UCTECH ENGLISH II – EARLY AMERICAN LITERATURE
SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT 2016 EXPLANATORY LETTER
Dear Students of the Class of 2019:
Welcome to sophomore year! During this exciting and new academic journey, we will analyze the writings and lives of the people inhabiting early America in search of an answer to the essential question of who we are as Americans.
In order to embark successfully on our adventure in September, you will learn about the American ideal through a guided study of beloved founding father Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was a Renaissance man whose writing “exemplif[ies] the American ideal of the Protestant work ethic, good humor, common sense, and wisdom” (Metz 2). In fact, many consider Benjamin Franklin the quintessential American because of his down-to-earth but optimistic worldview. This summer reading assignment tasks you to reflect on the life of Benjamin Franklin in order to gain insight into the American identity.
Actively readThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Active reading goes beyond merely scanning the words on the page to determine the writing’s plot. It involves thinking about the author’s ideas and how he uses various literary devices to develop them so as determine what relevance the writing has to your own life. It involves a variety of strategies like making predictions about the text prior to reading it, asking and answering questions about the text while reading it to monitor comprehension, refocusing on and using research to better understand confusing passages, figuring out the meaning of unfamiliar words, visualizing what is being described in the text, summarizing the text to memorialize the main ideas and important details, and linking prior knowledge to the new information in the text. Here are some free online resources to help you actively read Franklin’s autobiography:
Active Reading Strategies
Annotating a Text
The Autobiography Benjamin Franklin electronic text
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin audiobook
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin study guide
Perspectives in American Literature: Benjamin Franklin
After reading Franklin’s autobiography,write a two-paragraph reflection as evidence of your active reading thatanalyzes Franklin’s tone and evaluates his definition of the American ideal. Questions to consider when constructing your response include:
What persona does Franklin create for himself in his autobiography? Why does he do so?
According to Franklin, what should Americansvalue? How should Americans conduct themselves?
Construct each paragraph of the response as one should a body paragraph for a formal essay: start with a topic sentence that clearly states the position being defended in the paragraph; reference multiple specific details, including one direct quotation, that support the legitimacy of the position; and explain how each of these referenced details supports the position. The reflection must be typed and formatted according to Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines. This is the style you learned during freshman year;please consult the Purdue Online Writing Lab ( for additional information on MLA Format. A printout of the reflection is due on the first day of school.
We hope that you have a safe, enjoyable, and relaxing summer! We truly look forward to working with you in the upcoming academic year. Please do not hesitate to email us over the summer vacation if you have any questions about the assignment.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Marotta
Mrs. Marotta
Attachments (1)summer reading reflection evaluation rubric
UCTECH ENGLISH II – EARLY AMERICAN LITERATURE
SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT 2016 EVALUATION RUBRIC
Construct Method / Category / 5 / Exceptional / A / 4 / Skilled / B / 3 / Proficient / C / 2 / Developing / D / 1 / Inadequate / FDevelopment of Ideas / Addressing the Topic
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.W4/W7
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11.W4/W7 / The writing goes beyond the topic and meaningfully addresses the concept. / The response goes beyond the topic and effectively addresses the concept. / The writing effectively addresses the topic. / The writing does not address elements of the topic. / The writing does not meaningfully address the topic.
Establishing the Argument
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.W1-W2.a
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11.W1-W2.a / The writing takes a compelling and focused position. / The writing takes a precise and identifiable position. / The writing takes an appropriate position. / The writing takes a broad or unclear position. / The writing takes no clear position.
Citing Evidence
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.W1-W2.b
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.W8/W9
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11.W1-W2.b
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11.W8/W9 / The writing provides convincing and significant evidence / data to support claim(s), and when appropriate, meaningfully addresses counterclaims. / The writing provides effective and relevant evidence / data to support claim(s), and when appropriate, fairly addresses counterclaims. / The writing provides sufficient and appropriate evidence / data to support claim(s), and when appropriate, adequately addresses counterclaims. / The writing provides limited evidence / data to support claim(s), or when required, unclearly addresses counterclaims. / The writing provides inaccurate, irrelevant, or no evidence / data to support claim(s), or when required, lacks counterclaims.
Understanding the Audience
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.W5
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11.W5 / The writing uses carefully selected information to fully address the audience’s knowledge level and concerns about the topic. / The writing uses effective information to meaningfully address the audience’s knowledge level and concerns about the topic. / The writing uses appropriate information to sufficiently address the audience’s knowledge level and concerns about the topic. / The writing uses too much or limited information that ineffectively addresses the audience’s knowledge level and concerns about the topic. / The writing lacks an awareness of the audience’s knowledge level and concerns about the topic.
Organization / Connecting Ideas
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.W1-W2.a-b
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11.W1-W2.a-b / The writing meaningfully explains the relationship between evidence, claim(s), and argument, and when appropriate, strategically links counterclaim(s) to claim(s) and argument. / The writing effectively identifies the relationship between evidence and claim(s), and when appropriate, counterclaim(s) and claim(s). The writing also sufficiently connects claims(s) to argument. / The writing sufficiently connects evidence to claim(s), and when appropriate, counterclaim(s) to claim(s). / The writing attempts to connect the evidence to claim(s) with limited success or does not connect counterclaim(s) to claim(s). / The writing does not connect the evidence to claim(s).
Developing the Argument
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.W1.c
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.W2.c-d
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11.W1.c
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11.W2.c-d / The writing meaningfully organizes claim(s), evidence, and when appropriate, counterclaims such that it is easy to anticipate the next idea. / The writing effectively organizes claim(s), evidence, and when appropriate, counterclaim(s) to advance the argument. / The writing sufficiently organizes claim(s), evidence, and when appropriate, counterclaims(s) to support the argument. / The writing ineffectively organizes claim(s), evidence, and when appropriate, counterclaim(s) in a way that distracts from the argument. / The writing organizes claims(s), evidence, and when appropriate, counterclaim(s) in a way that misrepresents the argument.
Clarity of Language / Maintaining Tone
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.W1.d/W2/e
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11.W1.d/W2.e / The writing maintains an engaging, formal, and objective tone. / The writing maintains an appropriate, formal, and objective tone. / The writing maintains a formal, objective tone. / The writing employs an informal tone. / The writing employs a biased or otherwise subjective tone.
Knowledge of Language and Conventions / Constructing Sentences
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.W4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11.W4 / The writing demonstrates irreproachable command of standard English grammar and mechanics. / The writing demonstrates strong command of standard English grammar and mechanics. / The writing demonstrates effective command of standard English grammar and mechanics. / The writing demonstrates some command of standard English grammar and mechanics. / The writing demonstrates ineffective command of standard English grammar and mechanics.
Formatting Assignment
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.W1.d/W2.e
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11.W1.d/W2.e / The writing impeccably adheres to discipline-specific requirements. / The writing clearly adheres to discipline-specific requirements. / The writing sufficiently adheres to discipline-specific requirements. / The writing incorrectly executes discipline-specific requirements. / The writing ignores discipline-specific requirements.
NB: Reflectionssubmitted after the due date will be penalized according to the teacher’s course policy.