Outside Reading (1st Semester): English 10H
Directions: You will select one book to read (fiction or non-fiction) from the 10 Honors book
list. I am trying to give you a wide selection so I have chosen books from the California
Department of Education recommended reading list and the AP recommended list. While
reading your book, you will complete a triple entry journal containing 9 quotes from the book.
Divide your number of pages by 9 and this will give you the chunk from which you will choose
each quote. For example, if your book has 300 pages, you will choose a quote every 33 pages.
You will also be writing an essay on your novel so pick quotes that might work for an essay.
Triple-Entry Journal (45 points):
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Label the left-hand column “Date,” the middle column “Quotes” and the right-hand
column “Response.”
Write the date of your entry (the day you are completing the row) in the first column.
Write the quote, cited appropriately, in the middle column.
Write your response, following the directions below, in the third column. You will have
three different ways in which to respond to each quote. Each of your responses will
consist of only 4 GOOD sentences. Be thorough in your responses, but do not waste any
sentences on plot. Bold key words in each response.
1. Personal Connection: Contemplate how the quote connects to an aspect of your
personal knowledge or life. The quote may remind you of a situation you have
been in, seen, or read about. You must be specific when making the connection.
2. Literary Connection: Choose a literary term and analyze your quote according to
that literary term. (metaphor, simile, setting, characterization, theme,
personification, style analysis, etc.)
3. Textual/Thematic Connection: Contemplate how the quote connects to another
passage or event from the same text. Think about how this quote emphasizes a
character, event, or the setting in the book and how that relates to a theme in your
novel.
You need to have 3 quotes for each (9 quotes total).
Label each response entry (P for personal, L for literary, T for Textual/Thematic).
Journal entries must be typed.
I may check your progress along the way.
Step 1: Select a few titles and look up a synopsis on line to see if they sound interesting.
Step 2: Go to the library or bookstore and select a couple of novels and read the first few
pages to see if you like the style and the level.
Step 3: Bring the book to class so you can sign up for it with me by: _______________
Step 4: Read the book and do the quote journal as you read.
Step 5: Bring the book to class every day for some possible silent reading.
English 10H: Kolodney
Name: _________________Title: _______________________________ Author:___________________
Number of pages: ____________________
Dates
Quotes
Responses
L.
Sample
log entry:
11/13/12
“…I studied the aspect of that Winter
afternoon. Afar, it offered a pale
blank of mist and cloud; near, a scene
of wet lawn and storm-beat shrub,
with ceaseless rain sweeping away
wildly before a long and lamentable
blast” (Brontë 2).
This quote appears early in the novel when Jane Eyre is trying to
escape her unhappy real life, into the curtained window seat, with a book
that will help her “disappear” into the book’s contents. Brontë often uses
the weather to mirror Jane’s mood and set the novel’s tone, as is evident
while reading words such as “mist,” “storm-beat shrubs,” “ceaseless rain,”
and “lamentable blast.” The use of diction aids Brontë in introducing
Jane’s character as a young girl whose life as her Aunt Reed’s ward is
filled with emotional abuse and neglect. The sad tone, revealed in the
words used to describe the weather and Jane’s surroundings, foreshadows
the events of the scary red room that shortly follow this seemingly quiet
reprieve from life.
State Standards: Students read and understand grade-appropriate literature, by 12th grade, students read 12 million
words on their own, write responses to literature, establish a controlling thesis and develop the ideas within the body of
an essay