Alas, Babylon
Pre-AICE English Language Summer Reading
Miss Balcombe
Objective:
During reading students will respond to the text by making text
to text, text to self, and text to world connections.
*Please see attached handout for additional detailed
instructions and examples for making text connections.
Criteria for Credit:
Keep a Double Entry Journal
• On the left side, write the chapter, page, and text
evidence, i.e. quote/ passage.
• One the right side, write your response/ connection (TRMO).
• Minimum one per chapter with NO REPEATS.
Example Double Entry Journal for Alas, Babylon:
Ch. 1, p. 16, text to text:
“’It wasn’t lack of money,’ Mark had replied. ‘It
was state of mind. Chevrolet mentalities shying
away from a space-ship world. Nations are like
people. When they grow old and rich and fat they
get conservative. The exhaust their energy trying
to keep things the way they are- and that’s against
nature.”
Ch. 2, p. 26, text to self:
“Driving through the base, Randy sensed a change
since his last visit. Physically, McCoy looked the
same. It felt different. The Air Police questioning
had been sharper, and more serious.”
The Prince, by Machiavelli, is a political guide with
the purpose of advising rulers and/or prospective
rulers on the logical and rational approach to
achieving and/or maintaining political fortune.
One piece of advice to these rulers is that in a
changing world the nations that adapt and take
risks are the most successful.
Over a year ago I was visiting family and friends at
Patrick Air Force Base and the gate police were
performing more car inspections and questioning
more visitors due to a recent incident where a car
tried to enter the base on the wrong side of the
gate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remember:
Your response/ connection may be in the style of a TRMO.
• Text to text: an insight gained through connecting the
reading to other familiar texts.
• Text to self: a personal connection a reader makes
between a reading and their own life experiences.
• Text to world: a connection that includes ideas on how the
world works. This connection goes beyond personal
experience.
Alas, Babylon
Pre-AICE English Language Summer Reading
That Reminds Me Of
•
Make a chart to organize your TRMOs.
•
Your chart must include:
 Page(s)
 Type of connection
 Exact sentence(s) from the story
 Your text connection
•
Explanation of a That Reminds Me Of:
o
o
o
41
146
929
Type of
connection
Text to
text
Text to
self
Text to
world
aka TRMO
Text to text: an insight gained through connecting the reading to other familiar texts.
Text to self: a personal connection a reader makes between a reading and their own life
experiences.
Text to world: a connection that includes ideas on how the world works; these ideas are
primarily learned through television, movies, friends, family, magazines, and newspapers.
This connection goes beyond personal experience.
Example Chart:
Page(s)
Miss Balcombe
Sentence(s) from
the novel
“And from the great breathing cage of the
upper body those two delicate arms dangled
out front, arms with hands which might pick
up and examine men like toys, while the
snake neck coiled. And the head itself, a ton
of sculptured stone, lifted easily upon the sky.
Its mouth gaped, exposing a fence of teeth
like daggers.” (from A Sound of Thunder).
“Tomorrow the kind of work I like best
begins: buying. Cherries and citron, ginger
and vanilla and canned Hawaiian pineapple,
rinds and raisins and walnuts and whiskey
and oh, so much flour, butter, so many eggs,
spices, flavorings: Why, we’ll need a pony to
pull the buggy home.” (from A Christmas
Memory).
“Going forward, he kissed the young man’s
head, his shining eyes and both hands, while
his own tears brimmed and fell. Think of a
man whose dear and only son, born to him in
exile, reared with labor, has lived ten years
abroad and now returns: how that man
would embrace his son!” (from The Odyssey).
Text
connection
In Michael Crichton’s novel Jurassic Park, the
tyrannosaurus-rex adds suspense and excitement as it
gets closer and closer to the people. The description
of the beast and events lend fear and horror to the
reader’s imagination. This represents the potential
harm and negative consequences of individual actions.
I lived with my grandma for part of my childhood and
every winter we would make tons of fruitcake and
bake a mess of cookies and pies. We would literally
spend an entire week in the kitchen cooking and
preparing sweets that would last us for months. This
time reminds me of home and strong family ties.
Many military men and women are called to duty and
become separated from their families for long periods
of time. Some of the spouses even miss their child’s
birth, never getting to witness the miracle result of
conception. This could have different lifelong effects
on a person: It may make them regret choices they
made; or, it may make them thankful for the good
fortune that brought them home.