Academic Summer Reading 1 Academic English 9 Assignment Summer Reading Assignments are due on the SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL (Tuesday, August 28 th ) DIRECTIONS: 1) Choose one (1) of the six books listed below. You will notice there are two books for each of the thematic units we will be covering in 9 th grade. Again, you are to select only 1 of the 6 book options!! [You do NOT need to read one book per thematic unit]. 2) Please use your discretion and consider your own reading ability and reading interest when making your novel selection. You are encouraged to read summaries or reviews of these novels in your decision making process! 3) Complete the accompanying journal assignment after reading the novel. There is no requirement to purchase a summer reading book; please consider contacting your local free public library. 4) After completing the journal assignment, please review your work against the rubric. This will be the exact rubric used to assess your journal once you return to school. 5) Your notes will be used to develop your first constructed (written) response of the school year. It is important that you take time to make insightful notes so they can be used during the first few weeks of school during our writing process. NOVEL OPTION AUTHOR GENRE THEMATIC CATEGORY Defending Jacob Something Wicked This Way Comes The Uglies The Other Wes Moore Speak We Should Hang Out Sometime William Landay Ray Bradbury Scott Westerfeld Wes Moore Laurie Halse Andersen John Sundquist Thriller Fantasy Futuristic Fantasy Autobiography Realistic Fiction Autobiography Choice & Consequence Choice & Consequence Power & Oppression Power & Oppression Growth & Change Growth & Change
Academic Summer Reading 2 Academic English 9 Assignment Focus As stated above, your journal notes will be used to develop your first constructed response of the school year. Your response will not be a simple summary of your book, but rather an analysis of a character s development throughout the work and his/her overall effect on one chosen theme. FOCUS: How does the growth of a character in a piece of literature assist in developing the theme of the text? To answer this question, use your summer reading book to complete the notes and questions below. These notes will be developed into a graphic organizer and later a constructed response. Each entry must: Summer Reading Journal Directions List the specific page number of your example Contain at least one COMPLETE sentence per entry in the explanation section of your chart Each journal section should be a combination of the codes below (each code must be used once per section) Once you have used each of the five codes, you may repeat a code for the remaining entry (one code will be used twice per section) Journals may be typed or neatly hand written Codes: PL Plot Give an example of a major plot event that has happened LE Literary Element Find an example of a literary element (ex: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, foreshadowing, etc) C Connection Make a connection from your summer reading novel to other literature or your own personal experiences Q Quote Choose a quote from your novel which demonstrates either the importance of your character s actions or enhances plot development. After your quote should be a sentence explaining why you chose this particular quote. T Theme What is an overall lesson or idea that is being shown throughout the novel? Find an example from the text. For questions about the Academic English Summer Reading assignment, please email Mrs. Briggs at jbrig@spring-ford.net. Please allow a few days for a response if emailing over the summer.
Academic Summer Reading 3 Example Journal: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Page Code Explanation (should be at least 1 complete sentence): 4 C Katniss s world is divided into districts, each with its own purpose to serve the government. This reminds me of how the people are divided into factions in the Divergent series. 22 LE But in District 12, where the word tribute is pretty much synonymous with the word corpse, volunteers are all but extinct (Collins 22). LE is foreshadowing because the author is hinting that tributes, especially those from District 12, usually die during the games. 193-194 PL Peeta saves Katniss when the Careers try to kill her. It becomes clear that Peeta was only teamed with the Careers for protection and he s actually loyal to Katniss, not them. 237 Q They ll have to show it. Or, even if they choose to turn the cameras elsewhere at this moment, they ll have to bring them back when they collect the bodies and everyone will see her and know I did it (Collins 237). Katniss is acting out against the government by decorating Rue s body after she is killed in the arena. She wants people in their world to see how innocent and young children are dying for these games. She is starting to turn into a rebel instead of passively doing what the Capitol says even when she does not agree. 262 C Katniss cares for Peeta giving him food and protecting him during the games. She takes care of him when he s sick like my mother used to do when I was sick growing up. 346 T Katniss refused to kill Peeta to win the games. Instead, Katniss and Peeta pretend to eat the Nightlock berries to outsmart the gamemakers and government. Theme: Anyone, even ordinary people, can take a stand against what is wrong.
Academic Summer Reading 4 Summer Reading Journal: Name: English Teacher(s): Which book did you read? Complete your reading journal in the chart below: Start of the novel (1 st third of the novel): Page Code Explanation (should be at least 1 complete sentence): ***Journal Continues on Next Page***
Academic Summer Reading 5 Middle of the novel (2 nd third of the novel): Page Code Explanation (should be at least 1 complete sentence): End of the novel (last third of the novel): Page Code Explanation (should be at least 1 complete sentence):
Academic Summer Reading 6 Novel Reflection Questions: 1. Determine which character grew and developed most throughout the novel and explain how this character s outlook (perspective) changes throughout the text. (2 points) 2. What do you feel is the central theme from the text? A central theme is a unifying lesson or overall idea that comes up throughout all parts of the text. (2 points) Grading Rubric: 2 points per reading journal entry (each entry is properly completed with thoughtful explanations): Part 1 Score: pts/ 12 total possible points Part 2 Score: pts/ 12 total possible points Part 3 Score: pts/ 12 total possible points Total Journal Score: / 36 possible points Reflection Questions Score: pts / 4 possible points Total Score: points/40 possible points Teacher Comments: