Zachary High School
Honors Civics/Honors Free Enterprise
Summer Reading Assignment—2008/2009
Welcome to Honors Civics and Free Enterprise at Zachary High School for
2008-2009. Honors Civics and Honors Free Enterprise are each one semester
courses which are designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of American
government, politics, and the American economic system. Government and
economics are serious and often complex issues which tend to be far removed from
the thoughts of most sophomores; in reality, you are affected by the American
political and economic systems every day in ways that you probably take for
granted. Honors Civics and Honors Free Enterprise will, like all honors level and
AP courses, be challenging and will require hard work and concentration from each
of you on a consistent basis. A careful study of these courses will help you better
understand the country and state in which you live—and who knows, there might
even be some fun mixed in with all the hard work and effort.
We will discuss more specific information about the class when school begins
in August. For now, you will be asked to begin to think politically and economically
by completing a summer reading assignment for the course. You are asked to read
Inside the Carnival and complete the required assignments which are due on the
first day of class in August. Most of the content of Honors Civics deals with the role
of the United States government and all that goes with it. Only a small portion of
the course touches on state and local government—this is a sad fact given that we
happen to live in one of the more interesting states in the nation when it comes to
government and politics. Inside the Carnival has been chosen as your summer
reading because it provides a comprehensive look at Louisiana government and
politics. The book’s author, Dr. Wayne Parent, is a Political Science professor at
LSU and an expert on the topics of government and politics in Louisiana. As an
added bonus, Dr. Parent has agreed to come to ZHS and speak to the Honors Civics
classes about the book and about politics in Louisiana. This will be a unique event
and one which I hope that you will enjoy. The book may be purchased at area
bookstores (see the attached pages for more specific information) and may also be
purchased through various on-line sources. Used editions can usually be purchased
on-line for reduced prices. If you choose to purchase your book at one of the area
book stores (Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, Books Plus), be aware that they
may have to order it for you—don’t wait until the end of the summer!
Should you have any questions please feel free to contact me at any time
(chris.staggs@zacharyschools.org). Enjoy your summer (in between all of the
assignments that you have for this fall!), and I look forward to seeing you in August.
C. Staggs
Honors Civics/Free Enterprise-2008/2009
Summer Reading Assignment
Book: Inside the Carnival
Author: Wayne Parent
Publisher: LSU Press, 2004
Availability: The book may be purchased at Books-a-Million or Barnes and Noble
stores in Baton Rouge. It is also available via the internet from both of the previous
sources or from amazon.com, half.com and other sites. Also, Books Plus in Zachary
has been notified of the assignment along with the Zachary branch of the East
Baton Rouge Parish Library. The book is now available in both hardback and
paperback editions.
Assignment: Part I- Read the book and complete a combination book report/book
review (specific directions are attached). Assignment must be done in proper essay
form. Correct spelling and grammar are required as part of this assignment—you
must be able to communicate effectively in written form in order to be successful in
this course. Assignment must be typed—use Times New Roman style; font size must
be no smaller than 12 nor larger than 14. This assignment is worth 100 points.
Also, an objective quiz will be given on the reading during the first week of school
along with a scored discussion of the book and its issues. Part II-Complete a list of
questions that you would like to ask the author and which you would like to discuss
with the class (more detailed instructions are attached). This part of the assignment
is worth 40 points and is also due on the first day of class.
Due Date: Assignment is due on the first day of the 2008/2009 school year. Late
assignments will be accepted on the second day of school but will be penalized two
letter grades; NO assignments will be accepted after the second day of school—NO
EXCUSES! If you choose, you may email me the assignment at any point during
the summer. Use the following address: chris.staggs@zacharyschools.org . Be
certain that you keep a HARD COPY of your assignment on hand. If for some
reason I do not receive or can not access the assignment via your email, you will be
required to submit a hard copy on the first day of school just like all other students.
I will not accept cyberspace problems as an excuse!
Note: I encourage you to discuss the book and your thoughts about it with other
students in the course; however, make certain that your assignment reflects your
thoughts and your original work! Assignments that appear to be plagiarized will
receive a “0” out of 100 points.
HONORS CIVICS/FREE ENTERPRISE—SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT
Assignment
Part I.
Your assignment is to read Inside the Carnival by Wayne Parent and complete a
combination book report and book review. You should already be familiar with
what a book report is and how to properly prepare one. A book review is more of a
critique than a report. What you will create is a combination of the two.
Steps:
1. Read the book. As you read you should take notes on the contents of each
chapter (handwritten notes must be submitted with assignment in August)
2. If the book is yours you may want to highlight, make notes, or jot questions
in it as you read.
3. Prepare an essay which summarizes the content of the book and which also
reflects your thoughts about the book—interesting points, questions that the
book may have raised, things that struck you as particularly interesting or
unusual.
4. Prepare your essay in synopsis form. What does that mean? Your essay
should follow this format: a general introduction; a short synopsis of each
chapter of the book; a conclusion.
5. More detailed instructions for each part:
a. introduction—should include but not be limited to: information
about the author; author’s purpose in writing the book; brief
summary of the overall content of the book
b. chapter by chapter synopsis—summarize the general content of each
chapter (summarize—don’t rewrite the book—I’ve read it already!);
discuss your thoughts on the points raised in the chapter and include
any questions that the chapter might have raised in your mind; the
book has five chapters, therefore, you should have five separate parts
to this section of the assignment (you do not need to write a synopsis
for the preface, but you may find this part helpful for your
introduction)
c. conclusion—discuss your overall impression of the book; include a
discussion of things that you might have learned and points with
which you might have agreed or disagreed (this will likely be in your
chapter-by-chapter synopsis—if so, don’t just repeat yourself at
length); discuss whether or not the author accomplished his purpose
6. Attach your handwritten notes to the final copy and be prepared to submit
the assignment when you report to class on the first day of school.
Part II.
This should be a part of your assignment unto itself; do not include this in the text of
Part I.
Steps
Create a list of 8 questions per chapter that you would like to ask the author of the
book and which deal with topics that you would like to discuss with the class. These
should be serious, analytical questions (if you don’t know what that word means
then look it up—just as you should do for several of the words in the book itself that
you may not know!); questions should not be superficial or questions that the book
answers already. For example: do not ask, “How many times did Edwin Edwards
serve as governor?”—the book answers this already; a better, more analytical
question might be, “What characteristics do you think made Edwin Edwards so
popular with the citizens of Louisiana?” You should have a list of 40 questions (8
per chapter x 5 chapters) prepared to turn in as part of this assignment on the first
day of class. This part of your assignment must also be typed and should follow the
same font size and type instructions as part I.
Note for Parts I and II: You will notice that I have not placed a word limit (neither
maximum nor minimum) on this assignment. You should produce a piece of
QUALITY work. I expect that each part of the assignment will be of the necessary
length to properly accomplish the goal. I would like you to think critically and
deeply about the issues presented; a superficial effort will quite likely result in a
poor grade.
Reminder: must be typed; Times New Roman style; font size 12 or 14