Westmont High School English I Honors Summer Reading Assignment and Course Commitment Form

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1 Westmont High School English I Honors Summer Reading Assignment and Course Commitment Form Our goal is to offer a challenging, interesting, and intellectually stimulating honors course for freshmen students at Westmont High School. We hope to teach the honors students to read closely, delve deeply, and analyze thoroughly both fiction and non-fiction works, and to teach strong rhetoric and composition skills. In order for this class to have the maximum benefit for students, we expect all students to complete the summer assignments outlined later in this packet. Course Expectations for English I Honors: Students will complete all homework assignments on time and in a conscientious manner. Students will participate in class discussions and complete the in-class assignments. Students will understand that once enrolled in English I Honors, they will not be allowed to drop the course and transfer into on-level English I. This is a year-long commitment. Students will complete the summer assignment and be prepared on the first day of class. Student signature Date Print Student s name Parent signature Date Print Parent s name Please return with course request form.

2 English I Honors Summer Assignment: 1. Read one book from each of the following genres: Fiction: The Help The Secret Life of Bees 1984 All Quiet on the Western Front The Things They Carried The Princess Bride The Education of Little Tree The Taming of the Shrew Jurassic Park The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy As You Like It Treasure Island The Alchemist (by Paulo Coehlo) The Martian (by Andy Weir) Nonfiction: Seabiscuit Lone Survivor Into Thin Air Where Men Win Glory The Perfect Storm Unbroken Touching the Void Friday Night Lights Please note that ALL work must be in MLA format. 2. Be prepared to discuss all the literary terms defined at the end of this packet and how they are used in your nonfiction selection. Have passages/excerpts readily available to support your views. You will be evaluated on your speaking and listening skills. In addition, you will be tested on your knowledge of these terms. 3. Write a 4-5 paragraph essay where you analyze the theme of a novel from the fiction list. Remember a theme is a complete sentence (examples: absolute power corrupts absolutely, friendship means more than material goods). Your essay needs: a compelling thesis, topic sentences and conclusions, strong diction, variety of syntax, analysis, and examples. To help write your essay, ask yourself the following questions: How/when/where does the writer convey the theme? What literary terms, moments in the plot, and characters does the author use to convey the theme? 4. Prepare an oral presentation such as the ones listed below for your nonfiction selection. You will have a 3-minute oral presentation the first week of school. You will need visuals (such as a PowerPoint slide show, poster, model, photos, ticket stubs, author autograph). See a live stage production of the author s work. Bring back the program and ticket stub. Explain its connection to the book. Compare the performance to the novel. Visit a museum dedicated to the author you chose. Prepare a poster board that shows what you learned at the museum. Visit actual sites mentioned in one of the author s works. Take photos. Watch the movies based on the book and make a comparison of the novel and film. Build a diorama, or a series of dioramas, depicting the important scenes of the book.. Create a physical map of the locations and events in a novel. Events/locations should be annotated (labeled). Create a trailer for a movie version of the book. Create, write and perform an original song that serves as a summary. Take a popular song and change the lyrics to fit your novel. Create a puppet show summary of the book. Create your own original project which demonstrates your understanding of a novel. Have fun with it!

3 WESTMONT HIGH SCHOOL MLA Guidelines for Handwritten and Word Processed Assignments Typed Work: MLA-style formatting Header: (Name, date, etc.): Double-spaced at the top left margin of the first page only, in the same font and font sizes as the text of the paper, list: 1) Your first and last name 2) Teacher s name 3) Course and Period (example: English IH 2) 4) Date paper is turned in (MLA Handbook 4.5). Formal essays written outside of class must be: Double space typed papers throughout their entirety, from your name at the top of the first page to the last line of text (block quotes included). Works cited pages are double-spaced as well. Margins: one inch margins above, beneath, and on both sides of the text (excluding page number headers, which should be one-half inch from the top margin). Note that Microsoft Word often defaults left and right margins to 1.25 inches, so you may need to change the margin settings in the blank Word documents. Font: Use only standard Times, Arial, or Courier fonts. Use the same font (and font size) for the entire document: the title, the text, block quotes, headers, works cited entries, etc. Font size: Use only 12 point font size. Text in smaller fonts can be hard to read; essays in large fonts can look like kindergarten work. Title/title page: Titles are mandatory, title pages are unnecessary. Pagination: At the top right corner of each page, including the first page and Works Cited pages, put your last name, one typed space and the page number one-half inch from the top of the page and aligned on the right margin Citation: Author s last name and page number in parentheses. Example: To be or not to be (Shakespeare 19). Additional Course Information: Core Literature: Holt Literature anthology: short stories, poetry, Romeo and Juliet, The Odyssey, non-fiction selections. Individual works: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Miracle Worker, Of Mice and Men. Personal copies of these works are encouraged, but not required. SchoolLoop: We encourage all students and parents to register for SchoolLoop. SchoolLoop provides daily regarding current assignments, access to student grades, to all teachers and enrolled students, and information about clubs and activities.

4 WESTMONT HIGH SCHOOL MLA Guidelines for Handwritten and Word Processed Assignments Paper: Use only standard 8.5x11 inch notebook paper. Avoid turning in work on pages with frayed or tattered edges Here is a sample first page of an essay in MLA style: *Notice that the full heading is 1 inch from the top of the page; the header is.5 inches from the top of the page Katniss Everdeen Mr. Abernathy English IH 3 September 12, 2017 Hungry for the Game Everdeen 1 During the 2017 season, the Notre Dame Irish and the USC Trojans renewed their historic rivalry with an epic clash in South Bend, Indiana. This contest featured four Heisman Trophy candidates Essay checklist: hook/attention-getter to start my essay that relates to the prompt and my thesis follow MLA guidelines (see previous page) thesis that addresses the prompt (What is the theme?) topic sentences/conclusions that address the prompt and thesis.

5 Literary Terms Literary Terms: tools that authors use to enhance their writing. -Setting: the place and time that a story takes place. -Protagonist: the main character of a story the story centers around him/her/it. -Antagonist: characters (or things) who conflict with the protagonist. -Irony: example: fire house burns down. When the unexpected occurs.the opposite of what one would expect. Irony can be very sad, or painful, or funny. -Theme: the message, the moral, the point. Theme= a sentence. Love conquers all. Things are not as they seem. Trust no one. -Conflict: a problem in the story, a difficulty, a tough situation, tight spot, -external: a conflict against a human, nature, outside force. -internal: when a character is in conflict with him/herself, attitude, values. -Motivation: the reason(s) behind a character s doing, inspiration. Why a character makes certain decisions. -Symbol (symbolism): something that stands for or represents something else. heart= love, health, Flag= America, unity, patriotic. -Stages of Plot (story hill): 1. Exposition (readers meet the characters and the setting) 2. Inciting Incident (the major conflict is introduced) 3. Rising Action (a series of events that gets increasingly more epic and leads to the climax) 4. Climax (the most interesting part of the story) 5. Falling Action (events after Climax not as interesting) 6. Resolution/denouement (conflict is resolved).