Air Force Academy High School
English IV Literature and Composition
Mrs. Maynie
Email: tdeloney@cps.edu
Summer Assignment 2014
SUMMER READING DEADLINES AND EXPECTATIONS
In order to successfully complete your summer reading assignment for English Literature
& Composition, you must completely read two books and journal about each of them. This
assigment was designed for you to both enjoy your summer reading and to add some critical
works to your own personal bibliography. This information will also be listed on the school
website www.afahs.org and on my web page maynieenglish.wikispaces.com in the next couple
of weeks. If you have any questions email me or leave a message through my web page.
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Students will discuss and be tested over summer reading within the first week of school.
You will be graded and tested over your summer assignment, you are strongly encouraged
to annotate these texts (see attached annotation guidelines) so that you are better prepared
for exams, discussions, and writing assignments. Students will be expected to take a
comprehensive exam for a major grade over all or parts of the summer reading assignments.
The summer reading will also be the basis for essays and/or projects counting for additional
major grades.
ENGLISH IV (12TH) SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENTS
PART ONE
Please purchase *Grendel by John Gardner (ISBN 0679723110). You will need to read this
novel keeping the tenets of existentialism in mind. To learn the basic ideas behind this
philosophical movement, go to http://www.philosophytalk.org/pastShows/Existentialism.html.
Click on “listen online” and check out the listening notes. As you read Grendel, you may want to
identify items that “speak” to you or are interesting or unknown. You may want to look for
literary devices and make brief notes as you have a “dialogue” with the text. The annotation
guidelines provide numerous suggestions for further understanding as you read the text.
PART TWO
Please purchase *Othello by William Shakespeare (ISBN 978-0451526854). The Signet Classic
version contains an introduction and several useful commentaries to help with your annotation.
Please read these additional materials as well as the text of the play. Again, use your annotation
guidelines to help guide note taking as you have a “dialogue” with the text
* You can get these books from the library
Assessments:
These grades will greatly impact your success in Q1. Take this summer reading assignment
seriously.
Journals:
These journals are a great opportunity for you to share your reactions to the text. Think of these
journals, not as a formal analysis of the texts, but as a place for you to respond to things that
excite anger, depress or confuse you.
Use the journal as a place to free write about how you are feeling toward the books. I want to
know what parts of the book you like and what parts of the book you hate. The more you put
yourself into the journals, the better. These are not a formal paper, but please refrain from
AIM/text messaging language. Write formally, as you would for a journal during the school year.
An easy way to complete these journals is to mark up the text as you read. Look for important
quotes, ones that might be relevant to larger themes in the text. Then, journal about why you
think the quote is important, why the quote makes you think, why the quote makes you mad, etc.
Here are some prompts that you may wish to use:
 Discuss a decision that the narrator or main character makes. Do you agree or disagree
with the decision made? Why or why not?
 Discuss an idea or conflict that is presented in the book. Do you agree or disagree? Does
it apply to your own life? Why or why not?
 Respond to a character in the text. What do you admire or dislike about him/her? Why?
 Respond to the narrator. Is the narrator reliable? likeable? annoying? Why?
Directions:
1. As you read the books, you will journal about the reading. You must:
a. Journal 3 times for each book. DO NOT COMPLETE THESE ALL ON THE
SAME DAY or ON THE SAME PAGES FROM THE BOOK
i. You journals will be submitted to me through your CPS Google Drive.
Make sure that you SHARE it with me.
Assessments:
Journals:
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Requirement:
3 journal entries per book (MUST NOT
ALL COME FROM THE SAME PAGE!
2 paragraphs per journal
at least 7‐9 sentences per paragraph
1 piece of evidence per entry that supports
the ideas you are presenting
proper grammar and mechanics
TYPED
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Times New Roman,
12-point font,
APA format
clearly labeled
Typed
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Personal
Reflective Essay:
Due Date:
July 21st
August 21st
How It Affects Q1 Grades:
Each journal entry = 20 points
in the HW category
Total = 120 points of HW
(in order to receive credit,
you will need to meet all of
the stated requirements)
Reflective essay
September
Total = 175 points (in order to
2nd (1st day of receive credit, you will need
school)
to meet all of the stated
requirements)
NO CLIFF, SPARK, E NOTES, WIKIPEDIA etc. ARE EVER ACCEPTABLE SOURCES
OF INFORMATION in this class. USE THEM AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Essay:
Write a personal, reflective essay on all both of your English readings. Make it as thoughtful as
you can, relating your reading to other reading experiences you’ve had or courses that you’ve
taken. It should be vivid, specific, and convey a real sense of what this reading experience was
like for you (1st person is therefore appropriate). DO NOT RETELL THE STORY! The
reflection counts as a smaller paper grade. (750 words – 3 pages reflection)
Exam:
When you return to school in September, you will take an exam to test that you have read and
understood the books over the summer.
Assessments:
Exam:
Requirement:
45minute in class exam
Due Date:
4nd Day Back
How It Affects Q1 Grades:
50 points in the Major
Assessment category
ANNOTATION GUIDELINES
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Annotating allows you to have an active “dialogue” with a story. Reading is an active process. As you
read a text, you should have questions, predictions, and opinions about what you are reading. Annotating
also helps you navigate the book again when you need to prepare for tests, essays, and class discussions.
Annotating is a selective process. You do not want to mark everything because then nothing would stand
out. EVERYONE MUST ANNOTATE IN HIS OR HER OWN WAY, but to help you determine what
to mark, here are some suggestions:
BASIC ELEMENTS OF STYLE AND STRUCTURE
 Setting - make notes about the time, place, etc.
 Characters- make note of each character’s name the first time you see it. Also mark the
passages that describe the character’s:
 Physical appearance
 Motivations behind his/her actions
 Relationships to other characters
 Personality (especially changes in personality)
 Plot - events of rising action, climax, falling action and resolution
 Identify conflict types (Man vs. Man, Man vs. Self, Man vs. Nature, etc.)
 Make notes periodically at the tops of pages to help you remember
 Vocabulary-Look up words you do not understand. When you find a definition for the word, you
may want to write a synonym out to the side.
 Tone – Tone is the attitude implied in a literary work toward the subject and the audience. The
following figures of speech may help when identifying tone in literature.
 Metaphor -comparison between two otherwise unlike things (i.e. Love is a Rose, Life is
a Roller Coaster, All the World’s a stage, etc.)
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Simile –comparison of two things often using “like” or “as” (i.e. Brave as a lion, Fits
like a glove, Moves like a snail, etc.)
Diction – words with significant connotation (beyond the literal meaning)
Imagery – appeals to any one of the five senses (taste, touch, smell, sight, hearing)
Details – important and noteworthy facts
Language – the sound of the text (formal, informal, colloquial/particular
geographical location, etc.)
Syntax – basic sentence structure, punctuation, arrangement of words in a sentence,
etc.
Point of View - The way the events of a story are communicated from the author to
the reader. For further details look up the definitions for 1st, 2nd and 3rd person POV.
FOCUS ON QUOTES
Quotes can be any length, but try to be clear, concise, and focused in your selections. The following
suggestions may be helpful in identifying quotes:
 Important or Striking Passages
 Make note of quotes that you find interesting, or that “speak” to you in some way.
 Confusing Passages
 If you find yourself baffled, offended, or puzzled, you may want to write a question in
the margin to mark that passage/quote for clarification or discussion at a later time.
 Thought-Provoking Passages
 Look for passages that might provoke discussion about book.
 Make connections to movies, current issues, history, or other pieces of literature
 Look for commentary on issues of a social, emotional, ethical (moral), or spiritual nature
 Examination of human nature in general or how the book does or does not hold true today