Mrs. Duhl
[email protected]
Due Date: First day of School!
Book Choices: Choose one of the following to complete your Summer Reading Assignment!
•
“The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros
Esperanza is a little girl who moves with her family to a house on Mango Street. It's a
small, crumbling red house in a poor urban neighborhood – not at all what Esperanza
had been hoping for when her parents promised to move the family to a house. Told
in a series of vignettes – sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous – it is the
story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what
she will become. Few other books in our time have touched so many readers.
•
“Big Fish” by Daniel Wallace
In his prime, Edward Bloom was an extraordinary man. He could outrun anybody. He
never missed a day of school. He saved lives and tamed giants. Animals loved him,
people loved him, women loved him. He knew more jokes than any man alive. At least
that’s what he told his son, William. But now Edward Bloom is dying, and William wants
desperately to know the truth about his elusive father—this indefatigable teller of tall
tales—before it’s too late. So, using the few facts he knows, William re-creates
Edward’s life in a series of legends and myths, through which he begins to understand
his father’s great feats, and his great failings. The result is hilarious and wrenching,
tender and outrageous.
Finding the book: I would recommend purchasing from Amazon.com or Half.com, or visiting
Half Price Books. I paid less than five dollars for my copy of each, including shipping. You
may also find the book at the Cincinnati Public Library!
This will count as a test grade for 1st Quarter! You must complete all 4 parts of the assignment.
Requirements:
1. Create 10 test questions covering the novel using “Blooms Question Starters” below. You
must provide 2 questions from each section. You must also provide an answer to each
question!
Standard Addressed: RL.9-10.1 Cite strong & thorough textual evidence to support analysis of
what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
“Blooms Question Starters” (Choose 2 from each section)
Knowledge:
What is…?
Where is…?
When did…?
Name two things…?
Who were the main characters?
Can you tell three things….
How did the section end…?
How is….?
Which one…?
List two things that…
State an event…
Say the name….
Application:
What examples can you find to support..?
What would result if…?
Using what you know, how would you solve
the problem of..?
What questions would you ask if…?
Using what you know, construct…
Think of a situation that occurred in the story
and tell what you would have done.
How is _______ similar to __________?
How would you classify….
Evaluation:
Justify _______’s actions in the story.
Do you agree with _____? Why or why not?
What is your opinion of_____ and why?
What choice would you have made if you
were in ________ situation.
Would it be better if…?
Why was it better that…?
What did you like best? Why?
Comprehension:
What was the main idea…?
Describe what is meant by…
Retell the story.
Explain why the story has the title that it does.
Explain what the author means by…
Describe what happened when…
What is meant by…?
How would you characterize…
Analysis:
How would you compare…?
Distinguish between______ & _________.
How would you contrast…?
What motive is there….?
What is the relationship between ________ &
_________.
What was the most exciting part?
Whaat ideas justify…?
How is ______ related to ______?
2. Provide a one sentence objective summary of each chapter/vignette. Each of these
novels are written in vignette style. (“House on Mango Street” has 46 vignettes, and “Big Fish”
has 31!)
A vignette is a form of personal narrative, or story composed from a personal experience,
thought, idea, memory, hope, dream…It's a short, impressionistic scene that focuses on one
moment or gives a particular insight into a character, idea, or setting.
What is an objective summary?
} Writing an objective summary involves recording the main ideas of a text while
showing your understanding of the topic. These should be one sentence only, focusing
on what the main idea & only the very important events of the vignette!
} Objective means:
} No opinions
} No reactions
} No personal connections
} Just the facts!
Example:
Romeo & Juliet” Prologue
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
Objective Summary:
In the Prologue of “Romeo & Juliet,” two households in Verona have had a long-standing
feud that will only be ended with the two youngest children taking their lives because they
were destined to be together.
Standard Addressed: RL 9-10.2 an objective summary of the text.
3. Find 10 vocabulary words you are unfamiliar with & complete the following for each:
• Write the word & page number.
• Write the sentence the word was used in
• Inferred Meaning from Context.
• Dictionary Definition.
Example:
• Concoct (pg.93)
• We were able to concoct a delicious meal from the leftovers in the refrigerator.
• Inferred Meaning: I think it means to make because they are creating a meal.
• Dictionary Definition: To make up, prepare, or invent
Standard Addressed: RL 9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are
used in a text.
4. Creative Theme Project: Choose one of the options below!
What is Theme? Theme is the central, underlying, and controlling idea or insight of a
work of literature. It is the idea the writer wishes to convey about the subject—the
writer’s view of the world or a revelation about human nature.
**A theme is not one word, but a message or idea!
•
Theme Collage:
o Cut out of magazines, newspapers, clip art, photos, or drawings to create a
collage that represents a major theme in the novel you chose. You should have
at least 15 pictures/words that help show what the theme/message of the story
is.
o On the top of your collage, you must write the theme/message!
o You also must include a paragraph description of your collage & why you chose
the pictures you did to represent this theme. This should include examples from
the novel for support.
•
Theme Soundtrack
o Choose 15 songs that would represent the theme in your chosen novel. These
songs should give an overall message that the author is trying to convey.
o For each of the 15 songs, you must include the title & singer/band name.
o Under each title, you should write a short paragraph explaining why you chose
that song, giving an example from the text to support.
o You should include the theme/message at the top of your soundtrack!
Standard Assessed: RL 9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in
detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped
and refined by specific details.