Freshman A Literature Circles
Assignment: While we work on the play in class, you will choose one of five novels to read at home. While
reading, you will complete worksheet independently, and contribute to online discussions with your peers.
1. Choose a novel:

Slaughter-House Five – Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who
becomes “unstuck in time.” We follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life,
concentrating on his shattering experience as an American prisoner of war (WWII) who witnesses the
firebombing of Dresden.

Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut
Dr Felix Hoenikker, one of the founding 'fathers' of the atomic bomb, has left a deadly legacy to the
world. For he's the inventor of 'ice-nine', a lethal chemical capable of freezing the entire planet. The
search for its whereabouts leads to Hoenikker's three ecentric children and a crazed dictator in the
Carribean, and is told with Vonnegut’s trademark deadpan humor & bitter irony.

Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
Far in the future, the World Controllers have created the ideal society. Through clever use of genetic
engineering and brainwashing techniques, all its members are happy consumers. Bernard Marx seems
alone harboring an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage
Reservations, where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress...

1984 – George Orwell
Written in 1948, 1984 was George Orwell’s chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has
come and gone, Orwell’s narrative is timelier than ever. 1984 presents a startling and haunting vision
of the world, so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the
power of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of
its admonitions—a legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time.

Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart tells two intertwining stories, both centering on Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo
village in Nigeria. The first, a powerful fable of the immemorial conflict between the individual and
society, traces Okonkwo’s fall from grace with the tribal world. The second, as modern as the first is
ancient, concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo's world with the arrival of
aggressive European missionaries. These perfectly harmonized twin dramas are informed by an
awareness capable of encompassing at once the life of nature, human history, and the mysterious
compulsions of the soul.

Glass Menagerie – Tennessee Williams (Actors, Directors, CEO only)
The play revolves around a young man begrudgingly supporting the family his father has
abandoned. It also features a painfully shy and slightly crippled sister character, whose
preoccupation with a collection of glass animals draws her away from reality. Set against the
backdrop of the Depression, the family struggles together with the past, the future, and one
another.
2. Set deadlines
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You will be responsible for breaking your text into 3 sections. Set aside a certain amount of chapters
and create due dates for the 3 sections. You must be finished reading by Monday 5/27.
Reading schedule template is at the bottom of the page.
3. Submit 3 Reading Guides to Turnitin.com. (worksheet available on Mr. Klingelhoffer’s website)
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Complete 1 worksheet for each of the 3 sections. These will be due on the reading due dates that you
have set. (10 pts. each)
When submitting, title your submission by the name of your novel (1984 Reading Guide 1”)
4. Compile Information for AP Literature card (available on website)
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Using your 3 Major Works Note Sheets, condense your information into 1 comprehensive
Note Sheet. You will hold onto this sheet and be able to use it on the AP Literature test your
senior year.
5. Contribute to Turnitin.com Discussion Boards
-
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Assign discussion leaders: 2 leaders for each section.
Each leader will post at least 1 question to begin discussion for the particular section.
Begin a new post for each section.
All members contribute to discussion. It is an online Socratic Seminar.
Discussion Ideas: Use your Reading Guides to discuss specifics, but also consider
personal/philosophical connections and connections to other works of art (books, film,
etc.). Also, feel free to build the discussion by asking more questions.
40 participation points using the Online Discussion Rubric (available on teacher website).
______________________________________________________________________________
Lit Circle Reading Schedule 2015
Novel:____________________________________________________________Period:______
Group Members:________________________________________________________________
Date
(Minimum of
3. Finish by
5/27)
Page or Chapter
Due
Reading Guide Due
1
2
3
Online Discussion Leaders
(2 per section)