9th Grade Honors Summer Reading Assignment – 2015
Date Assigned:
May 12, 2015
Date Due:
Lay That Trumpet In Our Hands due Thursday, August 6, 2015
Mythology Project due Tuesday, August 24, 2015
May 2015
Dear Parents/Guardians and Students:
Your student has decided to challenge him/herself by enrolling in an Honors English class for the
upcoming school year. In order to ensure his/her success, I would like you to be aware of the
general requirements of the class so that you may encourage your student to plan ahead and to
prioritize in order to gain the most from the class. I need you to help me motivate your student to
live up to the academic expectations of an honors class.
Students will be required to read over the summer and complete a Major Works Data Sheet in
response to the novel assigned and research and write about mythological people, places, and
myths in a marble composition notebook. The Major Works Data sheet for Lay That Trumpet in
Our Hands is due Thursday, August 6, 2015. Students will be expected to bring the completed
assignment to the NSHS office by this date. The Mythology project will be due on Tuesday,
August 25, 2015. Even if students are enrolled in the course the second semester, the assignment
is due on the above date. No late assignments will be accepted. The students have been
notified about the summer reading requirements and have been given the major works data sheets,
instruction sheet, the rubric and the opportunity to borrow books from NSHS while the supply lasts.
If there are no books available, students will need to borrow the books from the library or to
purchase the books.
Throughout the semester, students will be asked and expected to read a wide variety of literature
and to respond to that literature in writing and in class discussion. Since much of the response is in
these two formats, it is important that your student read all of the assigned literature in order to be
prepared for class. Though many students have relied on the summaries in Cliff Notes and Spark
Notes, and the internet in order to “read” the literature, those sources will NOT assist the student in
responding to the literature in a discerning and critical manner.
With this in mind, I ask that you discuss the responsibilities and the commitments of participating
in an honors English class with your student and that you continue to support and encourage
him/her to strive to do his/her best while enrolled in the class.
I am looking forward to a successful semester.
Sincerely,
Sherry C. Watson (Mrs.)
swatson@greenwood52.org
9th Grade Honors Summer Reading Assignment
Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands by Susan Carol McCarthy
Major Works Data Sheet due: Thursday, August 6, 2015 (NSHS main office)
(Assignment worth 100 points)
Mythology Summer Project
Due: Tuesday, August 24, 2015
(Assignment worth 100 points)
In order to prepare you for this class and the other English classes in the honors program, you will
need to be able to recognize and understand the classical allusions that are present in literature.
Many of these allusions come from Mythology. Please research and write about the following
mythological people, places, and myths in a marble composition notebook. You will need to refer
to these notes when taking an open note quiz on the myths and terms when you return to school.
You will also need to refer to these notes at different points in the semester. I have included
examples of the types of notes you should take. Be sure to include my examples in your
composition notebook.
Zeus/Jupiter
The Erinyes
The Three Fates
Hera/Juno
Demeter
Narcissus and Echo
Hades/Pluto
Persephone
Tantalus and Niobe
Poseidon/Neptune
Pan
Orpheus and Eurydice
Athena/Minerva
Charon
Daedalus and Icarus
Ares/Mars
The River Styx
Sirens
Apollo
The River Acheron
Theseus
Artemis/Diana
12 Trials of Hercules
Calypso
Hermes/Mercury
The Story of Sisyphus
Scylla and Charybolis
Aphrodite/Venus
The Nine Muses
Minotaur
Hephaestus/Vulcan
Esimetheus
Perseus
Hestia/Vesta
Arachne
Cupid and Psyche
Tartarus and Erebus
Pandora
Midas
Cerburus
Prometheus - His Creations, What He Stole, His Offering to the Gods, and His Punishment
*Here are examples of the type of brief notes that you need to write for yourself.
The Three Fates: The Fates are three women who determine the length of someone’s life. They are: Clotho
who spun the thread of a mortals life (The Spinner), Lachesis who assigned a mortal his/her destiny (The
Giver of Lots), and Atropos who cut the thread at death and carried the “abhorred shears.”
9 Muses: Daughters of Zeus & Mnemosyne (Goddess of Memory).They inspire man to create and explore.
Each has a specific job. Calliope: Muse of Epics, Meldomene: Muse of Tragedy, Urania: Muse of
Astronomy, Clio: Muse of History, Polyhymnia: Muse of Hymns, Erato: Muse of Lyrics, Terpsichore: Muse
of Dance, Euterpe: Muse of Music, and Thalia: Muse of Comedy.
NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.