Summer Reading Assignment: 11th Grade Honors English
Parkland High School 2014-15
Background and Expectations:
You have registered for 11th grade Honors English for your junior year English class. This is a challenging course that focuses
on the development of oral and written literary analysis by the students. The above is accomplished through the study and
discussion of British and World literature from the ancient Greeks and the inception of English as a language through the 19th
century.
The College Board Advanced Placement Program English Committee “agrees with Henry David Thoreau that it is wisest to
read the best books first.” To best direct you for a course of study that challenges you at an AP level and successfully prepares
you for the AP Exam in 12th grade, the Committee believes that reading in an Honors or AP Level course “should be both
wide and deep…should include the in-depth reading of texts drawn from multiple genres, periods, and culture.” The
Committee also recommends “careful attention to both textual detail and historical context [and] should provide a foundation
for interpretation, whatever critical perspectives are brought to bear on the literary works studied.”
We invite you to begin your experience by fulfilling the summer reading requirement for the course. The assignment will allow
you to learn how to critically read a text and to apply this knowledge as you read and experience a novel written by a Nobel
Prize-winning writer that the literary world considers a classic. You will have the opportunity to practice your critical and
exploratory reading and writing skills before the actual class begins in September by working through the summer assignment.
Then, when school begins in September, we will be able to commence immediately with our coursework.
Objectives & Assignments (to be completed in the following order):
1. Students will read How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. It is encouraged that students
purchase their own copies so that they may annotate and take notes in the text. However, students may find a
PDF e-book version at the following web address:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CG4QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F
%2Fwww.sparkascreen.com%2Ffiles%2FAPFiles%2FHowToReadLiteratureLikeAProfessor.pdf&ei=IxSzT78gx
-nqAdDKkbcJ&usg=AFQjCNE6c723teHv1d07sbgiSnAbfs-TqQ
2.
Students will conduct a close reading of Lord of the Flies by William Golding. To conduct a “close reading”
students should apply what they have learned from How to Read Literature Like a Professor by annotating their
novel. Should students need further information on the close reading approach, they can find a document on the
PHS website by clicking on the AP/Honors Summer Assignments link. Copies of the novel may be signed out
from the PHS library but may not be written in; thus, students are strongly encouraged to purchase their own
copies so that they may annotate and take notes directly in the text. Should a student borrow a book from the
library, they can annotate by taking notes with Post-It notes or on a sheet of paper.
3.
Students will keep a reading log/journal of the novel. A total of twelve entries (one from each chapter) should be
dated and completed while reading the corresponding chapter to ensure thorough comprehension of the novel.
Entries should be completed on the worksheets provided. Please ensure that all writing is legible.
4.
Journal entries will follow a chosen path of exploration and will follow prompts selected and agreed upon by the
Honors English teachers. Entries will include examinations of textual fragments of the novel, student responses
and reactions to text, and insights into the reading of the novel framed by thematic and structural connections.
5.
Students should not refer to Cliff Notes, Spark Notes or the like to complete this assignment. Students are
expected to write personal reflective responses to the prompts.
6.
The assignment is due on the first day of school, and students will take an objective examination on the novel
during the first week of school.
Name: ____________________________________________
11th Grade Honors English Summer Assignment
Directions:
 The following pages contain worksheets to be completed for the twelve chapters of William Golding’s novel, Lord of
the Flies. All work should be handwritten and legible.
 For each chapter, you have been given an opportunity to analyze a quotation and an additional topic. Follow the
guidelines below for completion of each worksheet.
1. In the box below the quotation, you will provide the context for this quote. To do this, you will briefly
summarize the scene where this quote is found and summarize the quote. (Please note: There are multiple
printings of the novel. Quotes on the following pages are taken from the Perigee edition.)
2. The column to the right asks you to provide a personal reflection on the quote. To do this, you may reflect
upon your feelings regarding the scene or connect the ideas in the scene to yourself, another book, or the
larger world.
3. The last column requires you to ponder the significance (importance) that this quote has to the text as a
whole. This section should be completed after you have read the entire book so that you may have the entire
text to draw upon for your answer.
4. The box at the bottom of the page asks you to critically analyze a piece of the chapter. Each analysis should
be a response written in complete sentences unless it is otherwise noted.
 Assignment is due the first day of school.
 Below is an example of the critical thinking level required for this assignment:
Quote
“[Ralph] was old enough, twelve
years and a few months, to have lost
the prominent tummy of childhood
and not yet old enough for
adolescence to have made him
awkward. You could see now that he
might make a boxer, as far as width
and heaviness of shoulders went, but
there was a mildness about his mouth
and eyes that proclaimed no devil”
(Golding 10).
Context
Golding is describing Ralph’s physical
characteristics. Just prior to this
quote, the reader learns that Ralph
and Piggy have just met and Ralph is
about to jump into the ocean as
Golding begins to describe him.
Response
It seems as though Ralph is a nice boy.
Golding says that although he has an
athletic build, which could be
intimidating to Piggy, his eyes
“proclaimed no devil.” I think this
means that when a person looks into
Ralph’s eyes, they can see that he is
genuine and nice.
I have heard that the eyes are like the
window to a person’s soul, and that
you can learn a lot about a person by
simply looking at his/her eyes. I think
this is true because the eyes have a
way of showing emotion. You can tell
when someone is angry, confused,
nervous, etc. just by paying attention
to the eyes and facial features.
Significance
Golding is foreshadowing Ralph’s style
of leadership when he is describing his
physical attributes. His mild demeanor
represents his democratic leadership…
*You would write a longer response, but
more will not be provided for this
example since students have not
completed the reading and we do not
want to give away any major details of
the novel!
Critical Analysis: How does Golding establish the idea of social order?
Golding establishes the idea of order through the use of the conch shell and through the voting process. When the shell is
found and Ralph blows it, the sound resonates across the island and brings various boys out from the forest. It is evident that
this creates social order because the boys immediately connect the conch to the megaphones that the adults had used to
promote order during the evacuation. Because Ralph holds the conch, the others see him as a leadership figure, even though
he is not voted chief until later in the chapter. It is also established that the conch will be used to preserve order by allowing
one boy at a time to hold the conch and speak. This should ensure harmony among the boys during group discussions. In
addition, the election of Ralph as leader also serves as a means of establishing social order. The democratic voting style used
by the boys ensures social order because each boy is allowed to “voice” his opinion.
Name: ____________________________________________
11th Grade Honors English Summer Assignment
Cover Page & Rubric
Please print and use this page as a cover sheet for your journal entries. Refer to the grading rubric
below for detailed information regarding the grading procedures for this assignment.
Twelve Journal Entries (holistic scoring rubric)
50 points
Objective Examination
50 points
Total Points for Project (This will comprise no less than 1/5 of the 1st marking period grade)
100 points
Sophisticated
9-10 points
Sufficient
8 points
Insight
The student shows
evidence of
understanding as
indicated by the logic,
analysis, and insight
used in the response.
Maturity
The style and voice
are clear, eloquent,
and nuanced. Style
and voice create
reflections that are
thoughtful, focused,
and replete with
meaning. Writing is
at an advanced level
for grade.
Student understands
the novel as
evidenced by
response, but it lacks
some detail for a full,
critical
understanding.
Voice and style are
clear, but are still
developing. Writing
is appropriate for
grade level.
Evidence
There is strong and
appropriate evidence
from text to support
remarks. Appropriate
MLA citations are
evident.
There are numerous
keen & relevant
references to
personal experience,
prior knowledge,
society and/or
observations of one’s
environment.
There are a few
references to text
with page citations
but they are limited
in number and/or
not fully developed.
Response gives some
references to
personal experience,
observation, prior
knowledge, or
society.
There are no errors
in conventions.
Response contains 1
or 2 errors in
conventions.
Insight and
Thoughtfulness of
Response
Maturity of Expression
Textual Evidence
Connection
Connections to
Personal Experience &
Observation, Prior
Knowledge, Society
Conventions
Mechanical
Conventions
Limited
7 points
Minimal
0-6 points
Student has the plot
understanding but
has limited analysis.
Student
demonstrates a
vague understanding
of the novel and a
lack of critical
interpretation.
Style and voice are
unclear, stilted,
and/or lacking
maturity.
Demonstrates
shallow
understanding of the
broader purpose of
the novel. Writing
level is marginal, at
best.
There are allusions to
references, but they
require reader
inferences and/or
lack page citations.
Response is hurried
and lacks detail,
resulting in
undeveloped ideas.
The writing is
ineffective and
lacking an
appropriate maturity
level.
Engages in few
reflective responses
leading to limited
connections to
personal experience,
observation, prior
knowledge, or
society.
Response reveals
little effort to find
linkages to personal
experience,
observation, prior
knowledge, or
society.
Contains 3 errors in
conventions.
Exceeds 3 errors in
conventions and
displays a lack of
attention to writing
guidelines.
Little or no reference
to the text for
evidence or support
of remarks.
Total Journal Points: ______________
Name: ____________________________________________
English 3 Honors Summer Assignment—Chapter 1
Quote
Response
Significance
“They knew very well why he
hadn’t: because of the
enormity of the knife
descending and cutting into
living flesh; because of the
unbearable blood” (Golding
31).
Context
Critical Analysis: List specific words and phrases from the novel to describe Ralph, Jack, and Roger.
Name: ____________________________________________
English 3 Honors Summer Assignment—Chapter 2
Quote
Response
“Ralph’s right of course.
There isn’t a snake-thing. But
if there was a snake we’d
hunt it and kill it” (Golding
36).
Context
Critical Analysis: What do the varying views of the beastie foreshadow?
Significance
Name: ____________________________________________
English 3 Honors Summer Assignment—Chapter 3
Quote
Response
Significance
“They walked along, two
continents of experience and
feeling, unable to
communicate” (Golding 55).
Context
Critical Analysis: Reread the first three paragraphs of the chapter. Why do you think Golding describes Jack
as he does?
Name: ____________________________________________
English 3 Honors Summer Assignment—Chapter 4
Quote
Response
Significance
“He poked about with a bit of
stick, that itself was wave-worn
and whitened and a vagrant,
and tried to control the motions
of the scavengers. He made little
runnels that the tide filled and
tried to crowd them with
creatures. He became absorbed
beyond mere happiness as he
felt himself exercising control
over living things. He talked to
them, urging them, ordering
them. Driven back by the tide,
his footprints became bays in
which they were trapped and
gave him the illusion of
mastery” (Golding 61).
Context
Critical Analysis: Use Chapter 2 in How to Read Literature Like a Professor to analyze the significance of
Simon’s decision to share his meat with Piggy.
Name: ____________________________________________
English 3 Honors Summer Assignment—Chapter 5
Quote
Response
Significance
“ ‘If I blow the conch and
they don’t come back; then
we’ve had it. We shan’t keep
the fire going. We’ll be like
animals. We’ll never be
rescued.’ ”
‘If you don’t blow, we’ll
soon be animals anyway. I
can’t see what they’re doing
but I can hear’ ” (Golding 92).
Context
Critical Analysis: Describe and analyze each boy’s stance on fear. Be specific and include page numbers.
Ralph:
Piggy:
Jack:
Simon:
Name: ____________________________________________
English 3 Honors Summer Assignment—Chapter 6
Quote
Response
Significance
“But a sign came down from
the world of grown-ups,
though at the time there was
no child awake to read it.
There was a sudden bright
explosion and corkscrew
trail across the sky; then
darkness again and stars.
There was a speck above the
island, a figure dropping
swiftly beneath a parachute,
a figure that hung with
dangling limbs” (Golding 95).
Context
Critical Analysis: Use chapter 21 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor to analyze how Simon is “marked
for greatness.” (In addition to this chapter, you may use information from other chapters of LOTF to answer
this question.)
Name: ____________________________________________
English 3 Honors Summer Assignment—Chapter 7
Quote
Response
Significance
“Robert snarled at him. Ralph entered
into the play and everybody laughed.
Presently they were all jabbing at
Robert who made mock rushes.
Jack shouted.
‘Make a ring!’
The circle moved in and round.
Robert squealed in mock terror, then in
real pain.
‘Ow! Stop it! You’re hurting!’
The butt end of a spear fell on his
back as he blundered among them.
‘Hold him!’
They got his arms and legs. Ralph,
carried away by a sudden thick
excitement, grabbed Eric’s spear and
jabbed at Robert with it.
‘Kill him! Kill him!’
All at once, Robert was screaming
and struggling with the strength of
frenzy. Jack had him by the hair and was
brandishing his knife. Behind him was
Roger, fighting to get close. The chant
rose ritually, as at the last moment of a
dance or a hunt.
‘Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the
pig! Bash him in!’
Ralph too was fighting to get near, to
get a handful of that brown, vulnerable
flesh. The desire to squeeze and hurt
was over-mastering” (Golding114-115).
Context
Critical Analysis: Use chapter 11 in How to Read Literature Like a Professor and analyze the violence in this
chapter. (You need not limit yourself to the quote above.)
Name: ____________________________________________
English 3 Honors Summer Assignment—Chapter 8
Quote
Response
Significance
“He giggled and flicked them
while the boys laughed at his
reeking palms. Then Jack
grabbed Maurice and rubbed
the stuff over his cheeks”
(Golding 135).
Context
Critical Analysis: Use chapter 11 in How to Read Literature Like a Professor and analyze the violence in this
chapter. Somewhere in your response, comment upon the boys’ innocence.
Name: ____________________________________________
English 3 Honors Summer Assignment—Chapter 9
Quote
Response
Significance
“The sticks fell and the mouth of
the new circle crunched and
screamed. The beast was on its
knees in the center, its arms
folded over its face. It was
crying out against the
abominable noise something
about a body on the hill. The
beast struggled forward, broke
the ring and fell over the steep
edge of the rock to the sand by
the water. At once the crowd
surged after it, poured down the
rock, leapt on to the beast,
screamed, struck, bit, tore.
There were no words, and no
movements but the tearing of
teeth and claws” (Golding 153).
Context
Critical Analysis: Use Chapter 14 from How to Read Literature Like a Professor to determine who the Christ
figure of the novel is, and explain your reasoning using specific examples from the text.
Name: ____________________________________________
English 3 Honors Summer Assignment—Chapter 10
Quote
Response
Significance
“Oh, Piggy!”
Ralph’s voice, low and
stricken, stopped Piggy’s
gestures. He bent down and
waited. Ralph, cradling the
conch, rocked himself to and fro.
“Don’t you understand,
Piggy? The things we did—”
“He may still be—”
“No.”
“P’raps he was only
pretending—”
Piggy’s voice trailed off at the
sight of Ralph’s face.
“You were outside. Outside
the circle. You never really
came in. Didn’t you see what
we—what they did?” (Golding
156-157).
Context
Critical Analysis: Use Chapter 12 from How to Read Literature Like a Professor to determine a symbol found
in this chapter of LOTF. Analyze its significance in relation to the vision motif found throughout the novel.
Name: ____________________________________________
English 3 Honors Summer Assignment—Chapter 11
Quote
Response
Significance
“Viciously, with full intention, he
hurled his spear at Ralph. The
point tore the skin and flesh over
Ralph’s ribs, then sheared off and
fell in the water. Ralph stumbled,
feeling not pain but panic, and the
tribe, screaming now like the
chief, began to advance. Another
spear, a bent one that would not
fly straight, went past his face and
one fell from on high where Roger
was. The twins lay hidden behind
the tribe and the anonymous
devils’ faces swarmed across the
neck. Ralph turned and ran. A
great noise as of sea gulls rose
behind him. He obeyed an instinct
that he did not know he
possessed and swerved over the
open space so that the spears
went wide. He saw the headless
body of the sow and jumped in
time. Then he was crashing
through foliage and small boughs
and was hidden by the forest”
(Golding 181).
Context
Critical Analysis: Investigate Roger’s actions in this chapter. In your analysis, consider how he has changed
over the course of the novel.
Name: ____________________________________________
English 3 Honors Summer Assignment—Chapter 12
Quote
Response
Significance
“And in the middle of them,
with filthy body, matted hair,
and unwiped nose, Ralph
wept for the end of
innocence, the darkness of
man’s heart, and the fall
through the air of the true,
wise friend called Piggy”
(Golding 202).
Context
Critical Analysis: When Ralph encounters the Lord of the Flies, he knows that it is significant in some way,
but he can’t understand. How is it significant?