(STEM) Pre-AP US History 2015
Required Summer Reading Assignment
Use the guidelines below as you read one of the books on the suggested reading list for the
summer. Upon return to school you will hand in a journal assignment for a grade and the
first week you will complete an in-class writing assignment over the reading. The journal
will not be typed, but hand written in a 1 subject notebook. Be specific in your responses:
the more entries and details, the higher the grade. You must include a minimum of 30
entries. These entries must be spaced throughout the entire book. If you have any questions
please email me, Mrs. Proudman, at mproudman@nisdtx.org. Part of your grade will be
determined by how well you follow the directions. A copy of the rubric is attached for you
to see how you will be graded. Please refer to this as you complete your dialectical journal.
What is a Dialectical Journal?
A dialectical journal is another name for a double-entry journal. A dialectical journal is a
journal that records a dialogue, or conversation with the text and with yourself. Write down
your thoughts, questions, insights, and ideas as you read. This is what you must do in your
journal-keep a dialogue with yourself. In your journal, have a conversation with the text and
with yourself. A dialectical journal can include all sorts of ideas: class notes, notes on
discussion, notes on papers, reactions to readings. The important part is that you, the reader,
are reading something and then responding to it with your feelings and ideas.
What Type of Notebook should I use?
Your journal must be kept in a 1 subject spiral-bound notebook. Loose notebook paper and
folders are not acceptable. The entries must be hand-written, not typed. Directions on how to
arrange this journal are listed below.
How do I keep a Dialectical Journal?
Instructions:
1. Draw a line down the middle of the paper, or fold the paper in half, making the two
columns.
2. The left column is used for notes – direct quotations from the reading. Including the
page number.
3. The right column is used for commenting on notes in the left column. Personal reactions
to the notes on the left go here. The comments should be at least 4 to 5 sentences. The
comments on the right may include:
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What the passage prompts in thinking or memory associations
Feelings toward the author’s words.
Words or passage that are not understood and why
Words or passages that seem important and why
Connections among passages or sections of the work
When I am writing in my Dialectical Journal, is there a right or wrong
answer?
NO! A dialectical journal shows your own thoughts and ideas about the book as you are reading.
When you write in your journal, you should be as original and creative as you can be. The sky’s
the limit! Show engagement with the material, not just a rewording of it!!
This example is from the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”
The slaves know little of their ages as horses
know of theirs. They seldom come nearer to it
than planting time, harvest time, cherry time,
spring time or fall time. Page 19
Killing a slave, in Talbot County, Maryland, is
not treated as a crime, either by the courts or
the community. Page 39
I often found myself regretting my own
existence, and wishing myself dead; and but
for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but
that I should have killed myself, or done
something for which I should have been killed.
Page 54
It seemed to me that slaves were very unaware
of their ages. The best reference they could get
was through the time of the year. Records were
not kept and it reinforces how slaves did not
have the same rights as the rest of the
population. How unfair that was to them to not
know their exact birth dates.
This is another example of how slaves were
mistreated and failed to have equal rights. Why
would plantation owners and local leaders not
follow the law of the land? It is very hard for
us to understand in this day and age how
someone could be killed and it not be
considered a crime.
Frederick Douglass often thought about
running away to the North so that he could be
free. At first he was too young to consider it,
but he knew that one day he would do it. It was
this thought, of being free, that helped keep
him alive. There had to be many times when he
did wish he was dead. What a terrible way to
live.
Dialectical Journal Rubric
Critical Reader (detailed, elaborate responses)—90-100:
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Extra effort is evident.
You include more than the minimal number of entries. (more than 30).
You include responses to text from throughout the book.
Your quotes are relevant, important, thought provoking, and representative of the themes of the text.
You can “read between the lines” of the text (inference).
You create new meaning through connections with your own experiences or other texts.
You carry on a dialogue with the writer. You question, agree, disagree, appreciate, and object.
Sentences are grammatically correct with correct spelling and punctuation.
Connected Reader (detailed responses)—80-89:
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A solid effort is evident.
You include an adequate number of legible entries. (30)
Your quotes are relevant and connect to the themes of the text.
Entries exhibit insight and thoughtful analysis.
You construct a thoughtful interpretation of the text and quotes are from a range of parts of the book.
You show some ability to make meaning of what you read.
You create some new meaning through connections with your own experiences and the text.
You explain the general significance.
You raise interesting questions.
You explain why you agree or disagree with the text.
Thoughtful Reader (somewhat detailed responses)—75-79:
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You include an insufficient number of entries from throughout the text. (25-29)
Sentences are mostly correct with a few careless spelling and grammatical errors.
You selected quotes that may be interesting to you, but don’t really connect to all parts of the text.
Your response is somewhat interesting – but can be confusing.
You may agree or disagree, but often don’t support your views.
Literal Reader (simple, factual responses)—70-74:
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You include insufficient entries that do not come from throughout the text. (20 – 24)
Entries exhibit limited insight or none at all.
You show some, but very few personal connections to the text
You are sometimes confused by unclear or difficult sections of the text- but don’t expand on what
they may mean.
Limited Reader (perfunctory responses)—below 70:
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You include very few entries. Entries don’t reflect entire book. (Less than 20)
Very little effort is evident.
You do not show from the quotes or responses that you completed the book.
You find the text confusing, but make no attempt to figure it out.
You create little or no meaning from the text.
You make an occasional connection to the text, and the ideas lack development.
Sentences contain numerous grammatical and spelling errors.
Book Choices for the Summer Reading Assignment
Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James Swanson
Break with Charity: A Story about the Salem Witch Trials by Ann Rinaldi
Abigail Adams by Woody Holton
1776 by David McCullough
The Jonestown Flood by David McCullough
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a
President by Candice Millard
Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Robert
Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara
Citizen Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose