rpainter@usd261.com 1
Dear prospective Honors English student,
In an Honors course, it is expected that you will behave with the utmost honor. Please be aware that the
summer reading project is NOT a collaborative effort – no partner or group work is requested in any part
of the assignment. Furthermore, if outside research is required your assignment will specifically instruct
you to do so; otherwise, you should not use the Internet or any other source. Simply put, you are
expected to submit your own work.
Academic dishonesty (which includes cheating or copying and plagiarism) of any kind will result in the
following consequences:

Plagiarized parts of the project (i.e. cutting and pasting from sources such as SparkNotes or
failing to properly document sources) WILL RECEIVE A ZERO, AND LOSS OF
OVERALL CREDIT ON THE PROJECT;
 Students found copying all or parts of the project from each other will LOSE A
PERCENTAGE OF THE POINTS and will be required to RE-DO THE PROJECT using a
different book (selected by the individual teacher);
 Students will be referred to the office for Academic Dishonesty (in addition to the other
consequences listed).
If research is required, students must include proper documentation, MLA-format in-text citations and a
complete Works Cited page. Papers that fail to include proper documentation of sources will be
considered PLAGIARIZED. If you are unsure about MLA documentation, please ask a parent, a teacher,
or a librarian to help you.
*A word about SparkNotes and other sites like it – these types of sites are meant to be a helpful tool for
reference when you are reading a novel that may be difficult to understand. These types of sites are not
meant to substitute for reading the book, nor are they meant to be a credible source for research. Please
use sites like SparkNotes sparingly and NEVER use them as a research source.
We hope that you will learn a lot from whichever novel you choose to read this summer. Your teachers
are interested in YOUR ideas and YOUR opinions, not those that you copied from a friend or cut-andpasted from a web site!
The CHS English Department
Lisa J. Wehkamp, Dept. Chair
I will produce my own work and convey my own ideas, except when instructed to use credible outside
source material. I understand that there will be consequences for Academic Dishonesty.
Student Name – PLEASE PRINT
Student Signature
rpainter@usd261.com 2
rpainter@usd261.com 3
2015 Summer Project
Honors English 9
Ryan Painter
rpainter@usd261.com
1. Each student will receive a copy of A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. Copies
will be made available to the counselling offices at both HMS and HWMS. Additional
copies will be made available at the Campus High School counselling offices for students
that transfer in to the district.
a. These books are the property of Campus High School and will need to be returned
in good condition upon returning to school in August. Students that transfer out
of USD 261 will need to return their copy to one of the middle schools or to CHS.
b. Damaged/lost/stolen books will result in a $16.00 replacement fee.
c. Students can choose to buy their own copy of the text available at
www.amazon.com new and used for $0.01 plus shipping and handling.
2. Grading: The summer project is worth 15% of the overall semester grade. Aspects of the
project are due the first day of class (not orientation day). Presentations begin the second
day of class. Late projects will lose 10% per class period up to 5 class meetings. After 5
class meetings, a score of zero will be entered.
a. Parents will be notified for any student with an incomplete project
b. Transfer/New-to-district students will have one month after the first day of class
to complete the summer project.
3. Description of the project
a. Each student will read A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
b. Each student will take a comprehensive test over the novel on the first day of
class (not orientation day)
c. Each student will develop a double-entry journal that includes 10 one-sentence
quotes and 10 explanations of those quotes
1-Sentence Quote from the text
-Select a 1-sentence quote from the text that
will help prove your points in your
presentation
-Must be typed, 12-point Times New Roman
font
-Correct MLA quote punctuation needed
Explanation
-Explain the relevance, or importance, of the
quote that you selected
-You can also show how it connects to another
portion of the text
Ex. “The light which had been left on in
Phuong’s apartment has now finally been
turned off” (Ninh 193).
Ex. Kien finally realizes that he has forever lost
his first girlfriend, Phuong. Prior to seeing that
the light is out, Kien always took comfort in
seeing the burning light and its symbolism of
their relationship.
rpainter@usd261.com 4
d. Each student will develop a 4-6 minute oral presentation that includes a visual
aid.
i. Any type of visual aid can be used, but the focus of the presentation is on
the speaker and not the presentation mode (i.e. ppt, Google Slides, Prezi,
handouts, charts, graphs, or any other handmade visual aid).
ii. Visual aid is due on the first day of class
iii. If using a computer, I highly recommend using Google Slides when
developing the visual aid. Google Slides saves automatically with each
new keystroke to your Google Drive account and is accessible by any
computer with an internet connection. (In addition, I recommend Google
Docs for all written essay assignments for the same reasons).
e. Presentation order will be randomly chosen on the first day of class.
Presentations will begin on the second day of class.
4. Topics for presentation
a. A minor character’s impact on the text
b. Setting (time and place)
c. Historical setting (requires outside research) and application to the text
i. Needs a work cited page/slide for outside research
d. Motifs (recurring images throughout the text) and their effect on the story
e. Theme and its development throughout the story
f. Retelling the story from a different point-of-view with evidence from the text that
supports the new p.o.v.
g. Character development
h. A close reading/analysis of one or more portions of the text
i. A compare/contrast with a second text (song, poem, s.s., novel, or article) with the
emphasis on A Farewell to Arms. Student can sing the song being compared
j. Collage of pictures and apply to story (avoid plot summary)
k. Any other ideas as approved by Mr. Painter
5. Proving your topic/claim
a. Students need to use multiple, short quotes from the text to prove points. These
quotes should be taken from the double-entry journal that directly relates to your
topic. Also, these quotes should be on your powerpoint/Google slides
presentation.
Example of a comparative presentation using Nothing to Envy and 1984:
Claim: The modern-day lifestyle, poverty, and governmental intervention into the life of an
ordinary citizen in North Korea as described by Barbara Demick in Nothing to Envy bears a
striking resemblance to the fictional dystopia envisioned by George Orwell in 1984.
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Nothing to Envy
“’Hah. If there are so many boots, how
come my children never got any?’” Chang-bo
muses before he realizes the enormous
mistake he makes by verbalizing the antigovernment statement (Demick 52).
“In the futuristic dystopia imagined in 1984,
George Orwell wrote of a world where the
only color to be found was in the propaganda
posters. Such is the case in North Korea”
(Demick 11).
1984
“All he knew was that every quarter
astronomical numbers of boots were produced
on paper, while perhaps half the population of
Oceania went barefoot” (Orwell 41).
“. . . the poster with the enormous face gazed
from the wall. . . . BIG BROTHER IS
WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it
ran” (Orwell 1-2).
There are at least 13 different correlations between these two texts. These two are just an
example for your benefit. If I was giving this presentation, I would incorporate a majority of the
13 examples.
The idea is that you find short, 1-sentence quotes from the text that directly support your
idea/claim.
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Summer Project Grade Sheet
1. Comprehensive test over A Farewell to Arms
2. Visual Aid turned in on the first day of class (via shared
Google Doc, e-mail, or hard copy)
3. Ten quotes/explanations in double-entry journal
4. Presentation Rubric
Time Limit
Effective use of time
5
9:01+
>2:29
Student rambles to
meet time limit
Introduction
Lists the title and
author of source text
and little else
Conclusion
Little to no
conclusion given
# of Text
Connections
Relevant Text
Connections
Depth of Analysis
10
8:31-9:00
2:30-2:59
15
8:00-8:30
3:00-3:29
Student spends
significantly more
time on some
arguments
Student attempts an
attention-getting
intro.
_____/100
_____/50
_____/50
20
7:30-7:59
3:30-3:59
25
4:00+
Student split time
equally between
arguments
In addition to giving
source information,
student grabs the
audience’s attention
so that they want to
hear more
Conclusion is a clear
and concise ending
to the presentation.
Student relates key
points (so what)
Restates main
points, but does not
relate importance of
key points (so what)
0
No quotes are used
for support
10
One quote is used
on some claims/subclaims
15
One quote is used to
support each
claim/sub-claim
20
Two or more quotes
are used to support
each claim/subclaim
10
Presenter uses
mostly obvious text
references for all
arguments
15
Presenter uses
mostly obvious text
references for some
arguments
20
Presenter uses a mix
of obvious and
subtle but relevant
text references for
most arguments
25
Presenter uses a mix
of obvious and
subtle but relevant
text references for
all arguments
30
Presenter mentions
obvious
connections, but
mostly relies on
subtle but relevant
text references for
all arguments
10
Little to no analysis
given and/or
faulty analysis
20
Cursory analysis,
Analysis attempted,
includes some misinterpretations
30
Analysis attempted,
interpretation is
correct, but not
expanded
40
Effective,
intentional analysis
of topic and subpoints
50
Effective,
intentional analysis
that is clearly
articulated
Total:
_____/400