AICE Literature Summer Reading 2015-2016
Mrs. Sheffler
You will need to purchase one book for the summer reading.
1. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. Focus your summer efforts on this selection.
Assessment: Expect a reading knowledge exam within the first two weeks
of school.
Assignment 1: Select 10 sentences (or short series of sentences) that represent major themes,
characters, or plot developments. Try to select sentences from the beginning, the middle, and
the end of the novel. For each sentence, write the sentence out with the page number and then
explain why you think this sentence is significant in a short paragraph.
Assignment 2: Select 3 passages from the text which have a strong impact on you. The
passages you select may vary in length from a paragraph to several pages if you wish. You must
photocopy or retype the passages to include with your summer assignments.
• Choose one passage that demonstrates strong characterization.
• Choose one passage that highlights an important plot event.
• Choose at least one passage with striking language use.
For each passage write a 1-2 page response that identifies the literary elements in your selected
passage and comments on how the passage creates its forceful effect. Your analysis should
explain the elements and the intended impact on the reader. Literary elements include those
listed on the glossary of literary terms.
Check out this website for advice:
http://www.germanna.edu/tutor/handouts/english/literary_analysis.pdf
Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect. I just want to see where your analytical skills are right now, and I
want you to think about literary terms in context.
2. Glossary of Literary Terms.
• Study this list of terms (attached).
• Be ready for an identification exam on the terms and definitions. I intend to test the terms on
three different mini exams, each focused on a separate genre: poetry, prose, and drama. I
suggest that you think about which category each word would fit, given that some terms will
naturally apply to multiple genres.
3. Choose EITHER Ted Hughes or Wilfred Own and create an annotated anthology.
• Select 10 poems (all must be by the same poet). Print or type the poems out, one per page with
large margins.
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•
•
Annotate each poem. That is, make significant notes in the margins regarding the identification
of poetic devices, connections, your personal response to lines, questions, comments, whatever.
Fill the page with notes. Use whatever outside sources you want to use, but be sure you
document the source on the back of the poem annotation page. Volume matters here!
See if you can identify common elements between the author’s poems. Bullet list things the
poems have in common.
If you want to target your selections to poems we will be studying, check out the course syllabus
for the list of specific titles. http://www.cie.org.uk/images/164512-2016-2018-syllabus.pdf
So, be ready to turn in:
⃞ Ten sentences from The Namesake with explanations.
⃞ Three prose analysis responses for The Namesake, 1-2 pages each. Include a photocopy or typed
version of the passages you are analyzing.
⃞ Ten poetry annotations, by either Hughes or Owen, 1 page each. Bullet list of common elements.
Be ready for tests:
⃞ a basic reading test on The Namesake.
⃞ for literary terms knowledge tests divided by genre.
Need more to do? Get a jump start on some of our reading for the year:
 Selected Poems (Wordsworth Poetry Library), Wilfred Owen
 Songs of Ourselves The University of Cambridge International Examinations Anthology of Poetry
in English (ISBN 81-7596-248-8)
 Stories of Ourselves The University of Cambridge International Examinations Anthology of Stories
in English (ISBN 9780-521-727-914)
 New Selected Poems 1957-1994, Ted Hughes
 The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton
 The Dilemma of a Ghost and Anowa, Ama Ata Aidoo
 A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare
 Anthony and Cleopatra, William Shakespeare
 A Man for All Seasons, Robert Bolt
 Absurd Person Singular, Alan Ayckbourn
Please purchase a copy of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton for after Christmas. I’ll be using the
Barnes and Noble Edition if you want
to match page numbers.