HonorsEnglish11SummerAssignment
Ms.H.B.Lindsay[email protected]
Instagram:@Englishhooray
GoogleClassroomCode:qir99nf
Hithere,awesomeperson!WelcometoHonorsEnglishIV.Thanksforhavingthegutstoshowupand
takethiscoursewithme.IhopeitisclearbynowthatI’mreallyexcitedtogettoknowyouandto
learnwithyou.I’vebeenthinkingalotaboutwhatmakeslifemeaningfulandwhatpushesus,as
humans.Thissummerwe’llbethinkingaboutseeking.Inwhatwaysdopeopleseek,whatarethe
repercussionsofseeking,whatarethegreatestaidsandhindrancesalongtheway?Mostimportantly,
andmostinterestingtome:Whatareyoupersonallyseeking?
I’mlookingforwardtospendingthenexttwoyearstogether!HBL
TheBooksYou’llRead:
o

Youwillreadthesetwonovels:
o

IntotheWildbyJonKrakauer
o

SiddharthabyHermanHesse
o

Foryourthirdtext,youhavesomechoices:
o

Walden,byThoreau
o

TheRoad,byMcCarthy
o

ARaisinintheSunbyHansberry(readitaswellasviewtheSidneyPoitierversion)
o

Steppenwolf,byHesse
o

Mindset,byDweck
o

BridgeofSanLuisRey,byWilder
o

DaringGreatly,byBrown
o

FrannyandZooey,bySalinger
o

DavidandGoliathOROutliers,byGladwell
o

HardwiringHappiness,byHanson
TheWork:
ByMay20thyoumustsendmealetterviaGoogleClassroomandintroduceyourself.
Thisservestwopurposes:wemakesureyoucanaccessanduseGoogleClassroomtosendin
yourassignmentsANDIgettoknowalittlebitaboutyou.That'sthebestpart.=)
Requirements:Atleast250wordslong.FollowallconventionsoftheEnglishlanguage,butyou
don’thavetobeformal.Thisisyourchancetointroduceyourselfandforustogettoknoweach
other.Rememberthatinletters,itispolitetoasksincerequestionsoftheotherperson.
Iwillwriteyouback,sopleaseincludeanemailaddressyouactuallyuseinyourletter.Ifyou
preferareallettersenttoyourhouse,includeyouraddress!
ByJuly31
st
at11:59pm:
OnGoogleclassroom,you’llposttwodialecticaljournalsforeachofthetextsyouread.The
easiestwaytodothisistopostyourjournalsasyoureadandasyoucomeacrosspassagesthat
speaktoyou.
Bythefirstdayofschool,youmusthaveallthreebooksread.
WewillhaveaSocraticSeminaroverEACHbookduringthefirstweekofschool.ASocratic
Seminarisastructureddiscussionanditwillcountasatestgrade.Yourlifewillbeinfinitely
easierifyouannotateortakegoodnotesasyouread.Youmustparticipatetogetpointsand
partofthediscussionwillrequirethatyoumakespecifictextreferences.Payattentionto
questionsyouhave,placeswhereyoudisagreewiththeauthors,andyouropinionsofheror
hisideas.Bringyourbookstotheseseminars.
Onthefirstdayofschool,youmustturninyoursummativesummerproject.
Ineedtohaveitinmypossessionatthebeginningofclass,somakesureallofyourtech
issuesareresolvedbeforethefirstdayofschool.Pleaseprintanyessays.
Summer‐tivePiece(Getit?Likesummative...exceptsummer...becauseit’sforsummerbreak?
Hahahahhahaha.Oi.It’sbeenalongyear.)
NoticethatI’mcallingthisapieceandnotanessay.It’suptoyouhowyouwanttodothis.An
essayisfine.Butmaybeyouwanttocreateaseriesofcollageswithexplanations.Maybeyou
wanttocreateaseriesofyoutubevlogs.MaybeyoucreateaGoogleSlidespresentation.
Maybeit’skindoflikeascrapbook.Maybeyoucomposeasongforeachpartofthis.I’dbe
totallyhappywithanessay,Ipromise.Butifyoufeelinspiredtocommunicateyourlearningin
adifferentway,DOIT!!Takesomeboldchances.Thesummerworkisgoingtobe40%ofyour
firstquartergrade(webalanceouttheworkfromthesummerbytakingiteasyonweekends
untilafterhomecomingbecauseIknowyouwillbebusyatNHSworkshops,fallsportsevents,
band,andhelpingyourparentsrakeleaves).
Nomatterwhatyoudecidetodo,Iexpecttoseequotesfromallthreetextsassupportsand
probablyalsosomeparaphrasesfromthetexts.AllparaphrasesandquotesmusthaveMLA
citationsandyoumustincludeanMLAstyleworkscitedpageattheendofyoursummertive
piece.Thesectionaboutyourownseekingdoesnotrequireanyoutsidereferencesbecauseit’s
allaboutyou.Ihesitatetogiveaspecificlengthrequirement.Thatsaid,Idoubtyouwouldbe
abletosufficientlycoveralloftheseideasinfewerthanthreepages.Ifyouarewritinganessay
andit’sapproachingtenpages,youmaybegettingalittletoowordy.Thisdoesnothavetobea
typical,formalessay.
Inthesummer‐tivepiece,youwillconsiderallthreebooksthatyoureadandanswerthe
followingquestions,structuredintheseways:
Introduction:
Whatdidyounoticeoverallasyouexploredseekersthissummer?Here’swhereyousetup
yourover‐archingunderstandingsthatyougainedasaresultofyoursummerreading.
BodyParagraphorSubheadingorPartOne:
Inwhatwaysdopeopleseek?What’sthedifferencebetweensomeonewhoisaseekerand
someonewhoisjustlivingtheirlife?
Thispartshouldmakedirectreferencestothetextsyoustudiedthissummer.I’mexpecting
youtointegratequoteswithMLAcitationsintoyourwork.
BodyParagraphorSubheadingorPartTwo:
Whatarethegreatestaidsandhindrancesalongtheway?Thispartshouldmakedirect
referencestothetextsyoustudiedthissummer.I’mexpectingyoutointegratequoteswith
MLAcitationsintoyourwork.
BodyParagraphorSubheadingorPartThree:
Whataretherepercussionsofseeking?Thinkofseekingassomethingthathasarippleeffect.
Whataretheripples,positiveornegative?Whodotheytouch?Howfardotheyreach?This
partshouldmakedirectreferencestothetextsyoustudiedthissummer.I’mexpectingyouto
integratequoteswithMLAcitationsintoyourwork.
BodyParagraphorSubheadingorPartFour:
Youdonotneedtomaintainanacademicvoicehere.Youalsodonotneedtomakereferences
toyoursummerreadingbooks.Thisiswhereyououghttogetpersonal,whichsometimesalso
meansalittlemorecasualandcreative.Whatareyoupersonallyseekinginyourliferightnow?
Inyourlearning?Whatareyoulookingforandwhatareyoudoingasyougoabouttryingto
findit?Whatisthisexperiencelikeforyou?Whathelpdoyoufeellikeyouhaveasyousearch?
Whatdoyoustillfeellikeyouneed?Whatconcernsdoyouhave?
Conclusion:
Okaysoyou’reabouttoembarkonthesecondhalfofyourhighschoolcareer.Youhavealotof
timetoseekandexploreandthenyou’regoingtobeuntetheredandunleashedoutintothe
RealWorldtomakeyourmark.Whenyouthinkaboutallthestuffyoureadthissummerand
thepersonalreflectionyoudidinpartfourofthisessay,whataresomeofthebigtakeaways
thatarerattlingaroundinsideofyou?Doyouhavelingeringquestions?Fears?Areyou
excited?Hasanythingchangedorawakenedinyouafterreadingallofthis?Theconclusionis
yourchancetoshowmewhereyouarenow,whatconnectionsyouhaveseenbetweenthings.
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
Tipsforsuccess:
You’llhearmesaythisallthetimenextyear:annotateyourtexts!!Thatmeanstake
notesinthemarginsorinanotebookasyouread.Goodnotesaren’tjustsummariesand
underlining.Goodnotesincludequestionsyouhave,connectionsyousee,andguessesabout
whatmighthavedeepermeaningandwhatthosedeepermeaningsmaybe.They’renotes,so
it’sanicelow‐pressurethingbecauseyoudon’thavetohaveanyanswers.Youcanwritein
yourbooks(ifyoubuy‘em)orinaseparatejournal.Findamethodthatworksforyou.
I’dkeepanotebookasyourlittlefriendandcompanionasyouread.Nameit,ifyou
want.Youcanusethisduringnextschoolyear,too(infact,you’llberequiredtohaveone,so
youmightaswellstartearly).Itshouldbesomethingyouwanttocarryaround—a
comfortablesizeandaestheticcover.Youcanjotdownideas,questions,andnotesthere.If
youareamorevisualperson,takevisualnotes!
BringyournotebooktoourSocraticSeminarsthatfirstweekofschool!
Ifyou’reconfused,don’tjustsitthereandstressout!Dosomethingproactive!That
doesn’tmeanventonFacebook/Instagram.Openupanemailandshootmeaquestion.I
promiseIwon’tthinkyou’redumb.
Trytoconnecttowhatyou’rereading.Maybeyou’veneverlivedinthefutureor
burnedbooksforaliving,buttheseareclassicnovelsbecausesomethingaboutthemresonates
withpeopleforoverhalfacentury.Youdon’thavetolikethenovels(Imean,ifyoudo,that’s
great),buttrytoactivateyourempathy.
Takecareofyourself.Don’tsetyourselfupsothisisstressfuloroverwhelming.Make
sureyouarebuildingintimeforpersonalenjoymentthissummer
Therewillbeformalwritingassignmentsoverthesetextsaswell,butIwouldprefer
thatweworkonthoseduringclassratherthanyourushingthroughthemworkingdiligently
onthemonyourownoverthesummer.
WatchgoodT.V.It’sactuallygoodpracticeinliteraryanalysis.Therearesome
incredible,artistic,thoughtprovokingshowsoutthere.Samegoeswithmovies!Andifyou
findsomethinggreat,sharethemwithus!Compellingstoriesarenotlimitedtonovels.