English II Honors Summer Reading Assignment
Text: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Be sure you read the assignment directions in their entirety before beginning. All assignments are due the FIRST day of
class. In order to be prepared for success during your sophomore year, it is important to draw on the reading and writing
skills you have learned and improved during your freshman year. See these assignments as your opportunity to show-off
your abilities to read well, organize your thinking, and write effectively. In addition, there will be a CUMULATIVE
TEST over the novel upon your return to school.
Common Core State Standards Addressed
RL. 1 Key Ideas & Details:
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn
from the text.
RL. 4 Craft & Structure:
Determine the meaning of words & phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings;
analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g. how the language evokes a sense of
time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
Task 1: Cause Effect Flow Chart and Paragraph
Causes and the effects are common to most pieces of literature. You studied this last year in English I. Often an event will
occur or have several “causes” with one or more “effects”. For instance, in Romeo and Juliet, Juliet’s death – the effectwas caused by a series of events among characters (the Friar, the Feud, etc…). Please trace a cause effect relationship that
occurs in the text. MUST BE HAND-WRITTEN in the chart provided
1. Decide on an effect/ outcome or consequence
2. Trace it back to at least 3 separate causes and explain with text support and page number how your “causes”
contributed to the effect.
Causes
1.
2.
3.
Page #
Explanation
Effect
Task 2
Authors use many tools and approaches in their writing. Some tools or approaches an author might use are specific
vocabulary and imagery. As a reader of the text, discuss 6 tools or approaches (you can use examples from the lit devices
list if needed) the author used, provide the passage and page number, and explain why you think the author used this tool.
MUST BE HAND-WRITTEN on chart provided
List: (NOTE: Do not repeat an element/device twice.)
1. Identify a passage that includes a literary device (personification, hyperbole, foreshadowing, symbolism or irony),
summarize the passage in the summary column, and then explain why the author used it.
Task 3
The following literary devices are terms that will be used repetitively throughout the year. Students should spend time
memorizing the terminology and practicing identification of these terms. It is recommended but not required that you
create flashcards to help you study as well as an account on www.quizlet.com. Students will be tested on the definitions
and applications upon returning to school in August.
1. Simile - a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared
2. Metaphor - a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally
applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.”
3. Juxtaposition - an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.
4. Theme - a unifying or dominant idea
5. Syntax – the arrangement of words/patterns in a sentence
6. Diction – style of words the author uses
7. Denotation – dictionary definition
8. Connotation – emotional implication a word carries
9. Tone – author’s attitude
10. Mood – distinctive emotional quality or feeling
11. Hyperbole - obvious and intentional exaggeration “it’s raining cats & dogs.”
12. Understatement - the act or an instance of understating, or representing in a weak or restrained way that is not
borne out by the facts: The journalist wrote that the earthquake had caused some damage. This
turned out to be a massive understatement of the devastation.
13. Allusion –A reference to a well-known literary work, artwork, historical person, or event
14. Paradox - a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible
truth.
15. Symbol - something used for or regarded as representing something else
16. Personification - the attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract notions,
especially as a rhetorical figure
17. Archetype - the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are
based (A hero or a villain)
18. Irony
a. Dramatic - situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play.
b. Situational - a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended (firehouse
burns down)
c. Verbal - Sarcasm
19. Imagery - the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively
a. Visual (Sight)
b. Auditory (Sound)
c. Olfactory (Smell)
d. Tactile (Touch)
e. Gustatory (Taste)
Task 2 Chart
Tool /
Page
Approach
#
EX: Romeo
& Juliet /
Metaphor
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
523
Passage word-for-word
Romeo – “But, soft! what light
through yonder window breaks? /
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.”
(Act II Sc. 2).
Summary
Romeo discusses his inner
thoughts about his love for
Juliet as the light comes
through a window.
Explanation of why author
used it
Romeo’s love for Juliet is
being personified by
comparing Juliet to the sun,
a bright, shining & positive
thing. The author uses a
metaphor to portray
Romeo’s new feelings.
supporting
supporting
supporting
Larry A Ryle
High School
Larry A Ryle
High School
Larry A Ryle
High School
May 25 & 26, 2013
May 25 & 26, 2013
May 25 & 26, 2013
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
7663 Mall Road
7663 Mall Road
7663 Mall Road
Bookfair ID Number 11112588
Bookfair ID Number 11112588
Bookfair ID Number 11112588
supporting
supporting
supporting
Larry A Ryle
High School
Larry A Ryle
High School
Larry A Ryle
High School
May 25 & 26, 2013
May 25 & 26, 2013
May 25 & 26, 2013
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
7663 Mall Road
7663 Mall Road
7663 Mall Road
Bookfair ID Number 11112588
Bookfair ID Number 11112588
Bookfair ID Number 11112588