Summer Reading Assignment
Course:
Grade:
Teacher:
Email:
US History & Government
11
Mrs. Winck
kwinck@millerschool.org
United States History & Government Assignment:
Read: Myne Owne Ground: Race and Freedom on Virginia’s Eastern Shore by T.H. Breen and
Stephen Innes (ISBN: 9780195175370 )
The following two assignments are due no later than in class on the first day of school, August
28, 2013. These assignments will be graded. If you do not submit them in class on the first day
of classes, you will lose points on the following scale: 1 day late = 50% off, 2 days late = zero
points. These assignments are not busy work. Do not procrastinate on getting started on them. It is
far too much to complete in a day or two before school begins. If you don’t complete these
assignments, besides starting the year with terrible grades, you will be unprepared for major graded
assignments in the first week of class.
1. Read T.H. Breen and Stephen Innes’ Myne Owne Ground: Race and Freedom on Virginia’s
Eastern Shore (ISBN: 9780195175370 ). Compose an essay that answers the following
question:
Based on the evidence presented in the book, do you believe that racism predated (came
before) slavery in colonial Virginia? Or was slavery instituted as a system first, and racist ideas
came about afterwards as way to justify slavery?
Essays should be 750 words, double spaced, in 12 pt Times New Roman font. In your
answer you must cite specific quotations and instances from the book to support your
interpretation. You are reminded that any quotations from any outside sources (including Internet
sources) without citation is plagiarism and is a direct violation of the honor code. The only source
needed for this paper is the book itself. You should cite any information from the book using the
guidelines in the Writing Manual available on the Miller website. You may email the essay to me at
kwinck@millerschool.org when it is complete, or give me a hard copy in class. It is due by the first
day of school. Electronic copies are greatly preferred.
2. Online Tutorials on Blog Use, Note Taking, and Google Docs
This assignment requires you to read the instructions on the class blog and to complete brief
activities to show you have read and understood these pages. Go to the blog
(http://millerushistory.wordpress.com) read the following pages, and complete the following
assignments in order:
- “Blog Rules and Usage”
Read through this page to learn the blog rules and how to create a
Wordpress account. When you have successfully created an account and
read through the page, log in with your new account and leave a reply on
the page according to the instructions.
- “Note Taking”
Under the “Course Documents” tab at the top of the page, click on the
page titled “Note Taking.” After you read through the document,
complete and submit the quiz at the bottom of the page.
- “Google Docs Tutorial”
Click on the link to go to the Google Docs tutorial page. Read through the
entire tutorial, completing the tasks as you go. I will know that you have completed the
tutorial when you successfully share your folder and
document with me. New
students will complete this assignment in the first week of school, once they have
received their Miller email accounts.
Your answers are due on the first day of class.