Summer Reading

Welcome to English 2 and English 2 Honors!

In order to be successful at the beginning of the year, you will need to do the following:

1. Check the blog and post! Mrs. West will be hosting a blog conversation about our summer reading, so please join! It may benefit you later in unexpected ways. J
2. Buy a hardcopy of My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult.  Why a hardcopy? You will need a real paper book in order to mark up, take notes and meditate as you read this inspiring novel that will lead you to deep personal insight.

1. Highlight and mark your text. As you read, you should be thinking about and jotting down notes that answer the questions, “Would I have done the same in this situation?” and “What is motivating each character in how they deal with the situations life had sent their way?” Here are a few tools…

·        Make notes about writing style; in this case Picoult changes her style to match the personality of each character. Take notes about style to figure out how she does this.

·        Draw a Key next to any text that seems key to the theme or character development.

·        Leave question marks or emoticons in the margin to remind you of your thoughts without writing too many words.

·        Highlight key passages.

·        Draw pictures in the margins to remind you of the subject of a page, paragraph or chapter.

·        Use Venn Diagrams to compare characters.

·        Make brief notes about your own experiences if a passage reminds you of something from your life or something else that helps you to understand more depth in the passage (many books make references to songs, movies, or other writings, etc…).

·        Every time you see a word you don’t know, look it up and write the definition near it. You could even create a glossary in the back of the book. New vocab is key in crafting a good SAT essay.

4. Watch the movie. That’s right, there’s a movie! You should watch it because we won’t get time to watch the whole thing in class. However, the book is drastically different from the movie. You will need to be prepared to discuss those differences with the class.

Why should I read and take notes? You should read and take notes so that you can be part of the class discussion at the beginning of our time together in class. There is nothing worse than being asked for your input and not having anything to contribute because you did not bother to read. Also, there will be a test within the first week of school. You don’t want to start off the year with a sad grade. Finally, you want to set good habits that will carry through the year. Your instructors have carefully chosen texts that are not only interesting and insightful, but carry themes that will go hand in hand through our final unit at the end of the year.

·        Above all else, relax. This novel is entertaining and interesting. Enjoy your summer with family and friends. Perhaps some of what you read in My Sister’s Keeper will lend itself to some great discussion with family members.