For Students:
Summer Reading Theme:
“Heroes and Champions”
“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”
-
Harry S. Truman
Summer Reading Mission Statement
The intent of Advantage Academy’s required summer reading is to challenge students to become life-long readers and
learners by maintaining reading growth achieved during the school year, and encouraging them to read during noninstructional time.
Who has required reading?
All students entering 7th through 12th grades.
Why do I have to read during the summer?
Summer reading will prepare you for the school year by providing you the opportunity to continue to explore and expand
your study of literature during the summer.
What book do I have to read?
Entering 9th Grade - Ender’s Game - Orson Scott Card
Entering 10th Grade - A Separate Peace - John Knowles
Entering 11th Grade - The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Entering 12th Grade - Beowulf - translation by Seamus Heaney
Books may be checked out at your local library, purchased at retailers such as Half Price Books, Walmart, or through online
retailers (e.g., Amazon.com or Alibris.com), or read for free online. 1
How will my teacher know I read?
When you return to school in August, your teacher will collect the reading assignments and reading log you completed over
the summer. When you return to school you will also be completing an activity related to the book. Although the guided
reading questions are not required, your teacher may award extra credit for completion. You will also refer back to this
book throughout the year in ELAR.
1
http://briwall.edublogs.org/files/2013/11/Beowulf-Seamus-Heaney-27kjtq6.pdf
Twelfth Grade Summer Reading Instructions
Directions:
❏ Borrow from your local library, read for free online, or purchase the following required summer
reading text:
Beowulf by
Set in the harsh Puritan community of seventeenth-century Boston, this tale of an
adulterous entanglement that results in an illegitimate birth reveals Nathaniel
Hawthorne's concerns with the tension between the public and the private selves.
Publicly disgraced and ostracized, Hester Prynne draws on her inner strength and
certainty of spirit to emerge as the first true heroine of American fiction. Arthur
Dimmesdale, trapped by the rules of society, stands as a classic study of a self
divided.
- Goodread.com
❏ Use your answers to the Guided Reading Questions to help comprehend the text. While the questions
are designed to help you complete the reading and assignments, they are not mandatory.
❏ Complete a Summer Reading & Reflection Log, and have your parent or guardian initial your log each
week. The reading goal is a minimum of 10 minutes daily, for a minimum of 730 minutes total.
❏ Complete three reading activities. Be sure to choose an activity from each column, for a total of three
activities. Your reading activities should create a tic-tac-toe.
Twelfth Grade Summer Reading Assignments
Beowulf BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Three Main Battles in Three Main Sections:
❏ Beowulf and Grendel (lines 1 - 1250)
❏ Beowulf and Grendel’s Mother (lines 1251 - 2199)
❏ Beowulf and the Dragon (lines 2200 - 3182)
Important Characters:
❏ Beowulf, a Geat
❏ Hygelac, King of the Geats
❏ Hygd, Hygelac’s Queen
❏ Hrothgar, King of the Danes
❏ Wealhtheow, his Queen
❏ Wiglaf, a kinsman of Beowulf
❏ Grendel
❏ Grendel’s Mother
❏ a dragon
Central Conflicts:
❏ Battle at mead hall. What is significant about the light/dark imagery? Why is Grendel described as a descendent
of Cain? What rhetorical purpose does this serve? Why is the use of swords not successful? How does Beowulf
win this battle? What is significant about how he wins the battle?
❏ Battle in Grendel’s Mother’s lair. Discuss the imagery of the lair itself and the meaning implied. What is
significant about the creatures? What is the source of the strange light? What is significant about how Beowulf
wins this battle?
❏ Does Beowulf fell prepared for the final battle with the dragon? What is the poet’s rhetorical strategy at this
point?
❏ What is the significant about the behavior of Beowulf’s men during the final battle?
❏ What does the behavior of the men suggest about the future of the kingdom?
❏ How does the poet use the final scene to bridge the pagan world of a war torn society to Christianity?
Twelfth Grade Summer Reading Assignments
Instructions: Select one activity from each column. Circle the three reading assignments you have chosen to complete.
Include this page with your assignment when you return to school.
Column A:
Column B:
Column C:
(select one activity from this column)
(select one activity from this column)
(select one activity from this column)
READING JOURNAL/DIARY
DIALECTICAL JOURNAL2
Your reading journal/diary must be written as
if you are one of the major characters in the
novel. Your Journal/Diary must have at least
ten (10) entries. Each entry must:
Select eight (8 total) quotes that correspond to
development of setting, character, internal and
external conflict, and theme. For each quote, you
will explain how it is serving to develop
meaning in the text.
❏ two quotes on setting
❏ two quotes on character
❏ two quotes on internal/external
conflict
❏ two quotes on theme
❏
❏
2
3
be a minimum of two paragraphs
signify an important event that
occurred in the beginning of the
novel
THE FEAST at YOUR
RESTAURANT
POSTER/VIDEO
ADVERTISEMENT
Research medieval foods on the internet
and/or library in order to re-enact the feast at
Heorot in your restaurant. Include:
❏ Menu with detailed descriptions
❏ A “Yelp” or “FourSquare” entry of
at least three customers who have
dined at your restaurant and
experienced the menu.
You are the author of this book. You want to
sell it to a publisher. Create an advertisement
that would include all necessary information, as
well as an eye/ear catching slogan for the novel.
The work must be original. Do not use the
current front cover of the book as your
advertisement.
RESUME AND BUSINESS CARDS
Research the proper format of a resume; in this
case, a chronological resume might work best.
Then choose two (2) characters for whom you
will prepare typed one-page resumes. For
unknown information or for younger characters,
create reasonable entries based on your reading
(be creative).
Business cards should show: character’s name,
job title, address, phone number, email, and fax
number.
BOARD GAME/VIDEO GAME
Create a board game or video game for the book.
Create an instructional manual that describes in
detail the:
❏
❏
❏
rules of the game
character pieces
board game/video game setting
CHARACTER DEFENSE
BEOWULF BOAST3
CHILDREN’S BOOK
Pretend you are a character in the first part of
the book. As that character, defend your
actions. Why did you choose to make those
decisions? Make a two-sided chart. Select
five (5) occurrences in the novel and write
them on the left side of the chart. On the right
side of the chart, write a 3-5 sentence
explanation of your actions for each
occurrence.
Unlike in modern Western culture today, AngloSaxons expected people to boast, and show little
humility. Refer to lines 250-285, 407-426, 632638, and 2510-2515 in Beowulf for examples of
the formal Anglo-Saxon boast. Write your own
BOAST which follows the Anglo-Saxon poetry
format:
Turn your book into a children’s picture book.
Create a children’s story of your book that shows
the characters, plot setting, theme and
significance of the book. Pictures must be
original drawings. Remember your audience! A
young child should be able to read your
children’s book. Your book must:
❏ be at least ten (10) pages
❏ clearly represent your required
summer read
❏ have original pictures
❏ include a story with plot, setting,
theme, and significance
❏
❏
❏
❏
Four hard beats per line
No end-rhyme
A caesura in each mid-line
Heavy alliteration in each line
Instructions and templates on the next page.
From Peter Bobbe at Mountain Heritage High School in Burnsville, NC.
Twelfth Grade Dialectical Journal Instructions and Templates
What is a dialectical journal?
A dialectical journal is a way of opening up a dialogue with a text, by examining and responding. It is a way of
interacting with the text to build meaning in a literary work. For this journal, you will select quotations that
correspond to various literary elements of the book and write an analysis or explanation of each quote. You will
select quotes that correspond to development of setting, character, internal and external conflict, and theme. For
each quote, you will explain how it is serving to develop meaning in the text.
On your own paper, use the template below to design your dialectical journal entries. Remember each title (setting,
character, internal/external conflict, and theme) require two separate quotes.
SETTING
QUOTATION:
PAGE
#
or
LINE
#
CONTEXT:
EXPLANATION:
EXAMPLE 1: SETTING
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
❏ What does the quote tell us about the physical setting of the book?
(Consider geographical location, physical features, and climate)
❏ What does the quote tell us about the cultural aspects of setting?
(Consider the beliefs, values, lifestyles and traditions of the community)
❏ What does the quote tell us about the historical context of the book?
(Consider the time period in which the book is set, and what historical events are taking place.)
QUOTATION:
PAGE
#
or
LINE
#
“ [insert first quote here]”
#-#
“ [insert second quote here]”
#-#
CONTEXT:
When does this occur in the book? What
actions or events are taking place that relate
to this quote?
EXPLANATION:
How does the selected quote serve to develop
meaning in the text? What can be inferred by
both what the author has said, and how the author
has chosen to say it?
Twelfth Grade Dialectical Journal Instructions and Templates
GUIDING QUESTIONS AND EXAMPLE OF ENTRY:
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
❏ What does the quote tell you about the personality of the character?
❏ What does it indicate about any character changes that have taken place over course of the
story?
❏ What does the quote indicate about the character’s role in the story or position in society?
❏ What does the quote show about the character’s interactions with other characters?
CONTEXT:
EXPLANATION:
QUOTATION:
PAGE
#
or
LINE
#
When does this occur in the book? What
actions or events are taking place that
relate to this quote?
How does the selected quote serve to develop
meaning in the text? What can be inferred by both
what the author has said, and how the author has
chosen to say it?
“Grendel was the name of
this grim demon haunting
the marches, marauding
round the heath...Cain got
no good from committing
that murder”
Lines
102109
Grendel is from Cain's Clan. Cain
killed his brother, Abel, because
he was jealous and God cast him
into exile. From Cain's anger and
sorrow, came Grendel and other
vicious monsters.
Much like Cain, Grendel can't be aided by
other men because of the mark placed on
him by god, so he lives as an outcast. This
is a parallelism to Cain's story. Grendel is
like Cain because he is envious of the men
in Heorot. He just wants to be loved by
God like they are. Like Cain killing Abel,
Grendel kills all of the men because he is
jealous; he is resentful that God loves
them instead of Grendel.
Twelfth Grade Dialectical Journal Instructions and Templates
EXTERNAL CONFLICTS
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
❏ What does the quote say about outside forces or problems the main characters are facing?
❏ How would you characterize these conflicts? (Man vs. Man; Man vs. Nature; Man vs.
Society)
❏ What does the quote say about the characters’ response to these conflicts?
QUOTATION:
PAGE
#
or
LINE
#
CONTEXT:
When does this occur in the book? What
actions or events are taking place that
relate to this quote?
EXPLANATION:
How does the selected quote serve to develop
meaning in the text? What can be inferred by both
what the author has said, and how the author has
chosen to say it?
INTERNAL CONFLICTS
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
❏ What does the quote say about how the character views himself/herself?
❏ Are there any decisions with which the character is struggling? Why?
❏ What does the quote say about the emotional or mental state of the character?
QUOTATION:
PAGE
#
or
LINE
#
CONTEXT:
When does this occur in the book? What
actions or events are taking place that
relate to this quote?
EXPLANATION:
How does the selected quote serve to develop
meaning in the text? What can be inferred by both
what the author has said, and how the author has
chosen to say it?
Twelfth Grade Dialectical Journal Instructions and Templates
GUIDING QUESTIONS AND EXAMPLE OF ENTRY:
THEMATIC DEVELOPMENT
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
❏
❏
❏
❏
What big ideas or concepts might the quotation be introducing to the book?
What does the quote show that the characters have learned through the events in the book?
Does the quote imply a moral message?
What ideas might the author want the reader to take away from the reading?
CONTEXT:
EXPLANATION:
QUOTATION:
PAGE
#
or
LINE
#
When does this occur in the book? What
actions or events are taking place that
relate to this quote?
How does the selected quote serve to develop
meaning in the text? What can be inferred by both
what the author has said, and how the author has
chosen to say it?
“Behavior that’s admired
is the path to power
among people
everywhere.”
Line
2425
This is important in the poem
because Beowulf kills Grendel
and Grendel’s mother, the
“monsters”, which greatly
pleases all of his people
therefore they crown him king.
This is saying that behaving in a way
that pleases people and looks good
through other people’s eyes will lead
you to a place of high power. So if you
are an honorable person who doesn’t
get involved in things such as killing
your own kin or committing some
other unforgivable act, then you will
be seen as a worthy leader to your
people. This trait and fact of life is still
true today, all of our great leaders
and “rulers” have been looked up too
and admired and selected by the
people because of their honorable
lifestyles.
Twelfth Grade Dialectical Journal Template Blank
QUOTATION:
PAGE
#
or
LINE
#
CONTEXT:
EXPLANATION:
Twelfth Grade Summer Guided Reading Questions
1.
Beowulf is the oldest known English epic. What is an epic, and what are the characteristics of an epic? How many
of those characteristics are found in Beowulf?
2.
As the poem begins, what qualities of a good king emerge?
3.
List all the kings of the Danes from Shild to Hrothgar. What kind of kings were all these men?
4.
How did Shild get to Denmark and how did he become the first king?
5.
What are the signs of Hrothgar’s greatness? What does the hall Heorot represent? How does Hrothgar treat his
thanes? What is a thane?
6.
What are the first traits attributed to Grendel? When Grendel is introduced, what is the point of the Creation story?
How is Grendel linked to Adam and Eve’s children?
7.
How long has Herot been closed due to Grendel attacks?
8.
Characterize Grendel’s attitude toward violence. What are Grendel’s motives?
9.
What character traits of a king or warrior were admired by the Danes (also Anglo-Saxons). Which of these traits
does Beowulf possess?
10. What are Beowulf’s motives for sailing from Geatland to Denmark? Describe the voyage. What does Beowulf’s to
the coast guard’s challenge tell us about him? Why does the coast guard trust Beowulf? How many men come with
Beowulf?
11. According to Wulfgar, Beowulf deserves and interview with Hrothgar. Why?
12. What is Beowulf’s way of assuring credibility in Hrothgar’s eyes? Why does Beowulf pledge to fight Grendel
without weapons? What is his attitude towards the challenge? What does he mean by Fate?
13. Unferth’s taunt serves what purpose? How does it contrast with Hrothgar’s welcome? What is the point of
Beowulf’s long response? How does he finally silence Unferth? Is boasting heroic? What does Beowulf show to
be the source of his heroism? What is the connection between Beowulf’s father, Edgetho, and Hrothgar?
14. Is Beowulf’s refusal to use weapons with Grendel simply being boastful? Heroic? How does he defeat Grendel and
what happens to Grendel?
15. The battle ends quickly with Beowulf securing a trophy. What is it and what does he do with it? Does anyone die
in this encounter? Are his men’s weapons useful?
16. How does the Lay of Sigmund compliment Beowulf’s achievement? And Hrothgar’s reactions?
Twelfth Grade Summer Guided Reading Questions
17. How is Beowulf rewarded for his heroism?
18. The scop, the professional poet/tribe historian and musician, was vital to a tribe and also to the heroic tradition.
Two things sought by warriors were fame and a heroic death. How would the scop be an important part of these
goals? And since they did not believe in the eternal life of Heaven, in this pagan time, how would the scop give
them a kind of immortality?
19. How does the Finnsburg Lay add to Beowulf’s triumph and the idea of heroism? How is the concern for the past
and future generations woven into the idea of heroism?
20. Does Hrothgar blame Beowulf for the savage death of AEscher? He recounts that Grendel’s mother avenged her
kin. Is this justice? New outrage? What were her motives for entering Herot and killing?
21. What are the characteristics of Grendel’s and his mother’s dwelling? What are Beowulf’s motives for going after
Grendel’s mother? Is avenging a friend’s violent death heroic? Is slaying a sea monster heroic? Would these things
give a warrior fame and also immortality through a scop should he die?
22. What does Beowulf’s armor tell you about his character? How is the battle with Grendel’s mother different from
Beowulf’s battle with Grendel? Who wins and what are the trophies of this battle that he brings back to Hrothgar?
How does it prove that Grendel’s mother is dead?
23. According to Hrothgar in his farewell to Beowulf, what is the basis for peace in society, and what does he warn
Beowulf against if he is to be king of his people?
24. Upon his return home, Beowulf recounts his adventures. Which event does he stress and why?
25. After turning down the throne once, Beowulf becomes king. How long is his reign before the dragon strikes terror
into the countryside? Who awakens the dragon and what does he do and why?
26. How is the dragon’s vengeance commensurate with the thief’s crime? Compare the motives behind the two
activities.
27. How does Beowulf act when he hears about the dragon’s vengeance? Compare the Beowulf in old age to Hrothgar
when Beowulf went to Denmark as a young warrior.
28. Since Beowulf is accustomed to leading an army into battle, why doesn’t he lead one against the dragon?
29. Who is Wiglaf and what role does he play in this final battle? Who dies in this battle?
30. Beowulf begins and ends with a funeral. What point is the author trying to make about the role of death in the lives
of these warriors? Describe Beowulf’s funeral and any similarities to Christ’s death.
Twelfth Grade Summer Guided Reading Questions
31. What happened to the dragon’s treasure? What is built to represent Beowulf’s greatness?
32. Who becomes the new king, and what is the future for this country under his reign?
33. Discuss evidence of Beowulf’s loyalty to his king and queen and examine the attributes that make him a classic
hero.
Twelfth Grade Accommodated Reading Instructions and Assignment
The Sticky-Note Book Report
Instructions: While reading Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney, you will note your metacognition (your thinking) on
sticky notes. This technique will help you to develop study skills, and will also help with reading comprehension. By
recording your immediate thoughts and responses as you read, you will improve your reading focus and involvement in the
book.
Supplies Needed:
❏ Beowulf by Seamus Heaney (listen to part one, and part two)
❏ A pack of standard sized sticky notes (your choice of color)
❏ A blue or black ink pen (because pencils smudge)
❏ Several sheets of unlined 8½” X 11” paper (your choice of color)
Procedure:
❏ Read the 8 different “Responding to Literature” reading strategies (on the following page).
❏ Have a blue or black ink pen and blank sticky notes each time you read Ender’s Game by Orson Scott
Card.
❏ React to the entire book (beginning, middle and end) by writing on the sticky notes.
❏ Use ALL EIGHT of the “Responding to Literature” reading strategies in your written reaction.
❏ Use each strategy four times.
❏ Label each sticky note with the following:
➔ Date
➔ Page Number
➔ Type of Reading Strategy (P, Q, CS, C, E, TT, TS, TW)
❏ After you have completed reading the book, use the unlined 8½” X 11” paper to create a title page with
the name of the book, and author’s name.
❏ Place all sticky notes in order by chapter, starting with the title page.
❏ Label each chapter clearly at the top of each piece of paper.
Example:
Reading to Literature Reading Strategies P, Q, TT, TS, TW, C, CS, E
2016 SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT RUBRIC
SCORING
DOMAIN
EMERGING
DEVELOPING
PROFICIENT
ADVANCED
1
2
3
4
Limited textual evidence
(reasons, examples, quotes,
chapters and page numbers)
presented.
Adequate textual evidence
(reasons, examples, quotes,
chapters and page numbers)
relevant to the assignment
and the text.
Detailed textual evidence
(reasons, examples, quotes,
chapters and page numbers)
relevant to the assignment and
the text.
Evidence presented does
not connect assignment to
novel.
EVIDENCE
Student is able to
use evidence from
the text to inform
decisions in
creating and
completing the
activity.
ORGANIZATI
ON
Student’s ideas are
developed in a way
that conveys
purpose,
relationships,
and/or meaning.
Makes no reference to the
author, main character, or
conflict in the text.
Purpose is unclear or
absent.
Demonstrates little
understanding of the author,
main character, or conflict
in the text and its impact on
overall meaning.
Purpose is evident but not
consistently present
throughout the assignment.
Ideas are organized, but not
sufficiently developed or
logically sequenced.
Ideas are disorganized,
underdeveloped, or loosely
sequenced.
Demonstrates understanding
of the author, main
character or conflict in the
text and its impact on
overall meaning.
Purpose is presented clearly
through the assignment.
Ideas are sufficiently
developed and organized.
Few reflections are
supported with evidence
from student work.
Few reflections are
supported with evidence
from student work.
Most reflections are
supported with evidence
from student work.
Connections between theme
and the outside world are
unclear or absent.
Connections between theme
and the outside world are
unclear or absent.
Connects thematic ideas to
life, human nature, or
personal experience.
Provides minimal or
inadequate explanation of
process and decisionmaking used during
assignment.
Provides minimal or
inadequate explanation of
process and decisionmaking used during
assignment.
Thoroughly explains
process and decisionmaking, including skills
used during assignment.
Student Name: ____________________________________
Purpose is presented clearly
and consistently throughout
assignment and drives the
organization of the project.
Ideas are fully developed and
logically sequenced.
REFLECTION
Student is able to
examine and
interpret his or her
process in order to
gain new
understanding.
Demonstrates comprehensive
understanding of the author,
main character or conflict in
text and its impact on overall
meaning.
All reflections are supported
with evidence from student
work and examples from
experiences.
Makes specific and insightful
connections between thematic
ideas and life, human nature,
or personal experience.
Explains process and
decision-making, including
leadership skills used during
assignment, in a detailed and
insightful manner.