Mrs. Kleinle English III Rhetoric & Composition Summer Assignments Welcome to Rhetoric & Composition! I have attached your summer assignments to this document. This first paper, however, will serve as your cover page to your summer assignment packet. On the first day of school, please be prepared to hand in this packet, printed in Times New Roman font (size 12), and stapled together with this sheet on the top. It will act as a checklist so that you can ensure that you have turned everything in. Additionally, the assignment for English III offers you, the student, an element of choice. It comes with a list of novels for you to choose from in completing your projects. Please choose books that you feel comfortable reading. Many novels deal with mature issues, so it is your responsibility to research the book and decide the best fit for you. Name English III Check List: Please be sure that all parts of this assignment are attached and completed. o Quotes Assignment Part II: 8 Quotes from the book with responses o Quotes Assignment Part III: 1 Quote of the Book with response o Quotes Assignment Part IV: Reflective Letter o Contemporary Book Review Part I: Review Sheet o Contemporary Review Part II: Book Connection
Assignment #1: Quotes Project (Source: Hilary Bickerton & Stacey Hallet) Goal: Using the accompanying list compiled from American Library Association Young Adult Library Services Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifelong Learners, please select a nonfiction book to read for this project. Part I: Use post-it notes to mark passages as you read. Every time you encounter a particularly important, provocative, dramatic, surprising, or even disturbing passage, mark it with a post-it note. Only when you have completed the novel will you look at all those passages (and the sticky notes!) and decide which to analyze. When you are done reading your book, you will select 8 passages from the novel (please pull from the beginning, middle and end). Copy the passage down (including the page number) and then write about the passage in the following ways (See Part II). Bring your book with sticky notes on the first day of school. Part II: First, in a well-written paragraph, explain how each passage fits into the novel. Discuss the importance of the passage to the book s message, meaning, or theme. Also, react to the passage as a reader. Help me to understand WHY you have selected this passage. Incorporate text support into your analysis. To generate responses, you can consider the following as suggested prompts or questions: Why does the passage impress, intrigue, horrify, or puzzle you? Do you find the author s use of language appealing or powerful? Does the passage jump off the page as a great descriptive passage? Does it prompt a strong response from you as you read it? Does it present itself as something that you just love the sound of? Is the language beautiful, descriptive, or graphic? Is it particularly meaningful? Is it a high point in the book? Do you find yourself in agreement/disagreement with the ideas expressed? Does the passage remind you of a situation you have lived as well? Does the passage make you laugh our loud or make you melancholy or make you something else? Does the author raise intriguing questions or issues? Does the passage challenge or expand your thinking? What is the effect of the quote in relation to the book s overall purpose? You get the idea... You are not limited to the above list, nor do I expect you to answer all of the above. However, your responses to the passages should clearly explain to me WHY these passages mean something to you, WHY these passages caught your attention, and HOW these passages propel the author s overall purpose of the novel. Also, be reasonably concise. Find a balance between quantity and quality in your writing. Part III: Then, select ANOTHER passage as The Quote of the Book. This should be that one passage that captures the essence- the true meaning- of the novel for you, the reader. In a well-written paragraph, explain exactly HOW this passage is the one perfect quote from the book. Think of this as the one passage that you would absolutely want saved should your book ever be lost or destroyed. Part IV: Lastly, you need to write a REFELCTIVE LETTER (no more than one paragraph) about reading this novel and creating your quotes paper. Write to me about the thoughts, feelings, observations, and new insights you experienced while reading your novel. Some ideas to think about for your letter may include, but are not limited to:
Tell me what you worked on the hardest or struggled with in doing this assignment. Share with me what you think you did well: what worked, really worked. Show me where you were drawn into the novel and where you were pulled away from the novel. Identify in your opinion the author s- or the story s- greatest strength and weaknesses. Discuss in what ways the novel is similar to your life Explore what value, beyond entertainment, this book has Share your overall impressions of the novel Discuss if you found yourself changing your mind about the book and/or the author Your REFLECTIVE LETTER is your chance to talk with me about your book, your project, and your experiences in completing the assignment. With your letter, make me see your work- and your learning- through your eyes. Important Details: o Please read the Sample Assignment that has been uploaded as a supplement to your summer reading packet. This is an excellent example of the advanced sentence structure, vocabulary analysis, text support and commentary that is required in this course. It is also a good representation of the appropriate length for this this assignment. o All aspects of this assignment must be typed. o Passages/quotes must be at least two (2) sentences long. Many of your passages should- and will be- longer than two sentences. When you type your quotes, put them in italics. o Passages/quotes must be from throughout the entire novel. Your project will be marked incomplete if you only have quotes from the first half of the novel. o All passages must be in quotation marks- and be sure to copy the passage exactly as it appears in your novel. o All passages must include the page number from which they are taken. Cite page numbers as (235), or (16), or (105). Assignment #2: Contemporary Book Review Goal: Have fun! In one of my very favorite films, The Princess Bride, Peter Falk s character says to his grandson, When I was your age, television was called books. So often, it is easy to forget that books are a form of entertainment, and there is some great contemporary young adult literature being written today. I d like you to choose one of the following books, and complete the following two worksheets. Neither worksheet needs to be typed. Please be sure to write your answers neatly and legibly.
Part I: Book Review TITLE: AUTHOR: COPYRIGHT DATE: Is the book fiction or nonfiction? PLOT What is the main problem or topic of the book? Describe three important events that take place in the book. A) B) C) SETTING Where does the book take place? (Include the city, buildings, peoples houses, etc.) When does the book take place? (List specific dates, years, or present day)
CHARACTERS Choose three characters in the book. List their names and give a short description of each. Tell which one(s) are the main characters. Name Description 1. 2. 3. THEME What is the main message or lesson of the book?
Part II: Book Connection Why did you choose to read this book? Compared to other books you have read, what was the difficulty of this book? What was the most interesting part of this book? How does this book relate to your life? Explain something new you learned from reading this book. Compared to other books, how much did you like reading this book? Why?
To whom would you recommend this book? Why?
Options for Assignment #1 Autobiography / Biography / Memoir Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays With Morrie. (Dying teacher and life-long student) McCourt, Frank. Angela s Ashes. (Poverty, starvation, and exuberance in depression Ireland) Wright, Richard. Black Boy. (Life to age 19 in the deep south) Griffin, John Howard. Black Like Me. (Eyewitness history by white man who becomes black) Karr, Mary. The Liar s Club. (Poetic insight into one of the ugliest places on earth) Cheng, Nien. Life and Death in Shanghai. (Imprisonment, resistance, justice) Armstrong, Lance. It s Not About the Bike. (Honest, open, smart autobiography) Moss, Barbara. Change Me Into Zeus Daughter. (Female version of Angela s Ashes) Sheff, David. Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey through His Son's Addiction. (father s anguished account of his promising son s meth addiction and its painful impact on the entire family is honest, raw, and full of information about the realities of drug addiction) Gunther, John. Death Be Not Proud. (Father tells of 17 year old s struggle with brain tumor) Nature / Adventure / Science Junger, Sebastian. The Perfect Storm. (Swordfish boat vs. Mother Nature) Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air. (Everest climb gone wrong) Larson, Erik. Isaac s Storm. (1900 hurricane still deadliest of all time) Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird. (practical advice for aspiring writers and life in general) Firlik, Katrina. Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside. (honest appraisal of work as a doctor) Melville, Greg. Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fry-Oil-Powered Car, and a Cross- Country Search for a Greener Future (humorous road trip with the author and his college buddy in a converted 1980 s Mercedes from Vermont to California, and learn a little about how to be more eco-friendly along the way) Thompson, Gabriel. Working in the Shadows: A Year of Doing the Jobs (Most) Americans Won t Do (author works in various unskilled labor jobs providing engaging and gruesome details) Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (story of a woman whose cancerous cells were developed in culture without her knowledge and became the HeLa line scientists used in researching some of the most important and astounding medical discoveries of the 20th century) Sports Remnick, David. King of the World. (Ali as racial and cultural hero in the 1950 s) Lewis, Michael. Moneyball. (how Oakland A s general manager is changing baseball) Shapiro, Michael. The Last Great Season. (Brooklyn Dodgers 1956 pennant race) History / Politics / War Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. Notes on a Kidnapping. (investigation behind Pablo Escobar s terror)
Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point. (explains why changes in society occur suddenly) Gourevitch, Phillip. We Wish to Inform You Tomorrow We Will be Killed with Our Families. (Rwanda Genocide) Levitt, Stephen and Stephen Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. (interesting illumination of mysteries of everyday life) Berendt, John. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.(entertaining true crime story) Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. (the first, some say the best, in this category) Cornwell, Patricia. Portrait of a Killer. (the Jack the Ripper crimes are solved?) Metress, Christopher. The Lynching of Emmett Till: A Documentary Narrative. (murder in the south) Travelogue Paterniti, Michael. Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America with Einstein s Brain. (yes, it s true) Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. (cross country bohemian adventure) Options for Assignment #2 Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why Oliver, Lauren. Delirium Dashner, James. The Maze Runner Golding, William. The Princess Bride Green, John. Paper Towns Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak Babbitt, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting Picoult, Jodi. My Sister s Keeper Johnson, Maureen 13 Little Blue Envelopes L Engle, Madeleine. A Ring of Endless Light Dessen, Sarah. The Truth About Forever Forman, Gayle. If I Stay Pierce, Tamora. Wild Magic Anderson, M.T. Feed Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy Pullman, Philip. The Golden Compass Clare, Cassandra. The Mortal Instruments