BRENTWOOD HIGH SCHOOL REQUIRED SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT Entering 10th Grade Part I – We Beat the Street by the Three Doctors and Sharon Draper
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Sampson, George, and Rameck could easily have followed their childhood friends into drug dealing, gangs, and prison. Like their peers, they came from poor, single-parent homes in urban neighborhoods where survival, not scholastic success, was the priority. When the three boys met in a high school in Newark, they recognized each other as kindred spirits that wanted to overcome the incredible odds against them and reach for opportunity. They made a friendship pact, deciding together to take on the biggest challenge of their lives: attending college and then medical and dental schools. Along the way they made mistakes and faced disappointments, but by working hard, finding the right mentors, separating themselves from negative influences, and supporting each other, they achieved their goals–and more. When You Read This Summer:
Annotate We Beat the Street using Post-It Notes!
Annotating Text: One of the key skills you will be expected to perform for the duration of high school is annotating text. Annotating is when we add notes or comments to the text. This can be done in the margins of the book if you own it. If you do not own the book, Post-It notes can be used instead.
Why do we annotate? Have you ever read the page of a story and by the end not remember what you just read? Annotating text forces the reader to be interactive with the text. “Talking to the text” makes reading comprehensible and memorable. Annotating also makes accessing information easy for things like essays and multiple choice questions. Rather than rereading the entire text, annotations can be used to access information quickly. What about highlighting? Highlighting isn’t the best form of note-taking to improve reading comprehension and retention. Highlighting takes time away from reading. It also interrupts the flow of what should be an internal dialogue between reader and author. Also, highlighting can’t be erased. Ever highlight what you thought was a main idea and find in a paragraph later that you were mistaken? Highlighting is a useful tool in combination with annotating, but not in place of it.
What does an annotation look like? There are many possibilities for annotations. You will find that your notes may look very different from another student’s notes. Here are some suggestions for annotations:
1. Definitions- Don’t know a word? Annotate the text with the definition. 2. Summarize reading sections. This doesn’t have to be long. Summarize with just a few words. 3. Write a question mark for confusing passages or sections to review. 4. Write comments. Personalize your reading with criticisms, praises, and insights. 5. Write out questions. Reader-generated questions significantly increase reading comprehension. 6. Write down predictions as to where the author will go next or what conclusions will be drawn. 7. Draw arrows in the margin to connect related ideas. 8. Number key details that the author provides. 9. Anything else you this is important or notable. These notes are for you.
These are some suggestions for annotations. As you read We Beat the Street, test this method with the use of small Post-It notes.
*Attached is the Introduction for We Beat the Street. Read and annotate the text. Share your personal annotations aloud with the class. What do your annotations have in common? What is different? How might this method help you with reading comprehension?