Shaw High School Winter Break Packet English/Language Arts Grades 9-12
9-12 English Language Arts The purpose of this Vacation Packet is to enhance your education by providing appropriate books for you to read during Winter Break. Below the book choices are activities to develop your understanding of the book. Student Instructions: 1. Pick a book from the following list according to grade and interest. 2. While you are reading the book keep a reading journal. The format to use for your reading journal is below as well. 3. After you have finished the book, choose 2 of the 10 activities below and create a portfolio of your work. 4. Return the portfolio and your reading journal to your English teacher when you return from Winter Break. 9 th Grade 9 th Grade Honors Speak Laurie Halse Anderson Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury The Giver Lois Lowry The Chosen Chaim Potok Monster - Walter Dean Anderson The Diary of Anne Frank Anne Frank And Then There Were None Agatha Christie Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare Call of the Wild Jack London 10 th Grade 10 th Grade Honors Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury Cry, The Beloved Country Alan Paton Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll Much Ado About Nothing William Shakespeare Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Addams Born on the Fourth of July Ron Kovac 11 th Grade 11 th Grade Honors/AP Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime Mark The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger Haddon Their Eyes Were Watching God Zorah Zeale The Stand Stephen King Hurston A Raisin in the Sun Lorraine Hansberry Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Joy Luck Club Amy Tan Sherman Alexie 12 th Grade 12 th Grade Honors/AP The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde Twelfth Night William Shakespeare Dracula Bram Stoker Slaughterhouse V Kurt Vonnegut Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini The Stranger Albert Camus ~ 2 ~
Contents of the Portfolio (chose 2 of 10 activities) 1. Write a well organized letter to the main character describing your reaction to the book. A well organized letter has a proper heading, greeting, body and signature block. 2. Create a travel brochure to encourage people to come to the setting of the book. Your travel brochure should have detailed descriptions of the setting. Include persuasive arguments on why someone should travel. Include pictures to enhance your brochure. 3. Create a collage of imagery, themes, symbols and metaphors. Imagery Images appeal to the senses. Most images are visual and allow the reader to form pictures of the action or characters. Images can also appeal to sound, touch, taste, or smell. Themes - Central idea for a story. The theme is the idea that a writer wishes to reveal about the subject. Symbols Person, place, thing, or event that stands for itself and for something beyond itself as well. 4. Research the life of the author and write a 250 word report. Look into the life of the author and include other books he/she may have written. 5. Create Bio Poems for 4 of the main characters A Bio Poem is a poem about the life of a character. An example of a Bio Poem is below. 6. Write an additional chapter which explains what happened after the book was done. Your additional chapter should be between 250-500 words. Bring the characters up to date, or create a next step in the book. 7. Create a map of the location and pinpoint important landmarks. Draw or print a map of the setting and pinpoint areas the character traveled in the book. 8. Create a storyboard or a comic strip of a scene from the book. A storyboard is a series of drawings which represent the action of a scene. See the template below. Create between 10-15 panels illustrating the scene. 9. Create the front page of a newspaper with 5 to 7 stories about the book and pictures illustrating the characters or action. Remember the basics of a news story. A good story should explain who, what where, when and why 10. Create a soundtrack for the book. Pick 10 songs for the book with detailed explanations of why each song is significant to the story and at what part of the story the song would appear. ~ 3 ~
Format for Reading Journals for Vacation Packet The purpose of a double entry reading log is to help you understand and remember what you have read. The two sides of the double-entry reading log represent a dialogue between you and the reading. The reading log is configured in the following way: 1. Divide a page lengthwise into two columns. 2. At the top, write the date, the title/chapter of the reading, and the author if appropriate. 3. In the left column, write a quote from the reading. (If it s a longer piece of writing, including the page number may be useful.) 4. Then in the right column, write your reaction to that entry. The following are ideas to help you begin. Not all areas need to be addressed. READING NOTES REFLECTION NOTES 1. Quote directly from the reading: words, phrases or sentences that for you clearly suggest meaning or that you simply like. 1. Comment on a direct quote. Explain why you found it significant or enjoyable. Or paraphrase it. 2. Write down anything you find challenging or different: any image or idea, or way of saying something that strikes you in some way. 3. Write down any parts you don t understand or parts you have questions or problems with. 2. Explain why you found something challenging or different. Analyze it. 3. Try to explore anything that confuses you or gives you trouble. Write your question(s). You don t have to answer the questions, just try to figure out what the questions are. Or challenge the point being made: argue. 4. List words whose meanings you don t know for sure. 4. Consult a dictionary and write down definitions of words you don t know. 5. Explain your drawings to achieve further understanding of the reading. 5. If you need to, draw pictures or diagrams to help you understand the reading. 6. Make any closing comments about your reactions to the reading as a whole. ~ 4 ~
Bio Poem Format Below are line-by-line directions for writing this kind of poem: Line #1. I am #2. Three nouns about which you have strong feelings. Begin each with a capital letter. #3. A complete sentence about two things that you like. #4. Three nouns that describe what you like to see in other people; end with "are important to me." Capitalize each noun. #5. A sentence containing a positive thought or feeling. It can tell what you find acceptable in yourself. #6.-#7. Sentence in which you show something negative in yourself or others, however the sentence must end by showing that out of something BAD can come GOOD. Use the word "but" to link the bad and good. #8.-#9.-#10. Each line is a short sentence relating something about which you have strong feelings--likes or dislikes. They do not have to relate to each other or to the previous lines you have written. #11. End with "This is me" or "I am." ~ 5 ~
Storyboard or Comic Strip Book: Author: Scene: ~ 6 ~