CECIL COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP CENTER
201 Booth Street
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Elkton, MD 21921
DIVISION OF EDUCATION SERVICES
410-996-5496
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FAX 410-996-8972
D’Ette W. Devine, Ed.D.
Superintendent
English Language and Composition
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www.ccps.org
Lauren C. Camphausen
President, Board of Education
Summer Reading Assignment
Welcome to the English 11 advanced placement course, AP Language and Composition. This class is designed to help
you become skilled readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts and skilled writers who compose for a
variety of purposes. The reading and writing completed in this course will raise your awareness of the interactions
among a writer's purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the way generic conventions and the resources
of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. Because this course will begin with the application of common
rhetorical references to classic American fiction and non-fiction, your assigned summer texts are The Things They
Carried by Tim O’Brien and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
AP Summer Reading Binder: You will need a three ring binder which you will divide into three sections, one for each
of the following THREE assignments.
1. Guiding questions for The Things They Carried
2. Dialectical journal for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
3. Analytical essay utilizing both texts
Each section will count as one formative grade and is further explained below.
Helpful Hints



The books are available at the library or any bookstore. If you own a Nook or another form of e-book, the books may
be available as free downloads.
The language of Huck Finn will be difficult to understand at times; this problem is normal and is not cause for alarm.
Reading the passage out loud makes a big difference, even if you feel silly doing so.
Please e-mail your AP 11 teacher (email addresses found at the end of this document) for help on any of these
assignments or if you or your parents have any concerns about the course.
Academic Honesty Policy
Be sure that in your zeal to complete these assignments accurately and superiorly that you do not borrow work from
other authors or students. You may consult on-line or published resources to help you in understanding the text, but do
not present the ideas in those resources as your own. Doing so is plagiarism, however unintentional it may be. If you
are unsure about any aspect of plagiarism or what constitutes academic dishonesty, please e-mail your teacher.
Course Content
Advanced Placement Language and Composition is a college-level course; therefore, we will read college-level material.
With mature text comes mature themes and language. For example, although The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not
a racist text, characters use pejorative language. The Things They Carried has been nominated for multiple awards for its
literary aesthetics; however, it is set during the Vietnam War, and O’Brien himself points out that if “you send boys to
war, they come home talking dirty.” Although we will handle discussions of these and other sensitive issues with tact and
care in class, be sure that you can handle such topics before committing to this course.
Our Mission: to provide an excellent pre-kindergarten through graduation learning experience that enables ALL students to demonstrate the skills,
knowledge, and attitudes required for lifelong learning and productive citizenship in an ever-changing global society.
Guiding Questions
The Things They Carried
1. What are three particular events that O’Brien narrates more than once? Explain how his presentation of these events
changes each time.
2. What are the elements of “story truth”? Pay particular attention to the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story.”
3. Explain why O’Brien chooses to present the events out of chronological order. How does that help to illustrate
“story truth”?
4. Choose one symbol and explain its significance within the context of the novel.
5. According to O’Brien, what is the purpose of writing? Be sure and use direct quotes to illustrate your point.
Dialectical Journal
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
To exhibit your understanding of themes and purpose in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, you will keep a dialectical
journal (see attached handout). You will complete a journal entry for every two chapters. The rubric for the dialectical
journals is attached. Entries should be handwritten.
Dialectical Journals
Dialectic means “the art or practice of arriving at the truth by using conversation involving question and answer.” For
Huck Finn, you will complete dialectical journals to aid in your understanding of the books as you read them and to
demonstrate that understanding to your teacher. In these journals, you are essentially having a “conversation” with the
text (jotting down insights, questions, ideas, and thoughts) and with yourself.
Procedure
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For every two chapters of the book, draw a vertical line in the middle of a page in your journal notebook.
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At the top of the left column, write the heading “Reading Notes” (something from the text).
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At the top of the right column, write the heading “Comments and Questions” (something from you).
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After you read every two chapters of the book, complete a journal entry in which you write down an interesting
quote, summarize an important passage, or jot down a key idea from that chapter in the left column (with the date
and page numbers).—the majority of the entries should be quotes
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In the right column, write down YOUR analytical response to the quote.

To focus your reading, be sure that each journal entry deals with one of the following elements that create “story
truth”: tone, organization, diction, style, syntax (phrasing and grammar), other rhetorical devices (devices the
author uses to get a particular response from the audience), or American history. Note in the left column which
of these elements you are discussing. To be successful, you should include a variety of elements.

Be sure to be as specific as possible in your observations in the right column and reflect on the truth that Twain
presents to his audience. Consider discussing any of the following when analyzing a passage.
o
o
o
o
o
Make a judgment about a character’s actions in relation to his or her era in American history
Apply the situation in the novel to what you know about the time period in which the story takes place
Analyze the author’s use of organization and how that organization serves (or does not serve) his purpose
Analyze why the author used the language he chose in the novel (language is extremely important in Huck Finn)
Explain the author’s tone toward various themes or characters in the book
Sample Journal Entry
To Kill a Mockingbird
Reading Notes
June 17, 2005
Chapters 3 and 4
p. 21: “…as I read the alphabet a faint
line appeared between her eyebrows, and
after making me read most of My First
Reader and the stock market quotations
from the Mobile Register, she discovered
that I was literate and looked at me with
more than faint distaste. Miss Caroline
told me to tell my father not to teach me
any more, it would interfere with my
reading.”
(American history)
Comments and Questions
The novel takes place during the Depression, a time
when kids like Scout had almost nothing to look forward to
and no prospects for a better future. Scout speaks often of
how dirty the kids are, how poor everyone is (so poor that
no one notices that anyone else is in any better or worse
shape than they are). Miss Caroline does not seem to
understand that she is probably one of the few things
standing between the kids of that era and total disaster. Her
job is so important because she can give them all the key to
a better life. Instead, she singles kids out for mistreatment,
demeans the children in front of each other, and does not try
to inspire the kids in her class.
Adults during the Depression had to have been afraid,
afraid of starvation, afraid of losing their jobs. Perhaps Miss
Caroline is so harsh partly because she is inexperienced, but
maybe she is afraid that if she does not run her classroom
like factory (everyone doing the same thing at the same
time) that she will lose her job. Maybe she thinks the kids
genuinely need her to be so critical and rigid. Fear makes
people react to their surroundings instead of acting
rationally. Perhaps fear is a theme in this book, fear of
poverty, fear of failure, fear of other races. I will use fear as
a purpose for reading as I continue through the chapters,
noting who is acting out of fear and who is acting rationally.
Perhaps those conclusions will lead me to the theme of the
novel.
Dialectical Journal Rubric
A
B
C
D/F
Details
Selects detailed,
meaningful
passages,
extends beyond
plot and
characterization
Commentary
Includes
thoughtful
interpretation
and commentary
about the text
Focus (Devices)
Focuses on tone,
organization,
motifs, diction,
symbolism, or
literary devices
Connections
Makes insightful
connections
Appearance
Is neat organized
and professional
looking; clear
and consistent
headings
Is less detailed,
but is meaningful
and extends
beyond plot and
characterization
Includes some
critical thinking;
addresses
thematic
elements
Includes some
connections
Is neat and
readable; clear
headings
Includes little
meaningful
details that
extend beyond
plot and
characterization
Commentary is
vague,
unsupported or
is merely a
paraphrase of
devices or
summary
Includes some
literary
elements but
does not
completely
address how they
contribute to
meaning
Includes some
listing of
literary
elements;
virtually no
discussion of
meaning
Limited
connections;
obvious
questions
Is relatively neat;
has headings
Details are few
with no
apparent
significance or
relevance
Involves notes
that are plot
summary or
paraphrases
Includes no
literary
elements with no
discussion of
meaning
Limited
connections and
no good
questions;
limited coverage
Is sloppy and
unorganized
Your third summer reading assignment is to complete the following essay.
Analytical Essay
Write a well-developed essay in which you examine how Mark Twain employs the elements of “story truth”
O’Brien illustrates in The Things They Carried.
REMEMBER: Bring your assignments and both summer reading texts on the first day of class.
If you have further questions regarding the summer reading assignment, please contact your 11 AP teacher:
Bohemia Manor High School:
Nicole Erbe
naerbe@ccps.org
Elkton High School:
Mary Spence
mspence@ccps.org
North East High School:
David Reaser
dreaser@ccps.org
Perryville High School:
Leslie Piper
lpiper@ccps.org
Rising Sun High School:
Jennifer Hunter
jhunter@ccps.org