Required Summer Reading with Assignments
American Humanities, 9
th
Grade
Mrs. Crawford
Integrated American History, English I, Critical Thinking and Study Skills
Required Summer Reading (3 fun, short novels):
The Magician's Nephew - Lewis
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Lewis
The Horse and his Boy - Lewis
Parents and Students READ THIS PLEASE: This assignment is broken into sections to help
you learn how to read closely for information and to use that information in creating a
well-developed persuasive essay. At first glance, these directions may seem like a lot
but they are really just guides to help you interact with the text as you read so you will
be well prepared to write! It is also a summer assignment to help your teacher get to
know your writing strengths.
Do not feel over-whelmed; on the contrary, feel like you have a partner walking through
this with you. Do your best but do not worry if you do not fully understand everything.
It will be graded on your effort so do show a great deal of effort! We will be working
through these ideas and developing this writing process further in our time together this
year! What feels like a lot of steps now should become more natural and much easier to
you as the year progresses! Since writing is best done with immediate feedback, please
discuss the ideas and your paper with your student/parents. The teacher is available by
email should you run into a complete roadblock but do allow plenty of response time
over the summer.
Before reading any books, read this entire assignment guide for specific explanations
and instructions. There are 4 parts to this assignment.
Background: The author once wrote of the character [Aslan]: ‘He is an invention giving
an imaginary answer to the question, “What might Christ become like if there really were
a world like Narnia, and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as
He actually has done in ours?”’
Guiding Question: If Aslan is meant to be an imaginative telling of how Christ might be
Required Summer Reading & Assignments
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“fleshed out” in Narnia, what does Aslan reveal about the nature of Christ?
Assignment - Part 1: For each of the novels, list two quotations, a citation for each
quote, and provide an explanation of 6-8 sentences that demonstrate the parallels
between Aslan and Christ.
The Magician’s Nephew – Lewis Quotation 1
“Provide a direct quotation from the text and place it correctly in quotation marks.”
(Title of book, chapter #, page #)
Explanation: Write a paragraph of 6-8 sentences that explain what the quote reveals
about Aslan as a character who displays the nature of Christ and include textual support
from the novel to build your argument.
Quotation 2
“Provide a direct quotation from the text and place it correctly in quotation marks.”
(Title of book, chapter #, page #)
Explanation: Write a paragraph of 6-8 sentences that explain what the quote reveals
about Aslan as a character who displays the nature of Christ and include textual support
from the novel to build your argument.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Lewis
Quotation 1
“Provide a direct quotation from the text and place it correctly in quotation marks.”
(Title of book, chapter #, page #)
Explanation: Write a paragraph of 6-8 sentences that explain what the quote reveals
about Aslan as a character who displays the nature of Christ and include textual support
from the novel to build your argument.
Quotation 2
“Provide a direct quotation from the text and place it correctly in quotation marks.”
(Title of book, chapter #, page #)
Explanation: Write a paragraph of 6-8 sentences that explain what the quote reveals
about Aslan as a character who displays the nature of Christ and include textual support
from the novel to build your argument.
The Horse and his Boy - Lewis
Quotation 1
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“Provide a direct quotation from the text and place it correctly in quotation marks.”
(Title of book, chapter #, page #)
Explanation: Write a paragraph of 6-8 sentences that explain what the quote reveals
about Aslan as a character who displays the nature of Christ and include textual support
from the novel to build your argument.
Quotation 2
“Provide a direct quotation from the text and place it correctly in quotation marks.”
(Title of book, chapter #, page #)
Explanation: Write a paragraph of 6-8 sentences that explain what the quote reveals
about Aslan as a character who displays the nature of Christ and include textual support
from the novel to build your argument.
Be sure to cite the book, chapter and page number for each quotation.
Assignment - Part 2: Create a thesis statement to demonstrate how Christian author C.
S. Lewis reveals the nature of Christ through the character of Aslan.
Assignment - Part 3: Create an outline for an essay that support and builds upon your
thesis statement.
Assignment - Part 4: Write an essay that answers the guiding question listed above: If
Aslan is meant to be an imaginative telling of how Christ might be “fleshed out” in
Narnia, what does Aslan reveal about the nature of Christ? Please use at least one quote
from each book in your essay.
All summer assignments are due prior to the first day of class and must be uploaded
to the eLearning Campus site. Students are welcome to email me, if they have
questions. [email protected]
Required Summer Reading & Assignments
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REV.5/1/14