we meet through books. For this assignment, you will select and examine a person or character from a work of fiction or nonfiction. This should be someone you can 3

4 trace through the whole book. Ideally, it will be someone with whom you identify or someone who affects you in some way. Paragraph 1 Describe and explain the character as he/she is depicted early in the book. Who is she? Use quotes to support your insight. (use in- text citations with page numbers, following MLA format), Then, explain why you chose this character. Paragraph 2 Illustrate and explain a moment in the middle of the book that seems to have a more profound effect on this character. Again, use a quote to illustrate the importance of the moment (again MLA format!) Then, explain the moment s significance, considering how the character responds and how the moment changes/shapes/develops the character. Paragraph 3 Illustrate and explain what you learned from this character OR how you connected with this character. Include a quote from the end of the book that ties in with your response. As a final thoughtful reflection on this book, develop your personal insight from your time with this character. Option B: QUOTES, QUOTES, QUOTES!! Select at least three quotes from your summer selection that were the following: insightful, profound, controversial, memorable, pivotal, and/or life changing (for you personally or in the work itself). Paragraph 1: Examine a quote from the exposition of the work. Paragraph 2: Examine a quote from the middle of the book. Paragraph 3: Examine a quote from the resolution. For each quote provide the following: (and be sure to cite quotes following MLA format!) A) Explain the context of the quote (who, what, where, when, why) B) Incorporate the word- for- word quote C) Explain the quote s significance. Your analysis/commentary might explore how the quote relates to your life and/or to the world. It might explain how the quote relates to theme, symbolism, characterization or some other aspect of the book. Here is where you showcase your insights! Junior and Senior Summer Reading Project Select ONE of the following writing assignments to complete for Summer Reading Project: Literary Elements or Passages. Please note general directions indicated for this assignment in the introductory Project paragraph for Summer Reading. 4

5 Literary Elements Locate 10 literary elements used in your Summer Reading text. The ten you select must be from the following list: hyperbole, imagery, irony, paradox, simile, metaphor, personification. You must use a combination of the literary elements from the list above (i.e., 3 hyperboles, 2 irony, 2 simile, 2 metaphor, 1 personification). 1. Type out the sentence/phrase with the literary element identified. 2. Include page number from the text for each literary element identified. 3. Give an explanation as to how this particular literary element exemplified, clarified, or added to your clarity of the to the chapter/novel/text. Passages Select 4 passages (not quotes, but passages (i.e. paragraphs, pages or even chapters depending on length) that you believe were significant to the conflict/plot/theme or author s voice of the book. 1. Give the page number, type the passage (for entire chapters reference the chapter, do not type) Remember to use MLA format for in text quotations, citing direct passages from text. Refer to the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) website: 2. Give a personal explanation in 2-3 paragraphs (7-14 sentences per paragraph) as to why this passage was significant in explaining/supporting/symbolizing/ the conflict, plot, theme or author s voice of the book. 3. Complete a personal explanation for each passage. Follow the directions of 1 and 2 above for each of the four passages you select from your Summer Reading book. 5