Garrett Academy of Technology
Summer Reading 2016
Rising Seniors
English teachers have selected a list of books for your summer reading that will tantalize, challenge, and engross you. As you read you will be expected to complete a Dialectical Journal while you read. The journal will be turned in to your teacher the first day of class. You must have at least 15 log entries for the entire novel.
DIALECTICAL JOURNALS:
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 cover and our class discussions. You will find that it is a useful way to process what you’re reading, prepare yourself for group discussion, and gather textual evidence for your Literary Analysis assignments.
PROCEDURE:
o As you read, choose passages that stand out to you and record them in the left-hand column the chart (ALWAYS include page numbers).
o In the right column, write your response to the text (ideas/insights, questions, reflections, and comments on each passage)
o You must 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
(P) Predict – anticipate what will occur based on what’s in the passage
(CL) Clarify – answer earlier questions or confirm/disaffirm a prediction
(R) Reflect – think deeply about what the passage means in a broad sense – not just to the characters in the story/author of the article. What conclusions can you draw about the world, about human nature, or just the way things work?
(E) Evaluate - make a judgment about what the author is trying to say.
Sample Dialectical Journal entry: beyond the Yellow Highlighter
CHOOSING PASSAGES FROM THE TEXT: Look for quotes that seem significant, powerful, thought provoking or puzzling. For example, you might record:
o Effective &/or creative use of stylistic or literary devices
o Passages that remind you of your own life or something you’ve seen before
o Structural shifts or turns in the plot
o A passage that makes you realize something you hadn’t seen before
o Examples of patterns: recurring images, ideas, colors, symbols or motifs.
o Passages with confusing language or unfamiliar vocabulary
o Events you find surprising or confusing o 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 choose to type and save your journals as PDFs or you can write by hand and then scan and save as PDF.
Basic Responses
o Raise questions about the beliefs and values implied in the text
o Give your personal reactions to the passage
o Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or character(s)
o Tell what it reminds you of from your own experiences
o Write about what it makes you think or feel
o Agree or disagree with a character or the author
Higher Level Responses
o Analyze the text for use of literary devices (tone, structure, style, imagery)
o Make connections between different characters or events in the text
o Make connections to a different text (or film, song, etc…)
o Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or character(s)
o Consider an event or description from the perspective of a different character o Analyze a passage and its relationship to the story as a whole
Assessment for Summer Reading
You will also be required to complete a grade level assessment upon your arrival in August. The assessment will be assigned to you the first day of class and it will be counted as a project grade. The grading scale/rubric will be provided to you at the time the assignment is given. It is imperative that the book assigned in order to successfully complete the assessment that will be given to you when you arrive at school in August.
Copies of this assignment will be available in the front office of Garrett Academy and given to your child. If you have any questions feel free to contact Garrett Academy at 843-745-7126.
Happy Reading!!!
Pygmalion Author: George Bernard Shaw. In Shaw's clever adaptation, Professor Henry Higgins, a linguistic expert, takes on a bet that he can transform an awkward cockney flower seller into a refined young lady simply by polishing her manners and changing the way she speaks. In the process of convincing society that his creation is a mysterious royal figure, the Professor also falls in love with his elegant handiwork. The irresistible theme of the emerging butterfly, together with Shaw's brilliant dialogue and splendid skills as a playwright, have made Pygmalion one of the most popular comedies in the English language. A staple of college drama courses, it is still widely performed.
The Stranger by Albert Camus. Through the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd."
Rebecca By Daphne du Maurier. “Last Night I Dreamt I Went To Manderley Again."
So the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led her down the turning drive past ther beeches, white and naked, to the isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast. With a husband she barely knew, the young bride arrived at this immense estate, only to be inexorably drawn into the life of the first Mrs. de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, dead but never forgotten...her suite of rooms never touched, her clothes ready to be worn, her servant — the sinister Mrs. Danvers — still loyal. And as an eerie presentiment of evil tightened around her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter began her search for the real fate of Rebecca...for the secrets of Manderley.
Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar WIlde. Celebrated novel traces the moral degeneration of a handsome young Londoner from an innocent fop into a cruel and reckless pursuer of pleasure and, ultimately, a murderer. As Dorian Gray sinks into depravity, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait reflects the ravages of crime and sensuality.
Room With a View by E.M Forster. British social comedy examines a young heroine's struggle against Victorian attitudes as she rejects the man her family has encouraged her to marry and chooses, instead, a socially unsuitable fellow she met on holiday in Italy.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre is an extraordinary coming-of-age story featuring one of the most independent and strong-willed female protagonists in all of literature. Poor and plain, Jane Eyre begins life as a lonely orphan in the household of her hateful aunt. Despite the oppression she endures at home, and the later torture of boarding school, Jane manages to emerge with her spirit and integrity unbroken. She becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she finds herself falling in love with her employer—the dark, impassioned Mr. Rochester. But an explosive secret tears apart their relationship, forcing Jane to face poverty and isolation once again.
One of the world’s most beloved novels, Jane Eyre is a startlingly modern blend of passion, romance, mystery, and suspense.
Wuthering Heights By Emily Bronte. Classic novel of consuming passions, played out against the lonely moors of northern England, recounts the turbulent and tempestuous love story of Cathy and Heathcliff. A masterpiece of imaginative fiction, the story remains as poignant and compelling today as it was when first published in 1847.
Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. One of the most enduring stories of our time, The Book Thief is just a small story really, about, among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.