Hamilton Southeastern High School
Freshman Honors English Summer Reading Assignment - 2017
(Note: Fishers High School uses a similar assignment, but different texts may be used. Please ensure that you are reading a book assigned by your high school!) Dear Incoming Freshmen: We look forward to meeting you in person in the fall and want to take this opportunity to provide you with some information as you prepare for our first class. With the summer reading assignment, our objective is that students continue to read and experience literature from a variety of authors while being introduced to themes discussed during the school year. As an incoming English 9 Honors student you will read and annotate ONE novel. The following reading choices were selected by the English 9 Honors teachers to reflect a wide variety of interests and maturity levels. Students should select ONE of the books below to read. 
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The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez You will annotate the novels specifically for the following ideas: 
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Deceptive appearances Prejudice Courage and bravery Man’s inhumanity to man (beyond prejudice) The importance of seeing events from another’s perspective Information about how to annotate your book follows. The novel and annotations must be completed for the first day of school. You will be expected to have your annotated novel or annotation notes (if you choose to borrow your book from the library or use an ebook) at our first meeting. You will take a reading test and complete an in‐
class essay over your novel within the first few days of the semester. We look forward to seeing you in class this fall, but in the meantime, enjoy your summer! Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Bakle, Mrs. Murphy, and Mrs. Suriano English 9 Honors Teachers English 9 Honors Summer Reading Assignment 2017: Annotating a Novel (adapted from the Pre‐AP/AP English Handbook): 1. Underline, circle or highlight key words and phrases. 2. Make a note in the margin for each item underlined/circled/highlighted in the text. These notations could include, but are not limited to: 1. Brief summary of a passage 2. Definition of a word 3. Personal response to what is happening 4. Mark examples of the following ideas. You are expected to find at least one example of each of the following: i. Deceptive appearances ii. Prejudice iii. Courage and bravery iv.
Man’s inhumanity to man (beyond prejudice) v.
The importance of seeing events from another’s perspective 3. Make multiple notations per chapter 4. If students create their own color‐coding or symbol systems for annotations, please include a key/legend for reference. **Students seeking more information on purposes and methods for annotating may visit this site for reference: http://slowreads.com/2008/04/18/how‐to‐mark‐a‐book/