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Summer
Reading, 2008
Summer Reading
Assignments are listed below for each grade level. Click on the grade
level to read or print the summer assignment.
9TH
GRADE | 10TH GRADE | 11TH GRADE
| 12TH GRADE
RISING
FRESHMEN- Summer Reading
Dear Rising Ninth Grader,
Welcome to Middle Creek High
School. As you are about to enter high school, you need to prepare yourself
for a more rigorous academic program. Before you begin school in the fall
of 2007, you must read and respond to one or two major literary selections.
If you are placed in Academic
English I, then you will need to read the following
literary selection: A RAISIN IN THE SUN by Lorraine Hansberry.
If you are placed in Honors
English I, then you will need to read the following
literary selections: A RAISIN IN THE SUN by Lorraine Hansberry and
FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury
After you have read these selections,
then you are to complete the following assignment for each selection read:
- Write a one to two page
reflection of how and why you did or did not enjoy the work.
- Write a two to three page
creative paper in which you would add a chapter or scene to the work.
RISING
SOPHOMORES - SUMMER READING
For: Rising Sophomores who are
taking Honors English II:
Assignment: Read RED SCARF
GIRL by Ji-li Jiang.
Writing Assignment:
- After reading the selection,
write a two-page reflection of why you did or did not enjoy the work.
- Write a three-page creative
paper in which you would add a scene or chapter to the work.
RISING JUNIORS-
SUMMER READING
For: Rising Juniors who are
taking Honors English III:
Assignment: Read ELLEN FOSTER
by Kaye Gibbons
Writing Assignment:
- After reading the selection,
write a two-page reflection of why you did or did not enjoy the work.
- Write a three-page creative
paper in which you would add a scene or chapter to the work.
For: Rising Juniors who are
taking Advanced Placement English III:
Rationale:
Upon completing the AP English Language and Composition course, students
should be able to:
* analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining
an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques;
* apply effective strategies and techniques in their own writing;
* create and sustain arguments based on readings, research, and/or personal
experience
To do so means students must be reading
daily, immersing themselves in the world of ideas through magazines,
newspapers, and books. If a student does not like to read, he/she will
not be successful in an AP course. For a full discussion of the descriptions,
requirements, and skills needed for an AP Language course, go to this
address - http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/descriptions/index.html
Product:
- Purchase a journal of significance –
not a spiral bound notebook, but a book that can be carried easily
and that will be treated with respect. This journal will become your
reading log, and you will consult it throughout the course. Further,
you will use it to prepare for the AP exam in May of 2009.
- Select and read the following items:
DO NOT USE TEXTS THAT WERE READ IN 10TH GRADE.
- Twenty editorials from syndicated
columnists around the country. You may use Blueagle.com to browse
for various authors and editorials. Some of these authors are
William Safire, David Brooks, Maureen Dowd, Anna Quindlen, George
Will, Ellen Goodman, William Raspberry, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly,
et al. Read from a variety of opinions, both conservative, liberal,
and everything in between.
- Three non-fiction titles of literary
significance. The titles must be of literary merit, having either
won the Pulitzer Prize, appeared on the NY Times best seller list,
or be written by one of the recommended authors for AP readings.
o http://www.pulitzer.org/ for prize-winning nonfiction titles
o http://www.hawes .com/no1_nf_d.htm for a list of NY Times nonfiction
titles.
o http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/descriptions/index.html
pg. 9 for a list of recommended authors for AP readings.
- Three journal articles from either
The Atlantic Monthly, Harpers, The New Yorker, Smithsonian, Scientific
American, or a publication of similar quality.
- Pilgrim at Tinker’s Creek
by Annie Dillard. We will begin the year with this title, so please
be sure you have read it as close to the beginning of the school
year as possible.
Complete an entry in your journal for each of
your reading slections. Each entry must contain the following information,
and should range from 150-250 words for an editorial, 250-350 for journal
articles, and 350-500 words for books.
- Author, title, date of publication, genre [editorial,
book, journal article, etc.]
- Rhetorical situation: this is to say, why is
this being written, for what audience, and for what purpose?
- Claim & Support: that is to say, what does
the author believe [his claim], and what reasons and evidence does
he offer in support of his claim?
- Response: that is to say, has the author persuaded
you to his/her point of view? What claim do you offer in response
to or in defense of the author? Based on your experiences, readings,
and observations, is the author correct? biased? or misinformed?
This journal is due the first day of school,
regardless of whether you have AP English in the first or second semester.
It will be evaluated during the first week and then returned. The score
assigned to this journal will comprise 10% of the first quarter. The
journal must be a tool that you can use and consult throughout the AP
course. It will be scored based on these criteria: Appropriate selections,
sufficient detail, completion of the required information, readability,
and neatness.
RISING SENIORS-
SUMMER READING
For: Rising Seniors who are
taking Honors English IV:
Assignment: Read 1984 by George
Orwell
Writing Assignment:
- After reading the selection,
write a two-page reflection of why you did or did not enjoy the work.
- Write a three-page creative
paper in which you would add a scene or chapter to the work.
For: Rising Seniors who are
taking AP English IV ONLY:
1. Read the following literary works. You are solely responsible
for procuring these.
a. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
b. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
c. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
2. After reading each of these 3 works write a complete
well developed essay, citing specific details and passages from the
text, on the topic below.
Choose a character (not necessarily the protagonist)
whose mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires,
ambitions, or obligations, or influences. Then in a well organized
essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how
this conflict within the chosen character illuminates the meaning
of the work as a whole.
Effective essays should accomplish the following:
1. Employ MLA format for structure and citations. See
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/ for help with this
or consult the most recent edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers
of Research Papers.
2. Thoroughly explore the topic using specific details
and quotations from the text to support your claims.
3. Have a clear thesis in the introduction that expresses
the topic of the essay.
4. Do not use 1st or 2nd person or contractions.
5. Have a summative conclusion that restates the purpose
of the essay and gives the paper finality.
For: Rising Seniors
who are taking AP Humanities (AP
English IV with AP European History):
Step One: Research
the reasons why Archbishop Thomas Becket was assassinated in 1170 A.D.
Who was England’s king at the time and why was this king and Becket
opposed to each other. (Find all of the details and background of this
situation.) What did the Canterbury Cathedral have to do with this event
in history? The time period of history is 1154 to 1189 A.D.
Step Two: After completing
the research, write and type a two (or more) page paper which reports
the finding of your research. Please double space your paper.
Step Three: Research the life
of Geoffrey Chaucer and then write a one to two page paper summarizing
his life, works and the time period in which he lived.
Step Four: Research why Chaucer
wrote THE CANTERBURY TALES and find a background to the tales (i.e.
why were they written and what are they about) Write a one page paper
on your findings.
Step Five: THE CANTERBURY
TALES:
- The Prologue: Read and
summarize. Identify and describe the characters going on the pilgrimage.
- For each of the tales told
in the book, do the following:
a. Identify the story teller
b. Summarize the tale
c. Identify and write down the theme and moral of the tale
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