Summer Reading
9th Grade
Hello Rising Freshmen!
Below you will find your instructions for summer reading. We will be using the site, Edmodo, to fulfill
this assignment as a class, so you will need to sign up for an account if you do not have one. Edmodo is
free and easy to use, and I think it will help us accomplish our reading goals without too much intrusion
into your summer plans.
English 9 is a writing intensive course. We use literature to inform the writing assignments for the class.
That being said, I would encourage students to read a variety of texts this summer as time allows. I
would also encourage students to enjoy summer break experiencing God’s amazing creation to the
fullest possible extent, so please do not try to do too much.
Please choose TWO novels—read one novel from the dystopian literature genre. (Ex. The Hunger
Games, Divergent series, The Maze Runner…etc.). Please read one novel that would be classified as
multi-cultural. (Any novel that celebrates a culture outside of your own.) We will be reading Fahrenheit
451, The Chosen, and To Kill A Mockingbird during the upcoming school year. Please avoid reading these
novels.
Your assignment:
Sign up for an Edmodo account or just log in if you already have one, click to join the group English 9.
You will need the code: usqbtb. You will need to write five original entries on the group site and five
responses to classmates’ posts. The five original entries should identify elements of dystopian literature
(ex. Citizens live in a dehumanized state). For the multi-cultural novel, identify cultural values, both
similar and different than your own. Write the quote on the Edmodo site with proper citation. The posts
should end with a question that invites classmates to respond. The responses should be a clear answer,
followed by evidence for the answer from the text, and a commentary that extends an understanding of
the text. Cited quotes are a required part of the assignment on both types of entries.
For Example:
Original Entry:
“Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch—this is the Capitol’s
way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving
another rebellion.” (Collins, 18). Collins demonstrates the dystopian element of citizens living in a
dehumanized state in this quote from the first book. The Hunger Games were an allusion to former
atrocities like the Gladiator games of ancient Rome. Is Collins perhaps alluding to citizens living in a
dehumanized state in our own age? What could she be alluding to?
Response Entry:
History should serve as a warning to all of us, so perhaps Collins uses the games to show us that history
has a way of repeating itself, even the worst times in history often come back around. In our modern
age, we do attempt at dehumanizing certain individuals (the migrant worker, the homeless, and the
unborn). The Capitol citizens believe they are superior to everyone else, “The pair last year ate
everything with their hands like a couple of savages” (Collins, 54). In this way, they consider the people
of the districts to be no better than animals, so they justify the atrocities of the games.
Grading Rubric
Original Entries
Date of Entry
Quote with proper citation
Grade for Entry
Grading Rubric: quote from book=5; Comments on character or conflict =5; Citation = 5;
question=5 (total 20 points)
Response Entries
Date of Entry
Responding to
Grade for Entry
Grading Rubric: answer question=5; quote=5; citation = 5, extend knowledge=5; (total 20
points)
Blessings on a safe and restful summer,
Becky Schumacher