HONORS ENGLISH I SUMMER WORK ASSIGNMENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS
General Instructions:
1. Each assignment is due on turnitin.com by midnight of the due date indicated. Instructions for setting up a
turnitin.com account and adding this course are listed on the back of this page.
2.
If you know that you will be unable to make a deadline, call or e-mail me at least three days before the
deadline. Otherwise, I will wonder what happened to your assignment and then assign a late penalty when it
does arrive.
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If you are struggling to understand something, please feel free to call or e-mail me with your questions. I am
always happy to help you but do not get into the habit of getting an explanation from me, Sparknotes, or a
classmate for each assignment. Try to figure out as much of the analysis as possible on your own.
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Each assignment consists of writing in a reading response notebook (explained below) and a writing assignment.
Type the assignment and upload it to turnitin.com. The reading response notebooks will be checked during the
first week of school.
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Works and due dates:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins due June 28.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card due July 26.
To Kill a Mocking bird by Harper Lee due August 30 (this is after school begins).
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How to reach me during the summer:
e-mail:
[email protected]
7. Assignments will be graded as promptly as possible with grades and corrections visible on turnitin.com two
weeks after the assignment due date.
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I am aware that some students will have already read at least one of these novels for pleasure and/or for class.
Rereading the novels they’ve already enjoyed will help them see more in the writing than they may have in
their first reading. With students coming from a wide variety of schools, it is difficult to avoid overlap without
assigning something that a 14-year-old may not be ready to read on his/her own.
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Please read the instructions for keeping the reading response journal and the assignments carefully.
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Each assignment details what will be graded for that assignment. Below is a list of general “do’s and don’t’s”
for the more analytic and less creative writing when I ask for that.
GENERAL WRITING INSTRUCTIONS
1.
Don’t use “I” even when an opinion is called for. You are the author of the essay therefore I know that this is your
opinion.
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Don’t speak directly to your audience by using the pronoun “you.” When a writer uses “you,” it sounds as though
he/she is instructing his/her audience on how to read and/or understand the work under discussion and is,
therefore, insulting to the reader.
3.
TYPE all of your work and use the correct heading in the upper left hand corner. Name on 1st line, course name on
the second line, and date on the third line.
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All essays should use the five paragraph format unless otherwise indicated.
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Don’t use words like “a lot” and “so.” You should have a better working vocabulary than that.
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Human beings require the use of the word “who” not the word “that,” as in “the girl who . . .” NOT “the girl that . .
.” Characters in a literary work, by the way, are human.
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Be aware of the proper use of commas.
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Use present tense verbs to discuss the events of a literary work. Every time a reader opens the novel the characters
are doing the actions of the novel, therefore it is the present in the novel at all times.
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Make sure you explain your thinking and support your ideas with solid evidence from the novel.
SUMMER ASSIGNMENTS
Reading Response Notebook:
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A reading response notebook is to be kept for each work read during the summer. The notebook may be
handwritten or typed.
After each reading each chapter, you should write down in the notebook notes concerning any or all of the following
things:
A. characters and their traits
B. plot developments including identifying the components of the plot such as
exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement.
C. elements of fiction such as irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism
D. significant quotes
E. figurative language such as metaphors, similes, and imagery
F. conflicts, complications of conflict, and resolution of conflict
G. settings
H. question which arise as you read
I. ideas and notes specifically for your essay
The notes for each chapter should be approximately one page type-written or one to two pages handwritten. Note
that it is NOT necessary to include each of these items for every chapter. They are merely suggestions of what you
might note.
It is a good, but not necessary, idea to leave space to go back and write in comments in your notes.
You may opt to highlight and annotate in the margins of your copy of the novel instead of keeping a notebook.
The notebooks will be collected to be checked on the first regular day of class (either August 15 or 16) except
for the last novel which will be collected on August 21 or 22 depending upon which day our class meets.
Assignment #1 – The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – due June 28
Writing Assignment: In novels, some characters are flat meaning they are underdeveloped and minor as far as the novel is
concerned, while other characters are round in that they are fully developed undergoing many changes and experiences
within the book. Choose ONE round character to examine in first person (writing from the point of view of this character).
Discuss the character in three different references: the beginning of the novel, the middle, and the end. Again you are
writing in “first person” so this is you as the character talking about yourself. This will be graded on how well you
demonstrate your understanding of the character whose voice you assume, how well what you write reflects and references
the events of the novel, and how well you voice, or sound like, the character in your writing.
Assignment #2 – Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card – due July 26
Writing Assignment: This novel is science fiction and considered one of the best science fiction novels written for
adolescents. Ender Wiggins is a six-year-old boy who has been specifically bred and trained to the save the world from the
“bugger” invasion. The circumstances of his life are all manipulated by adults working for the government. At the end of
the novel, Ender learns that things he thought were games were actually real and subsequently makes some decisions about
the remainder of his life. You are to choose one of the following characters – Colonel Graff, Major Anderson, or Mazer
Rackham -- and write a justification of the character’s manipulation of Ender from that character’s point of view. How did
he manipulate Ender? Why did he do it? How does he feel about what he’s done to Ender? This part of the assignment
should be no more than one to two pages typed, double-spaced. Additionally, research John Locke and Demosthenes to
learn who they were and what they each believed. Then choose to write about either John Locke and Peter’s assumption of
his name as his pseudonym or Demosthenes and Val’s assumption of his name as his pseudonym. Then write an essay
discussing who the person you researched was and believed, why you believe Val or Peter assumed this name, and any impact
the assumption of this pseudonym has on the character. This assignment will be graded on your ability to assume the voice of
the adult, your knowledge of the details of the manipulations and Val’s and Peter’s viewpoint, your use of the appropriate
language for each task, and the solidity and cogency of your arguments/explanations. This assignment is worth 100 points
(50 points for each part).
Assignment #3 –To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee --- due August 30
Writing Assignment: Use the story of “The Gray Ghost” to show how Harper Lee develops the theme “You never really
understand a man until you walk around in his shoes” (or “don’t judge a book by its cover”) throughout her novel, To Kill a
Mockingbird. Be sure to give examples of characters who are judged unfairly: Mr. Dolphus Raymond, Boo Radley, Mrs.
Dubose, etc. Does the novel effectively teach readers about respect, understanding, prejudice, hatred, and human
interaction? Please support your opinions and interpretation with specific examples and direct quotations from the book.
Since this essay is due after school begins, we will spend time in class discussing how to write a thesis statement, how to
structure this essay so that you’ll feel confident in revising the essay you will have already started, and how to properly
incorporate quotes from the novel into your essay. We will also discuss what I will be looking for in grading the essay. This is
your first “real” essay of the year and is worth 100 points.
USING TURNITIN.COM
Bishop Fenwick High School uses the website www.turnitin.com for the submission and grading of most written work. This
website is used for several reasons: 1) it has significantly reduced the incidents of plagiarism as it automatically checks
student submissions against a database of thousands of documents including student work submitted to the website during its
existence, 2) it eliminates the necessity of students printing papers thereby reducing our consumption of paper for school
uses, and 3) it has made grading easier in that teachers need only tote around a laptop rather than stacks and stacks of
papers.
To set up your student account, follow the steps below:
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Go to www.turnitin.com
Click on “create an account” which is in the upper right-hand corner of the home page beneath the box in which you
will later enter your e-mail address to sign in to the website.
On the next page, scroll down to “create a new account” and click on “student.”
On this page, you will enter the class id # -- 6188282 and the class enrollment password – ender.
Below that you will enter your personal information (first and last names and an e-mail address).
Below that you will create your password. It is important that you remember this password as well as the e-mail
address you use to create your account. You will be asked for this e-mail address and password whenever you go
onto the website to submit a paper or to view a graded paper.
You will also select a secret question and input an answer to the question, check that you are older than 13, and
submit your information.
Once you’ve done this, you have created your account.
To submit an assignment, follow the steps below:
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Go to www.turnitin.com
Enter the e-mail address you used to create your account and the password you created in the boxes on the upper
right-hand corner of the home page and click “sign in.”
3. When you sign in, your home page with the class Honors English I 2012-13 will appear. Click on the class name.
4. Then your assignment portfolio will appear. Click on the submit box for the assignment you are submitting.
5. The page for submitting your paper by upload will appear. Your name will already by in the boxes for submitting.
You will need to add a title for your submission.
6. Then at the bottom, there will be a box which has “browse for the file to upload” above it. Click on “browse” to
the right of this box and your list of files will appear. This is similar to attaching a file to an e-mail.
7. Scroll through your files to find the one you wish to submit; then click on the file; then click on “open” in your
browser window. The file name will appear in the submission box on turnitin.
8. Then click on “upload.” Your file will then be submitted. There is an additional step for final submission so DON”T
stop here.
9. The final step will show you a preview of your paper. Read at least the first few lines to be sure that this is the
correct file. If it isn’t, click on “return to the upload page” on the bottom right and restart the process. If it is the
correct file, click on the “submit” box.
10. At this point, the website will tell you whether your submission was successful. If it was, it will show the first page
of your submission as part of your “digital receipt.” You may want to print this page as a record of your submission.
11. When you then click on “go to portfolio,” the site will take you back to your portfolio page for the class and will
show your status for that assignment as “submission for this assignment is complete.”
To see a graded work, follow the steps below:
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Go to www.turnitin.com as before and sign in.
Click on the class on your home page to bring you to your portfolio as above.
Then click on “show details.”
When the paper has been graded and the grades are available for viewing, the column marked “grade mark” will
have the word “view” in it. Click on “view” and you paper with the marks I have made, the comments, and the
grade will come up in a browser window.