Dear Student and Parent or Guardian,
Pre-AP English I is a course designed to build a foundation for the knowledge and skills required to
succeed in upper level English courses. Over 50 literary terms are introduced and applied to both classic
and modern literature during the course as well as two of the literary selections read by students
independently.
In order to begin discussion on the first day and assess retention of knowledge and skills gained in middle
school, a summer reading assignment has been created. Attached is a list of novels the students may
choose from. We highly encourage students to choose novels that coincide with their lexile score, a score
they received after taking the SRI test in eighth grade. Students are required only to read one novel from
each list, but reading more than one from each list is always highly encouraged. Follow the directions
below.
Directions:
1. Choose two novels from the attached list. You will need to choose one novel from the
contemporary list and one novel from the classics list. Books may be borrowed from the library
or purchased.
2. Read your novel selections before the first day of school.
3. Students will complete a TYPED dialectical journal for each novel that includes ten entries (This
will be due the first day of school).
To do a dialectical journal:
Create a line down the middle of the paper, making two columns.
The left column is used for passages (direct quotations) from the text and page numbers. Look for
quotes that seem significant, powerful, thought provoking or puzzling. For example, you might
record:
• effective &/or creative use of stylistic or literary devices
• passages that remind you of your own life or something you’ve seen before
• structural shifts or turns in the plot
• passages that make you realize something you hadn’t seen before
• examples of patterns: recurring images, ideas, colors, symbols or motifs.
• passages with confusing language or unfamiliar vocabulary
• events you find surprising or confusing
• passages that illustrate a particular character or setting
The right column is used for commenting on notes in the left column. Personal reactions to the
notes on the left go here. The comments on the
right may include:
• what the passage prompts in thinking or memory associations;
• feelings toward the author’s words;
• words or passages not understood;
• questions about something unclear or that may prompt new discussion;
• words or passages that look important; and
• connections among passages or sections of the work.
Label the entries using the following:
a. (Q) Question – ask about something in the passage that is unclear
b. (C) Connect – make a connection to your life, the world, or another text
c. (P) Predict – anticipate what will occur based on what’s in the passage
d. (CL) Clarify – answer earlier questions or confirm/disaffirm a prediction
e. (R) Reflect – think deeply about what the passage means in a broad sense
– not just to the characters in the story. What conclusions can you draw about the world,
about human nature, or just the way things work?
f. (E) Evaluate - make a judgment about the character(s), their actions, or
what the author is trying to say their dialectical journal.
Sample Dialectical Journal: from To Kill a Mockingbird
nearly
Text
fromevery
book:family in the town” (5
Atticus, the lawyer, “knew his people, they
knew him, and because of Simon Finch’s
industry, Atticus was related by blood or
marriage to nearly every family in the town”
(5).
Comment:
(P) Atticus seems to be a well-respected
person in Maycomb, and since he is a
lawyer, he also must be fairly intelligent.
Maycomb must be a relatively small town
where everyone knows everyone if Atticus
is indeed related to most of the people. I
think Atticus most likely will play an
important role in this book because of his
position.
Comment:
Text from book:
It was times like these when I thought my
father, who hated guns and had never been
to any wars, was the bravest man who ever
lived (101).
(C) I can definitely relate to this. I also
think that my father is extremely brave
even though he has these same
characteristics. In a way, my dad is a lot
like Atticus. He has never been in any
wars, but he always faces things that I
am scared of.
4. On the first day of school, students will be expected to be able to discuss their novel.
5. After discussion, students will be expected to write an in-class essay using the prompt below:
All of the books from the list are considered young adult (YA) literature. Because young adult novels are
written for a teenage audience, the main character, or protagonist, is usually a teenager that deals with
issues facing young adults everywhere.
Possible issues can include but are not limited to:
 Peer relationships
 Peer pressure
 Romantic relationships
 Pressure from adult expectations
 Rebellion against authority
Modern Literature:
Anderson, Laurie Halse: Speak: 680:
A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high
school.
Sarah Dessen: The Truth about Forever: 840:
The summer following her father's death, Macy plans to work at the library and wait for her brainy
boyfriend to return from camp, but instead she goes to work at a catering business where she makes new
friends and finally faces her grief.
Catherine Murdock: Dairy Queen: 990:
After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival
football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of
those around her.
Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd 840:
Fourteen-year-old Lily and her companion, Rosaleen, an African-American woman who has cared for
Lily since her mother's death ten years earlier, flee their home after Rosaleen is victimized by racist police
officers, and find a safe haven in Tiburon, South Carolina, at the home of three beekeeping sisters, May,
June, and August.
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher: 920:
The daily class discussions about the nature of man, the existence of God, abortion, organized religion,
suicide and other contemporary issues serve as a backdrop for a high-school senior's attempt to answer a
friend's dramatic cry for help.
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing 1060:
Various diaries, letters, and other manuscripts chronicle the experiences of Octavian, a young African
American, from birth to age sixteen, as he is brought up as part of a science experiment in the years
leading up to and during the Revolutionary War.
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper 820:
Includes bibliographical references. Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured
servant--escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish
colony that gives sanctuary to slaves
Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas 990:
The youngest of three siblings, fourteen-year-old Anke feels both relieved and neglected that her father
abuses her brother and sister but ignores her, but when she catches him with one of her friends, she finally
becomes angry enough to take action.
Looking for Alaska John Green 930:
Sixteen-year-old Miles' first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama includes good friends
and great pranks, but is defined by the search for answers about life and death after a fatal car crash.
The Sledding Hill by Chris Crutcher: 1010:
Billy, recently deceased, keeps an eye on his best friend, fourteen-year-old Eddie, and helps him stand up
to a conservative minister and English teacher who is orchestrating a censorship challenge.
Romeo's ex : Rosaline's story: Lisa Fiedler 910:
In a story based on the Shakespeare play, sixteen-year-old Rosaline, who is studying to be a healer,
becomes romantically entangled with the Montague family even as her beloved young cousin, Juliet
Capulet, defies the family feud to secretly marry Romeo.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne 1080:
Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son
of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence.
Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter 810:
Ashley Rhodes-Courter provides an account of her life, focusing on the nine years she spent in Florida's
foster care system after being removed from her mother at the age of three, and explaining how her life
changed after she was adopted.
Classic Lit
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 780:
Wiggin may prove to be the military genius Earth needs to fight a desperate battle against a deadly alien
race that will determine the future of the human race.
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines: 750
Tells the story of a young African-American man sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit, and
a teacher who tries to impart to him his learning and pride before the execution.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou 1070
Poet Maya Angelou chronicles her early life, focusing on her childhood in 1930s rural Arkansas,
including her rape at the age of five, her subsequent years of muteness, and the strength she gained from
her grandmother and Mrs. Bertha Flowers, a respected African-American woman in her town.
A Separate Peace – Knowles 1110
Gene Forrester looks back fifteen years to a World War II year in which he and his best friend Phineas
were roommates in a New Hampshire boarding school. Their friendship is marred by Finny's crippling
fall, an event for which Gene is responsible and one that eventually leads to tragedy.
Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger 790
An adolescent boy, knowing he is about to be dropped by his school, spends three days and nights in New
York City.
The Chocolate War by Robert Comier: 820
high school freshman discovers the devastating consequences of refusing to join in the school's annual
fund raising drive and arousing the wrath of the school bullies.
Black Boy by Richard Wright No Lexile:
The autobiography of an African-American writer, recounting his early years and the harrowing
experiences he encountered drifting from Natchez to Chicago to Brooklyn.