Honors English III Summer Reading

Transcription

1 Honors English III Summer Reading Every student enrolled to take Honors English III for is required to read Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and complete a portfolio containing the following items: - Act One Stage Directions - Act Two News Article - Requiem Eulogy - Discussion Question Responses In English III, we will be looking at American literature which frequently focuses on the American dream. Arthur Miller wrote this book about the cost of blind faith in this dream while focusing on the changing relationships in the family as the world moved into industrialism and materialism (SparkNotes). While the story is sad, it has some important lessons for us to consider. The assignments for summer reading are equivalent to test grades; therefore, it is very important for students to read and complete their assignments. Samples of each assignment as well as grading rubrics are provided to assist students in the completion of these projects. While resources such as SparkNotes (or movies) may be used as a research/study aid, they are not replacements for reading the texts. Information pulled solely from online sources will not be graded! If you have any questions or concerns about your summer reading, please feel free to contact Mrs. Parrish at any time (Cell or mparrish@beargrasscharter.org or mparrish41270@gmail.com) I look forward to seeing you in English III!

2 Act One Stage Directions Every story incorporates a specific setting. In drama, the setting is detailed and planned for the stage manager to create. Miller clearly describes the setting of the initial scene in the stage directions of Act One. Using his description, draw or make a model of the stage. The model may be drawn by hand neatly, drawn using computer graphics, or built as a 3-D depiction of the set. Pay close attention to details. Make sure to include the following Small home surrounded by towering cityscape Rooms: kitchen, an unseen living-room, master bedroom, boys bedroom Door on left side of house Silver trophy Kitchen table and three chairs, refrigerator Stage Setup Awesome Good Job Average Needs Improvement Overall Work shows some effort, presentation creativity and/or neatness Details Awesome! Shows a lot of effort, creativity, and neatness Eye catching, includes all listed details. Any explanations are clearly given Catching with all listed details. Any explanations are given Work shows average effort and is lacking creativity and/or neatness May be missing one of listed details. Explanations present but may be confusing Little effort shown and/or lacks creativity and neatness May be missing two listed details. Minimal explanations or confusing

3 Act Two News Article In Act Two, Biff reveals that he stole an ink pen from Bill Oliver. A bit later he shocks everyone with the revelation that he has been fired from every job he s ever had because he has stolen things and has served jail time for theft. Pretend that Bill Oliver discovers the theft of his pen and accurately casts the blame on Biff, creating a very public stir. Imagine you are a reporter for the Yonkers City Newspaper and you have been assigned the story on Biff Loman and his larcenous ways. Your article should be written in the inverted pyramid form. An inverted pyramid story begins with the most important in the first paragraph and ends with the least important in the last paragraph. The first paragraph should begin with a strong lead, or sentence that intrigues the reader and gives them a reason to keep reading. After reading the first few paragraphs, the reader should be able to know the Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? Your report should give an account of Biff Loman s past and present. Try to be as fair and impartial as you can. The article should be at least half a page in length. News Article Awesome Good Job Average Needs Improvement Format Title/Lead Content Grammar and Why at beginning of article. Creative and attention getting Heading and lead sentence. Impartial about past and present of character is given creatively. No errors present and Why in first half of article Heading and lead sentence get attention Information attempts at impartiality with adequate account of character s past and present. Minor errors present and Why but it must be looked for. Heading and lead sentence present but weak Minimal on past and present given. May not be impartial or may be irrelevant. Pattern of errors May be missing one of the Who, what, where, when or why or may be incorrect One may be missing or irrelevant Information is inadequate or a section is missing. Frequent errors

4 Requiem Eulogy In the requiem, the Loman family alternately shows grief, anger, and confusion over Willy s chosen mode of death. Linda, in particular, cannot understand why no one attends the funeral and why no one seems affected by her husband s suicide. Biff and Charley, perhaps, come closest to understanding who Willy was and why he has the choice he, while Happy is in furious denial. Write a eulogy that either Biff or Charley might have read at Willy s funeral. The eulogy should include some insight into who Willy was as an individual and why he ultimately chose to take his own life. The eulogy should be a half page minimum. EULOGY Awesome Good Job Average Needs Improvement Explanation of choices Description of character Grammar Complete and insightful explanation of motivation leading to choices the character 10 points Creative and insightful description of character: appearance, actions, attitudes, feelings. Specific details from text support writing No errors present Adequate explanation of motivation leading to choices the character 9-8 points Adequate description of character: appearance, actions, attitudes, feelings. General support from text points Minor errors present Minimal explanation of motivation leading to choice the character 7-6 points Minimal description of character (may be missing one aspect). Sparse or irrelevant support from text 10-9 points Pattern of errors Inadequate explanation with gaps in logic or incorrect 5- Inadequate description of character (missing two aspects). Gaps in logic with little support 8-7 points Frequent errors

5 Discussion Questions Answer each question thoroughly in paragraph form. 1. Select a single phrase/line from each section of the play that stands out to you. Tell why you believe that line is important. 2. Explain how Ben and Charley are opposite from Willy. What brings success to Charley and Ben? 3. Describe the way the Loman family deals with problems. Use details from the text in your explanation. How does this compare/contrast with families today? 4. Explain the meaning of the following quote. Include who said it, to whom it was said, and what was happening at the time: He s not the finest character that ever lived. But he s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He s not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person. 5. Willy s idea of success was being able to have items as status symbols (part of the American dream) and to be well-liked. Biff s view is totally different which creates conflict in the family. Explain Biff s view of success using details from the text to prove your ideas. 6. Do you agree with Willy, who believes that contacts and personality are what make a salesman a success, or with Charley, who believes that a salesman must have confidence in his product and the ability to sell it? Select an opinion to agree with, and give evidence to support your belief. Discussion Awesome Good Job Average Needs Improvement Details Conventions Complete, insightful, creative, and specific 10-9 points No errors in writing May have minor flaws. Adequate, general but relevant 8 points Minor errors present, but don t interfere with meaning Minimal details. May have gaps in 7-6 points A pattern of errors present. Interferes somewhat with meaning Inadequate. Incorrect or illogical 5- Frequent errors are present and interfere with meaning 2-1 points A = B= C= D= 42-30