Incoming 9th Grade Honors-Gifted Summer Reading Assignment
Greetings! Welcome to 9th grade Honors Gifted Language Arts. My name is Carol Cecil. I will
be your teacher for the 2012-2013 school year. If you have any questions please email me at
[email protected] I also have a ClassJump Website. It is through this website that you
will access the majority of the materials for your Summer Reading Assignment. Moreover,
ClassJump is an integral part of my 9th grade Honors Gifted Language Arts class. Disregard all
previous 9th grade Honors Gifted Summer Reading Assignments. You will no longer be
required to read Night, Hiroshima, or Things Fall Apart. I will not accept Summer Reading
Assignments consisting of Response Journals for these novels.
How To Access ClassJump:
http://classjump.com/
Go to the web page and sign up for a student account. You will need to search for Carol Cecil
under G. Holmes Braddock Senior High. I use this website heavily during the school year. In
addition to finding your Summer Reading Assignments here, you will find handouts and
homework assignments posted there as well as a message board specifically for the class. A
calendar is maintained so if I distribute or assign something on a day you are absent, you can
easily find what you missed. You can also sign up for email alerts so that once I post an
assignment or a review sheet you will be notified via email. You can also upload assignments.
Summer Reading
With the start of high school the goal of 9th grade Language Arts is to prepare students and
provide them with the building blocks for future Language Arts classes including Advanced
Placement and Dual Enrollment. Many things learned in 9th grade carry over into Language Arts
classes for years to come. Quite often, novels, short stories, plays, and even poems are united
by a universal theme. One theme that the 9th grade Language Arts Honors Gifted class will be
focusing on this year is that of utopia/dystopia.
Utopia has been defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in the following ways: 1) an
imaginary and indefinitely remote place. 2) a place of ideal perfection especially in laws,
government, and social conditions. 3) an impractical scheme for social improvement.
Dystopia has been defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in the following ways: 1) an
imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives. 2) anti-utopia.
Some novels with a utopian/dystopian theme – Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, Alas Babylon,
Anthem, The Handmaid’s Tale, Lord Of The Flies, Brave New World, 1984 , The Hunger
Games – this is by no means is a comprehensive list.
Instructions – Please complete all assignments in the order in which they are given. Each
assignment builds on the other. Assignments 2-4 are meant to be short and easily completed.
Creating your own utopia will probably require the most time. Plan your time accordingly.
Email me if you have any questions. I check my email regularly. Failure to complete Summer
Reading will make it difficult to earn any grade higher that a “C” for the first nine weeks.
Assignment #1 – Create Your Own Utopia. The Handout titled “Create Your Own Utopia” can
be found on the ClassJump Webpage under Summer Reading. Be sure to follow all instructions.
I have also included a grading rubric so that there are no surprises when the assignment is due.
Assignment #2 – Complete the WebQuest on Utopias. There is an accompanying worksheet
which can also be found on the ClassJump Webpage under Summer Reading. The Handout is
titled “Utopia – WebQuest Worksheet”
Assignment #3 – Complete the WebQuest on the Russian Revolution. There is an accompanying
worksheet which can also be found on the ClassJump Webpage under Summer Reading. The
Handout is titled “Russian Revolution Links To Animal Farm”
Assignment #4 – Read the novel Animal Farm, by George Orwell. It is a mass market paperback
that sells brand new for about $9.99. However, “Like New” copies can be purchased on
Amazon.com for as little as $3.74 and used copies for $.01. This novel is approximately 150
pages in length. Complete the Guided Reading Worksheet for the novel. This worksheet is
located on the ClassJump Webpage under Summer Reading. The worksheet combines some
reading questions along with observations and significant quotes.