Dear Freshman Beacon/Honors Student:
Welcome to summer reading SouthElginHigh School style! Each student enrolled in Freshman Honors/Beacon English is required to read two books for the summer. Please purchase a copy of each of the books. You will need them in class when you come back to school in August, and over the summer you will need to complete the assignments detailed in this letter.
The required reading is Lord of the Flies by William Golding.This book is to be read for the following literary techniques: themes, symbols, and plot structure. For themes and symbols we need to mark evidence of our reading. Authors give the reader evidence through the actions and dialogue of the characters or by giving us direct information about characters or their actions. Mark evidence by using post-it notes in your book – one color for the themes and another for symbols. Evidence of the following themes should be noted: survival, good versus evil, loss of innocence, civilization versus savageness, need for order, and abuse of power.
When you finish reading and marking your themes, organize your thoughts in chart form in a composition book. Create a two-column chart. In the left column, list the themes. In the right column, detail evidence of each theme in the book. The evidence should be written in sentence form. Make sure the corresponding evidence is across from the appropriate theme.
Symbols include the conch shell, Piggy’s glasses, the fire, the beast, the Lord of the Flies, and the characters: Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon, etc.
When you come to class, make sure your book is well marked with post-it notes, indicating both themes and symbols.
Over the summer, you also will log into Moodle, an online management system hosted by School District U-46, to complete several assignments and discuss your summer reading books online (see the back of this page to follow instructions about logging into Moodle).
You need to complete the following two assignments on Moodle over the summer:
- Under the Lord of the Flies link, choose one of four characters (Jack, Ralph, Piggy or Simon) and write a letter addressed to one of the other three characters mentioned above (so Ralph could write to Jack, for instance). In this letter, include thoughts that this character is probably thinking but really doesn’t say out loud. So, in other words, think about the internal struggles your character is dealing with throughout the book and write those thoughts in a letter addressed to another character. Please post your letter on Moodle under the Lord of the Flies link.
- You also need to read one nonfiction book (listed on back) and post comments about your book under the appropriate book link on Moodle. You should post at least three comments about your book as you read it. Your comments must include your thoughts of the book and must be school appropriate. I will be online frequently, moderating and contributing to discussions.
To complete the second Moodle assignment, you need to select one of the following nonfiction books to read:
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
This book is about the lost boys of Darfur. In one second Ishmael is separated from his parents and his journey is one of survival, terror, and emotional upheaval.
The GlassCastleby Jeannette Walls
This is a story about a young woman who became a success even though she was an extremely neglected child.
Sickened by Julie Gregory
This story deals with a young girl whose mother creates illnesses for her daughter so that the mother can appear to be a very concerned mother and receive attention.
Left for Dead:A Young Man’s Search for Justice for the U.S.S. Indianapolis by Hunter Scott
This is the story of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. This author vividly describes the ordeals of men after their ship is sunk by a Japanese submarine. How many will survive in shark-infested waters?
The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson
This is the story of a Texas-based journalist who takes his autistic son on a healing journey to Mongolia, the land of horses and shamans. It is a colorful real-life adventure with inspiring results.
To access Moodle to complete these assignments, follow these directions:
Go to moodle.u-46.org
Your login is as follows:
Username: full ID number (ex. 100012345)
Password: Birthday in ddmmyyyy format (ex. for birthday of January 22, 1970: 01221970)
When you first login to Moodle, you will be asked to post some information about yourself; please take a minute to do so! After completing your profile, press the “update profile” button at the bottom of the screen. After clicking update, you will be taken to the U-46 Moodle main page. From there, look under the “course categories” heading and click on “Miscellaneous.” When the page loads, scroll down to find the course titled “BEACON Freshman Honors English” and click on the title. When it asks you if you want to enroll in this course, click ‘yes,’ and you are now part of a cutting-edge discussion group!
(Another way to find the class is to search for “BEACON Freshman Honors English” in the search box on the U-46 Moodle main page).
**If you have troubles, you may access a login tutorial online at
You should post comments about your nonfiction book and complete your Lord of the Flies Moodle assignment by mid-August at the latest. Our Moodle site may be under construction when you first try to login, but it will be up very soon, so keep checking.
Reading is important, so keep a list of the other books you read this summer. If you are a good reader, you will be a good writer.
“If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write.” - Stephen King
I can be reached this summer through my district e-mail. Please do not be afraid to contact me in this manner if you have any questions or any trouble with your Moodle login. I check my e-mail often.
Mrs. Kari
======Taking the future by STORM======
Academic Success for ALL