Bethel School District
Summer Reading Assignment: Grade NINE
Dear students and parents,
Summer reading is an important part of the Bethel School District culture. It is a vital experience that keeps kids learning
even when the school year is over. In addition to fostering a joy of reading, current research indicates that increased
summer reading helps students maintain skills and avoid learning loss. However, summer reading does more than
preserve the skills of the previous school year; by exploring a shared text, students have a common experience with their
classmates to begin the school year in September. Finally, when students complete an assignment accompanying the text,
teachers can provide valuable feedback to students to set them up for success throughout the coming year.
Bethel’s goals for assigning summer reading are:
1. To ask students to demonstrate their knowledge of and interaction with an extended text
2. To allow students to practice skills that will be reinforced or built upon during the next year of instruction
3. To foster the habits of mind demonstrated by successful readers
Students entering 9th grade may choose from the following titles:
• Emako Blue by Brenda Woods
• How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent by Julia Alvarez
• A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
• Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Houston
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
In order to document your thinking and interaction with the text, please complete the following assignment:
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Part I: Before Reading - Respond to a writing prompt: See page two for the prompt and directions.
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Part II: During Reading - As you read the novel, you must document your thoughts and reactions by keeping a
double-entry journal. Effective readers respond to text in a variety of ways; therefore, you are expected to respond
using each option given at least once. Please see the attached template for more details and support.
This assignment (parts I and II) is due on September 5th, 2014 (the first Friday of the school year) and will be
collected in your English Language Arts class.
If a student fails to complete the assignment by the specified due date, (s)he will
• Miss out on valuable feedback from the teacher
• Be unable to participate in and benefit from collaborative discussion with peers
• Not earn credit for the work
Common Core Connections - by completing this work, students will practice the following skills:
W.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection,
organization, and analysis of content
W.9-10.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
W.9-10.10: Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames (a single sitting) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences
R.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
R.9-10.2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of a text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by
specific details
R.9-10.3: Analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme
R.9-10.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific
word choices on meaning and tone
Grade Nine Summer Reading 2014: Bethel School District (DUE 9/5/14)
First and last name:
Middle school attended:
PART I – BEFORE READING
Before you begin reading your book, write an extended response to the following prompt.
PROMPT: Coming of age can be defined as attaining prominence, recognition, maturity, or knowledge. Consider
your reading, knowledge, and/or experience. What kind of coming of age experiences have you had or have you
read about? What trait(s) did you (or the characters) gain when coming of age, and, once gained, what benefits and
challenges arose in your (or the character’s) life?
Be sure to address all parts of the prompt in your response. Attach an additional sheet, if necessary.
Common Core Standards (part I):
W.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection,
organization, and analysis of content
W.9-10.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
W.9-10.10: Write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames (a single sitting) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences
Grade Nine Summer Reading 2014: Bethel School District (DUE 9/5/14)
PART II – DURING READING: DOUBLE-ENTRY JOURNAL
1. While you read you will record your thinking about and interactions with the text using the double-entry journal
format. Your double-entry journal must contain at least 12 entries.
2. The left column is used to record significant quotations from the text. The quotations you choose do not have to
be character dialogue. A quotation can range from a single sentence to a short paragraph, as long as it is important
or meaningful to your understanding of the book. Place this text excerpt in quotation marks and include the page
number.
3. The right column is used for commenting on the quotations; your commenting options are listed below. Effective
readers respond to text in a variety of ways; therefore, YOU MUST USE EACH OF THE OPTIONS
BELOW AT LEAST ONCE.
Your comments on the right must include:
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•
•
•
•
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Comments about the writer’s use of literary devices (metaphor, symbolism, personification, etc.)
Analysis of the quote’s connection to plot, character development, conflict, or theme
Your reactions to the author’s word choice (diction) or sentence structure (syntax)
Questions about what was read (meaning, purpose, character motivations, etc.)
Connections / Associations (to similar themes or topics in other books, authors, historical events)
Predictions or inferences
Template:
Quotations from Text
My notes (reactions/questions/analysis)
EXAMPLE:
“Her face was white and sharp and slightly gleaming in
the candlelight, like bone. No hint of pink. And the
hair. So fine, so pale, so much, crimped by its plaiting
into springy zigzag tresses, clouding neck and shoulders,
shining metallic in the candlelight” (42).
Literary Devices
When the author uses the words “white,” “sharp,” “gleaming,”
and “candle light,” he forms a ghostly, almost creepy image of
the woman. The simile comparing her face to “bone”
emphasizes this ghostly image even more, and the description
of the “springy” hair “clouding” around her upper body creates
a wild, almost zombie like picture of the woman. Strong use of
imagery and detail helps create a picture in the reader’s mind.
“Quotation from the text” (page #).
Connections
• To the plot
• To a character
• To a conflict
• To a theme
Diction/Syntax
• The character’s use of complex words makes him sound…
• This author uses short, choppy sentences in dialogue, which
makes the characters seem angry with each other…
Questions
• Why did the author/character do…?
• I wonder why…
Connections/Associations
• This relates to the book...when….
• This must have taken place during….because….
Predictions/Inferences
• Based on what happened here, I can infer…
• Last time this happened, the character…so I can predict…
“Quotation from the text” (page #).
“Quotation from the text” (page #).
“Quotation from the text” (page #).
“Quotation from the text” (page #).
Grade Nine Summer Reading 2014: Bethel School District (DUE 9/5/14)
In order to earn FULL CREDIT for your double-entry journal, you must fulfill the following criteria:
• 15 or more entries for the book
• Quotations from text must is one or more sentence in length
• Entries span the entire book (beginning, middle, end) and are indicated by page numbers
• Work is proofread and contains no spelling errors
• Student responses contain two or more complete sentences and demonstrate fully developed reactions to or
analysis of the text.
Your response will earn PARTIAL OR NO CREDIT if:
• There are fewer than 15 quotations and responses to the text
• Quotations or analysis contain many misspelled words
• Quotations from text indicate the entire book may not have been read (as indicated by page numbers)
• Student responses demonstrate incomplete thoughts or connections and seem hastily written. Entries lack
elaboration
Common Core Standards (part II):
R.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
R.9-10.2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of a text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by
specific details
R.9-10.3: Analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme
R.9-10.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific
word choices on meaning and tone
Grade Nine Summer Reading 2014: Bethel School District (DUE 9/5/14)