WEST HEMPSTEAD UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT Dedicated to Excellence WEST HEMPSTEAD HIGH SCHOOL 400 Nassau Boulevard West Hempstead, New York 11552-2455 www.whufsd.com Dr Robert Hanna STARR SACKSTEIN Interim Principal Director of Humanities K-12 June 2018 Dear Parents and Students: Welcome to the High School Summer Reading Program. In keeping with our desire to promote a commitment to lifelong learning and a love of reading, aligned with the Next Generation English Standards, we are encouraging all high school students to get in the game and read this summer. When you encourage your child to read and to visit the public library, you are helping him/her to build a store of knowledge, increase vocabulary, improve comprehension, and foster critical thinking skills. Public libraries offer an array of free programs and activities for all ages. The NYS summer reading theme is: Get In the Game. Students are encouraged, but not required, to participate in the public library summer reading program. For more information or book recommendations go to: http://www.whplibrary.org or http://www.islandparklibrary.org Please visit the school website: http://www.whufsd.com/schools/whhs_library for a list of notable books. Students going into grades 9R, 10R, 11R and 12R are encouraged to read two choice selections. Students should discuss their reading with their families and friends to promote this interest in reading. Attached are Grades 6-12 Fiction and Non-Fiction Study Guides for note taking. These attachments are meant as a guide, not as an expectation. Students should read to develop a love of the written word and they do this all of the time. If students feel compelled to share their reading in other ways like blogs, vlogs or on social media or in book groups with friends, we d love to hear about it. Please share your thoughts on Twitter using the hashtag #RamPride and tag @WHHumanities in your tweet. Students going into 9 Pre-AP, 10Pre-AP, 11H, 11AP, 12H, and 12AP must complete a mandatory summer reading assignment with the specific texts and required assignments. Please see the list below for the mandatory text and study guides/assignments for each grade level: 9 Pre-AP The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel 10 Pre-AP The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck 11H 11AP 12H 12AP Short Stories by E.A. Poe The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Short Stories by E.A. Poe The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich Frankenstein by Mary Shelley The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy Great Expectations by Charles Dickens College Essay If you have any questions, please contact Starr Sackstein, K-12 Director of Humanities, at ssackstein@whufsd.com Sincerely, The West Hempstead English Department The West Hempstead English Department
9 Pre-AP English (9H) The Clan of the Cave Bear NOTES SHEET Name: Former teacher : Character Name -Three names (e.g. Ayla) Character Traits (e.g. cooperative, loyal) Evidence from book (e.g. quotes, page number) Symbols and Meaning (e.g. water, fire) Evidence of symbol (e.g. quote, page number) Conflicts in book (e.g. man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. self) Evidence of Conflicts (e.g quotes, page #)
10 Pre-AP 2018 Summer Reading 1. Students will read Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck and complete a Non-Fiction Study Guide. 2. Students will read The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, and maintain a literature log. A literature log is simply a journal in which a reader records his or her thoughts and emotions about the story when reading. A reader might identify with particular characters or note that an item is symbolic. He or she might think the setting of a story is particularly important or not important at all. Maybe the reader notes the degree of imagery the author uses. Maybe he or she predicts what will happen later in the story. Maybe he or she simply feels sad about events that befall a character. Hopefully, the reader will ultimately identify the important theme or themes in the story. IMPORTANT! The literature log is written AS the reader is reading the book. It is not a collection of reflections made after the book has been read. A literature log for The Fault in Our Stars should be at least four (4) pages long. Note: a literature log is not a plot summary.
English 11H and English 11AP REQUIRED Summer Reading Assignment The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 1. Briefly characterize Huck, Tom, Pap, and Jim. 2. Explain briefly how the setting affects Huck Finn s behavior: A) on land B) on the river 3. Identify and briefly discuss a theme from the novel. 4. Discuss and provide examples of Huck and Jim s evolving relationship. 5. Discuss how the novel ends the way it began. Poe s Short Stories Read The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of Red Death, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Black Cat, and The Cask of Amontillado. 1. Identify, list and define all unfamiliar vocabulary words from each story. 2. List the following for each story: A. Characters B. Setting C. Point of View D. Theme E. Foreshadowing/Symbolism/Irony 3. Identify the tone of each Poe story and for Huck Finn, and explain the literary means by which you identified it. tone Similar to mood, tone describes the author s attitude toward his or her material, the audience, or both. Tone is easier to determine in spoken language than in written language. Considering how a work would sound if it were read aloud can help in identifying an author s tone. Some words describing tone are playful, serious, businesslike, sarcastic, humorous, formal, ornate, and somber. 4. List the characteristics of Poe s writing style by means of his use of language. style Stylistic devices: An essay that mentions stylistic devices is asking you to note and analyze all of the elements in language that contribute to style such as diction, syntax, tone, attitude, figures of speech, connotations, and repetition. 5. List the characteristics of Twain s writing style by means of his use of language.
ENGLISH 12H REQUIRED Summer Reading Assignment In literature, most characters undergo a metamorphosis as a result of specific events in their life. In September, you will use Frankenstein or The Kite Runner to show how the protagonist changes during the course of the novel. Be prepared to provide specific examples that chronicle this change.
English 12AP - REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS Summer Reading 2017 This assignment is required, and instruction will be provided the first two weeks of school. You are required to read 2 books. The novels are Cormac McCarthy s All the Pretty Horses and Charles Dickens Great Expectations. Read both works thoroughly. Enjoy them. Read them at the beginning of the summer, and then, read them both again at the end of August. The second reading should be a close reading. Since you know the story already, the second reading gives you an opportunity for analysis. Your goal is to study closely the writer s craft. Consider the following: To understand tone is to understand meaning. If you misunderstood the author s tone, you have misunderstood the author s meaning. Carefully look at diction, imagery, syntax, figurative language, symbols and motifs the author uses and develops in order to set tone. Questions to answer for September, 2017: All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy 1. Find and identify 2 passages that remind you of Huck Finn. Take notes on the selections you have made. Focus on what elements in them seem somehow connected to Huck Finn and be able to explain why. 2. Explain the following themes in your own words and explain how they might be applied to All the Pretty Horses: a) Man s inhumanity to man b) The initiation of a young person c) The microcosm parallels the macrocosm d) Conformity vs. nonconformity e) The picaresque novel For each theme listed above, provide examples of how each applies to the novel. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Answer the questions below carefully and thoroughly: 1. Provide a timeline for the novel. Why do you think Dickens chose to have Pip tell the events of the story in the order in which they happened, but years afterward? Could the story have been told better by an omniscient narrator? How does Pip change as he grows older? Do Miss Havisham and Estella change? 2. How does Dickens use movement in the novel, specifically movement between the marsh country where Pip lives as a boy, Miss Havisham s Satis House, and London? 3. How does imprisonment play a part in this novel-not just the convict s imprisonment, but also Miss Havisham s and other characters whose daily lives seem prisons? 4. How do the speech patterns of various characters-such as Joe, Pumblechook, and the convictdiffer? 5. What coincidences occur in the novel? Does Dickens overdo coincidence in this story?
6. Find passages that show Dickens use of sentimentality. For example, examine the scene where the convict dies with tears in his eyes. How do you feel about these instances of sentimentality? 7. How is history blended with fiction in this story? 8. Find passages where Dickens deliberately withholds information from his readers but provides hints. Does this heighten interest in the story, or is it unfair and contrived? 9. Dickens loved theater. How is Great Expectations theatrical? To what moments does the novel build? Which scenes seem suitable for staging? 10. This has been called one of Dickens happiest novels. Would you characterize it that way? How does Dickens combine bitterness and laughter in Great Expectations? Be sure you are familiar with the terms used in the questions. REQUIRED SUMMER WRITING ASSIGNMENT English 12AP COLLEGE ESSAY Please write an essay of 250 500 words on a topic of your choice or on one of the options listed below, and attach it to your application before submission. This personal essay helps us become acquainted with you as a person and student, apart from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It will also demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself. NOTE: Your Common Application essay should be the same for all colleges. Do not customize it in any way for individual colleges. Colleges that want customized essay responses will ask for them on a supplement form. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you and describe that influence. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you. Topic of your choice.
WEST HEMPSTEAD NON-FICTION STUDY GUIDE Student s Name: Grade (As of September) Personal Opinion: Did you like the book? Why or why not? Write your response in full sentences. Author (Last, first middle) Title Place of Publication : Publisher, Copyright year. Print OR Web (circle one). Subject of the book: List 10 interesting things that you learned by reading this book: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Chose one from the list above and explain why this was interesting to you. Write your response in full sentences.
WEST HEMPSTEAD FICTION STUDY GUIDE Student s Name: Grade (As of September) Author (Last, first middle) Title Place of Publication : Publisher, Copyright year. Print OR Web (circle one). Main Characters: Name three main characters. For each, list at least three traits or characteristics. Give evidence from the text. Name Trait and Evidence Name Trait and Evidence Name Trait and Evidence Setting: Where and when did the story take place? Main Events (Rising Action): 5 6. Climax or high point 4 3 2 7. Resolution: How does the story end? 1 How does the story begin?