All students entering English 1 Honors, English 2 Honors, English 3 Honors, and English 4 will be given the opportunity to earn EXTRA CREDIT for a completed summer reading requirement.  Although it is not required, completing summer reading is a great way to start of the year with an “A”!  To complete the assignment students will select a novel from the “Florida Teens Read” list https://www.floridamediaed.org/florida-teens-read. These titles are available in libraries and bookstores, or you can read them online using SORA (Clever > Sora > Collections > Florida Teens Read). Titles from last year or this year are acceptable.

Please note that these novels represent various themes and some contain mature content. Review the selections with a parent or guardian before finalizing your selection

 

After you Read:  Respond to ONE of the prompts below. Do NOT just summarize what you’ve read.
Your response should be 200-250 words in length, typed. Please save an electronic copy. Your teacher will help you to submit your work when we return to class in August.

1. Write a “Journal Entry” from the perspective (POV) or one of the characters discussing the events of the book. Include details from the text. 
2. Write a “Newspaper” article about the events of the book. Include details from the text. Pictures and other details add a nice touch.
3. Choose a character from the novel, and discuss how the character changes or matures over course of the novel. How do they change the way they interact with other characters? What lessons do they learn? Include details from the text to support your response.
4. Discuss the problems (conflicts) the main characters face in the novel. How are they resolved? What does the resolution say about the author’s purpose in writing the novel? Include details from the text to support your response.
5. Create a graphic novel (comic / manga) portraying the most important scene or scenes in the novel. Include DIALOGUE and NARRATION. Stick figures are ok, but COLOR and NEATNESS are required (no pencil drawings scribbled on notebook paper). If you choose to go digital, save an electronic version of your work.

Plagiarism Policy: Plagiarism is the uncredited use, whether intentional or unintentional, of others’ words or ideas.
Do NOT copy online sources or submit another student’s work. Plagiarism will result on a ZERO and disciplinary consequences. 

 

Entering Pre-AICE English Language IGCSE (9^th grade honors English)

Students entering Pre-AICE Language will be given the opportunity to earn EXTRA CREDIT for a completed summer reading requirement.  Although it is not required, completing summer reading is a great way to start of the year with an “A”! 

 

Complete a close reading of the following novel and complete the following assignment:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls*

 

1.)        500 Word Essay

Write a 500+ word essay analyzing why this novel should be studied.  In addition, also discuss the author’s use of language and literary devices to illustrate one or more major themes in the novel.  Examples of literary devices include Alliteration, Metaphors, Descriptive Language, Personification, etc. 

Essay should be typed, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font.

Save an electronic copy of your work, your teacher will help you to submit it when we return to school in August.

*(Viewing the film is not an appropriate substitute for reading the book as there are many differences in plot and events)

 

Entering pre-AICE English Literature IGCSE (10^th grade honors English)

Students entering Pre-AICE Literature will be given the opportunity to earn EXTRA CREDIT for a completed summer reading requirement.  Although it is not required, completing summer reading is a great way to start of the year with an “A”! 

Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is set in Florida in the early Twentieth Century and is the story of Janie Crawford, a woman of mixed race. After reading the novel, and, using evidence from the text, answer the following two questions: How are men and women portrayed in the novel? To what extent does Janie conform to stereotypes about women and to what extent does she defy them?  Minimum word length: 600 words.

 

Note :

The assignment must be typed in 12-pt. Times New Roman and double-spaced with 1-inch margins and should follow all other MLA formatting and style rules. These can be found at owl.purdue.edu. 

 

Enjoy the book and have a great summer! 

 

 

Entering AICE General Paper (9^th or 10^th grade Cambridge / 10^th, 11^th, 12^th grade Honors option) 

AICE General Paper Summer Reading, 2023

Students in General Paper will read the following novel:

 

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (non-fiction) by Rebecca Skloot is both the moving story of a poor 31-year-old African-American cancer patient and the exciting story of her cells – the world’s first human cells to reproduce and survive indefinitely, spawning a multimillion-dollar industry. The account raises provocative questions regarding biological and legal issues as well as issues of race, class, and gender.

Using information from the text, discuss the issue of tissue collection. Make sure to address three of the following issues: (1) the right of ownership, (2) privacy, (3) consent, and (4) compensation. Minimum word length: 700 words.

 

 

Note:

 

The assignment must be typed in 12-pt. Times New Roman and double-spaced with 1-inch margins using MLA formatting and citations.

MLA format guidelines can be found at the Purdue University website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu

Enjoy the book and have a great summer!

 

 

Entering AICE Thinking Skills AS Level

Read A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, and write a fully developed, expository essay analyzing the method Holmes uses to investigate the crime. Also, be ready to take a short quiz on the story elements within the first week of class.

 

Entering AICE Thinking Skills A Level

Read The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, and construct a reasoned argument to support or challenge this claim ‘Sherlock Holmes is the hero that Victorian London needed, not the one it deserved.’ Comment critically on the text and at least one external source. Also, be ready to take a short quiz on the story elements within the first week of class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entering Dual Enrollment Composition I / II

 

Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) was one of the leading writers of science fiction of the twentieth century. His most popular novel Fahrenheit 451 was published in 1953. Here is a link to the novel https://www.humbleisd.net/cms/lib2/TX01001414/Centricity/Domain/6853/Fahrenheit%20451%20-%20Ray%20Bradbury%20-%201.pdf Or you can find a copy in your local library.

 

 

Fahrenheit 451 - Essay questions

 

Choose one of the following topics and write a five-paragraph essay using at least six examples from the novel (at least four of which need to be direct quotations) to prove your thesis.  There should be a clear thesis and topic with specific examples from the book.  You also need to explain your examples. It should be evident from your essay that you have read and understood the novel.  Any evidence of plagiarism will result in an automatic zero.   The essay will serve as your first grade of the upcoming year. This essay needs to be 800 words, Times New Roman, Size 12 Font, and needs to be printed off and turned in on the first day of school—No exceptions! Make sure to save your essay turn it in on Turnitin.com in the first week.

 

Essay options---choose one.

 

1. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 may be read as a parable about censorship. The author, for instance, responded with anger when correspondents criticized his Martian Chronicles for their portrayal of women and minorities. What does the book suggest about the consequences of censorship? Do you agree with Bradbury’s message? Is censorship always destructive, or are certain ideas, or ways of expressing those ideas, so harmful that society should be protected from them?

 

2. Analyze the character of Captain Beatty in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. He is a book burner, yet he has a broad and deep knowledge of books. To what extent do you believe that he himself is convinced by the arguments he presents to Montag? What underlying beliefs drive the actions of such a man? Did he want to die, as Montag believed? You will need to do some speculating but support your speculations with specific incidents and quotations from the novel.

 

3. To what extent is Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 a commentary on modern forms of entertainment? What is his view of the way in which people today spend their leisure time? Do you think his assessment would have changed had the novel been written fifty years later than its publication date of 1953?

 

 

 

Entering AICE English Language (10^th - 12^th grade Cambridge / Honors option)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is, in part, a murder mystery narrated by Christopher John Francis Boone. After reading the book, you are to expand on Christopher’s story now that the novel’s ended: First, choose a chapter number (and remember it must be a prime number). Then recount any new and original event (take him to the beach, or a chess match, or wherever you’d like) or single day in the life of 15-year-old Christopher as if he were narrating it -- in other words, mimic Christopher’s voice. The one departure you can make from the novel is that Christopher may be a teenager from St. Petersburg rather than an English boy; otherwise you must be true to Christopher’s character. Minimum word length: 600 words.

 

Note :

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me over the summer at rogowskil@pcsb.org.

 

The assignment must be typed in 12-pt. Times New Roman and double-spaced with 1-inch margins.

 

Enjoy the book and have a great summer! 

 

 

 

Entering AICE English Language A Level (Must have completed AS Level)

Please contact Ms. Edwards (edwardssa@pcsb.org) or Ms. Rogowski (rogowskil@pcsb.org) for information about readings and assignments if you are entering A Level English Language in the fall.

 

 

 

Entering AICE English Literature AS (11^th- 12^th grade)

For a full list of readings, information about A-Levels, or any other inquiries, contact Ms. Edwards (edwardssa@pcsb.org) or Dr. Rogowski (rogowskil@pcsb.org) www.cie.org.uk (9695 syllabus for 2024 exam).

Atonement (2001) by Ian McEwan [mature content- alternate assignment available]

Cambridge has assigned this text- we will study it in class, and it will appear on your AICE exam in the spring.

1. Read the novel. Write in your book. Take notes. You may wish to keep track of characters and make a timeline. Creating a family tree will help you to follow the narrative. Look up any words, names, locations, cultural issues, or historical events with which you are unfamiliar (esp. England’s involvement in World War II, London Blitz, Dunkirk, etc...). Do NOT spend time looking for online summaries or analyses of the book.** You may discuss the book with friends, but this is not a group task. “Shared” work will be treated as plagiarism.

 

** IF you are struggling to understand the events of Part One, the 2007 film version is a beautiful supplement. You may wish to watch the film first to help orient you to the world of the novel. HOWEVER, it cannot replace a close reading of the text, and it will NOT help you to complete the summer reading assignment OR any in-class activities**

2. As you read (and after you are finished) select five important passages from the novel. Choose passages that have had a strong impact on you as a reader. Select passages from the beginning, the middle, and the end of the novel. Each passage should comprise no more than one full page of the novel. These passages may represent major themes, character development, or other significant elements of the text. Bookmark each passage with post-its, tabs, etc. for quick reference.
3. For each of your five (5) selected passages type a short analytic paragraph (150-250 words).

Include the following in each paragraph:

• Identify the page or chapter number(s) and set up the context- What is happening in the novel when the passage takes place? A brief sentence or two should accomplish this purpose.  
• Explain why you think this passage is significant to the novel (major plot or character development, thematic significance, striking use of language, tone shift, etc.) Do not summarize the plot. Analyze WHY the author included this passage in the novel or WHY it stood out to you as a reader.
• Use details (quotes) from the text and cite page numbers.
• Type, label, and save your work in a Word document- you will upload electronically when we return to school in the fall.  
• DO NOT USE OUTSIDE SOURCES TO HELP YOU COMPLETE THIS TASK. Any plagiarism will result in a zero and possible removal from AICE Literature

 

4. Bring your notes and your book to class, and be prepared for QUIZZES, DISCUSSIONS, and a PROJECT by the second week of school.  

 

 

 

Entering AICE English Literature A Level (Must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in AS Level)

Beloved by Toni Morrison [mature content- alternate assignment available].
Cambridge has assigned this text- we will study it in class, and it will appear on your AICE exam in the spring.
We will read and discuss the novel during the fall semester, but you may want to pick up a copy and begin reading over the summer when you have free time. Write in your book. Take notes. Do NOT watch the movie.