Welcome to the Freshman
Academy!
ELA Introduction
Mrs. Suzan Pigford
Mrs. Jenny McGraw
Mrs. Kendre Williamson
Ms. Kasi Gedris
General Reading Assignment
All grades
 You will choose one of the following four novels for
your first summer reading assignment:
 Matched by Ally Condie
 Kick by Walter Dean Myers
 Dirty Little Secrets by CJ Omololu
 The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Matched by Ally Condie
“In the Society, Officials decide. Who
you love. Where you work. When you
die.”
“Cassia has always trusted their
choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for
a long life, the perfect job, the ideal
mate. So when her best friend
appears on the Matching screen,
Cassia knows with complete certainty
that he is the one… until she sees
another face flash for an instant
before the screen fades to black. Now
Cassia is faced with impossible
choices: between the only life she’s
known and a path no one else has
ever dared follow.”
Kick by Walter Dean Myers
“Kevin Johnson is thirteen
years old. And heading for
juvie. He's a good kid, a
great friend, and a star
striker for his Highland, New
Jersey, soccer team. . . until
the night he ends up in jail.”
Dirty Little Secrets by CJ Omolulo
“Everyone has a secret. But
Lucy’s is bigger and dirtier
than most. It’s one she’s been
hiding for years. So, when her
mom dies suddenly in their
home, Lucy hesitates to call
911.”
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
“When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only
thing he can remember is his first name. His
memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When
the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself
surrounded by kids who welcome him to the
Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded
by stone walls.
Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know
why or how they got to the Glade. All they
know is that every morning the stone doors
to the maze that surrounds them have
opened. Every night they’ve closed tight.
And every 30 days a new boy has been
delivered in the lift.
Thomas was expected. But the next day, a
girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in
the Glade. And more surprising yet is the
message she delivers.
Thomas might be more important than he
could ever guess. If only he could unlock the
dark secrets buried within his mind.”
Assignment One:
 Keep a journal
 One quote from each chapter
 Cite using chapter and page number under quote
 Connect to the quote in a 10 sentence paragraph
 Text-to-Text
 Text-to-Self
 Text-to-World
This will be turned in the first day of school to your English
teacher!
English II H
Summer Reading Assignment
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
“It’s just a small story really, about
among other things: a girl, some words,
an accordionist, some fanatical
Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and
quite a lot of thievery. . . .
Set during World War II in Germany,
Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new
novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a
foster girl living outside of Munich.
Liesel scratches out a meager existence
for herself by stealing when she
encounters something she can’t
resist…
This is an unforgettable story about the
ability of books to feed the soul.”
While you read you should
look for…..
I.
Personal Connections
II. Literary Elements
• Characterization and character development
• Symbolism
• Point-of-view
• Themes and motifs
• Figurative language
• Literary devices
• Unknown vocabulary
Assignment
Your Double Entry Journal will contain:
I. 50 Personal Connections
For each heading/chapter you will include at least 5 quotes
with personal connections per part and epilogue (9 parts and
1 epilogue=10 sections=50 connections). Only you are able to
write your own thoughts!
II. 30 Literary Elements/Vocabulary
For each heading/chapter you will include at least 3 examples
of literary elements or unknown vocabulary per part and the
epilogue(9 parts and 1 epilogue= 10 sections= 30 entries).
The left hand column of the journal is
the place to document what you notice.
These will come directly from the text.
The right hand column is where you
record your reactions/answers to this
material. This section should be in 1st
person. You need to make it personal-no one else could write what you write.
Possibly Includes:
Textual Notes- headings, titles, etc.
Quotations
Key terms
Vocabulary
Symbols
Evidence of motifs or themes
Evidence of characterization
Possibly Includes:
Immediate reactions
Reactions after learning new
information about the topic (e.g.,
through discussions, further reading)
What more would you like to learn?
Agree? Disagree? Why?
What you understand/don't understand
Compare/Contrast
Connections to other sources/to what
you already know
Your interpretation of what you
experienced
Why is your question important?
Perspective/Bias
Example DEJ
“slaves as black as Mississippi mud” (page
79)
This simile compares the color of the skin of
the slaves to mud, but it also reminds me of
imagery because I can imagine how dark
mud is. I wonder if Mississippi mud is
especially dark for a particular reason?
“I just wanted to say I’m really glad I got to
do this poetry thing because I feel like, even
though the people in our class are all
different colors and some of you speak a
different language and everything, I feel like
we connected.” (page 164)
What Tyrone is saying seems to be the theme
of the entire book. Even though all of the
students were different and nervous at first,
they’ve come to accept and learn from one
another through poetry. They’ve become like
a family.
“My name is Sterling Samson, but everyone
calls me Preacher. I intend to become a
science teacher, not a preacher, but I don’t
mind being called one.” (page 87)
Why does everyone call him preacher if he
wants to be a science teacher? I’ve never met
a kid that acted like a preacher.
Simile
Theme
Personal
Connection
Happy Summer Reading!