June 2011
Dear English 9 Honors Student:
Congratulations and welcome to Shorewood! You are getting this letter because you have chosen to take
English 9 Honors. Take a look at: http://schools.shorelineschools.org/staff/blachman/honorshome.html and read
“English 9 Honors New Student Information” to learn more about the expectations for the class. Taking
this class is a yearlong commitment, so you should be prepared.
In English 9 Honors, much of our work explores the question “What is courage?” We will read literature
with characters that go on physical or emotional journeys to gain courage and discover their identity.
Below is a list of books we will study in English 9 Honors. Do NOT read these books over the summer.
The Odyssey, Homer (translator, Fitzgerald)
Mythology, Edith Hamilton
Into the Wild, John Krakauer
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
The Chosen, Chaim Potok
Fried Green Tomatoes…, Fannie Flagg
You will work hard next year, so it’s important to keep your brain exercised over the summer. Read
books that are challenging. Go beyond your usual favorites and try some new genres in non-fiction and
classic fiction. But don’t stop there. Go out and have educational experiences in the world.
Here are some ideas for summer activities to prepare you for English 9 Honors:
 See classic movies (Citizen Kane, for example)
 See plays. There are many free plays in summer. Here’s a start: www.greenstage.org/ ,
www.seattleshakespeare.org/woodeno/ , http://www.youngshakespeare.org/performances.php. (The Young
Shakespeare company is performing Much Ado About Nothing with some Shorewood students in it!)
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Go to music and dance concerts.
Visit art museums and galleries.
Read fiction, plays, poetry, and non-fiction. Get recommendations from friends and adults.
For summer work in English 9 Honors, you have two assignments to turn in on the first day of school.
Type using 12-point font and double space, or write neatly in pen if you don’t have access to a computer.
1. Read the book, Animal Farm by George Orwell and complete the assignment in this letter. The
book is available at the library, second hand bookstores, and can be read online.
2. Read at least 1,000 pages in addition to Animal Farm. There is a list of suggested titles on the
attached sheet. You’ll find this isn’t a lot for a whole summer and many of you will exceed this
amount. You may also count your book for Honors World Geography too. Make choices that
advance your skills, and explain how you were challenged on the reading sheet. Don’t read only
Young Adult books.
Extra copies of this letter and the assignment sheet can be found on my website above.
Have a great summer. Keep your brain sharp by working on the assignment throughout the summer, and
don’t try to do all the work in the last few days. I look forward to meeting you in September!
Ms. Barb Lachman
Summer 2011 Reading and Experiences
Total # pages _____
Use more paper if you need more room.
Fiction- Title, Author
# pages
Experiences- Classic Movies or Music, Art
Galleries, Theater, Dance, Museums, Historical
Sights, etc.
Date
Animal Farm, George Orwell
Periodicals- Newspapers, Magazines pages
Non-Fiction- Title, Author
# pages
What did you read this summer that challenged you, and what did you learn from it?
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
Suggested Fiction (just some ideas to start)
The Romance Reader, Pearl Abraham
Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende
Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya
Emma, Jane Austen
Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury
The Good Earth, Pearl Buck
Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
My Antonia, Willa Cather
Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie
Childhood’s End, Arthur C. Clarke
The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas
Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
The Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, J. Safran Foers
The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
The Curious Incident...Night-time, Mark Haddon
The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway
Dune, Frank Herbert
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
The Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling
The Call of the Wild, Jack London
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers
Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
The Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison
1984, George Orwell
The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman
Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salinger
On the Beach, Nevil Shute
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
The Red Pony, John Steinbeck
Dracula, Bram Stoker
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Twain
The Time Machine, H.G. Wells
The Optimist’s Daughter, Eudora Welty
Deathwatch, Robb White
The Once and Future King, T.H. White
Night, Elie Wiesel
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
Black Boy, Richard Wright
20,000 Leagues under the Sea, Jules Verne
Turn over for the rest of the assignment
Animal Farm, by George Orwell
Follow directions carefully and type your answers in 12-point font, double-spaced, or write neatly in
blue or black pen, single-spaced. Bring a printed copy of your answers to turn in on the first day of
school. This is your teacher’s first impression of you, so do your best individual work. Working with
others on this assignment will be considered cheating.
Applied Level Questions- This type of question requires that you use information from the book and
outside the book. In addition to understanding Animal Farm, you’ll need to do research and draw your
own conclusions. Write a well-developed paragraph to answer each question.
1. Writing as if you were speaking in Napoleon’s voice talking to the other animals, explain why
Boxer is sent to the knacker’s.
2. Animal Farm is an allegory. Find out what an allegory is, and in your own words explain what
you think George Orwell is trying to explain about human behavior through this story about
animals. Describe three characters with human personality traits that are universal and
timeless, and speculate on what kind of people they might represent.
3. Research propaganda and its techniques. How does Napoleon use Squealer for his own
propaganda? What are some techniques of propaganda that Squealer uses on the animals and
why do they work?
4. How do the pigs use education and the lack of it to control the other animals? What larger
point do you think Orwell is trying to make about knowledge and the power of education?
5. Compare Animal Farm to a book you have read recently. How is the message about society or
human nature the same? What do the authors express that is different? Many books from the
reading list on the back would make an interesting comparison.
Essay Extension- Write a short essay of about a page (double-spaced) to answer the question below.
Animal Farm is considered a famous, classic and significant book in 20th century literature.
Reflect and research to find out the answers to these questions.
 Who was George Orwell?
 What was the world like when he wrote Animal Farm and why did he have trouble getting it
published?
 What specific historical figures and events does the story refer to in its allegory?
 Why do you think people still read it today—even people who weren’t required to read it over
summer vacation?
Be sure to use your sources to answer all of the questions in your own words with your own personal
conclusions. At the end of your answer, cite the sources in MLA format. Use at least two reliable
sources besides Wikipedia for your information.