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10th Grade Pre-AP/Honors English
Honors 10th Grade Honors/ Pre-AP Literature and Composition
Summer Assignment
Dear Incoming 10th Grade Pre-AP English Student and Parent or Guardian,
Statistics prove continued reading improves test scores and increases student success. With this in mind, 10th Grade PreAP requires a summer reading assignment for students. This assignment reflects the content and grade level and is
designed to give students the opportunity to develop skills that will enable them to be successful in courses in high school
and beyond.
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As a student entering the 10th grade Pre-AP English program, summer reading is an absolute must! I hope you
love words and language because this course is a lot about reading and understanding all of the different ideas and
perspectives that authors use and play with in their books.
Successful completion of each Pre-AP/AP course requires individual study time outside of class on a regular
basis.
Students will need to purchase supplemental materials for some of the Pre-AP assignments.
Next school year, we will be reading short stories, poetry, plays, and novels. Prepare to be busy!
Please understand that I require each to read the ACTUAL books – I do not want you to rely on Cliffs Notes, Spark Notes,
movies or any other internet source/condensed versions for this class. Besides, the books are MUCH, MUCH better and
way more gratifying.
*******There are 3 separate assignments required for this summer******
1) Summer Reading/ Socratic Seminar Questions/News Article
2) Poetry Out Loud Assignment
3) Rhetorical Device Assignment
Overview
Welcome to Honors 10th Grade Literature and Composition! The summer assignment is meant to
encourage students to begin thinking about other cultures and reading literature they might not otherwise
explore. There are several components to this project that must be completed BEFORE classes
commence in the fall.
Reading Requirements:
1. MANDATORY reading: William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Before the first day of school, you must have read
this text. There will be a comprehensive test over this text within the first two weeks of school.
2. SELECT one of the five following texts to read:
a. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men
b. Yann Martel’s Life of Pi
c. Toni Morrison’s Bluest Eye
d. Sindiwe Magona’s Mother to Mother
e. George Orwell’s Animal Farm
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3. ANNOTATE your text. Please give yourselves time to read the books in order to take thorough notes. Please
take notes on major literary devices and major points used IN the novels themselves.
Below are your note-taking guidelines:
1. Basic plot notes/summary for each chapter (10-15 sentences at the end of each chapter is fine)
2. Write a brief character study for each of the major characters of both texts, focusing on motivation, values,
development and function
3. Pull out four quotes (in EACH chapter) from the novel that are most significant to your understanding of
the books and include their page numbers. Explain the importance of each quote.
4. For each chapter: Underline/highlight & jot down major literary devices used throughout the novels (i.e.
imagery, foreshadowing, symbolism) and comment on their effect on character and/or theme
5. Jot down two global themes/universal themes present within each text. (These are not subjects like love or
death. These are the life lessons, social commentaries the books deal with or the reasons behind why the author
felt the book was worth writing)
This means that during that first week of class, I will be checking to see if you have: anything written in the
margins of your text (i.e., statements, questions, words), items circled, underlined, highlighted, etc.—you should
be interacting with the text at all times! While there is no one way to annotate a text, here is what I tend to use in
my texts (feel free to create your own system):
a. Circle symbols
b. Bracket off examples of motifs
c. Underline examples of themes
d. Squiggly-line major characters/descriptions
e. Write questions of comprehension in the margins
f. Write questions of further confusion at the end of each chapter that later will have my answers
g. Write brief summaries of my thoughts on what happened at the end of each chapter
h. Make notations of patterns seen
i. Highlight in 1 color important terms (definitions/explanations will be found at the top/bottom of the page)
j. Highlight in another color solid examples of figurative language and write brief explanations in the
margins next to it (i.e., similes, metaphors, personification, euphemism, foreshadowing, alliteration,
anaphora, etc.) You may not find examples of everything in every text.
k. Highlight in another color examples of rhetorical devices (i.e., allusions, foils, paradoxes, irony,
hyperboles, ethos, pathos, logos, allegories, parallelism, tone, etc.) You may not find examples of
everything in every text.
Regardless of your system, I should see several examples of each of the above findings.
Some examples of how to annotate can be found on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzrWOj0gWHU
(Shorter Version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf9CTJj9dCM (Longer Version)
6. COMPOSE five Socratic seminar questions based on the text using the format you will find at the end of this
packet, one question of each type: Close-Ended, Open-Ended, Literary Analysis, Universal Theme, and WorldConnection. You must also answer your own questions and provide at least 3 pieces of textual evidence for your
responses that uses MLA format. Questions should cover the breadth of the entire novel, from beginning to end.
Let me be clear that I expect you to do your own work on these questions and urge you not to test the boundaries
regarding my abilities to detect plagiarism or “collaboration”. Generally speaking, the consequences for cheating
in my class at this point in your academic career will be dire. Again, these will be due on Monday of the second
week of class.
News Article Requirement:
It is important that students are familiar with what is currently happening in the world as this will be useful when writing
argumentative essays, an essay format that is widely utilized throughout the rest of your high school career. Therefore
you will complete the following:
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1. COLLECT three news articles that can be connected to your chosen novel in some way. These articles must be
from reputable sites (CNN, NY Times, Chicago Times, newspapers from other countries). Do NOT try to use
FOXNEWS, Colbert Report, The Daily Show, or any pundit shows.
2. PRINT out a copy of the news articles and type a response to each one that includes the following information:
a. A summary of the events discussed in the article in your own words.
b. Make a connection to America, yourself, or how the events discussed could affect America.
c. What surprises you about the information in the article?
d. Make a connection to your chosen novel with a minimum of 2 textual examples and citations from both
readings. Follow the CEI Model (Claim, Evidence, Interpretation).
Poetry Out Loud Requirement:
1. SELECT one poem that can be connected to your chosen novel in some way. This poem must come from
www.poetryoutloud.org. You will be reciting this poem when you return to school.
a. The must be 15-20 LINES (if sentences)/ 20 (if just words); longer is better.
b. The maximum recitation time should be 3 to 4 minutes.
2. PRINT out a copy of the chosen poem and provide the following information:
a. Define any words you do not know.
b. TPCASTT the poem. If you need instructions on how to do so, please use the following links:
i. http://www.howcast.com/videos/359878-how-to-tpcastt-a-poem/
ii. http://www.storyboardthat.com/articles/education/english/poetry-analysis-tp-castt
iii. http://hs.hastings.k12.mn.us/sites/6e3486ea-9f8c-4b52-bae27be334b7418e/uploads/TPCASTT_with_Dreams.pdf
c. Provide a paragraph that makes a connection to your chosen novel with a minimum of 2 textual examples
and citations from both readings. Follow the CEI Model (Claim, Evidence, Interpretation)
3. PERFORM the poem for the class. You should:
a. Introduce yourself to the audience.
b. Identify the poem you are choosing by both (1) announcing the title and (2) the author.
c. Remember some elements of performing are important; however, the recitation of the poem is what the
contest emphasizes.
d. Overdone highly dramatic performances will often distract the audience and the judges from the poem.
For example, character voices and exaggerated gestures are usually not appropriate.
Rhetorical Devices Requirement
It is important that students are familiar with rhetorical devices which will be useful when analyzing and writing
argumentative essays. You should know 25 of the following rhetorical devices by the first week of school.
What is Rhetorical Devices?
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The word rhetoric refers to "the art of speaking or writing effectively." Device, according to Shakespeare, is
"anything fancifully conceived."
So a rhetorical device is a fancy turn of phrase--a use of language that creates a literary effect and, ideally,
prompts an emotional response.
Why are they useful?
 Rhetorical devices are useful. It is how something is said, not just what is said that leaves a lasting impression.
 Having a good idea or something significant to say is certainly important, but it is not enough.
 One must also get the message across to the intended recipient(s), and do it in such a way that both the message
and its importance are received and understood.
How do we see it in Literature?
 Why was Shakespeare such a master of writing? Mainly, because he had an excellent understanding of rhetorical
devices and used them artfully to express his ideas and insights
1. List of rhetorical devices can be found at the following website:
http://teacherweb.com/CA/SummervilleHighSchool/Willis/Rhetorica-Devices.pdf
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2. Examples of rhetorical devices/strategies:
a. Alliteration: repetition of initial or medial consonants in two or more adjacent words. EX: Peter Piper
picked a peck...
b. Anadiplosis: repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause. EX: The
crime was common; common be the pain.
c. Anaphora: repetition of the same word or groups of words at the beginning of phrases, clauses, or
sentences. EX: In books, I find the dead as if they were alive; in books I foresee things to come; in
books warlike affairs are set forth...
d. Anastrophe: inversion of the natural or usual word order. EX: Chocolate does not a diet make.
Needed Materials
1. Texts (Do NOT read these during the summer!)
a. Beowulf (Translated) for OCTOBER 1, 2015
b. Macbeth (No Fear Shakespeare) for SPRING 2016
c. Julius Caesar (No Fear Shakespeare) for SPRING 2016
2. One 1 ¼” 3-ring binder (or bigger)
3. Divider pages for binder (6-8)
4. Blue or Black ink pens
5. Highlighter
6. Notebook Paper
7. 1 Composition Notebook
8. Access to Computer
9. Access to Printer
10. Access to PowerPoint & Posters
11. Large pack of pocket protectors
12. Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus
Tips for Socratic Seminar Questions
1. CLOSE-ENDED QUESTION: A question which deals with matters of character, setting, and plot and which has
one correct answer that is stated explicitly in the text.
a. Example: What happened to Hester Prynne’s husband so that she was left alone in Boston without a
family?
2. OPEN-ENDED QUESTION: A question that is arguable, has no “correct” answer, lends itself to discussion and
debate, and whose answer requires textual support and proof as one interprets multiple meanings inherent in a
text.
a. Example: Why did Gene hesitate to reveal the truth about Finny’s accident that first day in the infirmary
after the mid-point of A Separate Peace?
3. LITERARY ANALYSIS QUESTION: A question dealing with HOW and WHY an author composes a literary
piece in terms of point of view, characterization, theme, archetypal hero-patterns, etc.
a. Example: Why is it important that the narrator of Invisible Man is left nameless?
b. Example: What is the theme of Invisible Man?
4. UNIVERSAL THEME/CORE QUESTION: A question which widens out the implications of “theme” as it might
apply to Question #3 in an attempt to make connections with universal experience.
a. So, while a literary analysis question in relationship to theme in Frankenstein might be: “What point is
Mary Shelley trying to make about the forces that made the Creature monstrous?” A Universal
Theme/Core Question that expands on that would be: Example: To what degree do the influences that
either Nature or Nurture have on our behavior excuse us from taking moral responsibility for how we feel
and act?
5. WORLD CONNECTION QUESTION: The “you” question that applies the thematic concerns of the work to the
reader’s real-life situation.
a. Example: After reading Night, if you were given only 24 hours to pack your most precious belongings in
a backpack and get ready to leave your hometown, what would you pack?