Robert E. Lee’s Early College Summer Reading Assignment English 1 & 2 Honors Due Date: First day of the 2014-2015 school year (Monday, August 18, 2014) Format: Typed and printed or hand-written (neat!) Choose one of the following novels: 1) Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes 2) The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak 3) Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson For each chapter (progress reports for Algernon), find a quote that applies to one of the following questions: 1. What is your reaction or response to what you read today? What feelings or emotions did you feel as you read? 2. Write about a sentence/paragraph that you found to be thought provoking or inspirational. Explain why. 3. Compare/contrast yourself with a character in the book. Include physical traits, hobbies, interests, family situations, problems, etc. 4. Do you feel involved in the story or distant from it? What makes you feel this way? 5. If you were to make a movie from this story, what character(s) could be eliminated? Why? Which real actors would you choose to play the main characters? 6. Based on what you know about one of the characters, what predictions can you make? 7. Describe your personal reactions to the book. 8. What sort of person do you imagine the author of this novel to be? Why? 9. Tell about a character you do not like. 10. Why do you think the story took place where the author made it happen? 11. What can you add/take away to make the story more interesting? 12. If you wrote a continuation of the story, what would you make happen next? 13. What do you think happened just before the story started? 14. Change one of the main characters in the story to the opposite sex. How would the novel’s viewpoint change?

Each response must meet the following criteria: 1. All elements of the question must be addressed. 2. A direct quote from the chapter must be included (in addition to the three sentences). The quote must include the page number in parentheses directly after the quote. For example, "I dint know mice were so smart" (6). 3. In addition to the quote, the question must be answered using at least three complete sentences. 4. Each question cannot be used more than twice. Grading Criteria: 1. Completion (all elements of the question are addressed and responses include a quotation and at least three complete sentences). 2. Analysis and application (responses demonstrate that the student understands what he/she has read and makes thoughtful personal application of the text). 3. Support (quotes are meaningful, appropriate, and cited with page numbers). 4. Style, mechanics, and presentation (responses use good style and mechanics and are either typed or written neatly). 5. Timeliness (submission is complete and ready to turn in the first day of school) Bring your novel with you to class on the first day of school. Be prepared for an in-class writing activity the first day of school or some time during the first week. Questions: Mrs. Haines will be checking her email periodically throughout the summer. Her email address is [email protected]. Remember that this assignment should be only the start of your summer reading. You are encouraged to read, read, and read throughout your vacation. Happy reading!