McKinney ISD - Mrs. Holliman's Opus-9th Grade Lit/Comp - Webs

9 th Grade Honors EnglishMrs. Holliman’s Awesome(Abbreviated)Reading Assignment!August 2012Dear Phenomenal 9 th Grade Student and Parent/Guardian:Greetings and welcome to a new school year at Westlake High School. My name is Mrs.Holliman and I will be your teacher for Honors 9 th Grade Literature and Composition.First, let me say that I am excited about having you in my class! How can I say thatwithout having met you? Simple. I get excited about all my students; and since we’regoing to be spending nearly every Monday – Friday together, there’s something else youneed to know: I try to come to school hype…everyday. Why? Because I know I’mgoing to get greatness from my students! And how do I know that? Again, simple:Because I only expect and accept greatness from my students. So, are you ready? I hopeso because your journey to greatness starts now!Statistics prove continued reading improves test scores and increases student success.With this in mind, 9 th Grade Honors requires a summer reading assignment for students.(I know! I’m excited too! )As a student entering the 9 th Grade Honors English program, summer reading isan absolute must! I hope you love words and language because this course is a lot aboutreading and understanding all of the different ideas and perspectives that authors use andplay with in their books. (I am a self-proclaimed logophile and bibliophile. I LOVEliterature and the vocabulary used to create it!)Successful completion of this course requires individual study time outside of class on aregular basis. I can’t teach you everything you need to know during class time and youcan’t learn everything you need to learn so there will be plenty of opportunities for you toso some discovering on your own.The key to success in this class is critical thinking. Simply put, you must begin todevelop the ability to make meaning of a text for yourself. If this makes you nervous,don’t be! You will have many opportunities to get plenty of practice during our SocraticSeminars. (Don’t know what those are? Hmmm….sounds like an opportunity to do alittle research!)1

Students will need to purchase supplemental materials for some of the 9 th Grade Honorsassignments. (You’ll see that information below)Next school year, we will be reading short stories, poetry, plays, and novels. Prepare tobe busy!Please understand that I require each to read the ACTUAL books – While I do not want you torely on Cliffs Notes, Spark Notes, movies or any other internet source/condensed versions for thisclass (you won’t pass a single assignment if you do) it is okay if you use them for clarity’s sake.(They will be especially helpful when we get to Romeo and Juliet and Homer’s Odyssey)**There is 1 assignment required. Please choose one of the following: **1) Summer Reading-The Hunger Gamesor2) Summer Reading-Fahrenheit 451I. Summer Reading-The Hunger Games RésuméThis summer, you will need to read The Hunger Games IN ITS ENTIRETY. And no, just goingto see the movie is not going to get you the grade you want. For this assignment, you must choose3 major characters from the book and create one resume for each. In order to do this, you mustfirst complete a character analysis for each character you choose. (See attached)*Note: Numerous copies of both books have been ordered and can be purchased at the Barnes andNobles at Camp Creek for your convenience.*PART ONE:A. While you don’t have to answer every question, you need to answer at least 15 on the list.Some responses you will develop quickly and others will require some thought. In certaincases, you may not be able to answer questions until you’ve gotten to the end of the book.Please include your questions and responses as a part of this assignment.B. Based on what you know about your book, create a résumé for three of it’s majorcharacters. Your resume must include the following information:a. Personal Information: (Name, address, phone, e-mail, etc.)b. Education: (Where did s/he go to school)2

c. Work Experience: (What type(s) of jobs has s/he had?)d. Other Skills: (What other things can s/he do outside of their currentprofession)e. Published Writings: (If s/he had to write at least two articles or bookswhat would they be titled?)f. Professional References: (Who would s/he have as references? Whowould vouch for his or her qualifications?)C. Some items on the résumé you can pull directly from the story, others you willhave to create on your own. Use your imagination! I am asking you to get insidethe heads of these characters and write a résumé as if you were them. You canmake up names, dates, titles, etc. All of that is just peachy! Just rememberwhatever you use must be relevant and relate to your character. (Most versions ofMicrosoft Word have a résumé template in case you need some help.)D. YOUR RÉSUMÉ SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST 2 LINES FOR EACHHEADING. THINK ABOUT YOUR FONT CHOICE, FONT SIZE,GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, SPELLING ETC. ALL OF THESE THINGSCAN BE USED TO ACCURATELY PORTRAY THE CHARACTER YOU’VECHOSENPART TWO:A. Now that you have the résumés all done, create Help Wanted ads for which eachof your characters would most definitely be hired. Again, use your noggins! Tryto come up with an ad that has nothing to do with their current “professions” butfor which they would be perfectly suited anyway.B. YOUR AD SHOULD BE AT LEAST 4-6 SENTENCES LONG AND SHOULDLOOK LIKE A WANT AD FROM THE NEWSPAPER. IT SHOULD BE ON ASEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER. BE SPECIFIC. WE WANT YOURCHARACTER TO GET THE JOB!!II. Summer Reading-Fahrenheit 451 JournalThe assignment below REQUIRES in depth thought and critical thinking so make sureyou read the book closely. It is not considered cheating if you refer to a site likeSparknotes if you are having difficulty with a chapter or passage however do NOT useany of the information you found in your project. Doing so will result in an automaticzero!You will keep a journal as if you were one of the characters in your book. You willcomplete a minimum of two entries for each chapter each of which will be no less than ½page long single-spaced (This means you should have at least a page worth of journalentries for each chapter). Remember, you must put yourself into the shoes of thecharacter you’ve chosen. (If a character dies, you may choose him as well. Think aboutwhat type of journal he would write as he watches the story unfold. What questions mighthe have? What advice might he want to give, etc.)3

OTHER BOOKS NEEDED:For Parallel Reading (DO NOT READ DURING THE SUMMER): These books will beread in class.Romeo and Juliet & A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Please do not purchase theNo Fear Shakespeare version. We’ll be doing a lot of work with language andcontext clues and the translation limits what we can do.)‣ Needed by March 2013Homer’s Odyssey (Translated by Robert Fitzgerald)‣ Needed by September 4, 2012Final Words….***The skills you cover in 9th Grade are absolutely essential to achievement in the uppergrades and beyond. This being the case, we have to be in “top form” everyday to insurethat we finish the year with the skills needed for future success.In addition to an excellent attitude and everything mentioned above, the materials listedbelow are required for this class (For August):One 1 ¼ ” 3 ring binder with plastic sleeve in front or yellow 5-subject notebookwith pocketsDivider pages for binder (5)Post-It Notes (Different Colors)Blue or Black ink pensHighlighters (Different Colors)Notebook paperAccess to ComputerAccess to PrinterIndex Cards (Lots of them)Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus________________________________________________________________________This may seem like one of the hardest classes you will take, but it WILL be one of themost rewarding. I AM EXCITED TO SEE YOU GROW AS A STUDENT!~ Mrs. HollimanContact Information:Email to hollimancs@fultonschools.org ORchantrise.holliman@gmail.comWebsite: www.mrshollimansela.webs.com4

Name___________________________________ Date____________ Period_______Character Analysis Worksheet1. When does my character live? Past, present or future?2. Where does my character live? In the country, the city, the suburbs…?3. What is the socioeconomic background of my character? Rich? Poor? MiddleClass?4. Does my character work? If so, at what?5. What skills does my character possess? What is he or she good at?6. What is a typical day for my character like?7. Who lives with my character and what are their relationships?8. Who else heavily influences my character?9. What is my character’s biggest life goal?10. What is my character’s biggest goal within the play?11. How does my character’s motivation change from the beginning of the play to theend?12. What is the primary emotion my character has throughout this story?13. What other emotions are affecting my character underneath that emotion?14. Does my character have mental or emotional difficulties, illnesses or tics?15. What kind of self-esteem does my character have?16. How does my character relate to the outside world?17. What emotion should other readers feel toward my character? Sympathy, hate,friendly?18. In the beginning of the story, what do we discover about my character?19. In the middle of the story, how does my character grow and change?20. At the end of the story, what will happen to my character?21. How important is my character to the action of the story as a whole?22. When does my character help the plot along and how?23. What is the most important element to my character: family, love, or career?24. How old is my character? What major historical events have they lived through?25. Does my character have children? How does (s)he feel about them?26. Is my character manipulating or being manipulated by anyone?27. Does my character have a hidden agenda or a deep secret?28. Who are they hiding this from? Another character?29. What is my character’s greatest fear?30. What is my character’s greatest accomplishment?31. What person or fictional character does my character most remind me of?32. If I met my character, how would I react to him or her?5