Honors English 9 - Summer Assignments
Welcome to Honors English 9! I can‛t wait to meet you in August! Until then, I hope you have an awesome
summer! You do have a few Honors English 9 assignments that you will need to complete before returning to
school! The purpose of summer assignments is not only to maintain skills during vacation, but also to foster the
enjoyment of writing and reading as a leisure activity. Below you will find the specific requirements of these
assignments. If you have any questions during the summer, feel free to contact me via e-mail. I will be
checking my e-mail periodically and will be happy to answer questions you may have regarding Honors English 9.
Have a wonderful summer! ​
ALL SUMMER ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.
Summer Writing Assignment:
For your summer writing assignment, you will be writing or typing (your choice) a personal letter to your new
English teacher, Ms. Allmyer. The letter should be in the appropriate format and should reflect who you are
and your understanding of the English language. Letters will be graded on content and mechanics and should be
about one page in length.
● Your essay should include:
○ information that you feel your new teacher should know about you
○ how you feel you did in middle school
○ changes that you are going to make to be successful in high school
○ anything that you are excited about
○ any fears that you may have
Summer Reading Assignment:
Select one of the following non-fiction books to read AND complete the Dialectical Note-Taking Assignment
(attached). You should also be prepared to discuss your book on the first few days of school. Any of these
books should be widely available through the Clermont County Public Library.
NOTE: Some of the books may contain adult situations. We urge you to choose a book with a parent‛s or
guardian‛s guidance. If a book makes you uncomfortable, abandon it and select another.
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A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier​
by Ishmael Beah
Running For My Life​
by Lopoz Lomong and Mark Tabb
The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi​
by Neal
Bascomb
Zoya's Story: An Afghan Woman's Struggle for Freedom​
by John Folian and ​
Rita Cristofari
Chernobyl‛s Wild Kingdom: Life in the Dead Zone​
by Rebecca L. Johnson
No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row​
by Susan Kuklin
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban​
by Malala Yousafszai and
Christina Lamb
We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a true story​
by ​
Josh Sundquist
A Memoir: Positive​
by Paige Rawl and ​
Ali Benjamin
Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave​
by ​
Shyima Hall​
and L
​isa Wysocky
I Beat the Odds: ​
From Homelessness, to The Blind Side, and Beyond​
by ​
Michael Oher
Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different​
by ​
Karen Blumenthal
This Star Won‛t Go Out​
: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl​
by ​
Esther Earl​
and ​
Lori Earl
Through My Eyes​
by ​
Ruby Bridges​
and Margo Lundell
Thank you and I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you! Welcome to high school!
Ms. Allmyer
Honors English 9 Teacher
[email protected]
**To avoid confusion - Ms. Allmyer will be getting married over the summer and will be going by Mrs. Cicchinelli once we
return to school in August. However, please continue to use ​
[email protected]​
over the summer.**
Honors English 9 - Summer Assignments
Name: _______________________
Book Title: _______________________
Dialectical Note-Taking Sheet
DIRECTIONS: While you are reading, choose at least 8 passages that stand out to you and record them in the left-hand
column. In the right-hand column, write your response to the text. (3-5 sentences) Look for passages from the novel that
address the following:
● A theme or central idea developed over the course of the novel, including its relationship to supporting ideas.
● How the book makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through
comparisons, analogies, or categories).
● Passages that strongly support an analysis of what the novel says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text.
Quote
Page
Response
Example: I have a dream that one day this nation
will rise up and live out the true meaning of its
creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal."… I have a dream
that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color
of their skin but by the content of their
character.
Pg. 2
This shows how the author is using repetition to
emphasize his own version of the American Dream of
racial equality. He connects his dream to that from
the Declaration of Independence where it says that
all men are created equal. He repeats I have a
dream… to emphasize how important his dream is to
Americans, both black and white.
1.
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Honors English 9 - Summer Assignments
Quote
4.
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8.
Page
Response