English 11 Honors Summer Reading for 2016-17

Glen Allen High School

Students will read two of the following texts,over the summer prior to taking English 11 Honors. These works have been chosen with the understanding that they can be read independently without difficulty. While there are commercially available study guides for some of these, students should be aware that they should not read them in lieu of the books. The assignments below correspond with plays and anthologies, respectively. Student may choose to read any combination of books – both plays, both anthologies, one of each – but, students shouldbe sure to respond to the appropriate corresponding assignments (students must write both assignments for each book).

Henrico County Public Schools strongly encourages parents/guardians to work with their children as they choose their summer reading books.All of these books may be found in the public library or you may want to purchase a copy of each book.

The List (choose two):

August Wilson – The Piano Lesson (play)

Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee – The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail (play)

Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks, editors – American Short Story Masterpieces (anthology)

Abraham Chapman, editor – Black Voices (anthology)

Assignments for Plays(complete both assignments):

  1. After reading it in its entirety, write a short 250-500 word, more-or-less informal response to the play as a whole. You should discuss your initial reactions to the play, the characters, the story, the conflicts, etc. You should certainly include not only your opinion of the text, but also your reasons for forming said opinion. For this response, there is neither a right nor a wrong share your thoughts, so you are encouraged to take risks and hold nothing back. Avoid summary at all costs.
  2. After reading the play in its entirety, write a 500-750 word plan to adapt the play into a film for an audience of your peers. Consider which actors you would cast, where and when you would set the play, and how you would recreate the most significant moments in the play. You may even wish to compile a soundtrack for your adaptation with songs that convey the dramatic elements for a contemporary audience. Avoid summary at all costs, and make sure that you address the play’s theme (the lesson that the playwright wants his audience to take away from the play).

Assignments for Anthologies(complete both assignments):

  1. After reading the anthology in its entirety, rank your top three favorite selections and write a 250-500 word response in which you justify your ranking. Discuss the authors, audiences, stylistic merit, and literary elements; you should focus on critical analysis and avoid summary altogether.

2. Choose one piece from the collection that you find particularly compelling (not necessarily your favorite one), and write a 500-750 word literary analysis of this story/poem/essay/etc. in which you look closely at how the author conveys his or her theme to the audience. Your analysis should consider such literary and stylistic elements such as character, plot, figurative language, word choice, sentence structure, etc. Avoid summary at all costs, and make sure all of your critical analysis is connected to analyzing the text’s theme.

Scoring Guide:

Grade Explanation

A / Responses effectively demonstrate the reader’s understanding and analysis of the texts and of the assignments. They make appropriate references to the texts, offer sophisticated analysis, and are written with consistent stylistic control.
B / Responses adequately demonstrate the reader’s sound analysis of the texts and understanding of the assignments. References to the texts are appropriate, but analysis is perhaps not as insightful as it could be. Interpretation may falter or may be less thorough and/or precise.
C / Responses demonstrate somewhat uneven understanding and analysis of the texts and tend to over-simplify the assignments. They respond to the questions, but tend to deal with only the more obvious points. They tend to rely on paraphrase, rather than specific reference and minor points may be misinterpreted.
D / Responses demonstrate an inadequate understanding and analysis of the texts and/or the assignments themselves. They rely essentially on summary and paraphrase and no substantive analysis is present. Evidence from the texts may be meager or misconstrued.
F / Although the writer has made some attempt to respond to the assignments, responses are seriously flawed by misreading, brevity, and lack of organization and focus.
0 / No attempt made.

Failure to turn in these assignments will put you in a very deep hole before the school year really even begins. There will be no excuses for non-completion. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch over the summer. Enjoy your reading and we’ll see you in the fall.

Tim Towslee