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HONORS 10th GRADE LITERATURE

Pre-Course Reading

The purpose of pre-course reading is to sustain the powers of the imagination and to explore worlds of characters, settings, plots, and ideas we can only visit through literature.

Materials needed:

  • copy of The Alchemist: A Fable about Following Your Dreams by Paulo Coelho translated by Alan R. Clark (Lexile 910)
  • copy of How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster (Lexile 1150)(revised edition)

You will need to complete the following assignments BEFORE the first day of school.

Annotating means: highlight important details, and take notes in the margins. Notes should be questions, connections to books/movies/shows/songs, connections to the real world, and any other thoughts you have while reading.

  1. Research the Background: Before you read any text in World Literature, it is helpful to understand the geographical and cultural context of the setting and the author. Answer the following biographical questions. For each answer, state the name of your source, but remember, Google and Bing are search engines, NOT SOURCES.
  2. Paulo Coelho
  3. Where is Paulo Coelho from? Where else has he lived?
  4. What other works has he written?
  5. What inspired him to write The Alchemist? Provide any interesting facts or figures about this specific text.
  1. Read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho translated by Alan R. Clark (hard copy or use free pdf here:
  1. Complete SOAPSTone and DIDS The Alchemist. You will need to TYPE on the forms below (or use link here: Write 1-5 complete sentences per topic.
  2. Read for understanding the following chapters from How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster: Ch. 1, 4, 6, and 10

If you have any questions, please contact the Kell English Department Chair at

SOAPSTone The Alchemist

Speaker / Who is the Speaker of the Alchemist? Who is the voice that tells the story? Remember, the author and the speaker are NOT necessarily the same.
Occasion / When and where does this story take place?
Audience / For whom was this novel written? (Be as specific as possible.)
Purpose / What does the speaker want the audience to think or do as a result of reading this text?
Subject / What is the general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text?
Tone / How does the author feel about the work? What are 2-3 quotes that help you to determine tone? Tone can be determined by examining the author’s diction (choice of words), syntax (sentence construction), and imagery (vivid descriptions that appeal to the senses).

DIDS The Alchemist

Diction: Jot down words that seem to have strong effects, or jump out at you, and the page number where they are located.
Claim: Make a claim about the effect these words have on the reader, or on the text in general.
Imagery: Jot down words/phrases that are vivid, or appeal to a specific sense, and the page number where they are located.
Claim: Make a claim about the effect these words have on the reader, or on the text in general.
Details: List any details or facts that are mentioned (or those which are left out).
Claim: Make a claim about what these details seem to indicate about the author’s tone.
Syntax: What kinds of sentences are used? Simple, complex, compound, compound complex, exclamatory, interrogative, statements, etc?
Claim: How do these structures affect the reader? What do they indicate about the author’s tone?

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