Download Olathe Northwest Pre-AP Freshman English 2015 Summer Reading

Olathe Northwest Pre-AP Freshman English
2015 Summer Reading Assignment
Greetings Incoming ONW Raven:
Welcome to Olathe Northwest and Pre-AP English I! By enrolling in this course, you have indicated an interest in and a
commitment to rigor in your education. This program is designed to equip you with the strategies and tools you need to
develop the skills, habits of mind, and concepts needed to be successful in advanced placement courses. Please read the
following instructions for the assignment carefully and complete each of the parts listed.
Summer Assignment: Due August 13, 2015 (the first full day of school)
Choose ONE of the following novels to read:
 True Grit by Charles Portis
OR
 The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
You will need to purchase a hard copy of one of these two novels for the assignment. If you cannot purchase a novel due
to your circumstances, please email Mrs. Harding at [email protected] for help with getting a book.
The entire assignment (except annotations in the book) needs to be typed and saved as one electronic file in Microsoft
Word, Apple Pages, or a Google Document. Once school starts, you will be required to bring both a hard copy and
electronic copy of the assignment to class on Thursday, August 13. Your electronic copy will be submitted to
turnitin.com (your teacher will explain the process during class).
Part 1: Annotations:
As you read the novel, you need to annotate (highlight, underline, write questions/comments) directly in your book. This will
help you as you complete all other parts of the summer assignment. See Part I for how to annotate meaningfully as you read.
You will be required to thoroughly annotate the pages assigned in Part I and bring the novel to class to be graded.
Part 2: Figurative Language and Literary Terms Chart
As you read your selected novel, look for examples of the literary terms provided within your novel. Look on page 4 of this
document for more information and examples. This part of your assignment should be typed in the chart provided.
Part 3: Characterization Dialectical Journal
As your read your selected novel, complete a dialectical journal focusing on the protagonist in your book. Look on page 6 of
this document for more information and examples. This part of your assignment should be typed.
Part 4: Extended Response
As you read your selected novel, you will answer three of the extended response questions. Your answers to these five
questions must be at least half a page in length typed, double-spaced, and in paragraph form. Look on page 7 of this
document for more information and examples. This part of your assignment should be typed.
Please remember, all parts of your summer assignment are due Thursday, August 13, 2015. This is the first FULL day of
school. You will use your summer assignment and novel with annotations to complete class activities and assessments.
Help Options:
We will offer an optional help session on August 5, 2015, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the ONW Library Media Center. Your
attendance at this help session is not mandatory, but you are welcome to drop in at any time during those two hours to ask
questions or seek clarification regarding the assignment. In addition, you may email the instructors below with questions.
Summer Contact Information:
Rachel Pfeffer: [email protected] Abigail Hershberger: [email protected]
Liz Harding: [email protected]
Alice LaVoie: [email protected]
Carol Toburen: [email protected]
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Part 1: Novel Annotations
Explanation: A good reader interacts with the text in a variety of ways to enhance meaning and understanding. To closely
read a text, the reader needs to have a “conversation” with the material. Making observations, asking questions, and finding
connections are all ways to find meaning. Annotations (marking the text) is a way to record those textual “conversations.”
Directions: As you read your selected novel, annotating will help you identify and interact with important parts of the text.
When you annotate, you mark the text by underlining, highlighting, and writing on the text itself. Meaningful annotations
over the course of the novel will help you to see patterns in the text, follow character and plot development, identify key
ideas and themes, and observe the writer’s craft and choices.
Annotate the three required pages by completing the following steps for each page:
1. Literary Elements: Using the Part 2 Figurative Language and Literary Terms Chart, find examples of literary
elements in the text. Directly in the margins, identify what type of literary element it is and explain how it is being
using in the text.
2. Text Questions: Directly in the margins, write thoughtful and insightful questions about the text.
3. Personal Connections: Directly in the margins, write insightful and relevant personal connections to the text.
Required Annotations:
The Secret Life of Bees:
p. 71 (Starting with the words “The only thing I could compare it to was the feeling I got . . .”)
p. 147 (Starting with “She said it made her feel like dancing a Spanish flamenco.”)
p.285 (Starting with “[I] stared at them a minute, wondering how a person got attached to . . .”)
True Grit
p. 28-29 (Starting at the top of p.28 with “[He] told some interesting stories. . .” and ending at the bottom of p. 29 with “A wintry blast
came up through the cracks in the floor.”
p. 84-85 (Starting at the top of p. 84 with “I wish you would leave these matters . . .” and ending at the bottom of p. 85 with “but I could not
be in two places at once.”
p. 242-243 (Starting at the top of p.242 with “Rooster said, ‘Do you think you can climb the rope?’” and ending at the bottom of p. 243
with “’I am in your debt for that shot, pard.’”
The rubric for this portion of the assignment is below and examples are on the next page (3).
Freshmen Pre-AP Summer Assignment Annotations Rubric
Literary Elements:
Identify and explain
(using literary elements
from the Part 2 Literary
Chart)
Text Questions:
Thoughtful and
insightful questions
asked, focusing on
higher-level thinking
Personal Connections:
How a part of the text
relates to your own life
experiences
3
2
1
0
Accurately identifies
and explains the use of
the literary device found
in the text
Attempts to identify and
explain the literary
device found in the text
Attempts to identify but
does not explain literary
device found in the text
No literary
annotation
present
Questions show
thoughtful interaction
with the text, not just
“right there” questions
Questions show some
interaction with the text,
but are “right there”
questions
No questions
present
Insightful and relevant
personal connections
show unique individual
relationship to text
Basic personal
connections that show
relationship to text
Questions show little
interaction with the text
by demonstrating lack
of understanding or by
being off-topic
Attempts to show
personal connection to
text, but is off-topic or
too brief
Rubric grade equivalents:
3 = 100%
2 = 75%
1 = 50%
No personal
connections
present
0 = 0%
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Part 2: Figurative Language and Literary Terms Chart
Directions: As you read your selected novel, look for examples of the literary terms provided within your novel. Type the
example and include the page(s) where you found the example. Then, explain how your example fits the term. This needs
to be submitted as a chart just like this one including the same order and categories. The example is below and the
chart is on the next page.
Term
EXAMPLE: symbol
Definition
A person, a place, an object, or
an activity that stands for
something beyond itself.
Example from Text
(cite with a page
number)
“Then I saw the horse. It
was Little Blackie! The
scrub pony had saved us!
My thought was: The
stone which the builders
rejected, the same is
become the head of the
corner” (245).
“…We’re here to
remember the story of
Our Lady of Chains, to
remind ourselves that
those chains could never
keep her down. Our
Lady broke free of them
every time” (268).
Explanation
For Mattie, Little
Blackie is a symbol for
herself. She has also
been rejected or
discriminated because
of her size, gender, and
youth, like Little
Blackie has been
discriminated because
of its small size. This
symbol reveals
Mattie’s belief that one
can overcome these
obstacles and prove
one’s “true grit”, or
inner strength and
resilience.
The chains that kept
the Lady of Chains
bound are a symbol for
the struggles and
burdens that all the
characters in the novel
encounter. For
example, Lily’s
“chains” include her
guilt for the death of
her mother and the
abuse of her father.
Ultimately, Lily must
“break free” of her
chains, which
symbolizes that she
must overcome the
adversities in her life
and not let them
destroy her.
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Term
Definition
1. imagery
Descriptive words and phrases
that re-create sensory
experiences for the reader
2.
metaphor
A comparison of two things
(does not contain like or as)
3.
simile
4.
personification
A comparison where one thing is
said to be like another (contains
“like” or “as”)
A figure of speech in which
human qualities are given to an
object, animal, or idea
5.
onomatopoeia
6.
hyperbole
7.
flashback
8.
foreshadowing
9.
theme
Explanation
The use of words whose sounds
echo their meanings, such as
buzz
An extreme exaggeration used to
make a point.
An account of a conversation, an
episode, or an event that
happened before the beginning
of a story; often interrupts the
chronological flow of a story to
give the reader new information
A writer’s use of hints or clues
to suggest events that will occur
later in the story
An underlying message about
life or human nature that a writer
is communicating in a work
10. setting
The time and place of the action
of a story.
11. direct characterization
Explicit statements or
descriptions of characters and
their traits including physical
appearance and personality.
12. indirect characterization
Example from Text
(cite with a page
number)
(The author TELLS…)
The author reveals aspects of the
character through the character’s
actions, thoughts, feelings, and
speech, and/or how other
characters react to the character.
It is up to the reader to draw
conclusions about the character
based on this indirect
information.
(The author SHOWS…)
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Part 3: Characterization Dialectical Journal
Directions: As you read, look for evidence (short phrases or passages from the book) that shows how the protagonist of each
story develops. The narrators of both stories, Mattie in True Grit and Lily in Secret Life of Bees, are considered the
protagonists. You can use direct or indirect characterization as evidence. You must include five journal entries for your
protagonist. Each journal entry will include evidence and commentary (see example below). Your evidence should come
from the beginning, middle, and end of the novel. Each journal entry’s commentary/response should thoroughly explain the
significance of the quotation (avoid plot summary). The dialectical journal should be typed.
You can create a similar chart to the one shown below:
Example:
Evidence
Character’s Name: Atticus Finch
Example (from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee):
“First of all,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout,
you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never
really understand a person until you consider things from his
point of view--”
“Sir?”
“--until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (30).
Tables for you to complete:
Evidence
Choose a short phrase or passage about the character.
Although you should use a direct quote (or the exact words)
from the book, quotes do not have to be character dialogue.
Include the page numbers from the novel.
Commentary/Response
Atticus Finch is a lawyer and respected citizen. His morals
are the same in his professional life as they are in his home
with his family. In this passage, Atticus is trying to teach his
daughter a lesson about people. His words show that he is
not judgmental about people and that he’s fair to everyone.
He wants his daughter to treat people the same way—with
respect and consideration.
Commentary/Response
Write your reaction to the passage and/or comment on the
meaning, importance, and/or significance of the passage.
Each journal entry’s commentary/response should
thoroughly explain the significance of the quotation (avoid
plot summary).
Character’s Name (Mattie or Lily):
Entry 1:
Entry 2:
Entry 3:
Entry 4:
Entry 5:
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Part 4: Extended Response
Directions: After you have read your selected novel, you will respond to each of the prompts below. Your answers to each
prompt must be at least half a page in length typed, double-spaced, and in paragraph form.
Secret Life of Bees
1. “Even in the dark I could see that [the tree] was dying, and doing it alone in the middle of all these unconcerned pines.
That was the absolute way of things. Loss takes up inside of everything sooner or later and eats right through it” (55).
-
What view on life is Lily demonstrating with this statement? What does this tell us about her character, and her view
of the world and herself? Based on your own life experience, do you agree with Lily’s view, and why or why not?
2. “‘But she’s white, August.’ / This was a great revelation—not that I was white but that it seemed like June might not want
me here because of my skin color. I hadn’t known this was possible—to reject people for being white” (87).
-
What is Lily experiencing in this scene that she never has experienced before? (Think of a specific term) What does
Lily learn in this scene? (Think about perspective and empathy). Explain a moment in your own life where you
experienced or witnessed something similar.
3. “Up until then I’d thought that white people and colored people getting along was the big aim, but after that I decided
everybody being colorless together was a better plan” (209).
-
How does Lily come to this conclusion? Do you agree with Lily? Why or why not?
True Grit
1. “Creeks are good Indians, they say, but a Creek-white like him or a Creek-Negro is something else again” (63).
-What viewpoint does Mattie take on people? How is she categorizing people in this instance? What does this reveal
about her character and the setting of the novel? Have you ever judged someone without knowing them, like Mattie?
2. “‘I thought I was doing a good service. You can’t rob a thief, can you? I never robbed no citizens. I never taken a man’s
watch’” (163).
-What moral code is Rooster demonstrating in this passage? Does Mattie agree or disagree with him? What does this
tell us about Rooster and Mattie? Do you agree with either set of moral codes, and why?
3. “…he ordered me to climb upon his back…Rooster himself began to run, or jog as it were under the load, and his breath
came hard. Once more I lost my senses and then next I knew I was being carried in his arms and sweat drops from his brow
and mustache were falling on my neck” (245).
- How does Rooster demonstrate his “true grit” to Mattie? How has Rooster changed since the beginning of the
novel, and how do you know?
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Academic Integrity
Academic integrity refers to honesty and responsibility when completing and turning in work. Honest work builds self-esteem, knowledge, and skills. Use
academic integrity when completing your summer assignment!
For this assignment, academic integrity means:




Reading the entire book
o While using sites with book summaries is helpful in clarifying the reading when you don’t understand, reading a summary of the book is not an
acceptable substitute for actually reading the book.
Asking a Pre AP English teacher if you are struggling
Ensuring that your annotations and written work reflect your ideas and skills
o While collaboration between students is acceptable, what you mark in your book should not be the same as another student. In addition, the
ideas and examples you use in your responses should be in your own words or quoted appropriately from the text.
Not allowing your work to be copied or used by another student
o You should never e-mail or electronically transfer the file for your responses to the questions to another student OR let another student borrow
your annotated book.
Consequences for Academic Dishonesty on the Pre-AP English I Summer Reading Assignment are as follows:



A parent phone call
A written office referral to be included in your permanent disciplinary file
A zero for the assignment
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY STUDENT PLEDGE
My signature below constitutes my pledge that I have read my entire summer reading book and that all of the writing/annotations for my summer
assignment are my own work. I have read the entire academic integrity statement on my summer assignment handout and understand the definition of
academic integrity for this assignment and the consequences for academic dishonesty.
Signature of Student:_____________________________________________________________________
Date:__________________________
Print Student Name:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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