Name ______Period ______Date ______Score ______

English IPre-AP Summer Reading Dialectical Journal

forfahrenheit 451

In order to prepare you for your freshman year of high school in Pre-Advanced Placement English I (comparable to Honors English), you will read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury over the summer and complete the assignment described below. This novel, a critically-acclaimed classic by one of science fiction’s most well-known writers, describes a world in which books are banned. We present you with the novel so that you can begin to ask questions – not only of literature, but also of the world we inhabit and, perhaps most importantly, yourself. In order to achieve this level of questioning and reflection, you will create a dialectical journal.

The term “Dialectic” means “the art or practice of arriving at the truth by using conversation involving question and answer.” Think of your dialectical journal as a series of conversations with the texts we read during this course. The process is meant to help you develop a better understanding of the texts we read. Use your journal to incorporate your personal responses to the texts, your ideas about the themes we coverand our class discussions. You will find that it is a useful way to process what you’re reading, prepare yourself for group discussion, and decipher multiple layers of meaning within literature.

How to Write Dialectical Journals:

  • As you read, choose passages/quotes that stand out to you and record them in the left-hand column of a T-chart (ALWAYS include page numbers).
  • In the right column, write your response to the text (ideas/insights, questions, reflections, and comments on each passage)
  • If you choose, you can label your responses using the following codes:
  • (Q) Question – ask about something in the passage that is unclear
  • (C) Connect – make a connection to your life, the world, or another text (stories, novels, movies, lyrics, etc.)
  • (P) Predict – anticipate what will occur based on what’s in the passage/quote
  • (CL) Clarify – answer earlier questions or confirm/disaffirm a prediction
  • (R) Reflect – think deeply about what the passage/quote means in a broad sense – not just to the characters in the story. What conclusions can you draw about the world, about human nature, or just the way things work?
  • (E) Evaluate - make a judgment about the character(s), their actions, or what the author is trying to say

Choosing Passages/Quotes from the Text:

Look for quotes that seem significant, powerful, thought provoking or puzzling. For example, you might record:

  • Effective &/or creative use of stylistic or literary devices
  • Passages that remind you of your own life or something you’ve seen before
  • How the author crafts the story on a structural level (chapters, acts, etc.)
  • A passage that makes you realize something you hadn’t seen before
  • Examples of patterns: recurring images, ideas, colors, symbols or motifs.
  • Passages with confusing language or unfamiliar vocabulary
  • Events you find surprising or confusing
  • Passages that illustrate a particular character or setting

Responding To the Text:

You can respond to the text in a variety of ways. The most important thing to remember is that your observations should be specific and detailed. You can write as much as you want for each entry. You can use regular notebook paper to write your responses, or you can type them and print them out.

Basic Responses

  • Raise questions about the beliefs and values implied in the text
  • Give your personal reactions to the passage
  • Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or character(s)
  • Tell what it reminds you of from your own experiences
  • Write about what it makes you think or feel
  • Agree or disagree with a character or the author

Sample Sentence Starters:
I really don’t understand this because…
I really dislike/like this idea because…
I think the author is trying to say that…
This passage reminds me of a time in my life when…
If I were (name of character) at this point I would…
This part doesn’t make sense because…
This character reminds me of (name of person) because…

Any and all of these are acceptable ways to approach your dialectical journal entries. You should not merely state what is happening in the story; your conversation should express your opinions, emotions, questions, and ideas. Use the opportunity of this story to explore a book in an intensely personal way.

Higher Level Responses

  • Analyze the text for use of literary devices (tone, structure, style, imagery)
  • Make connections between different characters or events in the text
  • Make connections to a different text (or film, song, etc…)
  • Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or character(s)
  • Consider an event or description from the perspective of a different character
  • Analyze a passage and its relationship to the story as a whole

Obtaining a Copy of the Book

You have several methods to obtain a copy of Fahrenheit 451:

  • Use Google to find an online PDF copy to read on your phone or computer
  • Check it out from the library
  • Buy a cheap used copy from Half-Priced Books*

We strongly suggest you purchase a copy of Fahrenheit 451if possible. This way you can highlight and write in your book, practice annotations, and bring in a copy to the classroom that you can easily reference.

Complete at least 25 entries journal that span the entire book (there are 3 parts).

Journals will be due Friday, September 8, 2017 for a Test Grade.

If you have any questions about the book or assignment over the summer, you may email one of the English I teachers, Ms. Jalufka, at .

Sample Dialectical Journal entries: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Passages from the text
(Chapter # & Page #) / Comments & Questions
“IT WAS A PLEASURE TO BURN. IT was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history.” Part 1, pg. 1 / [E] This opening line of the novel is shocking. Bradbury is using strong, dark vocabulary (venomous, pounded, charcoal ruins of history) to create this sense of vengeance – and we don’t even know what is burning! It must be something awful or evil to use such heavy words. Either way, it definitely has to be important. The verbs in this passage create a melody of their own – eaten, pounded, blazing, burning – that matches the metaphor of whoever is burning this thing as an orchestra conductor.
‘"So many people are. Afraid of firemen, I mean. But you're just a man, after all..." ‘ Part 1, pg. 3 / [Q] Why are people afraid of firemen? This is pretty weird because I don’t think firemen are dangerous at all.
‘"Do you ever read any of the books you burn?"
He laughed. "That's against the law!"’ Part 1, pg. 3 / [R] Oh! The thing he was burning in the beginning was a book! That is definitely not what I was expecting from the way Bradbury described it. Then Montag says it’s against the law to read them; this must be a story about the future.