To: English 9 Honors Students From: Ms. Blair Re: Summer Reading Assessments

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1 To: English 9 Honors Students From: Ms. Blair Re: Summer Reading Assessments Recommendations/Assessments: 1. It is highly recommended that students not begin reading these novels until July or early August. Students will know of their own reading aptitudes and speeds and be able to determine the best time to begin reading. Students will want the details of the novels to be fresh in their minds when the school year begins. The novel sheets for Lord of the Flies and A Separate Peace will be very useful when reviewing for the tests. 2. On the first day of school, novel sheets will be collected and graded. (50 Points) 3. On the second day of school a limited amount of time will be dedicated to answering any questions students have about each of the novels prior to being tested. 4. On the third day of school students will complete an in-class essay on their choice novel. Prompts for the in-class essay will not be posted or announced ahead of time. In every case and at every grade level, students will receive prompts that require thinking beyond mere plot summary. Students are instructed to focus on common literary techniques and themes while reading each novel. Essays will be graded holistically. A general scoring guide is included in this document. (50 Points) 5. The remaining two titles will be assessed using standardized objective testing to be administered within a few days following the in-class essay. (50 Points for each 100 Points total) 6. Grades on all assessments will be included in the students first quarter averages. General Scoring Guide: Summer Reading In-class Essay The following requirements have been adapted from the Applied Practice General Scoring Guide for Free Response Essays: Grade/score A+ (97-100%) A (94-96%) A- (90-93%) B+ (87-89%) B (84-86%) B- (80-83%) C+ (77-79%) C (74-76%) C- (70-73%) D (60-69%) F (55% or below) Requirements These essays are exceptionally well-written, show unusual insight into the topic, are very well-organized, and support assertions with appropriate examples. They remain focused on all aspects of the topic and present a polished and unique writer s voice. They are free of mechanical errors or contain only one or two minor errors. These essays are very well-written, show clear understanding of and focus on the topic, are well-organized, and usually support assertions with appropriate examples. They focus on all aspects of the topic and show a mature writer s voice. They may have a few mechanical errors, but only minor ones. These essays are well-written, show an understanding of the topic, and remain focused on almost all aspects of it. A few assertions may lack specific examples, but the argument is clearly made. The writer s voice is somewhat less mature than that of an A-range essay, but it is still evident. There may be a few errors in mechanics, but only minor ones. These essays are for the most part well-written, and usually remain focused on the topic, but they fail to deal with all aspects of the topic. The assertions that are made may be somewhat vague in relation to the topic or a bit superficial in nature. The supporting examples may be missing occasionally, not well related to the topic, or not completely explained. There seems to be some evidence of a writer s voice, but not one of a unique nature. These essays are usually characterized by some minor errors in mechanics. These essays have some problems with organization and coherence, tend to wander from the topic in places, and deal with only one or two aspects of the topic, or with all aspects in only a superficial manner. The assertions that are made are too general in nature and are often unsupported by relevant examples. The writing demonstrates weak control of mechanics, and a writer s voice is lacking or inconsistent. These essays fail to focus on the topic clearly, stray repeatedly from the topic, or simply restate the topic without any analysis. There is poor organization and a lack of focus in the writing, and the few assertions are generally unsupported. The writing is characterized by errors in mechanics in grammar. These essays fail to deal with the topic, lack organization and coherence, and/or contain many distracting mechanical and grammatical errors.

2 Summer Reading for English 9 Honors You will be reading three titles for your summer reading. Two are required: Lord of the Flies and A Separate Peace. For these two novels, you need to complete the items in the packet. I will collect these and grade them for completeness. We will also use them as part of our discussion of these books. You will take an objective test on each of these books that includes matching, multiple choice, and true/false questions. The questions deal with characters, elements of the novel (such as symbolism) and important themes. Each test is worth 50 points and will be given shortly after we return from summer break and novel sheets are worth 50. Total points for summer reading will be 200 Points and will be included as part of your first quarter s grades. For your choice novel, you will read a book from the following list. You will then be asked to write an essay on your choice novel. This will also be worth 50 points. I do not have a packet for these books. However, I would suggest noting the names of characters and keep track of important themes and literary devices. The Fault in our Stars by John Green The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare(or any in the series) Wither by Lauren Destefano (or any of The Chemical Garden Series) Gone by Michael Grant (any in series) The Maze Runner by James Dashner (any in series) The Healing by Jon Odell 172 Hours on the Moon by John Harsted Legend by Marie Lu Butter by Erin Jade Lange Cinder by Marissa Meyer (or sequel) A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and Jim Kay This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel Feed by M.T. Anderson The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin Ripper by Stefan Petrucha The Raven Boys by Maggie Stafvieter

3 Symbolism Throughout Lord of the Flies, Golding uses numerous repeated symbols. For each of the symbols listed, find a quote from the novel that expresses the symbolic meaning of the item and then explain, in your own words, its meaning. The first item is done for you. Symbol Quote From Book Meaning of Symbol I got the conch- Conch! Conch! shouted Jack. We don t need the conch any more It s time some people knew they ve got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us. p The conch stands for order and civility. Whoever has the conch is given the authority to speak and the right to make decisions.

4 Symbol Quote From Book Meaning of Symbol

5 Character Development Character Ralph Piggy Simon Physical Appearance Personality Quote Attitude toward being on the island Motivation

6 Character Jack Roger Sam and Eric Physical Appearance Personality Quote Attitude toward being on the island Motivation

7 A Separate Peace Character Notebook *Idea by Traci Gardner Throughout the reading of A Separate Peace, you will be introduced to numerous characters. Analyzing the characters and their motives is crucial to your understanding John Knowles novel. Notebook Page Requirements: Each character deserves their own page; after all, Knowles dedicates substantial time to each one and we need to understand everyone at the school. These characters are crazy or angry or guilty or proud according to some students at Vestavia Hills High School, and we need to know why. Characters of importance: Gene Forrester, Phineas (Finny), Brinker Hadley, Elwin Leper Lepellier, Chet Douglas, Cliff Quackenbush, Mr. Prud homme, Dr. Stanpole, Mr. Hadley You may add characters as necessary. Create one page for each character. Each should contain the following elements. Be creative with how you choose to present each character and make each page unique! Character Name & Description Age, job, relationships, facts, etc. Analysis of Character including traits, quotations, vocabulary words (at least two) - written detailed analysis Symbolism (include a visual associated with the character and explanation of symbolism Character-Theme Tie-In: In three sentences, explain how the character helps support or illustrate a theme in the novel Your character notebook and your classmates will help you to prepare for the test that you will take shortly after we return from summer break. See the next page for Character Notebook Exemplar

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