May 18, 2018 Dear Incoming Sophomore Honors Students, Welcome to the Sophomore Honors English program. We want to work together with you to make sure you get off to a productive start. This course will familiarize you with our Honors program and prepare you for your future participation in the Advanced Placement program during your junior and senior years of high school. The summer reading assignment is intended to begin this process. Over the summer you will be asked to read and analyze three different non-fiction works. You will need to find, print out, and annotate three articles from three different reputable sources (one article from each source). Reputable sources include varying news sources with minimal political bias (i.e. The Wall Street Journal, NPR, USA Today, BBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, NBC, ABC News, CBS News, Associated Press, and CNN), podcasts (from NPR), and articles from published works, such as The Best American Essays of the Century edited by Joyce Carol Oates or The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2017 edited by Hope Jahren. You can purchase the latter two books on Amazon.com. Texts from these sources will prepare each student for reading and discussion at the Honors/AP level. When selecting articles, you might want to pick articles on a similar topic. You will be expected to come to class on the first day fully prepared to discuss and analyze these texts with your classmates. Your three selected non-fiction articles should be designed to expose you to challenging texts and introduce you to the expectations of reading and analysis throughout the Sophomore Honors English course. While you read and annotate the three articles, you will need to identify the theme, the author’s purpose in the work, the implementation of any rhetorical devices (ethos, pathos, logos, diction, detail, imagery, syntax, tone, figurative language, etc.), and support your argument with concrete and appropriate evidence from the text. You will then complete ONE Concept Map that incorporates all three articles. (See the next two pages for information on the Concept Map.) Remember to use direct quotes and parenthetical citations, and to proofread. In addition to bringing your annotated articles and Concept Map on the first day of the 2018-2019 school year, during the first week of classes you will be required to participate in in-class discussions and activities, and answer several short essay questions in relation to your selected summer reading articles. This will be used as a means of assessing your reading comprehension, analysis, and synthesis. Sophomore Honors English is a challenging course where you will be expected to take the reading and writing expectations seriously. As your Honors English teachers we will push you to be analytical learners and critical thinkers. Whether it is in writing or discussion, you will be able to distinguish your abilities in the classroom. In class this coming year, you will become well-skilled in analysis through class discussion, analytical essays, Socratic seminars, and a variety of tests and quizzes. Furthermore, we must be clear: this is a writing intensive course and you should anticipate substantial classwork. We look forward to working with you this upcoming year and encourage you to email us if you are puzzled with the summer reading or need any guidance. See you in August, Ms. Nicollette Fernandez Mr. Mike Miserendino English Instructor English Instructor Nicollettefernandez@u-46.org Michaelmiserendino@u-46.org

School District U-46 Bartlett High School

Mr. Michael Demovsky701 W. Schick Road, Bartlett IL 60103

Tel: 630.372.4700Fax: 630.372.4682

U-46.org

ISO 9001:2015 Certified Quality Management System

Tony Sanders, Chief Executive Officer

Concept Map Explanation A Concept Map is a visual representation of your understanding of the elements in a text and how each concept connects and builds to meaning and purpose. This map should be self-selected and all-inclusive, a ready source for future reference. It is the process of doing this assignment that will help you to understand your articles and your authors better, and to retain its contents longer. The map should include key concepts, evidence from the text for support, and arrows with an explanation of how the concepts connect together to create meaning and purpose. It must be clear how you are linking ideas together. Items for Consideration It is suggested that you focus on roughly 4-5 of the items listed below:

● Author’s Purpose – The reason why the writer may have written the article. ● Significance of title – What deeper understanding that it may reveal. ● Setting and location – The context of location and how that impacts plot/argument. ● Characters – (If applicable) Not a list, but a notation of the key players and major aspects of their character importance

to the telling of the article. ● Structure of the work – A discussion of how the writer chooses to construct the article. How does the way they state the

information matter? ● Important literary devices (symbolism, foreshadowing, irony, etc.) – Not a list, but a notation of how the writer

utilizes these devices to strengthen the article. ● Important rhetorical devices (diction, detail, imagery, syntax, tone, figurative language, persuasive strategies) –

Not a list, but a notation of what the writer is doing with language to strengthen the article. ● Theme, underlying meaning – The purpose of the text as it relates to how the reader understands what the article is

intending to focus on. In other words: the subject that the writer is trying to present to the reader as the dominant idea of the article. Themes cannot be expressed in one word. At the high school level, themes are statements.

➢ For example: To Kill a Mockingbird - “morality” is not a theme. “The examination of racial injustice in the south shows a lack of morality.”

Evidence from the text to support It is suggested that you have multiple examples of the following:

● Key events in the text – Not a list, or a statement of what happens, but a notation of the event and why it mattered to the text.

● Short, partial quotes - to provide textual evidence and to emphasize the writing of the piece.

Considerations for the Logistics of Making the Map ● Consider how to organize spatially to best express ideas and connections. ● Consider using color to create distinctions and add to organization.

What a Concept Map is NOT A Concept Map is not a reading check nor is it a summary of the article. Simple summaries of the text without evidence of analysis will not receive a passing grade. Your teacher will not be using this to assess whether or not you completed the Summer Reading Assignment. They will be collecting and evaluating the assignment for evidence of your ability to critically think and analyze multiple non-fiction sources. Requirements for the Concept Map

● Must be at least 8 x 11 inches (standard printer paper size) but may be larger ● Because of the need for showing relationships spatially, maps may be hand-written. Yet, hand-written maps must be

legible. Use different colored font to help organize your map, too. ● Connections must be made explicit. Do not expect your teacher to infer why an arrow leads from one idea to another.

(See example on the next page.) ● Evidence from the text in the form of short quotes must be presented to support ideas. (See example on the next page.)