Commonwealth Academy Summer Reading Assignments

COMMONWEALTH ACADEMY SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENTS (11TH GRADE) Summer, 2015 For your summer reading, you must read The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway and a text of your choice from the list below (you may get alternative summer reading texts approved by Mr. Briggs no later than Thurs, June 11. Alternative summer reading books must qualify as “American Literature” (the course title of English 11) and be appropriately rigorous for a college-bound, 11th grade student).

In addition to reading the texts, you must complete the following two assignments, due the first day of class. For each day late, 10% will be deducted from the grade, not to exceed 30%. The essay/journal is worth a test grade, and the multi-media assignment is worth a project grade. You may choose which option you would like to do for which book.

1. Left-Right Journal or Academic, MLA Format 5-Paragraph Essay

2. Multi-media assignment

How do I choose a book?

Start by crossing off any books you’ve already read! READ SOMETHING NEW!

Choose a tier that you think is appropriate for where you are as a reader. Books have been separated into three tiers of lexile scores, a metric used to calculate the “grade level” of a book. Note, however, that this metric is imperfect and doesn’t always accurately reflect the difficulty level of a book. Mr. Briggs would be happy to provide personalized book recommendations! Pick a few that catch your eye, and do some informal research to help you choose wisely.

Tier 1: Lower Lexile (Below Grade Level) The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane, 1895. Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck, 1939. The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara, 1974 (set during Battle of Gettysburg (1863)). The Color Purple, Alice Walker, 1982 (set in 1930s). The Martian Chronicles, H.P. Lovecraft, 1950. The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien, 1990 (set in Vietnam). The Grass Dancer, Susan Power, 1995. Chickadee, Louise Erdrich, 2013.

Tier 2: Middle Lexile (Grade Level) For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway, 1940. Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut, 1969. Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko, 1977. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole, 1980. COMMONWEALTH ACADEMY SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENTS (11TH GRADE) Summer, 2015 The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper, 1826. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass, 1845. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1850. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, 1884. Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison, 1952. On the Road, Jack Kerouac, 1957. The Plague of Doves, Louise Erdrich, 2009.

Tier 3: Upper Lexile (Above Grade Level) Winesburg, Ohio, Sherwood Anderson, 1919. Travels with Charley: In Search of America, John Steinbeck, 1960. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou, 1969 (set in 1930s). Catch-22, Joseph Heller, 1961 (set in WWII). The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Alex Haley & Malcolm X, 1965. The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson, 2003 (set in 1893). The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois, 1903.

No Lexile Score (Unidentified Grade Level) Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1852. Twelve Years a Slave, Solomon Northup, 1853. The Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain, 1869. Roughing It, Mark Twain, 1872. All the King’s Men, Robert Penn Warren, 1946 (set in 1930s). The Moviegoer, Walker Percy, 1961. Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates, 1961. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson, 1980. The Known World, Edward P. Jones, 2003 (set in antebellum). COMMONWEALTH ACADEMY SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENTS (11TH GRADE) Summer, 2015 ASSIGNMENTS (5-Paragraph Essay OR Left-Right Journal for one text, multimedia assignment for the other text)

5-PARAGRAGH ESSAY As you read your text, write down possible discussion questions.

When finished, choose one of these questions as a writing prompt, and write a 5- paragraph essay answering that prompt.

You must include two quotes or paraphrased examples from the text per body paragraph. Each example must have the page number, in parentheses, MLA style.

LEFT-RIGHT  Use a spiral notebook, marble composition book, or computer word-processing JOURNAL program  For every fifth of the book you read, complete a left and right page of your journal.  Record the date and page numbers you read for that entry at the top of each page.  Your journal must have a minimum of ten pages full pages of normal sized writing and illustrations (5 left, 5 right)  For each left-hand page of the notebook, you may take notes, summarize the section of reading, record quotes (see details below)  For each right-hand page of the notebook, you may be more creative: express opinions and feelings, discuss symbolism, favorite characters and why, what you would do in that situation, drawings of the setting or characters, personal reflections (see details below) Left Side Options Right Side Options

 Summary of the section you  Ask questions you’re unsure about just finished reading  Define vocabulary (from left)  Facts  Poetry you found or wrote that relates  Vocabulary you don’t know  Cartoons that relate to the book  Important events in the book  How you relate personally – comparison to  Timeline your own life  Lists and descriptions of  How it reminds you of other books, movies, characters stories and why  Quotes from the book that  Reactions to the characters and situations in you want to reflect on (on the the book right side) or you feel are  Favorites or things you hate about the book significant, or that might help and why you with your paper  What you would do if you were in that situation or if you were that person  Drawings of the characters and setting  Venn diagram contrasting characters COMMONWEALTH ACADEMY SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENTS (11TH GRADE) Summer, 2015  Remark on the meaning of certain quotes

Options for the MULTI-MEDIA ASSIGNMENT CREATE  from the perspective of the main character a  8-10 entries  an original photo to accompany each entry BLOG  Google Blogger is easy to use for first-timers CREATE  For each character in the text a  For each chapter or section of the text  www.glogster.com GLOG CREATE  5-10 minute movie , with original script a  Choose one of the following to do: re-write the ending of the text, add an additional scene to the end (or extend the ending), or create a MOVIE prequel to the text CREATE  With 5 episodes a  Discuss various aspects of the text that you are passionate about. Each podcast should be 1-2 minutes of speaking. PODCAST  Include a short musical/instrumental introduction to each episode  Publish the mp3 episodes on a blog (google blogs is easy)  http://www.digitaltrends.com/how-to/how-to-make-a-podcast/

WRITE  Write a song based on the text, or a theme from the text a  The song must be at least 5 stanzas; no more than two can be the chorus SONG  Type a copy of the song, and spell check it  Perform the song, or have someone perform it  Record the performance (video, sound, or both!) COMMONWEALTH ACADEMY SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENTS (11TH GRADE) Summer, 2015 Left-Page Example for Left-Right Journal

Saturday, April 28, 2018 Pages 1-49 of Lord of the Flies

Summary: The first two introduced are the fair-haired boy (Ralph) and a fat boy with glasses (Piggy). Through their conversation we learn that the world is in a state of war, and that the plane carrying the boys crashed in the jungle. There are no adults anywhere. Ralph and Piggy go looking for other survivors and find a conch shell. Piggy suggests that Ralph use it to blow into like a trumpet, and he does. The sound of the conch brings the other survivors to them. The eldest of the new group, is Jack, who had been the head of their choir. The boys decide to elect a leader and the votes are split between Ralph and Jack, but Ralph wins. Ralph asks Jack to lead the choir to serve as hunters – to try to appease him. He sends Jack and another boy, Simon to explore the island. They discover that they are on an uninhabited island. Jack pulls his knife on a pig to try to kill it, but chickens out. He swears he will kill it next time. The boys hold another meeting to discuss how to survive. Some are worried about how no one knows that they have crashes. A little kid says he saw a “beastie” and it scares some of the others. They decide to build a fire to try to get rescued, collecting wood, and using Piggy’s glasses to ignite the flame. Order is somewhat lost. Piggy yells at the group, telling them that a little boy has gone missing. Though they are shocked and Ralph is upset, they go on as if nothing has happened.

Vocabulary: Scavenge Immure Gesticulate

Quotes: “Something dark was fumbling along....The creature was a party of boys, marching approximately in step in two parallel lines” (15). “We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages” (44).

Characters: Ralph: Fair-haired, mild mannered, a leader, democratic Piggy: fat, glasses, intellectual, no one listens to him Jack: wears black, intense, red hair, blue eyes, arrogant, a leader, more of a dictator Simon: skinny, but vivid, a thinker

Other Important Things: Conch Shell Piggy’s Glasses The knife COMMONWEALTH ACADEMY SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENTS (11TH GRADE) Summer, 2015 Right-Page Example for Left-Right Journal

Saturday, April 28, 2018 Pages 1-49 of Lord of the Flies

Definitions: Scavenge: Search for and collect (anything usable) from discarded waste. Immure: Enclose or confine (someone) against their will: "immured in a lunatic asylum". Gesticulate: Use gestures, esp. dramatic ones, instead of speaking or to emphasize one's words.

Poem: The Sound of the Shell

Stranded on a deserted island, Lonely, lonely, with only each other, No adults and no real rules, What can we do, there’s nothing to lose?

We arrived here in a plane, crash-landed. The pilot is gone; all’s left is us boys, Shot down from the sky, the crash scattered us all, We were all lost ‘til we heard the sound of the shell.

Personal Response: I think if I were in the boy’s situation that I would be both happy and sad. On one hand, the idea of being free from the rules of parents and of society is liberating. There would be no one to tell me to eat or sleep or go to school. It would be nice to get to choose what I want to do when I want to. On the other hand, surviving on a deserted island without adults and civilization would be difficult. For one thing, there isn’t any air conditioning. I also wouldn’t be able to blow-dry my hair. It’s not like I could spend all my time playing video games or shopping. I think it would be a lot of work to survive, and I’m not sure how well a group of kids would get along. I also think it would be scary at night on an uninhabited island.

Relating the text to other stuff: The scene where the boys come together to vote and make some rules reminds me of Animal Farm. The boys are suddenly without rules and need to instill some order like the animals do after the farm-owner is gone. In Animal Farm, the rules the pigs make in the beginning are well-intentioned, and for the good of the whole group. However, as time goes on, the pigs begin to take liberties with those rules. I wonder if the leaders of the group, Ralph and Jack, will succumb to greed and power-hunger like the pigs did.