Dear Students and Families,

Transcription

1 Dear Students and Families, I hope that you are getting ready to have a relaxing and enjoyable summer vacation. Whether you are staying in Egypt or travelling further afield, I think it is important that you make the most of your final summer as middle school student. Your grade 9 year will be exciting and challenging, as you transition into young adulthood and embark on your journey through high school. You have all studied and identified a variety of themes in novels. You ve looked at themes in your own lives throughout your middle school experience. You ve identified with characters and have watched them grow and change throughout a novel. Perhaps you have revisited novels you have previously read, and understood that you have grown and changed from your initial reading. Novels can provide a mirror for us, allowing reflection on our own lives. Every book on this reading list contains interwoven themes of a character s coming of age. As you read this summer I want you to explore what that means, and how it applies to your own life as you enter high school. This theme will be the focus of our first unit of work, as well as an overarching theme throughout the year. I expect you to be ready with your summer work on the first day of school in September. You will be using the knowledge you have acquired over the summer, as well as your Idea Book, to complete a 5 paragraph essay on the first day of Term 1. On the last page of this document, you ll find suggestions for your summer reading. By no means is this list exhaustive. For further recommendations, please consult If you do choose a book off this list, please make sure it deals with a coming of age theme. Sincerely, Ms. Heather Statz American Section Head of Department, Modern English School Cairo

2 Your summer assignment consists of a variety of parts: 1. Buy a bound notebook. Do not buy a spiral notebook. Your bound notebook should be at least 7.5 inches x 10 inches. The pages of the notebook could either be lined or blank. 2. Collect your thinking in an Idea Book (see grade 9 Idea Book document on the website for help). 3. Explore and familiarize yourself with essential vocabulary relating to literary devices, literary terminology, and grammar. Idea Book: 1. On the first five pages (front and back at total of 10) of your notebook, create a table of contents. The page numbers and information written in the table of contents should correspond with each page of writing in your notebook. 2. On the sixth page of your notebook, explore the theme of coming of age. What does this mean? Conduct research from a variety of sources and write it down. Feel free to draw pictures, cut out magazine pictures, and annotate them. Be as creative as you d like in creating and defining this term in your own words. Vocabulary In the back of your Idea Book, I would like you to begin the process of defining and exploring a variety of vocabulary. This list will serve as a foundation from which will be built on throughout the year. Please define each of the words below (in your own words!) and find specific examples of the ways that authors are using them in the texts you read. - Theme - Simile - Tone - Alliteration - Personification - Onomatopoeia - Imagery - Syntax - Metaphor - Allusion - Diction - Analogy - Hyperbole - Connotation - Satire - Protagonist - Denotation - Antagonist - Irony - Plot - Theme - Conflict - Mood - Symbolism - Ambiguity - Characterization (dynamic/static) - Point of view (first, third, limited, omniscient)

3 Summer Reading Choose two books to read from the summer reading list, found on the last pages of this document. Some of these books deal with mature themes. If you are easily offended, be sure you research the book thoroughly before deciding the read it. is a good place to start in terms of plot synopsis and book reviews. This list is by no means exhaustive: you may also choose your own book to read, but please make sure it is appropriate for your reading level. Once you ve chosen and finished a novel, in your Idea Book, complete these two assignments: 1) Idea Book, Part One: Quotation Significance Choose ten total quotations that relate to the theme of Coming of Age. Copy each quotation, provide an in-text citation, and briefly analyze (4-6 sentences each) why the quotation seems important or profound. For more information on in-text citations, you should visit the Purdue OWL at 2) Idea Book, Part Two: The Texts in Search of Truth The books on the suggested reading list deal with a character s search for truth. In a reflection, briefly discuss the truths that you think the text reveals. What truths do the characters in the text pursue? Support your claims with evidence/examples from the texts. Please check your grammar and mechanics. Grade 9 Reading List The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky Please Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, Matthew Quick Silver Linings Playbook, Matthew Quick Attachments: A Novel by Rainbow Rowell

4 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith About a Boy, Nick Hornby Aristotle and Dante Discover the Universe Love is the Higher Law, David Levithan Everyday, David Levithan Will Grayson, Will Grayson, John Green and David Levithan An Abundance of Katherines, John Green Great Expectations, Charles Dickens Tiger Eyes, Judy Blume The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Emily Danforth Twisted, Laurie Halse Anderson Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher A Separate Piece, John Knowles The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton The Art of Fielding, Chad Harbach Blankets, Craig Thompson Reconstructing Amelia: A Novel, Kimberly McCreight Game of Thrones, R.R. Martin Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You, Peter Cameron Please Ignore Vera Dietz, A.S. King Everybody Sees the Ants, A.S. King The Impossible Knife of Memory, Laurie Halse Anderson The Round House, Louise Erdrich The Kitchen House, Kathleen Grisson True Grit, Charles Portis Revolver, Marcus Sedgwick

5 Paper Towns, John Greene The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie Hate List, Jennifer Brown Deadline, Chris Crutcher