Miami Coral Park Sr. High

Summer Reading 2008

All assignments are due on Monday, August 18th, 2008

 

Twelfth Grade Summer Reading:

Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition    

 

As part of your preparation for Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition exam, you are required to read two books this summer, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. You will be required to take a short test on both Pride and Prejudice and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as well as be required to complete several assignments with these novels. Additionally, you will select one of the questions below and write an AP-style essay using one of the works you read this summer as the source. The essay should be detailed and specific, but most importantly it should answer the question, not summarize the novel.

 

1. The conflict created when the will of an individual opposes the will of the majority is the recurring theme of many novels, plays, and essays. Select a fictional character from a work of recognized literary merit who is in opposition to his or her society. In a critical essay, analyze the conflict and discuss the moral and ethical implications for both the individual and the society. Do not summarize the plot or action of the work you choose.

 

2. In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot summary.

 

3. Many plays and novels use contrasting places (for example, two countries, two cities or towns, two houses, or the land and the sea) to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. Choose a novel that contrasts two such places. Write an essay explaining how the places differ, what each place represents, and how their contrast contributes to the meaning of the work.

 

4. Novels and plays often include scenes of weddings, funerals, parties, and other social occasions. Such scenes may reveal the values of the characters and the society in which they live. Select a novel that includes such a scene and, in a focused essay, discuss the contribution the scene makes to the meaning of the work as a whole. You may choose a work from the list below or another novel or play of literary merit.

 

5. Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader's or audience's views. Avoid plot summary.

 

6. Morally ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good -- are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

 

English 4 Regular

Assignment: Read two books from the list, including the required text.

 

A Man Named Dave - Dave Pelzer

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (required)

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Angels and Demons - Dan Brown

Gates of Fire

The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night Time - Mark Haddon

 

English 4 Honors and Honors Gifted:

Assignment: Read three books from the list below including the required text.

 

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (required)                           Forgotten Fire - Dorling Kindersley

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown                                           The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21ST

Black White Jewish - Rebecca Walker                                    Century - Farrar Straus

Waiting for Snow in Havana - Carlos Eire                              Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon

 

Writing Assignment for: English 4 regular, honors and honors gifted:

Make a book Jacket for the book selected.

Write a 150-word summary of the book

In one paragraph explain the theme of the work. How does the author express this theme?

In one paragraph, describe any obstacles that impacted your reading comprehension (e.g., vocabulary, dialect, sentence structure, plot structure, etc.)

 

Eleventh Grade Summer Reading:

Advanced Placement English Language and Composition    

For each of the literary works that you choose to read, please record the following information in a Reader’s Response Journal. (A folder is required with a section dedicated to each piece of literature—you will continue to use this folder throughout the academic year.) This assignment must be TYPED.

  • Title & Author
  • Abstract
    • A summary of no more than 150 words
    • For the autobiography, consider the major turning points in the individual’s life
  • Identify 6 quotations from the work that interest you the most, (include page #), and fully explicate each one in terms of
    • The quote’s significance to you
    • The quote’s significance to the work as a whole
  • What is the primary message that you learned from the work?
  • How would you describe the writer’s style? What are the characteristics or features of this style?
  • What, if any, were the obstacles to your reading comprehension of this work? (i.e.—vocabulary, dialect, sentence structure, plot structure, etc.) How did you overcome these obstacles?

 

READ J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye and John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Nonfiction:

Select an article from each of the sources listed below and complete the following for each:

a)      type written synopsis

b)      identify biases of the writer (evidence of personal feelings or opinion)

c)      your opinion of the subject matter

Sources:

Article from NPR.org “Politics and Society” http://www.npr.org/templates/topics.php?topicId=1012

Article from The New Yorker online http://www.newyorker.com/reporting

Article from www.theonion.com

English 3 Regular: Read two (2) books from the list below.

 

English 3 Honors & Honors Gifted: Read three (3) books from the list below:

 

A Child Called It- David Pelzer- Required

My Sister’s Keeper- Jodi Picoult- Required

A Catcher In The Rye- J.D. Salinger

Deception Point- Dan Brown

Whale Talk- Chris Crutcher

 

Writing Assignment for: English 3 regular, honors and honors gifted:

 

Complete and type the assignment below for each book read (two for English III and three for English III-

Gifted Honors). Respond to each of the following questions in a complete paragraph. (You will write a total of

seven paragraphs for each book).

 

1.  Describe the main character(s)

 

2. Describe the setting of the book: time, place, location, etc.

 

3. Write a short summary of the plot (How does the book begin? What is the challenge for the main character?

    How does she overcome this obstacle?)

 

4. Analyze how the main character changes as a result of meeting the challenge.

 

5. Describe your favorite part of the book, and explain why it is your favorite.

 

6. Write your opinion of the book. Provide reasons and examples to support your opinion.

 

7. Analyze the title of the book. Why do you think the author chose that title?

 

Use examples from the texts to support your answers. Be prepared to be tested on these books during the week of August 18, 2008.

 

Tenth Grade Summer Reading:

English 2 Regular: Read two (2) books from the list below.

 

English 2 Honors & Honors Gifted: Read three (3) books from the list below:

 

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown                                                   The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon         Life of Pi by Yann Martel

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez                The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd


Writing Assignment for: English 2 regular, honors and honors gifted:

 

Complete and type the assignment below for each book read (two for English II, three for English II Honors and English II Gifted Honors).  Respond to each of the following questions in a complete paragraph. (You will write a total of seven paragraphs for each book).

 

  1. Describe the main character(s).
  2. Describe the setting of the book:  time, place, location, etc.
  3. Write a short summary of the plot (How does the book begin?  What is the challenge for the main character?  How does s/he overcome this obstacle?)
  4. Analyze how the main character changes as a result of meeting the challenge. 
  5. Describe your favorite part of the book, and explain why it is your favorite.
  6. Write your opinion of the book.  Provide reasons and examples to support your opinion.
  7. Analyze the title of the book.  Why do you think the author chose that title?

 

Use examples from the texts to support your answers. Be prepared to be tested on these books during the week of August 18, 2008.

 

Ninth Grade Summer Reading:

Incoming ninth grade students to Miami Coral Park Senior High School are recommended to read three to five novels of their choosing and be prepared to complete the following assignment the first day of school.

 

  1. Describe the main characters in the novel
  2. Describe the setting of the novel in reference to time, place, location, etc.
  3. Write a short summary of the plot: How does the novel begin? What is the challenge for the character(s)? How does she/he overcome this obstacle?
  4. Analyze how the main changes as a result of meeting the challenge.
  5. Describe your favorite part of the book and explain why it is your favorite.
  6. Write your opinion of the book. Provide reasons and examples to support your opinion.
  7. Analyze the title of the book. Why do you think the author chose that title?
  8. Use examples from the novels to support your ideas.


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