CECIL COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP CENTER
201 Booth Street
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Elkton, MD 21921
DIVISION OF EDUCATION SERVICES
410-996-5496
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FAX 410-996-8972
D’Ette W. Devine, Ed.D.
Superintendent
English Language and Composition
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www.ccps.org
Lauren C. Camphausen
President, Board of Education
Summer Reading Assignment
Welcome to the English 11 advanced placement course, AP Language and Composition. This class is designed
to help you become skilled readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts and skilled writers who
compose for a variety of purposes. The reading and writing completed in this course will raise your awareness
of the interactions among a writer's purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the way generic
conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. Because this course will begin
with the application of common rhetorical references to classic American fiction and non-fiction, your assigned
summer texts are The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by
Mark Twain.
AP Summer Reading Binder: You will need a three ring binder which you will divide into three sections, one
for each of the following THREE assignments.
1. Guiding questions for The Things They Carried
2. Dialectical journal for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
3. Analytical essay utilizing both texts
Each section will count as one formative grade and is further explained below.
Helpful Hints
 The books are available at the library or any bookstore. If you own a Nook or another form of e-book,
the books may be available as free downloads.
 The language of Huck Finn will be difficult to understand at times; this problem is normal and is not
cause for alarm. Reading the passage out loud makes a big difference, even if you feel silly doing so.
 Please e-mail your AP 11 teacher (email addresses found at the end of this document) for help on any of
these assignments or if you or your parents have any concerns about the course.
Academic Honesty Policy
Be sure that in your zeal to complete these assignments accurately and superiorly that you do not borrow work
from other authors or students. You may consult on-line or published resources to help you in understanding the
text, but do not present the ideas in those resources as your own. Doing so is plagiarism, however
unintentional it may be. If you are unsure about any aspect of plagiarism or what constitutes academic
dishonesty, please e-mail your teacher.
Course Content
Advanced Placement Language and Composition is a college-level course; therefore, we will read college-level
material. With mature text comes mature themes and language. For example, although The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn is not a racist text, characters use pejorative language. Although we will handle discussions
of these and other sensitive issues with tact and care in class, be sure that you can handle such topics before
committing to this course.
Our Mission: to provide an excellent pre-kindergarten through graduation learning experience that enables ALL students to demonstrate the skills,
knowledge, and attitudes required for lifelong learning and productive citizenship in an ever-changing global society.
Guiding Questions
The Things They Carried
1. What are three particular events that O’Brien narrates more than once? Explain how his presentation of
these events changes each time.
2. What are the elements of “story truth”? Pay particular attention to the chapter “How to Tell a True War
Story”.
3. Explain why O’Brien chooses to present the events out of chronological order. How does that help to
illustrate “story truth”?
4. Choose one symbol and explain its significance within the context of the novel.
5. According to O’Brien, what is the purpose of writing? Be sure and use direct quotes to illustrate your point.
Dialectical Journal
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
To exhibit your understanding of themes and purpose in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, you will keep a
dialectical journal (see attached handout). You will complete a journal entry for every two chapters. The rubric
for the dialectical journals is attached. Entries should be handwritten.
Dialectical Journals
Dialectic means “the art or practice of arriving at the truth by using conversation involving question and
answer.” For both of the novels above, you will complete dialectical journals to aid in your understanding of the
books as you read them and to demonstrate that understanding to your teacher. In these journals, you are
essentially having a “conversation” with the text (jotting down insights, questions, ideas, and thoughts) and with
yourself.
Procedure
 For every two chapters of the book, draw a vertical line in the middle of a page in your journal notebook.
 At the top of the left column, write the heading “Reading Notes” (something from the text).
 At the top of the right column, write the heading “Comments and Questions” (something from you).
 After you read every two chapters of the book, complete a journal entry in which you write down an
interesting quote, summarize an important passage, or jot down a key idea from that chapter in the left
column (with the date and page numbers).—the majority of the entries should be quotes
 In the right column, write down YOUR analytical response to the quote.
 To focus your reading, be sure that each journal entry deals with one of the following elements that create
“story truth”: tone, organization, diction, style, syntax (phrasing and grammar), other rhetorical
devices (devices the author uses to get a particular response from the audience), or American history.
Note in the left column which of these elements you are discussing. To be successful, you should include a
variety of elements.
 Be sure to be as specific as possible in your observations in the right column and reflect on the truth that
Twain presents to his audience. Consider discussing any of the following when analyzing a passage.
o Make a judgment about a character’s actions in relation to his or her era in American history
o Apply the situation in the novel to what you know about the time period in which the story takes place
o Analyze the author’s use of organization and how that organization serves (or does not serve) his
purpose
o Analyze why the author used the language he chose in the novel (language is extremely important in
Huck Finn)
o Explain the author’s tone toward various themes or characters in the book
Sample Journal Entry
To Kill a Mockingbird
Reading Notes
June 17, 2005
Chapters 3 and 4
p. 21: “…as I read the alphabet a faint line
appeared between her eyebrows, and after
making me read most of My First Reader
and the stock market quotations from the
Mobile Register, she discovered that I was
literate and looked at me with more than
faint distaste. Miss Caroline told me to
tell my father not to teach me any more, it
would interfere with my reading.”
(American history)
Comments and Questions
The novel takes place during the Depression, a time
when kids like Scout had almost nothing to look forward to
and no prospects for a better future. Scout speaks often of
how dirty the kids are, how poor everyone is (so poor that no
one notices that anyone else is in any better or worse shape
than they are). Miss Caroline does not seem to understand
that she is probably one of the few things standing between
the kids of that era and total disaster. Her job is so important
because she can give them all the key to a better life. Instead,
she singles kids out for mistreatment, demeans the children
in front of each other, and does not try to inspire the kids in
her class.
Adults during the Depression had to have been afraid,
afraid of starvation, afraid of losing their jobs. Perhaps Miss
Caroline is so harsh partly because she is inexperienced, but
maybe she is afraid that if she does not run her classroom
like factory (everyone doing the same thing at the same time)
that she will lose her job. Maybe she thinks the kids
genuinely need her to be so critical and rigid. Fear makes
people react to their surroundings instead of acting
rationally. Perhaps fear is a theme in this book, fear of
poverty, fear of failure, fear of other races. I will use fear as a
purpose for reading as I continue through the chapters,
noting who is acting out of fear and who is acting rationally.
Perhaps those conclusions will lead me to the theme of the
novel.
Dialectical Journal Rubric
A
B
C
D/F
Details
Selects detailed,
meaningful
passages,
extends beyond
plot and
characterization
Commentary
Includes
thoughtful
interpretation
and commentary
about the text
Focus (Devices)
Focuses on tone,
organization,
motifs, diction,
symbolism, or
literary devices
Connections
Makes insightful
connections
Appearance
Is neat organized
and professional
looking; clear
and consistent
headings
Is less detailed,
but is meaningful
and extends
beyond plot and
characterization
Includes some
critical thinking;
addresses
thematic
elements
Includes some
connections
Is neat and
readable; clear
headings
Includes little
meaningful
details that
extend beyond
plot and
characterization
Commentary is
vague,
unsupported or
is merely a
paraphrase of
devices or
summary
Includes some
literary
elements but
does not
completely
address how they
contribute to
meaning
Includes some
listing of
literary
elements;
virtually no
discussion of
meaning
Limited
connections;
obvious
questions
Is relatively neat;
has headings
Details are few
with no
apparent
significance or
relevance
Involves notes
that are plot
summary or
paraphrases
Includes no
literary
elements with no
discussion of
meaning
Limited
connections and
no good
questions;
limited coverage
Is sloppy and
unorganized
Your third summer reading assignment is to complete the following essay.
Analytical Essay
Write a well-developed essay in which you examine how Mark Twain employs the elements of “story truth”
O’Brien illustrates in The Things They Carried.
REMEMBER: Bring your assignments and both summer reading texts on the first day of class.
If you have further questions regarding the summer reading assignment, please contact your 11 AP teacher:
Bohemia Manor High School:
Elkton High School:
North East High School:
Perryville High School:
Rising Sun High School:
Jennifer Black
Mary Spence
David Reaser
Leslie Piper
Jennifer Hunter
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]