2015 Upper School English III Summer Reading & Assignments

July 2015

Dear BLSYW Eleventh Grade (English III) Students and Families:

Welcome to BLSYW Upper School English III ! This summer, 11th graders (English III) are required read two books: one fiction and one non-fiction. Please see the REQUIRED books on the following pages with their corresponding English III assignments. All assignments are due on Friday, September 4, 2015 at 8:00 a.m. Late assignments will not be accepted. For further questions or guidance, please contact Ms. Champion, English Teacher at CLChampion@bcps.k12.md.us.

Assignment Checklist

Use the assignment checklist below to help you track your progress as you go along:

Assignment Finished Reading Book

Finished Writing Assignment

Task

Assignment 1:

Essay on Assigned Novel:

Americanah OR

Sula

⃞ ⃞ 2 ½ -3 Page Essay on Character’s Relationship

and Personal Relationship. The essay should be

typed using 12 point font (Times New Roman or

Arial ONLY) and double spaced.

Assignment 2:

Interview with

character from

Non-Fiction

Book:

A Hope in the Unseen OR

Life, Animated:

A Story of

Sidekicks,

Heroes, and

Autism

⃞ ⃞ Interview with character from the book

Part #I: Required Fiction Reading

Fiction Choices: Choose one of the two novels listed below.

Novel #1: Americanah

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

OR

Novel #2: Sula

by Toni Morrison

Two girls who grow up to become women. Two friends who become something worse than enemies. In this brilliantly imagined novel, Toni Morrison tells the story of Nel Wright and Sula Peace, who meet as children in the small town of Medallion, Ohio. Their devotion is fierce enough to withstand bullies and the burden of a dreadful secret. It endures even after Nel has grown up to be a pillar of the black community and Sula has become a pariah. But their friendship ends in an unforgivable betrayal—or does it end? Terrifying, comic, ribald and tragic, Sula is a work that overflows with life.

From the award-winning author of Half of a Yellow Sun, a dazzling new novel: a story of love and race centered around a young man and woman from Nigeria who face difficult choices and challenges in the countries they come to call home. As teenagers in a Lagos secondary school, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love. Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship, and people are leaving the country if they can. Ifemelu—beautiful, self-assured—departs for America to study. She suffers defeats and triumphs, finds and loses relationships and friendships, all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home: race. Obinze—the quiet, thoughtful son of a professor—had hoped to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Years later, Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria, while Ifemelu has achieved success as a writer of an eye-opening blog about race in America. But when Ifemelu returns to Nigeria, and she and Obinze reignite their shared passion—for their homeland and for each other—they will face the toughest decisions of their lives. Fearless, gripping, at once darkly funny and tender, spanning three continents and numerous lives, Americanah is a richly told story set in today’s globalized world: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s most powerful and astonishing novel yet.

Part #I: Required Fiction Assignment

After reading either Americanah or Sula, please respond to the following essay prompt: In both novels, characters form unlikely relationships—relationships that shape and define who and what

they are, and further, what they believe in.

After reading, write a 2 ½ - 3 (TYPED) page essay the novel in which you:

o 1) Discuss the character’s relationship, the effects that the relationship has on the character, and

ultimately, what changes the character has gone from the relationship.

o 2) Compare it to a significant relationship you have had or continue to have in your life. Use the

following format:

DETAILS for the Essay: ✓ All work completed before the FINAL DRAFT should be submitted. ✓ Be sure the essay is labeled with a cover page that includes the title & rough/final draft (Example: Kindred-

Final Draft), your first and last name, and the date. ✓ The essay should be 2½ - 3 pages typed, double-spaced pages and should have quotations (at least 3

from the novel) to support your claims. FORMAT for the Argument Essay: Introduction (1 paragraph)

• Introduce the character’s relationship

• Introduce why the relationship is significant • Thesis: What changes/outcomes the character has/had because of the relationship.

This section invites the reader to consider the general topic of your essay./Introduces your relationship-Builds to a clear thesis statement.

Before: (3 paragraphs)

Shows the character’s expectations/life before the relationship. Includes specific examples of what the character expected/how life was for the character. Builds suspense.

During: (3 paragraphs)

Includes significant examples of what happened, and the character reacted/responded. Organized to show a clear sequence of events.

*Note: This is the significant event, the main subject of your essay, and should be the most detailed part of the paper.

Connection to a significant event in your life (3-4 paragraphs)

Describe (at least one paragraph) the significant relationship in your life., e.g. “This connects to my relationship with…”

Shows similarities and differences between your relationship and the character’s. Shows similarities and differences in the outcome. Specific connections between the character chosen and your relationship.

Conclusion (1 paragraph)

o Restates the original idea of the character and his her relationship o Can discuss what you or the character learned from the relationship. o Restate the thesis.

PLEASE NOTE: A paragraph should be a minimum of 4 sentences.

Part #II: Required Non-Fiction Reading

Non-Fiction Choices: Choose one of the two non-fiction books below.

Non-Fiction #1: A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League

By: Ron Suskind

Non-Fiction #2: Life, Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes, and Autism

It is 1993, and Cedric Jennings is a bright and ferociously determined honor student at Ballou, a high school in one of Washington D.C.’s most dangerous neighborhoods, where the dropout rate is well into double digits and just 80 students out of more than 1,350 boast an average of B or better. At Ballou, Cedric has almost no friends. He eats lunch in a classroom most days, plowing through the extra work he has asked for, knowing that he’s really competing with kids from other, harder schools. Cedric Jennings’s driving ambition–which is fully supported by his forceful mother–is to attend a top-flight college. In September 1995, after years of near superhuman dedication, he realizes that ambition when he begins as a freshman at Brown University. In this updated edition, A Hope in the Unseen chronicles Cedric’s odyssey during his last two years of high school, follows him through his difficult first year at Brown, and now tells the story of his subsequent successes in college and the world of work.

Imagine being trapped inside a Disney movie and having to learn about life mostly from animated characters dancing across a screen of color. A fantasy? A nightmare? This is the real-life story of Owen Suskind, the son of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind and his wife, Cornelia. An autistic boy who couldn't speak for years, Owen memorized dozens of Disney movies, turned them into a language to express love and loss, kinship, brotherhood .The family was forced to become animated characters, communicating with him in Disney dialogue and song; until they all emerge, together, revealing how, in darkness, we all literally need stories to survive.

Part #II: Required Non-Fiction Assignment All 11th grade English III students are required to read a work of non-fiction.

For this assignment, you are going to ‘interview’ one of the main characters from the book. The questions should be in-depth, probing, and connected to events, ideas, or themes from the reading. You must have at least 10 interview questions and responses from the character. The responses should be at least 2-3 sentences each, with correct punctuation and grammar. All responses should be typed and double-spaced, using 12 point font (Times New Roman, Arial and Cambria).

Below are a few sample questions and answers based on Beneatha from A Raisin in the Sun: Q1: What is your most important characteristic? Beneatha: My intelligence has to be my most important characteristic. Ever since I was young, I

dreamed of becoming a doctor and because of that, I have put a lot of effort into my learning. Although others—mainly my brother—looks down on my intelligence, it is what will make me successful in my pursuit of medicine. Although it is not as important, my work ethic is an important characteristic of mine: I have worked hard to become successful in college and to pursue my dreams.

Q2: What is your greatest fear?

Beneatha: Not knowing who or what I am. I thought I had a clear path in life—I was going to college to become a Doctor. But then I met Asagai, a Nigerian man who changed how I saw myself. Now I am not sure if I am African-American, African, American, or what? I am not even sure how to wear my hair or how to dress. I truly fear not knowing myself and living with that uncertainty.

Q3: When you find out Walter lost the money, what were you thinking? Beneatha: Well, to be completely honest, I would rather not tell you what I was thinking. In fact, I

am a little embarrassed about it now—after I spoke with Asagia, I realized that our family’s dreams were tied to my father’s money, not my own. So, I’d rather talk about what I am thinking now that the money is gone. I am thinking that I have to continue to work on my dreams of becoming a doctor, no matter what the obstacle may become. I am thinking that Walter, as much as he hurt our family, is still part of it – something that Mama continues to remind me of.