The Harpeth Hall School
2006 All-School Read
Grades 5 through 12
Title:
Pyramid, by David Macaulay. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975.
Assignment: Read the book through, including the author's introduction. You will have two options for
assignments after reading the book. The first option entails a visit to The Frist Center for the Visual Arts in
downtown Nashville to view a special exhibit of Egyptian art. The second option includes more extensive
assignments that may be completed without attending the Frist exhibit. Complete only option #1 or #2;
you do not need to complete both options.
All responses to the all-school read should be word-processed and printed where appropriate, and collected
in a folder to be submitted on the first day of school. This is a separate folder from your summer reading
for English class.
Option #1: Museum visit.
The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt (June 9 - Oct. 8, 2006) at the Frist Center
http://www.egyptatthefrist.org/
(Save your ticket stub and attach it to your summer reading journal.)
This summer the Frist Center will be hosting a special exhibit featuring the largest selection of antiquities
ever loaned by Egypt for exhibition in North America. This exhibit perfectly complements our All-School
Reading selection, Pyramid. Admission is free for ages 18 and under, and you may obtain tickets and
information at the web address listed above. After attending the exhibit, you should complete the artistic
and written responses described here.
1) Artistic response: Using your summer reading book as a model, create a pen-and-ink sketch in
response to your favorite item or exhibit at the Frist Center.
2) Written response: Create a written response to the exhibit. Choices might include a poetic response, a
formal review of the exhibit, or a personal reflection on how the exhibit affected you.
Option #2: Required work if you do not visit the Egyptian exhibit at the Frist Center. Complete all four
(4) of the following questions; collect your work in a folder to be submitted when you return to school in
August.
1) Mathematical: What are some mathematical ways to determine the height of the pyramids? (Hint:
You might want to look up information on how Thales determined the height of the pyramids.)
2) Research: The Pyramids are one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. What are the other six
Ancient Wonders? List them and choose one to explain in detail (one page in length).
3) Creative Writing: Write a one-page creative entry that presents the point of view of one of the
workers who helped build the Pyramid. Your entry could be written in first-person, or it could be a
dialogue between two or more workers imagining what they might have talked about as they engaged in
construction, wrapped the mummy, or any other particular step in the building and burial process.
4) Artistic Response: Study Macaulay's pen-and-ink sketches in Pyramid. Create a pen-and-ink drawing
of any architectural work. Choices may include a school, a bridge, a place of religious worship (temple,
church, synagogue, or mosque), a government building , an office building, or any other public structure
that interests you. You may choose to sketch a building from your travels this summer or from the
Nashville area. If you are familiar with artist supplies, this is fine; however, a ball point pen will also
suffice for your drawing. Consider the Custom’s House across from Hume-Fogg on Broadway.
1
The Harpeth Hall School
Summer Reading 2006
English I: Freshmen
Freshman Required Reading:
The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver
One (1) of the following choice books:
Walking Across Egypt, by Clyde Edgerton
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith
Wild Magic, by Tamora Pierce
Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Color of Water, by James McBride
Ellen Foster, Kaye Gibbons
These readings will be a challenge but will also serve to enrich your life. We encourage you to read further
from the list.
Since we will have quizzes on the books when we return to school, it is important to take notes of some kind
as you read. These need not be detailed but should help you remember “the who and what” of the story.
For example, you might make marginal notes, keep a character list at the back of the book, keep a list of
key events in the back of the book, or list plot events for the three novels you read.
Response to Readings – Required Journal:
Your journal will include writings that focus on the books you have been assigned. Some entries ask you
to examine yourself and your life in ways that are pertinent to the book. Others ask you to reflect
specifically on the book. For all entries, spelling and grammar are important; please pay attention to the
cues your computer gives you, and always proofread your writing.
Organization of the Journal:
Each student should create a journal folder on her laptop to contain several Word documents. The journal
entries should be titled, dated, and written in a reader-friendly font of 12 points. These journals should
be printed and placed in a pocket folder. Your name should be on the front of the folder. If printing is
problematic for you at home, please feel free to make use of the hall printers in the upper school. You
might also consider using the library printers, one of which is a color printer.
Contents of the Journal:
The Bean Trees:
Pre-reading: Life is a series of transitions. We move from childhood to adolescence, from
middle-school to high-school, from dependence to independence. These transitions are sometimes
exciting, sometimes frightening, sometimes challenging. Describe in detail and discuss fully a
“transition” you have experienced.
Post-reading: Barbara Kingsolver uses metaphors and similes in Bean Trees to add depth to the
story. Three controlling metaphors in the book are the night-blooming cereus, the vegetable-soup
song that Turtle sings, and the rhizobia. Explain and discuss one of these metaphors in a 12-to-14
sentence paragraph with a thoughtfully constructed topic sentence. Remember that you must
use concrete examples and at least one quote to fortify your discussion.
2
The Secret Life of Bees:
Pre-reading: The Downtown Branch of the Nashville Public Library has an outstanding Civil
Rights Collection. Explore the room. Find three images that you find compelling, then respond to
each in a brief passage. This response should include 1) a description of the object you see, and
2) your personal reaction to it. Perhaps you can imagine yourself there, in the photograph – how
would you feel? How do you feel about the issues that caused the event? You may add
photographs to further identify each image. (You might be able to find the same ones the internet.
If you do, please include your source.)
(If you find it absolutely impossible to reach the downtown public library, you may research the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 on the web or in an encyclopedia. List at least ten (10) points which the
act contains, include three (3) photos of incidents leading to or arising from the acts, and respond
to and reflect on these images in a brief passage for each.)
Post-reading: Describe in detail one occasion in which a character or characters in this novel take
a moral stand. Use at least one quotation. In a separate paragraph, describe a time or situation
when you faced a moral challenge and had to make a stand. Comment on whether or not you are
satisfied with your response to the situation. Do you wish you had done things differently? Each
of your paragraphs should have a strong topic sentence and be 10 to 12 sentences in length. You
will need a transition sentence from paragraph 1 to paragraph 2.
Choice Novel:
Quote three brief passages on which the story turns. For each quotation, first describe the place it
has in the story (that is, provide context). Second, state the quotation (if it is dialogue, include
who said it – the source of the quotation). Third, in at least three sentences, analyze or interpret
the importance of the quotation and the its pivotal nature in the book. (Clarification on quotations:
you are quoting from the book; you do not have to provide quotes from dialogue only.)
Due Date:
These journals are due the first day of class. You will be asked to pledge that you have completed all
assigned reading. Also, you will be tested on the two required novels.
Availability:
The books are available at local bookstores and at the used book sale at Harpeth Hall. Also, they are
available on-line at Amazon.com which also has used volumes available.
The all-school read is available at local bookstores and at the Harpeth Hall bookstore.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ms. Girgus (383-1751 or email
girgus@harpethhall.org) or Ms. Croker (673-7036 or email dcroker@harpethhall.org ).
3