English II Honors Summer Assignments

I. Read a book that you have not read before from the following list:

A. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
B. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
C. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
D. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
E. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
F. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
G. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
H. Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky

II. Along with your reading, type or neatly write the following on loose paper, to be turned in on August 27. This written portion should be double spaced, and there should be evidence of planning, drafting, revising, editing and proofreading.

A. Citation. Record the M.L.A. publishing information for your book.

B. Vocabulary. Make a list of 20 new or interesting words found in the book. For each word, include the following:

1. Context sentence
2. Citation
3. Part of speech and definition
4. A related word or words
5. Your own original sentence

C. Connect. Discuss parallels between your book and one of the following pieces that you read freshman year: Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, or Homer's The Odyssey. Length: 250 words.

D. Snapshot. Discuss your favorite chapter or scene from your book, explaining what makes it significant for you. Length: 250 words.

E. Poem. Write a poem inspired either by your book or by an experience you have this summer.

This assignment will be a valuable grade, and will be considered late after the first day of school. So come prepared and bring your book! Be ready to discuss your book and share your writings.

Below is a model citation and vocabulary word from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain:

Twain, Mark. Life on the Mississippi. Koln, Germany: Konemann, 2000.

1. oblige. "The pilot who had formerly been obliged to put up with seeing a shoal place once or possibly twice a month, had a hundred sharp eyes to watch it for him, now, and bushels of intelligent brains to tell him how to run it" (127). v. to make an action necessary or required. obligation, obligatory. I don't like my grandma's green jello mold, but of course I will be obliged to eat some of it.

I hope you have a great summer and that your reading will be a part of it. If you have any questions about the assignment, I can be reached at scott.quincy@gmail.com.

Supplies

Please bring the following supplies on the first day of school:

• a 100 page composition notebook
• a set of 100 3x5 lined index cards
• sticky notes, any size
• a pen, blue or black ink
• a pencil
• loose leaf, wide ruled notebook paper
• a folder to keep handouts

Quincy Scott
Communications Arts High School
Northside Independent School District
San Antonio

return to Summer Assignments page