ENGLISH I- SUMMER READING EACH INCOMING FRESHMAN IS REQUIRED TO READ ONE NOVEL- OF MICE & MEN AND 3 SHORT STORIES- THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, & THE LADY OR THE TIGER? TWO DIALECTICAL JOURNALS MUST BE COMPLETED AND ARE DUE THE 1 ST DAY OF CLASS (NO LATE JOURNALS WILL BE ACCEPTED) ALL MUST BE TYPED (SAVE A COPY TO REVIEW FOR THE TEST) BOTH WILL AVERAGE TO ONE QUIZ GRADE IN THE QUIZ CATEGORY: 1 FOR OF MICE & MEN- 25 ENTRIES 1 FOR THE SHORT STORIES- THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY - 10 ENTRIES THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME 15 ENTRIES THE LADY, OR THE TIGER? - 10 ENTRIES STUDENTS WILL ALSO TAKE A TEST OVER BOTH THE NOVEL AND SHORT STORIES THE FIRST OR SECOND DAY OF CLASS. THE TEST WILL COUNT IN THE TEST CATEGORY. DIALECTICAL JOURNALS The term Dialectic means the art r practice f arriving at the truth by using cnversatin invlving questin and answer. Think f yur dialectical jurnal as a series f cnversatins. The prcess is meant t help yu develp a better understanding f the texts read. PROCEDURE: As yu read, chse passages that stand ut t yu Lk fr qutes that seem significant, pwerful, thught prvking r puzzling. Fr example, yu might recrd: Effective &/r creative use f stylistic r literary devices Passages that remind yu f yur wn life r smething yu ve seen befre Structural shifts r turns in the plt A passage that makes yu realize smething yu hadn t seen befre Examples f patterns: recurring images, ideas, clrs, symbls r mtifs. Passages with cnfusing language r unfamiliar vcabulary Events yu find surprising r cnfusing Passages that illustrate a particular character r setting RESPONDING TO THE TEXT: Yu must respnd t the text in a variety f ways. The mst imprtant thing t remember is that yur bservatins shuld be specific and detailed. Respnses shuld: Raise questins abut the beliefs and values implied in the text Give yur persnal reactins t the passage
Discuss the wrds, ideas, r actins f the authr r character(s) Tell what it reminds yu f frm yur wn experiences Write abut what it makes yu think r feel Agree r disagree with a character r the authr Analyze the text fr use f literary devices (tne, structure, style, imagery) Make cnnectins between different characters r events in the text Make cnnectins t a different text (r film, sng, etc ) Discuss the wrds, ideas, r actins f the authr r character(s) Cnsider an event r descriptin frm the perspective f a different character Analyze a passage and its relatinship t the stry as a whle Sample Sentence Starters: I really dn t understand this because I really dislike/like this idea because I think the authr is trying t say that This passage reminds me f a time in my life when If I were (name f character) at this pint I wuld This part desn t make sense because This character reminds me f (name f persn) because Directins: 1. Cmplete ne jurnal fr Of Mice & Men & ne jurnal fr the shrt stries. 2. Label yur respnses in the Cmments & Questins sectin using the fllwing cdes: (Q) Questin ask abut smething in the passage that is unclear (C) Cnnect make a cnnectin t yur life, the wrld, r anther text (P) Predict anticipate what will ccur based n what s in the passage (CL) Clarify answer earlier questins r cnfirm/disaffirm a predictin (R) Reflect think deeply abut what the passage means in a brad sense nt just t the characters in the stry. What cnclusins can yu draw abut the wrld, abut human nature, r just the way things wrk? (E) Evaluate - make a judgment abut the character(s), their actins, r what the authr is trying t say 3. Yu must type the Jurnals and fllw the same frmat (must be in chart frm) as the sample belw: Sample Dialectical Jurnal entry: The Things They Carried by Tim O Brien Passages frm the text -they carried like freight trains; they carried it n their backs and shuldersand fr all the ambiguities f Vietnam, all the mysteries and unknwns, there was at least the single abiding certainty that they wuld never be at a lss fr things t carry. Page # 2 Cmments & Questins R) This qute sums up the cnfusin that the men felt abut the reasns they were fighting the war, and hw they clung t the nly certainty - things they had t carry - in a cnfusing wrld where nrmal rules were suspended.
Of Mice and Men by Jhn Steinbeck Passages frm the text Page # Cmments & Questins
Secret Life f Walter Mitty by James Thurber Passages frm the text Page # Cmments & Questins
Mst Dangerus Game by Richard Cnnell Passages frm the text Page # Cmments & Questins
The Lady, r The Tiger by Frank R. Stcktn Passages frm the text Page # Cmments & Questins