May 2014
Dear English Honors 1 students and parents:
Welcome to Lathrop High School’s English Honors Program. I hope you will find your experience in English
Honors both challenging and rewarding. This year we are going to be looking at the theme of “growing up”
from the perspective of several different cultures and time periods. To help prepare students for college
and the Advance Placement Test in English, we have a summer reading and writing requirement for all
AP/Honors students.
The summer reading requirement this year includes reading two books, The Chosen by Chaim Potok, is a
mandatory reading book for summer reading. Students will be allowed to choose their second book – either
The Circuit by Francisco Jiménez or Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals. The Chosen will be available
for checkout at Lathrop High School’s library during the month of May. You may want to purchase these
books instead of borrowing them from the LHS or Public Library so you can underline, highlight, or make
margin notes in them. Local used book stores are often a great place to purchase these books for a
reasonable price. (Sometimes they even give a discount if you let them know it is for an Honors English
class.)
The summer reading and writing assignments will be submitted to turnitin.com and are as follows:
One-Page Letter of Introduction:
Students are to write a one-page letter of introduction to Miss Freret. The letter should include
the following paragraphs: family and pets; interests, hobbies, and talents; feelings about education;
expectations of Lathrop High School. Due by June 13th
The Circuit OR Warriors Don’t Cry:
Students are to keep a reading log. The reading log guidelines are included in this packet. No late
reading logs will be accepted. You should have a minimum of 10 reading logs.
The Chosen:
Complete The Chosen changing characters assignments as directed on the attached handout.
Students may divide the remainder of their reading assignments in any order, however, assignments
must be turned in by the following deadlines: June 27, July 11, and July 25. For example, students
submit half of their reading logs by June 27, the remaining reading logs by July 11, and the character
assignment by July 25th. Another option would be to start with the character assignment by June 27
and continue with reading logs on July 11 th and 25th.
Please be sure to avoid plagiarizing or using someone else’s thoughts or ideas in your logs or on your guide.
Cutting and pasting from websites or other literature aids such as Spark notes or Cliff’s Notes is plagiarism.
If you have any questions this summer, email me or call at 1-209-481-0064
I hope you enjoy your summer and look forward to an exciting fall term with you.
Sincerely,
Miss Freret – [email protected]
English Teacher—Lathrop High School
Sample Reading Entry Log
From Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck (a book we will be reading)
Leonidas Sparticus
Miss Freret
English Honors 1
August 1, 20010
Of Mice & Men: Reading Log #1
Date: 7/20
Time: 9:30-11:00
Pages: 1-25
One of the most significant events that occurs in chapter one, is when the two main characters,
George and Lennie, discuss their dream of owning a ranch with a large amount of land and many animals.
Lennie enjoys listening to George describe his dream ranch and seems most exciting about “tending” the
rabbits. As George beings talking about the ranch, Lennie becomes excited and interrupts him several times
to add in more details. It is evident that George talks about this dream often. However, before George
explains the details of their ranch, he explains the difference between himself and Lennie and other migrant
farm workers. According to the narrator, as he says the following words, his “voice becomes deeper” and “he
repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before”:
‘Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t
belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake then go into town and blow their stake, and
the first thing you know they’re pounding in’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to
look ahead to…with us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a
damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar blowin’ in our jack just’ because we got no place to go. If
them other guys get in jail they can rot for anybody gives a damn.
But not us! An Why? Because…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you,
and that’s why…Go on now, George.!’ (Steinbeck 14).
In this passage, George explains the lonely lifestyle of migrant workers. He explains that since
migrant workers do not have their own land, or family, they usually waste their earnings on alcohol and other
cheap pleasures. In contrast, George and Lennie plan to save up their own money to purchase their own land
where they will be in charge. This dream is connected to the two men’s self-esteem and self-worth. While
Lennie takes a childlike pleasure in hearing about their dream, George reassures him of the fact that “we got
a future” and “we got somebody to talk to”. Both men desire to posses their own land where they do not have
to answer to anyone. Clearly Lennie and George have had this dream for quite some time. However, Lennie’s
mental disabilities have resulted in several incidents that have forced them to leave jobs; making this dream
less and less of a reality. I wonder what this dialogue foreshadows. Will their dream become a reality or will
something prevent them from attaining their farm?
The Chosen Changing Character Assignment
One of the ways authors communicate themes in their novels is through their characters, especially main
characters. The emotional, physical, mental, and/or spiritual changes that take place in these characters
often reveal a deeper meaning beyond the surface of their role in the story. To help uncover Chaim Potok’s
underlying messages, you will be tracking and analyzing the changes that occur to either Danny Saunders OR
Reuven Malter’s character throughout the novel.
Methods of characterization include:


What the characters says
What the character does


Shat the character thinks
What others say about a character
You MUST recreate the chart on your computer, and type your answers! You will be graded on neatness,
completeness, your choice of quotations, and most of all the depth of your quotation analysis.
Be sure that when you include quotations about “What others say about Danny/Reuven” that it is dialogue
from another character. Likewise, “What Danny/Reuven says” must be dialogue from Danny/Reuven, and
“What Danny/Reuven thinks” should be narration. Additionally, your analysis should clearly explain what is
going on in the quotation, and what it tells us about Danny/Reuven.
Here is an example from Ender’s Game, another novel we will be reading this year:
Beginning
(Chapters 1-5)
What others say about Ender:
Quotation and Page #
1.
“’...I watched the
vids of what he did
to the Stilson boy.
This is not a sweet
little kid you’re
bringing up here.’
‘That’s where you’re
mistaken. He’s even
sweeter that he
looks. But don’t
worry. We’ll purge
that in a -hurry.’”
(27-28)
Analysis of Quotation
(3-5 sentences explaining what this
quotation tells the reader about the
character)
1. In this quotation two unnamed
people/creatures are discussing Ender.
They have been watching vids or
“videos” of Ender’s life taken from the
monitor that was placed in the back of
his head. The first speaker refers to
an incident at school where the Stilson
boy and his gang begin taunting and
shoving Ender. Ender, unintentionally,
knocks Stilson out with one kick. This
shows, s the first speaker claims, that
Ender “is not a sweet little kid” and
that he can be violent and has
outstanding self-defense skills.
However, the second speaker’s response
tells the reader that there is more to
Ender’s character. Although he
defends himself in this instance, he is
not a ferocious fighter. In fact, he
cares deeply for others, especially his
sister. This is a quality that the
speakers feel is a weakness in his
character.
Analysis of Quotation
Beginning
(Book 1)
What others say about
Danny/Reuven :
Quotation and Page #
(3-5 sentences explaining what this quotation tells
the reader about the character)
2
1
What others say about
Danny/Reuven :
2
2
What Danny/Reuven says:
1
1
What Danny/Reuven says
2
2
What Danny/Reuven does:
1
1
What Danny/Reuven does:
2
2
What Danny/Reuven thinks:
1
1
What Danny/Reuven thinks:
2
2
Middle (Book 2)
Analysis of Quotation
(3-5 sentences explaining what this quotation tells
the reader about Danny/Reuven ’s character)
Quotation and Page #
What others say about
Danny/Reuven :
1
1
What others say about
Danny/Reuven :
2
2
What Danny/Reuven says:
1
1
What Danny/Reuven says:
2
2
What Danny/Reuven does:
1
1
What Danny/Reuven does:
2
2
What Danny/Reuven thinks:
1
1
What Danny/Reuven thinks:
2
2
Analysis of Quotation
Ending (Book 3)
Quotation and Page #
(3-5 sentences explaining what this quotation tells
the reader about Danny/Reuven ’s character)
What others say about
Danny/Reuven :
1
1
What others say about
Danny/Reuven :
2
2
What Danny/Reuven says:
1
1
What Danny/Reuven says:
2
2
What Danny/Reuven does:
1
1
What Danny/Reuven does:
2
2
What Danny/Reuven thinks:
1
1
What Danny/Reuven thinks:
2
2