Harbor High School
2015 Intensive English 2 Summer Assignment
Welcome to Intensive English 2! Having chosen to take this course, I expect that you are the kind of student who wants to
get the most out of your education. Summer work is a great way to keep your mind active and to build on the skills you
have learned this school year. Please don’t wait until the last minute to get started. Turn in only original work—either
typed or neatly written in blue or black ink. If you have any questions or concerns, you can email me at jrogers@sccs.net
or visit the class website at intensiveenglish2@weebly.com. I’m looking forward to a great 2015-16 school year.
Ms. Rogers
DIRECTIONS:
For your summer assignment you will read two books—a required piece of fiction called The Bean Trees, and a choice
from a list of non-fiction texts.

For The Bean Trees, choose two of three motifs to track throughout your reading (beans, birds, or flowers).
Look at the directions for how to fill out the motif charts. An example of an integrated passage and commentary
for the bird motif is also included. You should have five (5) or more quotations each for the two motifs you
choose—at least 10 passages total.

For your NON-FICTION book, choose THREE SHORT PASSAGES (one from the beginning, another from
somewhere in the middle, and one near the end) and respond to each passage. Each response should be about
¾ page in length and include:
1. A proper heading with your name, date, book title, and response number
2. The passage with page number
3. Information about the context (who is talking and to whom? what happened previously and what is
happening now?)
4. Your explanation of and reaction to the passage. Consider discussing any of the following when
analyzing a passage:
 make a judgment about a person’s actions in relation to his or her setting/time period.
 comment on the author’s attitude (tone) toward aspects of the society or the subject being
discussed.
 apply the situation in the book to what you know about the time period in which the book takes
place
 analyze why the author used the language s/he chose in the novel. Diction is important in
creating tone and theme.
 Make a “connection” for each passage. A connection might be another book that this one
reminds you of, a historical event that you think is linked to the passage, or something from
your own life that you feel relates to this passage. State and explain your connection.
SUMMER READING RESPONSE RUBRIC
LIMITED READER:
Perfunctory responses
1
LITERAL READER:
Simple, factual responses
2
THOUGHTFUL READER:
Somewhat detailed responses
3
CRITICAL READER:
Detailed, elaborate responses
4
You find the text confusing, but
don’t attempt to figure it out.
You accept the text literally
without thinking of different
possibilities in meaning.
You make connections to your
own past experiences, feelings, or
knowledge, but don’t explain in
enough detail.
You can “read between the lines”
of the text.
You don’t shift or enlarge your
ideas about the text after rereading it.
You are reluctant to consider new
ideas about the text, even after rereading it.
You may shift your ideas about
the text after you re-read it.
You think about the meaning of
the text in terms of a larger or
universal significance, as aspect of
self or life in general.
You make few or no connections
to the text and your ideas lack
development.
You don’t reach beyond the
obvious to make connections to
the text; or, you make few
connections, which lack sufficient
detail.
You may agree or disagree with
ideas in the text, but you don’t
thoroughly explain or support
your opinions.
You create your own meaning
through personal connections and
references to other texts.
You are sometimes confused by
unclear or difficult sections of the
text.
You ask simple questions about
the text.
You consider different
interpretations as you read.
You think of some unusual
responses but stay mostly with
more obvious meaning of the text.
You experiment with different
ideas or think of original or
unpredictable responses.
You carry on an ongoing dialogue
with the writer: you question,
agree, disagree, appreciate, or
object.
Summer Work: The Bean Trees
DIRECTIONS FOR MOTIF CHARTS:
1. Set up an electronic document (or a lined sheet of paper) with two columns—either portrait or
landscape. Have one document for each motif (so, two documents total). This chart below is a sample
for your document.
2. Choose two of three motifs to track: beans, birds, or flowers and label your chart accordingly.
3. AS you read, use post-it notes to mark references to the motifs you are tracking.
4. Record quotations (with page numbers) on the left, and write your commentary on the right. Read the
sample below as a model, and read the handout about how to fill in your motif chart (on the other side
of this sheet) for help.
5. Include a minimum of 5 quotations for EACH motif.
6. This work is proving to me that you have thoughtfully read The Bean Trees. Take your time.
Student name: _________________________________________
Motif being tracked: __________________________________
Quotation with page number.
Context information (speaker, setting & situation)
is optional
Curious about all the different people who pass
through and live above Jesus is Lord Used Tires
for various lengths of time, Taylor asks Mattie
who they are. Mattie responds by asking her if
she knows what a “sanctuary” is and Taylor
replies that it is “a place they set aside for birds,
where nobody’s allowed to shoot them” (105).
Commentary
Maddie’s response indicates that the people
living with her at Jesus is Lord’s are in danger.
Like birds that are threatened during hunting
season, these people seem to be in physical
danger. Maddie could be housing criminals, but
“birds” connote a sense of innocence. Then
again, Maddie is being somewhat evasive with
Taylor, so maybe she’s doing something illegal.
Summer Work: The Bean Trees
How to fill in your motif chart
Quotation from the novel. Include context
information if necessary or helpful.
Context = speaker, setting & situation
Label each chart with a motif (beans, birds, or
flowers)
A motif is a series of images, events or ideas
which occur over and over again in a piece of
literature, and often hint at a major theme in
the text. Motif is similar to a symbol; however,
there are some important differences.
Commentary
Explain what the quotation adds to your
understanding of the novel. It’s a small box, but you
should be able to fit 2-4 sentences. Use the
commentary sentence frames on the back to help
you.
Ideas:

Look for things with symbolic meaning and
explain what the symbols mean. Example:
the birds represent the refugees.

Explain how the quotation supports a theme
that you see developing.

Explain what the quotation tells you about a
character’s motives, values, challenges, etc.

Look up additional information about
specific things that are mentioned in the
quotation, such as the names of flowers, or
birds. Look for connections between what
you learn and what’s being said in the
quotation.

Identify words that are ambiguous, biased,
figurative, unusual, or which significantly
add to the feeling of the quotation and
explain how those words contribute to the
meaning of the quotation.

Connect your ideas to another quote in a
different part of the book to support what
you say.
If it’s helpful, include context information to set
up your quotation (speaker, the setting &
situation).

Look for words that are opposites and
explain how the use of these opposites
supports a theme.
Look at the sample set-up and entry on the
other side of this handout.

As you collect more quotations, look for
patterns in how the motif is used and
explain how the quotation you’re writing
about either does or does not fit into the
pattern.

A symbol is a specific object that is
used to represent something else. A
motif involves similar types of
events, objects, or events as
opposed to a specific one.
Example: In To Kill a Mockingbird,
one type of bird, the mockingbird, is
a symbol. In The Bean Trees, birds
are a motif and references are made
to MANY different types of birds
throughout the entire book.

A symbol may appear only once in
the text and even be repeated once
or twice (or not at all), while a motif
is constantly repeated throughout
the text over and over again.
You will focus on two of three motifs: beans,
birds, or flowers. You choose which two motifs
to track.
Choose quotes that mention or reference the
motif.
INTENSIVE ENGLISH 2 NON-FICTION SUMMER READING LIST 2015
Choose ONE of the following (or another of similar caliber; check with me if you’re unsure)
 Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin
It’s usually easy to pinpoint the cause of physical pain in animals, but to know what is causing them
emotional distress is much harder. Drawing on the latest research and her own work, Grandin identifies the
core emotional needs of animals. Grandin teaches us to challenge our assumptions about animal
contentment and honor our bond with our fellow creatures.
 In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
Because in the so-called Western diet, food has been replaced by nutrients, and common sense by
confusion--most of what we’re consuming today is longer the product of nature but of food science. The
result is what Michael Pollan calls the American Paradox: The more we worry about nutrition, the less
healthy we seem to become. Pollan proposes a new (and very old) answer to the question of what we
should eat that comes down to seven simple but liberating words: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
 Moneyball by Michael Lewis
Billy Beane, the Oakland A’s general manager, is leading a revolution. Reinventing his team on a budget, he
needs to outsmart the richer teams. He signs undervalued players whom the scouts consider flawed but
who have a knack for getting on base, scoring runs, and winning games. Moneyball is a quest for the secret
of success in baseball and a tale of the search for new baseball knowledge—insights that will give the little
guy who is willing to discard old wisdom the edge over big money.
 Hiroshima by John Hersey
Originally published in 1946 as an article in the New Yorker magazine, Hiroshima focuses on six individuals
living in the Japanese city of Hiroshima when the U.S. Dropped the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, in an
attempt to end World War II—the Japanese surrendered a few days later after another bomb was dropped
on the city of Nagasaki. John Hersey is a journalist who does not editorialize, preferring to let his subjects,
most of whom are remarkably free of self-pity, tell their stories themselves.
 Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
What would possess a gifted young man recently graduated from college to literally walk away from his life?
Noted outdoor writer and mountaineer Jon Krakauer tackles that question in his reporting on Chris
McCandless, whose emaciated body was found in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992.
Described by friends and relatives as smart, literate, compassionate, and funny, did McCandless simply read
too much Thoreau and Jack London and lose sight of the dangers of heading into the wilderness alone?
 Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
Unbroken is the inspiring true story of a man who lived through a series of catastrophes almost too
incredible to be believed. In evocative, immediate descriptions, Hillenbrand unfurls the story of Louie
Zamperini--a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic runner-turned-Army hero. During a routine search mission
over the Pacific, Louie’s plane crashed into the ocean, and what happened to him over the next three years
of his life is a story that will keep you glued to the pages.
 Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Isolated by Mexico's deadly Copper Canyons, the blissful Tarahumara Indians have honed the ability to run
hundreds of miles without rest or injury. In a riveting narrative, award-winning journalist and often-injured
runner Christopher McDougall sets out to discover their secrets. In the process, he takes his readers from
science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where evergrowing numbers of ultra-runners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to a climactic race in the
Copper Canyons that pits America’s best ultra-runners against the tribe.
 Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston
Based on extensive interviews with smallpox experts, health workers, and members of the U.S. intelligence
community, The Demon in the Freezer details the history and behavior of the virus and how it was eventually
isolated and eradicated by the heroic individuals of the World Health Organization. Preston also explains
why a battle still rages between those who want to destroy all known stocks of the virus and those who
want to keep some samples alive until a cure is found. The anthrax scare of October, 2001, which Preston
also writes about in this book, has served to reinforce the present dangers of biological warfare.