“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”
Mark Twain
Dundee-Crown SUMMER READING 2014
Dear Parents/Guardians and Students:
Once again, we are excited to share our love of reading with your children. At Dundee-Crown, we believe that
teachers, parents and students need to work together in order to ensure that students are preparing for the rigors of
college and career. The success of all students, no matter what the discipline, depends on how well they read, write
and think. It matters not only what they read but also how they read.
The Purpose:
Research clearly shows that students experience what’s described as “the summer slide.” This means that once
students leave at the end of a school year, no matter how far they’ve progressed, learning loss occurs. In fact,
students typically start the new school year as many as two months behind where they ended in the previous school
year. Further, this learning loss is cumulative. There’s no catching up when the new school year begins, and the gap
between achievers and non-achievers only widens as the year progresses.
In 2012, Dundee-Crown joined the hundreds of schools across the country who have committed to lessening
summer learning loss with its Summer Reading Program. Designed to strengthen and maintain reading, writing and
thinking skills, the English curriculum now requires all students to read one selected book over the summer and
complete an assignment which is used as a starting point for their new English class.
The Goal:
The summer reading program rests on a foundation of helping students develop the academic behaviors necessary
to be successful independent learners. In high school, we encourage students to take greater responsibility for
their actions by learning to set goals, manage their time, develop the independence and persistence needed to
complete challenging tasks, and self-reflect on their strengths and challenges. The summer reading program
addresses all of those skills and are basic academic behaviors expected of our students. This work is designed to
address and support academic skills necessary in all disciples: reading, writing, thinking, speaking and listening.
The Details:
In keeping with active learning strategies that are used in all our English classrooms, one of the best ways for a
student to read a book is to interact with it by means of highlighting/annotating throughout the text. These skills
are part of all our English classes, and we strongly encourage you to purchase this book, so your student practices
active reading strategies and gains its benefits. These reading strategies are the difference between students acting as
spectators to reading, learning and teaching, as opposed to learning to become active participants and assuming
responsibility for comprehension and analysis of text.
The expectation is that students will arrive on the first day of school with a hard copy of their finished
written assignment, prepared according to the criteria included in this packet. English classes will use this
assignment in the opening days of the new school year. In addition to their hard copy, students should have an
electronic copy (i.e. Google Drive, flash drive, email) ready to upload to Turn it In! when they return in the fall.
Books will be available for checkout on a limited basis from the Dundee Township, Algonquin Township, and
Dundee-Crown High School Libraries, and for purchase at Dundee-Crown High School, Barnes & Noble in Spring
Hill Mall or online.
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”
Title Selection:
Freshmen (200)
Freshmen (300-400)
The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
Sophomores (200-400)
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Juniors (200-400)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Seniors (200-400)
Choose ONE of the following texts:
Mark Twain
Food Matters by Mark Bittman
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Thank You For Your Service by David Finkel
The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us by Tanya Lee Stone
AP Language
How to Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas Foster
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
AP Literature
How to Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas Foster
Atonement, by Ian McEwan
Assessment:
Students will be assessed on the following criteria:
 Task: Is the task completed clearly and consistently as outline in the packet?
 Textual evidence: Are the chosen passages apt, specific and plentiful?
 Analysis & explanation: Is the analysis compelling? Is it thorough and perceptive?
 Organization: Is the organization of journals effective?
 Language: Are the journals clear, coherent and purposeful with appropriate mechanics?
 Point/Purpose: Does the writer communicate insight that is insightful and compelling?
Questions:
The assignment details, book explanations/rationales, FAQs and contact information can be found on our website
http://dundeecrownenglish.weebly.com
For other questions, please contact:
Nikki Woodbury English/ESL Division Head
nicole.woodbury@d300.org
Sincerely,
The Dundee-Crown English Department
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”
Mark Twain
THE ASSIGNMENT-FICTION
FICTION TEXTS: House on Mango Street, The Book Thief, Bless Me Ultima, and The Absolutely True Diary of a PartTime Indian
Two-Column Note/Journal-Students are to select 6-8 passages from their summer reading book that interests,
puzzles, or impacts them. For each passage or quotation, students should select one of the five entry prompts listed
below and develop a response (about 4-6 sentences per response). Each entry prompt starter (see below) should be
used at least once. The purpose of the two-column journal is to record your interactions with the text as you progress
through the book. It is a way of recording your responses, positive or negative, and to track your journey through the
story. It offers you, the reader, a chance to respond, to ask questions, wonder, predict, or reflect on the characters,
events, literary elements or language of a text. Don’t summarize. Instead, record your textual observations.
Additional Instructions and Guidelines:
 Write a correct citation for your book in MLA format (author’s last name and page number).
 Complete your journal on a computer (bring a printed copy to school).
 Use two columns and divide the page in half. Put “Passages from the Text” on the left and
“Commentary/Responses to the Text” on the right (see example below).
 Select passages that interest, puzzle or impact you. Copy each passage word for word into the left column.
 Show that you have read the entire book by responding to passages from the entire novel.
Entry Prompt Selections
There are five prompt starters. Students may use these to jump start their writing and thinking.
1. “The imagery reveals . . . and its purpose is…”
2. “The setting gives the effect of . . . and its purpose is…”
3. “The author seems to argue . . . by doing…”
4. “The character(s) words/actions reveal …”
5. “An interesting word/phrase/sentence/thought is . . .”
Example Two-Column Journal Entry
This is a sample two-column journal entry in response to Bless Me, Ultima. Note how the passage is written in one
column and the commentary is written in a second column.
Passage from the text (with documentation)
1. “She took my hand, and I felt the power of a
whirlwind sweep around me. Her eyes swept the
surrounding hills and through them I saw for the first
time the wild beauty of our hills and the magic of the
green river. My nostrils quivered as I felt the song of the
mockingbirds and the drone of the grasshoppers mingle
with the pulse of the earth” (Anaya 12).
Commentary/Response
1. The imagery reveals Tony’s sense of the earth around
him. As Ultima touches his hand, he is drawn into what
seems to be a new and wondrous universe. This
powerful experience makes Tony think that Ultima
knows his fate and that they will be close. It can be
inferred that their relationship will be a significant part
of the novel.
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”
Mark Twain
THE ASSIGNMENT-NON-FICTION
SENIOR ENGLISH-Choose ONE of the following texts:
Food Matters by Mark Bittman
From Amazon: “We are finally starting to acknowledge the threat carbon emissions pose to our ozone layer, but few people have
focused on the extent to which our consumption of meat contributes to global warming. Think about it this way: In terms of
energy consumption, serving a typical family-of-four steak dinner is the rough equivalent of driving around in an SUV for three
hours while leaving all the lights on at home. Bittman offers a no-nonsense rundown on how government policy, big business
marketing, and global economics influence what we choose to put on the table each evening. He demystifies buzzwords like
"organic," "sustainable," and "local" and offers straightforward, budget-conscious advice that will help you make small changes
that will shrink your carbon footprint -- and your waistline.”
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
From Amazon: “Millions of Americans work full time, year round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided
to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that a job -- any job -- can be
the ticket to a better life. But how does anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich left her home,
took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered. Moving from Florida to Maine to
Minnesota, she worked as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaning woman, a nursing-home aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk. She lived
in trailer parks and crumbling residential motels. Very quickly, she discovered that no job is truly "unskilled," that even the
lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and muscular effort. She also learned that one job is not enough; you need at least
two if you want to live indoors. Nickel and Dimed reveals low-rent America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity.”
Thank You For Your Service by David Finkel
From Amazon: “…David Finkel… is with them [soldiers] in their most intimate, painful, and hopeful moments as they try to
recover, and in doing so, he creates an indelible, essential portrait of what life after war is like—not just for these soldiers, but for
their wives, widows, children, and friends, and for the professionals who are truly trying, and to a great degree failing, to undo the
damage that has been done. The story Finkel tells is mesmerizing, impossible to put down. With his unparalleled ability to report
a story, he climbs into the hearts and minds of those he writes about. Thank You for Your Service is an act of understanding, and it
offers a more complete picture than we have ever had of these two essential questions: When we ask young men and women to
go to war, what are we asking of them? And when they return, what are we thanking them for?”
The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us by Tanya Lee Stone
From Amazon: “During her unparalleled fifty-year history, Barbie has been the doll that some people love-and some people love
to hate. There's no question she's influenced generations, but to what end? Acclaimed nonfiction author Tanya Lee Stone takes an
unbiased look at how Barbie became the icon that she is, and at the impact that she's had on our culture (and vice versa).
Featuring passionate anecdotes and memories from a range of girls and women, a foreword by Meg Cabot, and original color
photographs, this book explores the Barbie phenomenon in a brand-new light.”
Journal-Students are to select 6-8 passages from their summer reading book that interests, puzzles, or impacts
them. Students should be cognizant of choosing passages reflect THE ENTIRE text-beginning, middle and end.
Each entry should address these questions:
What do you think?
Why do you think that?
How do you know this?
Can you tell me more?
What questions do you still have?
So what? What is the point?
Additional Instructions and Guidelines:
 Write a correct citation for your book in MLA format (author’s last name and page number).
 Complete your journal on a computer (bring a printed copy to school).
 Use two columns and divide the page in half. Put “Passages from the Text” on the left and “Questions and
Commentary” on the right.
 Show that you have read the entire book by responding to passages from the entire novel.
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”
Mark Twain
THE ASSIGNMENT-AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Read and enjoy The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood.
Also read the following chapters (and more if you wish) from How to Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas Foster:
1. Quest; 2. Communion; 11. Violence; 16. All about Sex; 17. Except Sex.







As you read Foster, annotate, marking places that seem interesting, new, informative, or funny.
Read and annotate Handmaid’s Tale, marking places that seem striking, significant, moving, or puzzling.
After you have read both books, go back and look through your literature text to find ten significant passages
(from one to three paragraphs) each of which relates in some way to one of the assigned chapters from How to Read
Literature Like a Professor. Each of the five chapters should be addressed in two different journal entries.
Each of the Foster chapters should be paired with two passages from the novel (10 passages total).
For each passage, write one page (typed, double spaced, 12-point font) applying the ideas and approaches in a
relevant chapter to your analysis of and response to the passage.
o For example, you might look at the scene about Offred’s partial breakfast when Cora drops the tray near the
beginning of chapter 25 of Handmaid’s Tale (where there seems to be some kind of agreement going on) in
relation to Foster’s discussion of meals often being a kind of communion, a coming together of a community.
What possibility for communion is developed during this meal? (Is a food fight in the offing?)
Title each entry with the name of the chapter from Foster, followed by quoting the passage from
Handmaid’s Tale and citing the page number in parentheses after. The response itself should be about one
page, without the quotation.
There should be ten entries in all. Again, there will be two entries for each of the five Foster chapters each on a
different passage from the novel.
Try to have some fun here. Play with ideas. Don’t worry about being “right” but enjoy exploring how your main
character—who seems to be stymied at every turn—is a questing knight. What dragons is she slaying? Or consider how
violence is concerned—how do the descriptions of the bodies hanging on the wall affect how Offred views her world? How
about how you view her world?
Remember, these aren’t formal essays. These aren’t papers. They are informal explorations written to yourself—a kind of
conversation with yourself about the passages. And notice that we are not asking you to say what happens in the story.
We ask for your responses to the story. Please do not retell the story. Bring these responses and both books to class the
first day of school.
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”
Mark Twain
THE ASSIGNMENT-AP ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
Read and enjoy Atonement, by Ian McEwan.
Also read the following chapters (and more if you wish) from How to Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas Foster:
1. Quest; 2. Communion; 11. Violence; 16. All about Sex; 17. Except Sex.







As you read Foster, annotate, marking places that seem interesting, new, informative, or funny.
Read and annotate Atonement, marking places that seem striking, significant, moving, or puzzling.
After you have read both books, go back and look through your literature text to find ten significant passages
(from one to three paragraphs) each of which relates in some way to one of the assigned chapters from How to Read
Literature Like a Professor. Each of the five chapters should be addressed in two different journal entries.
Each of the Foster chapters should be paired with two passages from the novel (10 passages total).
For each passage, write one page (typed, double spaced, 12-point font) applying the ideas and approaches in a
relevant chapter to your analysis of and response to the passage.
o For example, you might look at the description of people coming in to dinner at the beginning of Chapter 11
of Atonement (the first two or three paragraphs) in relation to Foster’s discussion of meals often being a kind
of communion, a coming together of a community. What possibility for communion is developed in this
case? (Is a food fight in the offing?)
Title each entry with the name of the chapter from Foster, followed by quoting the passage from Atonement
and citing the page number in parentheses after. The response itself should be about one page, without the
quotation.
There should be ten entries in all. Again, there will be two entries for each of the five Foster chapters each on a
different passage from the novel.
Try to have some fun here. Play with ideas. Don’t worry about being “right” but enjoy exploring how your main
character—who seems to be stymied at every turn—is a questing knight. What dragons is she slaying? Or consider how
violence is concerned—how do marks of violence on Lola affect how our heroine understands the situation? How about how
you understand the situation?
Remember, these aren’t formal essays. These aren’t papers. They are informal explorations written to yourself—a kind of
conversation with yourself about the passages. And notice that we are not asking you to say what happens in the story.
We ask for your responses to the story. Please do not retell the story. Bring these responses and both books to class the
first day of school.
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”
Mark Twain
Book Descriptions (taken from Amazon.com)
Freshmen (200)
House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
Told in a series of vignettes stunning for their eloquence, The House on Mango Street is Sandra Cisneros's greatly
admired novel of a young girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago. Acclaimed by critics, beloved by
children, their parents and grandparents, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the
country, and translated all over the world, it has entered the canon of coming-of-age classics. Sometimes
heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous, The House on Mango Street tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, whose
neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty. Esperanza doesn't want to belong--not to her rundown
neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her. Esperanza's story is that of a young girl
coming into her power, and inventing for herself what she will become.
Freshmen (300-400)
Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
This Australian author grew up hearing stories of the bombings in Munich and of the Jews being marhed off in his
mother’s small town and knew he wanted to tell this story. Set during WWII Germany, nine-year-old Leisel
Meminger lives with a foster family outside Munich where she steals in order to scratch out a meager living. She
finds she can’t resist books, even though she can’t read, and through the late 1930s and early 1940s, builds a
collection of stolen books as well as friends she meets during this time. She shares her stolen books with neighbors
during the bombing raids, including a Jewish man who has been hidden in the foster family’s basement before being
marched off to Dachau. The story is rich in imagery and shows that while some of the people at this time had cast
their allegiance to Hitler, there were rebellious children and other people who didn’t follow the rules.
Sophomores (all levels)
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Six-year-old Antonio is torn between his father’s cowboy side of the family who ride the llano and his mother’s
village and farming relations. Antonio experiences many conflicts, including parent expectations vs. a child’s desires
and how heritage can clash with modern, American life. This critically-acclaimed and award-winning author takes on
the issues of how we come to know ourselves and move into adulthood, while reconciling the various parts of our
lives and how they all fit together.
Juniors (all levels excluding AP) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Junior is a 14-year-old Indian who is growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation and aspires to be a cartoonist.
His struggles center on the conflict and guilt of living in poverty with his family while attending a white high school,
where he seemingly leaves the adults in his life behind. This best-seller won the National Book Award and is based
on the author’s own experiences. The story is accompanied by drawings that chronicle his contemporary adolescent
as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to have.
AP Language
Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
The story of this dystopian novel is told through the experiences of Offred, a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead,
where fear is used by the government and politicians to control the population. The society has been radically
overturned by a theocratic revolution. And women are now strictly controlled. The story focuses on the place of
women and the role of men where women are not allowed to have jobs or money. Although gender roles are the
foundation of the story, this novel is more about the human condition showing what people are capable of doing,
good and bad.
AP Literature
Atonement, by Ian McEwan
On a hot summer day in 1935 in the English countryside, 13-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a minor flirtation
between her older sister Cecilia and Robbie Turner, son of a servant and Cecilia’s childhood friend. What starts as a
domestic crisis becomes a crime story that changes the lives of the people in this upper-middle-class household. The
story follows Briony into the 21st century, taking her from a highly-imaginative young girl into adulthood.
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”
Mark Twain
AP Language AND AP Literature: How to Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas Foster
What does it mean when a fictional character takes a journey? Shares a meal? What does it mean it rains? There’s so
much more in a novel or poem than what’s visible on the surface. This guide, written by a popular English
professor at the University of Michigan-Flint, demystifies the experience of reading literature in order to get to the
complexity and depth that lies just below the storyline. Reading and understanding literature isn’t about someone
else pointing out symbols, for instance, but rather the reader knowing how to find them. The chapters break down
and explain in a straightforward, unpretentious way how readers can read and understand more complex issues in
literature.
Seniors (all levels excluding AP)
Choose ONE of the following texts:
Food Matters by Mark Bittman
From Amazon: “We are finally starting to acknowledge the threat carbon emissions pose to our ozone layer, but few people have
focused on the extent to which our consumption of meat contributes to global warming. Think about it this way: In terms of
energy consumption, serving a typical family-of-four steak dinner is the rough equivalent of driving around in an SUV for three
hours while leaving all the lights on at home. Bittman offers a no-nonsense rundown on how government policy, big business
marketing, and global economics influence what we choose to put on the table each evening. He demystifies buzzwords like
"organic," "sustainable," and "local" and offers straightforward, budget-conscious advice that will help you make small changes
that will shrink your carbon footprint -- and your waistline.”
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
From Amazon: “Millions of Americans work full time, year round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided
to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that a job -- any job -- can be
the ticket to a better life. But how does anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich left her home,
took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered. Moving from Florida to Maine to
Minnesota, she worked as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaning woman, a nursing-home aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk. She lived
in trailer parks and crumbling residential motels. Very quickly, she discovered that no job is truly "unskilled," that even the
lowliest occupations require exhausting mental and muscular effort. She also learned that one job is not enough; you need at least
two if you want to live indoors. Nickel and Dimed reveals low-rent America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity.”
Thank You For Your Service by David Finkel
From Amazon: “…David Finkel… is with them [soldiers] in their most intimate, painful, and hopeful moments as they try to
recover, and in doing so, he creates an indelible, essential portrait of what life after war is like—not just for these soldiers, but for
their wives, widows, children, and friends, and for the professionals who are truly trying, and to a great degree failing, to undo the
damage that has been done. The story Finkel tells is mesmerizing, impossible to put down. With his unparalleled ability to report
a story, he climbs into the hearts and minds of those he writes about. Thank You for Your Service is an act of understanding, and it
offers a more complete picture than we have ever had of these two essential questions: When we ask young men and women to
go to war, what are we asking of them? And when they return, what are we thanking them for?”
The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us by Tanya Lee Stone
From Amazon: “During her unparalleled fifty-year history, Barbie has been the doll that some people love-and some people love
to hate. There's no question she's influenced generations, but to what end? Acclaimed nonfiction author Tanya Lee Stone takes an
unbiased look at how Barbie became the icon that she is, and at the impact that she's had on our culture (and vice versa).
Featuring passionate anecdotes and memories from a range of girls and women, a foreword by Meg Cabot, and original color
photographs, this book explores the Barbie phenomenon in a brand-new light.”