Western School of Technology and Environmental Science
First Quarter Reading Assignment for English 9: Standard, Honors, and Gifted and
Talented 2015-2016
Pages 1- 2 of this packet provide the First Quarter Reading Assignment for students enrolled in
Standard and Honors English 9.
Students in English 9 GT should complete the assignment listed on pages 3-4 of this packet.
To encourage reading over the summer and outside of school, Western School of Technology participates in a First
Quarter Reading Assignment. Each summer, all students who attend Western will receive a reading assignment that will
be due on September 25, 2015. Each grade level has an assigned text or set of texts. The books have been specifically
chosen based on their content and relationship to their English and/or Social Studies courses. The books are available
through Western’s Library, Western’s English Department, Western’s Website, or through the Baltimore County Public
Library System. In addition to reading the book, students will be required to complete the assignment provided, and
students will be assessed upon returning to school.
English 9 Standard and Honors: First Quarter Reading Assignment (each part is explained in detail below):
1.  Read House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.
2.  As you read, complete 30 dialectical journal entries that demonstrate your personal connection to the text.
3.  After you read, complete a SOAPSTone Analysis.
4.  When your assignment is due, you will have an in-class assessment that tests your familiarity of the novel.
Students in English 9 GT should complete the assignment listed on pages 3-4 of this packet.
Title
House on
Mango
Street
Author
Sandra
Cisneros
Level
AD,
AUD,
ON,
Book Description
The remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero. 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.
AUD= Audio Available at
Public Library
AD=Adult
LANG= Racially Charged or
Mature Language
YA=Young Adult
ON=Available online
NF =Nonfiction
GO= Available through Google
Play
BIO= Biography
IBKS=Available through iBooks
***Book descriptions by Bristol Public Schools: High School English Recommended Reading – 2011, bcplonline.org, and/or Amazon.com
Part I: Dialectical Journals
Directions: A dialectical journal is used to arrive at the “truth” of a written work through a written response
to quotations from that work. As you complete your assigned reading, choose passages that standout to you,
record them, and evaluate each with your ideas, insights, questions, reflections, and/or comments. Record
your responses in a T-chart as in the example provided. For additional support, please see Western’s website.
What do I record?
Quotation (page #)
Sentence, line, phrase, or
paraphrase that:
1. May remind you of something;
make you think or question
2. May reveal insight about
theme, character development,
etc.
3. May be an example of pleasing
or disturbing writing style
Reaction / Response
Explanation of why you chose the quotation/passage:
• Question/Predict: Ask questions while you read and try to predict.
• Making a Connection: to personal experiences, life, other literature, etc.
• Interpret/Evaluate: Determine the meaning of what you’ve read; Form opinions
both while you’re reading and after you’ve finished. Develop your own judgments
about the characters and your own ideas about events.
• Extend the Meaning: What does the quote say about all people and humanity?
• Challenging the Text: Form questions about the validity of implied/explicit
connections or claims, reliability of narrator, development of plot, character, style,
etc.
1 Western School of Technology and Environmental Science: English 9 Reading Assignment
Part II: SOAPSTone Analysis
Directions: After you finish reading House on Mango Street, complete a SOAPSTone organizer to analyze the
text. In your response, you should write between 2-5 sentences for each aspect of SOAPSTone, and utilize
textual support in your responses.
Explanation
S
Subject: What is the context of the text?
O
A
P
S
Tone
Occasion: What has prompted the novel, book, or play to be written? There are two
occasions: the larger occasion, which is the broad issue or topic which has inspired the text,
and there is the immediate occasion, which is the moment in time or culture in which the
author is focused.
Audience: Toward whom is the text directed? Who is the assumed audience and what are
the characteristics of that audience? How do you know?
Purpose: What is the author’s purpose for writing the text? Does the author have more
than one purpose? Why type of reaction is the author trying to evoke from the audience and
how does the author try to accomplish that? What is the intended effect of the article?
Speaker: Who is the speaker? Are there assumptions you can safely make about the
speaker? Be careful – the speaker and the author are not always the same. What is the point
of view of the text? Does the speaker display any bias?
Tone: What is the author’s attitude toward the subject? How has the author used syntax
and diction to display that tone? Where is the tone the strongest?
2 Western School of Technology and Environmental Science: English 9 Reading Assignment
Western School of Technology and Environmental Science
ENGLISH 9 GT
First Quarter Reading Assignment 2015-2016
In preparation for the rigors of Advanced Placement coursework, all students registered for English 9 GT are required to
complete a specific first quarter reading assignment. This assignment is due on September 25, 2015.
The Assignment (each part is explained in detail below):
For this assignment, you will be reading TWO books: House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, AND ONE BOOK
FROM THE LIST BELOW. You will be required to complete several tasks that demonstrate not only comprehension but
also critical thinking and analysis. For additional assistance see the following page and/or Western’s website.
1.  Read House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and complete the following activities:
a.  Complete at least 15 dialectical journal entries using the specified guidelines.
b.  Prepare FIVE higher-level, analytical questions about the book that will be used in a book
club/seminar discussion when you return.
2.  For your secondary book, (chosen from the list below):
a.  Complete a vocabulary chart by identifying 30 words from within the text that you do not
recognize. Be sure to follow the format below.
b.  In a one-page essay, explain an idea or theme from the novel –either stated outright or implied by
events—which is meaningful to you. Explain its importance to the book and why you find it meaningful.
3.  In the order listed above (journals, questions, vocabulary, and essay), staple your work and submit it to
your English teacher by September 25. Also, be prepared to discuss your books.
GT LIST of SECONDARY BOOKS
IN ADDTION TO READING HOUSE ON MANGO STREET AND COMPLETING DIALECTICAL JOURNALS AND ANALYTICAL
QUESTIONS, CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TO COMPLETE THE VOCABULARY CHART AND ESSAY
TITLE
AUTHOR
LEVEL BOOK DESCRIPTION
The Cherry
Orchard
The Joy
Luck Club
Anton
Chekov
Amy Tan
AD
All Quiet
on the
Western
Front
Erich Maria
Remarque
YA,
AUD
The Book
Thief
Markus
Zusak
YA/AD,
AUD
Into the
Wild
John
Krakauer
NF,
AUD
AD=Adult
AD,
AUD
Discusses the passing of the old semi-feudal order in turn-of-the-century Russia, symbolized
in the sale of the cherry orchard owned by Madame Ranevskaya.
In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim
sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call
themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise
their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to
prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue.
Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War I. Youthful,
enthusiastic, they become soldiers. Despite what they have learned, they break into pieces
under the first bombardment in the trenches, and as horrible war plods on year after year,
Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principles of hate that meaninglessly pits
young men of the same generation but different uniforms against each other--if only he can
come out of the war alive.
Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of
Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager
existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With
the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen
books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her
basement before he is marched to Dachau.
In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone
into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless.
He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions,
burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his
decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. This is the true story of one man’s
unconventional choices and the impact they have on others
YA=Young Adult
NF =Nonfiction
BIO= Biography
AUD= Audio Available at Public Library
***Book descriptions by Bristol Public Schools: High School English Recommended Reading – 2011, bcplonline.org, and/or Amazon.com
3 Western School of Technology and Environmental Science: English 9 Reading Assignment
Part I: Dialectical Journals
Directions: A dialectical journal is used to arrive at the “truth” of a written work through a written response
to quotations from that work. As you complete your assigned reading, choose passages that stand out to you,
record them, and evaluate each with your ideas, insights, questions, reflections, and/or comments. Record
your responses in a T-chart as in the example provided.
What do I record?
Quotation (page #)
Sentence, line, phrase, or
paraphrase that:
1. May remind you of something;
make you think or question
2. May reveal insight about theme,
character development, etc.
3. May be an example of pleasing
or disturbing writing style
Reaction / Response
Explanation of why you chose the quotation/passage:
• Question/Predict: Ask questions while you read and try to predict.
• Making a Connection: to personal experiences, life, other literature, etc.
• Interpret/Evaluate: Determine the meaning of what you’ve read; Form opinions both
while you’re reading and after you’ve finished. Develop your own judgments about the
characters and your own ideas about events.
• Extend the Meaning: What does the quote say about all people and humanity?
• Challenging the Text: Form questions about the validity of implied/explicit
connections or claims, reliability of narrator, development of plot, character, style, etc.
Part II: Discussion Questions
Directions: Compose FIVE higher level questions that will be used in a book club/Socratic seminar when we
return. You will be in charge of leading the discussion so make sure you are able to answer your own question
with evidence from the text in order to facilitate discussion. Consider using the words below when forming
your questions.
acquire
adopt
apply
assemble
capitalize
construct
consume
develop
discuss
experiment
formulate
manipulate
demonstrate
organize
relate
report
search
show
solve
conseque
nces
analyze
arrange
categorize
classify
compare
contrast
deduce
determine
diagram
break down
differentiate
discuss
causes
predict
conclude
criticize
dissect
distinguish
give
reasons
order
separate
sequence
survey
take apart
test for
why
synthesize
challenge
Part III: Vocabulary Chart
Directions: As you complete your assigned reading, identify 30 words that are unfamiliar to you. Create a
chart in which you write the word, sentence, and page from where it originated. Use a dictionary to define
the word, but make sure you paraphrase the definition so it is expressed in your own words. Then, write the
word in a meaningful sentence of your own.
Sample Vocabulary Chart (from The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck)
Word
Page Original Sentence
Definition
Your Sentence
broodingly
27
Preoccupied with
depression, morbid, or
painful memories and
thoughts.
After she lost the
volleyball match, Cara
broodingly walked out of
the gym.
“Casy took the bottle and
regarded it broodingly.”
Part IV: Essay
In a one-page essay, explain an idea or theme from the novel –either stated outright or implied by events—
which is meaningful to you. Explain its importance to the book and why you find it meaningful.
4 Western School of Technology and Environmental Science: English 9 Reading Assignment