Summer Reading
English 11/12
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 11/12 is a writing intensive course. We use literature to inform the writing assignments for the
class. That being said, I would encourage you to read a variety of texts this summer as time allows. I
would also encourage you to enjoy summer break experiencing God’s amazing creation to the fullest
possible extent, so challenge yourself to set a reading goal that is achievable and not stressful.
Please choose two novels from the list below that you have not already read:
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
A Room Of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hildebrand
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Buried Onions by Gary Soto
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Up From Slavery: An Autobiography by Booker T. Washington
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Your assignment:
Sign up for an Edmodo account or just log in if you already have one, click to join the group English
11/12. You will need the code: c4vn4y. You will need to write five original entries on the group site and
five responses to classmates’ posts. The five original entries should focus on HOW the author invites
the reader to understand a different culture or to question previously held beliefs. 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:
“The hind feet kicked his shell along, and it scraped the grass, and on the gravel. As the embankment
grew steeper and steeper, the more frantic were the efforts of the land turtle” (Steinbeck, 15). John
Steinbeck uses the turtle to symbolize the futility of the Joad family up against the greed of the banks
and ultimately, “the monster.” What else could the turtle symbolize? Why does Steinbeck spend a
whole chapter describing a turtle crossing a road?
Response Entry:
The turtle could also symbolize the determination of the Joads, or perhaps the turtle represents Tom
Joad. He is determined to keep moving. Casy says in Chapter 6, “I seen turtles all my life. They’re always
goin’ someplace. They always seem to want to get there” (Steinbeck, 44). Steinbeck wants the reader to
draw these parallels of the determined but pitiable creatures to the plight of his characters. By spending
chapters on different images he elevates the prose to an almost poetic status.
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)