May, 2015
Dear Families:
Research has shown how important it is for students to read and read often. The following points are from
Reading In and Out of Schools, a publication prepared by the Educational Testing Service for the US Department
of Education, and Patterns of Reading Practice, a publication of The Institute for Academic Excellence:
 The amount of reading that students do for school, and do out of school are both positively related to their
reading achievement.
 Students who reported discussing their reading had higher average reading achievements than students
who reported never having this opportunity.
 When ranked according to the amount of reading they do, students in the top 5 percent read 144 times
more than students in the bottom 5 percent.
 Students in private schools practice reading 67 percent more than public school students.
Because you have chosen Western as the institution to prepare your daughter for college, we take this
responsibility seriously. In an effort to help her become truly learned and to increase her standing among many
students with whom she will compete for college placement, Western’s English Department requires that she
continue to read and think over the summer. The reading selections for Summer 2015 are as follows:
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Your daughter will present her Summer Reading Assignments upon returning to school. Her marked copies of
each book and her reading response work will be collected for evaluation. Additionally, she should prepare to take
a reading comprehension assessment at the beginning of the school year. The assigned literature may be picked
up for free at Western High School or purchased at most local bookstores; Greetings and Readings and Barnes
and Noble are the best sources. There is a chance that we will address these works during Summer Bridge for
incoming freshmen, so it is to her benefit to have her copy of the works by that time.
Please ensure that your daughter has the summer reading texts as soon as possible so that reading and
response can be completed promptly. Because this preparatory assignment will be time-consuming, we
encourage students to begin no later than early July.
We hope that the summer vacation will be exciting, refreshing, and productive. We applaud your daughter’s
induction as a member of the Western family. Additionally, we appreciate your support of this summer reading
program, a must for students planning to attend college. You may call the school’s main line (410-396-7040), if
you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely yours,
Ms. Michelle White
Principal
Western Senior High School
Grade 9 English Summer Reading Assignment
Students should purchase copies of the works listed on the Freshman Letter and below, read them thoroughly,
and complete the written responses required for each title. Please place your assignments in a two-pocket
folder. Each student should submit their folders to English Instructors when school begins in August. Students
will complete a reading comprehension assessment that includes both novels on the first day of school.
Please make sure that you write the following (the MLA-formatted heading) in the upper left hand corner
of your assignments:
Name
Instructor’s Name (if that information has been mailed to you)
Class (either English I or English I Honors)
Date (Ex: 26 August 2015)
.
Title One: George Orwell’s Animal Farm
1. As you read, think about the novel’s conflicts – both external and internal conflicts. Underline significant
words and/or phrases that would help you understand and remember information about the conflict. DO
NOT USE HIGHLIGHTERS AS THEY WILL BLEED FROM ONE PAGE TO ANOTHER.
2. When you have finished reading, complete a conflict chart. Please see the model conflict chart provided.
If you have marked your book, this will be easy to do. Please TYPE your conflict chart; this of course
means that you will need to create your own boxes. To do so, click “Insert”, and then click “Table”.
Next, click “Insert Table”. You will need to create four (4) columns and six (6) rows.
Title Two: Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak
1. As you read, use one colored pencil to underline significant words and/or phrases that would help you
understand and remember information about Melinda, the main character: how she acts, what she says,
how she looks, what she thinks, what other characters say about her, and what the author may say about
her. Next, please use your annotated information to complete the “Making Inferences” handout for
Melinda – you will need it for your future class assignments. DO NOT USE HIGHLIGHTERS AS THEY
WILL BLEED FROM ONE PAGE TO ANOTHER.
2. Choose one (1) of the following options:
A. Next, compose a brief commentary (a three paragraph typed essay) in which you discuss how the author
uses the character of Melinda to illustrate the theme, or central idea, of the novel. In other words, which
point is the author making throughout the story, and how is the character helping the author make that
point? Use the methods of characterization from the character chart to assist you in discussing the
character.
OR
B. Discuss a time in which you felt isolated (“left out”) from your peers. What happened? Did you resolve the
issue? If so, then how did you resolve the issue? Please try to be as specific as possible – try to
incorporate imagery and dialogue in your work. Your narrative should be one and a half to two
TYPED pages in length. Remember that you are telling a story!
REMEMBER: PUT ALL OF YOUR WORK IN A TWO POCKET FOLDER and have it and the copies of
your novels with you when you report to school in August. It is ideal that you have your novels before
the start of the Summer Bridge Program, for we will review excerpts from the novels.
Conflict Chart Tips
Directions: In order to complete an effective conflict chart, please follow the
instructions below.
1. The conflict chart needs three (3) examples of EACH conflict and three (3) quotes
per category. Specifically, this means:
-- for person vs. person, you may include up to three (3) different person vs. person conflicts.
-- for person vs. nature, you may include up to three (3) different person vs. nature conflicts.
-- for person vs. society, you may include up to three (3) different person vs. society conflicts
-- for person vs. himself/herself, you may include up to three (3) different internal conflicts.
Note: For internal conflicts, be sure to identify specific emotions (i.e. respect vs. envy)
2. In the citations section, make sure to use the parts of the quotes that actually show
the specific conflicts that you plan to discuss.
2. In the “explanations” section, be sure to avoid summarizing and restating the
obvious. Instead, please make inferences! Discuss how the author uses literary
devices to develop the conflict; this means you must mention literary devices
(i.e. similes, metaphors, foreshadowing, symbolism, etc.) throughout your chart.
4. We strongly encourage students to compare and contrast the conflicts in this novel
to conflicts from other works. You may compare and contrast any work of
literature that you previously studied in your middle school English class. Afterall,
this is a part of analyzing literature! This portion of course goes in the “explanations”
section of the chart.
5. Always write in present tense (“Jack feels frustrated” instead of “Jack felt
frustrated”).
6. Proofread your chart before final submission!!! Write your name on your chart.
CONFLICT CHART
Title of Selection: Animal Farm
Author: George Orwell
EXTERNAL
CONFLICTS
TYPES
(Who? What?)
CITATIONS
(with page or line
numbers, etc.)
EXPLANATIONS
(How each works and its
tie to ideas.)
TYPES
(Who? What?)
CITATIONS
(with page or line
numbers, etc.)
EXPLANATIONS
(How each works and its tie to
ideas.)
PERSON VS PERSON
PERSON VS
NATURE
(natural elements or
occurrences, time, etc.)
PERSON VS
SOCIETY
(state/government
institutions; groups;
formal religions/law;
rules, mores, taboos,
conventions, codes,
etc.)
INTERNAL
CONFLICTS
PERSON VS
HIM/HERSELF
(desires/wants vs
responsibilities,
commitments, oaths,
etc.)
Name: ____________________________________
Date:____________________
Making Inferences
1. What does Melinda want? What are
her hopes/goals?
2. What are Melinda’s deepest fears?
Does she eventually overcome her
fears? If so, then how?
Melinda
Sordino
3. Does the character grow/change in
the course of the work? If so, then
please explain how the character
changed AND how the change(s) may
be related to the novel’s theme.
4. Based on the events in the novel,
what predictions might readers make
regarding the remainder of Melinda’s
high school years?