ELYSIAN FIELDS HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER READING LIST 2016 GRADE 9 HONORS MS.JOHNSON "Reading, real reading, is a strenuous and pleasurable contact sport." --Maureen Howard Part One: Classic Literature Choose one of the following novels. Then complete the assignment below. A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." With these famous words, Charles Dickens plunges the reader into one of history's most explosive eras the French Revolution. From the storming of the Bastille to the relentless drop of the guillotine, Dickens vividly captures the terror and upheaval of that tumultuous period. At the center is the novel's hero, Sydney Carton, a lazy, alcoholic attorney who, inspired by a woman, makes the supreme sacrifice on the bloodstained streets of Paris. One of Dickens's most exciting novels, A Tale of Two Cities is a stirring classic of love, revenge, and resurrection. OR Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte Immediately recognized as a masterpiece when it was first published in 1847, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is an extraordinary coming-of-age story featuring one of the most independent and strong-willed female protagonists in all of literature. Poor and plain, Jane Eyre begins life as a lonely orphan in the household of her hateful aunt. Despite the oppression, she endures at home, and the later torture of boarding school, Jane manages to emerge with her spirit and integrity unbroken. She becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she finds herself falling in love with her employer the dark, impassioned Mr. Rochester. But an explosive secret tears apart their relationship, forcing Jane to face poverty and isolation once again. One of the world's most beloved novels, Jane Eyre is a startlingly modern blend of passion, romance, mystery, and suspense. Assignment: Critical Essay Write a 3-4 page essay in which you analyze the main character in the novel. Discuss how certain events change, or alter, the main character as he or she progresses through the novel from beginning to end. You may consider different events, obstacles, conversations, or other characters that lead the main character to change and grow. Use quotations from the novel to support each of your points. You need to have a clear thesis statement in your introduction that clearly states the idea you will be proving within your paper. Because this is a formal paper, third person point-of-view should be used (not the informal first person no use of "I"), and you should end with a concluding paragraph that restates your thesis and reviews your main points. Papers should be typed, doublespaced with 1-inch margins, using Times New Roman 12 point font, with correct MLA format including heading and page numbers. Part Two: Twentieth Century Classics Choose one of the following novels. Then complete the assignment below. A Separate Peace John Knowles Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world. A bestseller for more than thirty years, A Separate Peace is John Knowles's crowning achievement and an undisputed American classic. OR
Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression. They are an unlikely pair: George is "small and quick and dark of face"; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a "family," clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. Laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. For George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. When they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, the fulfillment of their dream seems to be within their grasp. But even George cannot guard Lennie from the provocations of a flirtatious woman, nor predict the consequences of Lennie's unswerving obedience to the things George taught him. Assignment: Double-Entry Journal For this assignment, you will need to maintain a double-entry journal while you are reading the novel. You will, as you read, choose excerpts from the novel that are significant and critical to the meaning of the work, the writer's style, and/or the literary elements (e.g. character, plot, theme, symbols, etc.). You must include a minimum of ten entries in this journal, and they should cover the entirety of the novel. In a double-entry journal, you fold or divide your page in half, quote the author's EXACT words on the left side of the page, and then write your interpretation and/or response to it on the right you will paraphrase, explain, and analyze the author's language to increase your own comprehension. Each entry should be at least 6-8 well thought out sentences, making references to the text whenever possible. Journals should be handwritten in two columns and single-spaced. Due Dates and Policies for Summer Reading Your summer reading assignments are worth TWO TEST GRADES that will count in your first six weeks average. All assignments are due first day of class. After that, the project will not be accepted, and you will not be allowed to enter Honor's English. In addition to these two assignments, during the first week of school, you will be asked to complete an in-class assessment of the novels that you read. SEND QUESTIONS TO: amandajohnson0617@gmail
Elysian Fields High School I P.O. Box 120 Elysian Fields, Texas 75642 903 / 633-2455 FAX 903 / 633-2498 Asst. Principal 903 / 633-2218 Counselor 903 / 633-2265 Grade 10H SOPHOMORE SUMMER READING PROJECT Dear Parents and students, Once again it is time for the Honor's English II Summer Reading Assignment that is required to stay in the Honors English class. The students will be required to read LORD of the FLIES. Students can pick up a copy in the High School Office or check one out from the public library. This will need to be read and journal done by the 1 St day of class. In addition to the reading, students will be required to keep a reading response journal. They will need to write something for each chapter. (Directions on next page) This will show the students understanding of the book. Thank you, J.Fulbright English II teacher
Reading Response Journals: A Reading Response Journal is a notebook in which you write about your reading. In it you communicate thoughts and feelings about the novel that you are reading. The journal is a window for the teacher to look through to see what you are thinking and what you know about the selection. What are the expectations? (Requirements) You should: Date each entry and write the title of the book and the author. Write, on average, a page, although the length may vary. Produce at least ten written entries. What do students write about in a reading response journal? Make predictions about what will occur next. Write from the main character's perspective. Agree or disagree with the theme or the tone of the novel. Show a personal reaction to the story. Explain reading strategies that you used. Describe the main character or any character's personality. Comment on how a character has changed. Relate the novel to your personal life. Compare the novel to another novel that you have read. Explain why you liked or disliked the novel. (Use at least three literary terms in your answer). Finally, feel free to write anything about the novel that you feel strongly about.
You will be expected to know the following literary terms and devices upon your return from summer vacation. Many of these terms should already be familiar to you. You will have a multiple choice test over these terms. Literary Terms to Know: Alliteration Antagonist Allusion Character Characterization Climax Colloquialism Conflict Connotation Denotation Diction Figurative Language Foil Foreshadowing Genre Hyperbole Imagery Irony Metaphor Mood Motif Onomatopoeia Oxymoron Paradox Personification Plot Point of View Protagonist Resolution Setting Simile Symbols Synopsis Theme Tone
Amanda Ware English Ill Honors American Literature Introduction: This Honors course will prepare students for the English IV course offered during the fourth year of high school and eventually college English courses. During the course, students will be introduced to variety of texts, including (but not limited to) many pieces of American Literature. Students will be expected to use techniques taught in class in order to become both skilled readers of prose in a variety of rhetorical contexts and skilled writers for a variety of purposes. Students will also use historical literature in an effort to relate context to meaning behind the text. Goals: * to prepare students to write effectively and confidently in their college courses across the curriculum and in their professional and personal lives. *to emphasize the expository, analytical and argumentative writing that form the basis of academic and professional communication. *to teach students that the expository, analytical and argumentative writing they must do in college is based on reading as well as on personal experience and observation. *to teach students to read primary and secondary sources carefully, to synthesize material from these texts in their own compositions, and to cite sources using conventions recommended by professional organizations such as the Modern Language Association (MLA). * to enable students to read complex texts with understanding and to write prose of sufficient richness and complexity to communicate effectively with mature readers. * to help students move beyond such programmatic responses as the five-paragraph essay and into more personal, original responses. Required Summer Reading: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Album AND One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey* Visit www.efisd.net, then head over to my "Teacher Page" for up-to-date class information! See you in the fall! *See attached page for summer assignment.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Theme of Madness Although most of the characters in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest are considered mentally ill, the plot of the novel suggests that there's a thin line between "normal" and "abnormal." Much of the difference between the normal and the abnormal consists of fear. As one of the patients in the asylum suggests, he could live in the Outside world if only he had the guts. He doesn't have the guts, so he finds safety in being institutionalized and considered "crazy." Answer the Follwing Questions About Madness Be prepared to present an argument. 1. Is McMurphy mentally ill or just a schemer who rebels against authority? 2. Which of the characters in the novel do you think have mental illnesses? Which ones don't? What's your definition of a mental illness anyway? 3. In what ways does this novel challenge you to reconsider your notion of who is and who isn't suffering from a mental illness? 4. How does society view mental illness in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? How does the medical establishment view it? Are there conflicting viewpoints expressed in the book and, if so, what are they? Play the devil's advocate. There are many easily argued ideas within the story, for example: Though Chief Bromden is schizophrenic, it is possible to argue he is one of the sanest people in the book. OR Though Nurse Ratched is seen as normal and McMurphy is seen as mentally ill, the nurse is actually the psychopath. Choose an argument (it does not have to be, but CAN be, one of mine), and support it with information from the book or other sources. Be prepared to present this argument with a visual (a power point, a poster board, a video., whatever you'd like to create). Your presentation should be a minimum of three minutes and convince us that you have made a valid point. This will be your first test grade and will determine your eligibility for staying in English Ill Honors.
/2 English IV Honors Summer Reading List Lord of the Flies by William Golding o May pick up a copy at the high school Me Before You by Jojo Moyes o Must be purchased The Tempest by William Shakespeare o May be easily accessed online at no cost (No Fear Shakespeare Spark Notes) The selections must be read prior to the first day of school. You will be tested over both novels and the play.