2010-2011: 9 Honors Summer Work

9 Honors English/9 Honors World History
Summer Work 2010-2011
English: Mrs. Hatler (ehatler@hpregional.org)
History: Ms. Sutton (jsutton@hpregional.org)

Directions. All students in 9 Honors English and/or 9 Honors World History must complete parts I and II.

Part I: “How to Mark a Book”

Read Mortimer J. Adler’s “How to Mark a Book.” This essay is about the different ways to take notes while reading an article or book. Based on the techniques given in the article, you will use a note-taking technique that works for you when doing part II of your summer work.

Part II: World Literature

Choose two full-length works of nonfiction or historical fiction by foreign authors that pertain to a non-American culture. The works cannot be a fantasy or a mystery novel. Each work must take place in a country other than the United States and should be rich in cultural information that can be compared and contrasted with the American culture. Take a visit to your local book store or head to the library and search the shelves for something that may interest you. Read reviews on your choices to make sure they are World Literature, not American Literature, and to make sure they are age appropriate. Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/) is a good website to read a brief summary and reviews of different works. Your parents must consent to your chosen works. To prove their consent, write your name and the name of the works and authors on a notecard and have your parents sign the notecard. The signed notecard needs to be handed in on Monday, September 6, 2010.

You are to take notes on the cultures you are learning about while reading your chosen works. If they are your own books, you can “mark them up” based on ideas found in “How to Mark a Book.” You may use post-it notes to mark off compelling ideas or important sections rich in culture. If it is not your own book and it needs to be returned to the library, take notes on compelling ideas and cultural information in a notebook. In any case, you must provide evidence of your note-taking abilities.

These notes will be helpful for the activities we have planned for the first full week of school. You will be having a book talk and completing an in-class writing prompt during the week of September 6, 2010.

The works listed below will be read in your 9th grade English course and are not allowed to be read for your summer homework:

Night
The Stranger
The Odyssey
The Alchemist
A Doll’s House
Hedda Gabler
The Good Earth
Animal Farm
Romeo and Juliet
Julius Caesar
Oedipus
Antigone
All Quiet on the Western Front
The House on Mango Street