Dear Parents/Guardians:
This summer, St. Augustine High School is focusing on keeping our students engaged. Our
summer reading assignments are designed to help increase student learning as well prepare
them for college and beyond. Because reading is crucial to academic achievement, students are
encouraged to read many books over the summer months. Each student is required to read all
assigned summer readings. We have adopted and developed follow-up procedures that will
be implemented across the curriculum.
Summer assignments should be completed before school begins August 8, 2016. Any work associated
with an assignment should be printed and brought to school on the first day of class.
At your service,
Mr. Goodwin
Grade Level
Summer Reading Assignments
7th Grade
Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Game
Thomas, Piri. Down These Mean Streets
8th Grade
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Wright, Richard. Black Boy
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit
9th Grade
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford
Alas Babylon, Pat Frank
10th Grade
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
The Works of Saint Augustine, “Revisions”, St. Augustine of Hippo
The Survivors Club, Ben Sherwood
11th Grade
On Free Choice of the Will, St. Augustine of Hippo
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Ernest Gaines
Long Day's Journey into Night, Eugene O'Neill
12th Grade
The Stranger, A. Camus
The City of God, St. Augustine of Hippo
Unbroken, L Hillenbrand
A Thousand Splendid Suns, K Hosseini
• The Directions and the scoring rubric will be on the website May
2, 2016. All students will have to annotate each one of the
books that they are assigned to read.
St. Augustine High School -- Summer Reading Assignment
Objective:
The objective of our summer reading assignment is keep all of our students in tune with all
educational practices that is required of them to become a successful student in college and
beyond.
What to Do:
Students will need to read all assigned books and annotate each one before the first day of
school August 8, 2016. Please pay attention to all examples and the rubric. We recommend
that students give themselves plenty of time – at least a week for most students – to read and
annotate their books so they are prepared for a successful beginning to the new school year.
“Just as rigor does not reside in the barbell but in the act of lifting it, rigor in
reading is not an attribute of a text but rather a reader’s behavior – engaged,
observant, responsive, questioning, analytical. These close reading strategies
are a means by which you engage with text and they offer you a chance to
hone your critical reading habits.”
Kylene Beers, Notice and Note
The Assignment: Annotating Your Book
For your summer reading assignment, you will annotate your book as you read. Annotation
encourages close reading and keeps students engaged in a text by having them record their
thoughts during the reading process. To annotate a text, write meaningful questions,
comments, and observations on the annotation sheets provided. These annotations will be
submitted to your English teacher as a 100-point grade. If you prefer to type your
annotations rather than write them by hand and save them all in a single word document,
that is acceptable. Use the example below as a model for completing your annotation sheets:
Page
Quotation from Book:
Number:
39
Annotation
Number:
1
“Say, you sure was right about him. Maybe he ain’t bright, but I never see such a worker… There ain’t
Annotation:
Characterization of Lenny; he is not in the scene
You must include the quotation and page number to which each annotation is referring. If you
are annotating a large passage, record the most important sentence or two from that
passage. Be sure to spread your annotations out evenly across the entire book.
As you read your text, consider all of the ways that you can connect with what you are
reading. Don’t overuse the same type of annotation. Instead, use a variety of approaches to
record your reactions to your book. Here are some suggestions that will help you with your
annotations:
▪
▪
Offer an analysis or interpretation of what is happening in the text.
Point out and discuss literary techniques the author is using.
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Explain the effects of syntax, method, figurative language and other techniques on the
text.
Ask specific questions about what you don’t understand.
Make connections to other parts of the book.
Make connections to other texts you have read or to things you have seen, including
movies, comic books/graphic novels, news events, other books, stories, plays, songs,
or poems
Paraphrase or summarize a particularly difficult or meaningful passage or moment
from the text.
Make connections to your own life experiences.
Describe a new perspective you may have now.
Explain the historical context or traditions/social customs that are used in the
passage.
Examples of Good Annotations
Note: You are not expected
to write this many
annotations per page. These
examples are just meant to
show you a variety of things
you might record in your
annotations. See the rubric
for number of annotations
Inadequate
Annotations
(Annotations
Like These
Will
NOT
ACCEPTABLE
ANNOTATION
Summer Reading Annotations Rubric
Unsatisfact
ory
(F)
Quality Annotations
of
are random
Annotati
and show
ons
little to
“NO”
understandi
ng of the
novel.
Thoroug
hness of
Annotati
ons
Less than <
20
annotations
Variety Annotations
of
only ask
Annotati
brief
ons
questions
or only
have oneword
comments.
Needs
Improveme
nt
(D)
Annotations
are random
and show
little
understandi
ng of the
novel.
Less than <
30
annotations
Annotations
only ask
brief
questions or
only have
one-word
comments.
Developing
(C)
Accomplished
(B)
Exemplary
(A)
Annotations are
mostly at the
surface level.
The
commentary
shows some
deeper thought
but not
throughout the
text.
Annotations
demonstrate
some analysis
and
interpretation –
thinking
somewhat
beyond the
surface level of
the text.
Attempts at
making
connections.
Annotations
demonstrate
analysis and
interpretation –
thinking beyond
the surface
level of the
text.
Thoughtful
connections
made to other
texts, or other
events
throughout the
novel.
At least >30
annotations
At least > 40
annotations
At least >50
annotations
Annotations
contain a
mixture of brief
questions,
comments, and
observations.
Annotations
contain a
mixture of
reasonable
questions,
observations,
comments and
reflections.
Annotations
contain a
thorough
mixture of
significant
questions,
observations,
comments, and
reflections.
Summer Reading Annotations (Record Your Annotations along with the Page
Number from Your Book) Each student is responsible for making all additional copies
of this sheet.
Name: ______________________________________________________
Title of Book:_________________________________________________
Page
Number:
Page
Number:
Page
Number:
Page
Number:
Page
Number:
Page
Number:
Page
Number:
Page
Number:
Page
Number:
Page
Number:
Quotation from
Annotation
Quotation from
Annotation
Quotation from
Annotation
Quotation from
Annotation
Quotation from
Annotation