Summer Reading Assignments (6th-12th grades)

Use your time wisely and answer all questions in complete sentences. Bring this assignment with you on the first day of school. We will be discussing in class.

PRINCE CASPIAN By C.S. Lewis

Main Conflict: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy find themselves called out of their own world and back to Narnia, but they do not know who has called them, why they have been called, or what is expected of them.  While you read, discover and record the answers to these questions.

You may have to read a few chapters to find these answers.

1. Who has called them?

2. Why have they been called?

3. What are they supposed to do?

Chap. 1-2

Why are the children at the train station at the beginning of the story?

Chap. 3-5

Why did the Caspian's tutor take him to the castle tower in the middle of the night?

Chap. 6-8

What friend of Caspian's arrives at the Dancing Lawn during the war council?

What news does he bring?

Chap 9-11

What does Lucy see just before they descend into the gorge of the river Rush?

According to Lucy, what does he want them to do?

Chap 12-13

Who are Nikabrik's two "friends"?

What is Nikabrik's solution to turning their defeats into victory?

The Climax of the novel is the high point of action or tension.  It is also called the turning point because after the climax, the conflict is soon resolved. Which event in Chapter 14 is the turning point?  Do your best to explain in detail.

Who is the hero in the story? Explain your answer.

Read all of Part One and Part Three, taking in-book notes as you go. (See the note-taking  guide below). When you finish, answer the questions below in neat cursive. You can read as much of the rest of the book as you want, but don’t read Part Four, because we’ll be going over its content during our year together. 

1) Part One introduces many Greek gods. What are these gods like? (Related questions to help get you  thinking: How are they all similar to each other? What makes each one different? What do they care  about? How are they good? How are they evil? What powers do they have? What is their relationship  with humans? How are they similar to or different from the Christian God?) 

2) Parts One and Three introduce many Greek heroes. What are these heroes like? (Related questions to help get you thinking: How are they similar or different than the people we call heroes today? Who do  they fight for? What makes them famous? How are they good or evil? What do they care about? Do  they have any special powers? What is their relationships with the gods?) 

7th Grade Literature Note-taking Guide 

In this class, we will learn how to take good in-book notes. We will focus on these three kinds  of notes: 

1. Highlighting/underlining. This is good for pointing out something that is important or worth  remembering. It’s usually good to write a little summary or explanation next to your  highlights/underlines, so you can more easily remember why it’s important. You should aim at  having two or three of these per chapter. Don’t highlight everything, or everything will look  equally important! 

2. Plot notes. This is when you summarize what is happening. These should be short and to the  point. If a character is doing or saying something, include his or her name, so it is easier to  know what is happening. For example, “Achilles attacks Hector” is better than “He attacks him” and “Odysseus says he is from Crete” is better than “He is from Crete.” You should aim at  having one plot note per page. Focus on the main action, not little details. 

3. Meaning notes. This is when you explain how something is meaningful. We will learn more  about how to take this kind of note later in the year. Eventually, the goal will be to take one  meaning note per page. 

It is okay if you’ve never taken notes in a book before, or if you feel like you don’t know how to do a  good job. We will work on them together throughout the year, and I will help you improve. The best  way to improve is through practice! So practice highlighting/underlining and taking plot notes in your  Mythology book this summer. (Don’t worry about meaning notes for now.) 

Bonus: Who is your favorite god, goddess, or hero from the summer reading? What do  you like about him or her? 

Extra Bonus: Draw your favorite god, goddess, or hero.

 

This summer, we will be reading The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. This brief story offers a fascinating consideration of why people choose to accept or reject God and paradise. 

As you read, try to take note of the most important themes and ideas within the book. There will be no “note check” when we return to school, but you should have completely read the text and answered the following questions before the first day of school. 

After you have read, please answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper. 

1) In this story, what is the physical relationship between the grassy plains and the grey country? What is the significance of this relationship? 

2) What was your favorite conversation from the grassy plain? Summarize and explain it.

3) In this story, what stops most people from living in Heaven?  

Answer the above questions on a piece of paper. Each answer should be at least 1 paragraph. This is due the first day your class meets. 
 

Ninth Grade is for the Romans. This year, you will be studying Roman history, literature, philosophy, art, and culture. In History, you will read the Gospels and Acts, where we find the story of Christ and the early Church in the Roman Empire. In Literature, you will read the great Roman author Virgil, and his magnificent epic The Aeneid. You will follow Ovid and his fascinating collection of myths, The Metamorphoses, as well as St. Augustine’s marvelous Confessions. But, not everything we do in 9th Literature is Roman.

Frankenstein is not one of the easiest novels, but it is one of the most popular ones ever written. Written by Mary Shelley (a 19-year-old girl!), this fast-paced work deals with important issues like revenge, love, creativity, justice, hatred, forgiveness, and death. The reason people have read it over and over for generations is...because it’s really good!

You will be expected to have read Frankenstein in its entirety over the summer. After you have completed the reading, answer the essay questions below. Your typed responses will be collected on the first day of class.

1. Which character do you identify with (pity, agree with, feel for, etc.) more: Victor or his Creature? Why? Which one has done more wrong? Be specific, and use a few short quotes from the book to explain and justify your answer.

2. Find a passage (no more than half a page) that you particularly enjoyed, copy it down (including the page number), and describe what makes it so enjoyable and/or interesting. Does it have to do with something philosophical (like the idea of Justice) that you learned last year in Logic School? Does it relate to something in the Bible, or in your own life? Perhaps it is a particularly moving part of the story or a terrifying moment.

These questions are due on the first day of class. They should be typed, and approximately one page each.

I hope you enjoy your summer, and I look forward to discussing Frankenstein with you when you return to school!

Rising sophomores,

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales begins with a group of pilgrims setting out on a journey to a holy martyr’s shrine. The narrator introduces  a cast of characters, spanning the highs and lows of 14th-century English society, with a careful eye that reveals that few are who we should expect them to be. The group decides to spend their journey in a story-telling competition, the winner earning feast paid for by the others when they return back home. The first to tell a tale is the Knight. The Knight is admired for his virtues, noted for his participation in that time’s bloodiest battles, and humbly dressed in a stained undershirt. 

The story he spins riffs on histories and legends you’ve read before at Trinity: the Theban Civil War, the heroism of Theseus, the intervention of Roman gods in the lives of mortals, the power of love and fate. A pair of star-crossed brothers, Arcite and Palamon, find themselves imprisoned under the power of Theseus, and, worst of all, enslaved by the power of love to the beauty of the same forbidden woman. The story that follows has been the inspiration for hundreds of poems, songs, paintings, sculptures, and movies. And it is now your summer reading. You’ll find “The Knight’s Tale” pages 26-86 in your Canterbury Tales book. 

Your first assignment: when you read, take notes. See below for a note-taking guide. When you encounter a weird word or an unfamiliar phrase, the Glossary in the back of the book may help you out. 

Your second assignment: once you’ve read the story, copy down two commonplaces. One should be a favorite quote from the book. The other should be a quote that you think best represents the book – something that sums up the action, or the ideas, or key themes, or your reading experience in a single passage. If you need help getting or setting up a commonplace book, follow this link.

Questions? Contact Mr. Weichbrodt (zweichbrodt@trinityclassicalacademy.com) 

6 Kinds of Notes to Take 

Make observations of the text.
This includes: indicating the presence of themes or Great Ideas; making connections to other parts of the texts or other stories, experiences or ideas; recording your impressions, reactions, and ideas in response to what's going on; observing the use of symbols and other literary devices or tropes. 

Find patterns.
As actions, words, images, patterns, structures, or themes repeat themselves...notice them. Why might they be repeated? How are they being used? What are they doing? What does observing them point you toward? 

Underline interesting, confusing, controversial, or striking passages. 
Highlight the passages that you need help (either through discussion, research, or further reading) digesting as you return to the text. Similarly, highlight the remarkable passages which seem to be the major points of the text, for ease of reference when returning to it. For best results, try to note a word, or words, that for what made you underline that passage, so that all your underlining doesn't look the same (Write “Confusing!” next to passages you've underlined because they were confusing. Write “Beautiful!” next to passages you've underlined because they were beautiful. At the next level, identify what is beautiful, what is confusing, etc.) 

Summarize the plot/argument (when it's confusing, unclear, or important). 
Good summary notes can efficiently convey information you'd otherwise have to rediscover, helping you gain an understanding for the plot as a whole in its critical parts. Don’t, though, waste your time mindlessly summarizing what’s obvious.

Ask questions of the text. 
Ask the questions that you really have...and seek to find answers to them. Explore, go deeper, make connection, and wonder. 

Learn new vocabulary. 
As you encounter words you don't know, circle them, look them up, and define them (on the page, if you're able). 

Make your text reflect class time (when you have class!).
As new ideas, information, clarity, or questions emerge during class discussion or lecture, note them down in your text. Keeping all content related to the text in one place – inside the book itself - is helpful for both organization and keeping your  thoughts up to date. 

As a general rule, you should strive for at least two notations per page of a text while you're reading. But overall, your notes should be the record of your mind as you read, to demonstrate your engagement with the content and to spur your mind to greater thought. They also serve as reference for future class discussions, paper writing, and re-reading. Good notes map out the text, allowing you to quickly find the interesting or important parts of the text as you return during discussion or composition. Nota bene. 

Welcome to 11th grade British Literature! In preparation for our class, please (completely, fully, thoroughly, insert other similar adverb here) read J.M. Barrie’s Peter and Wendy – the novel version of Peter Pan.

As you read, please use the guide below to take notes in your book. You will need to bring your book with you on the first day of school for a graded note check.

Notes Guidelines:
The purpose of note-taking is to encourage and facilitate active engagement with the text, which allows the reader to critically evaluate what has been written. Below is a list of the types of notes that should be included. Consistency is also key to engagement, and as such there should be regular notes – though the type may vary.

Plot: make reference to what is happening in the story, how the plot is progressing and for what reason, connect and identify subplots

Theme: identify and make note of major themes within the work (hint: our overarching theme this year is identity), this can also include motifs and symbols

Definition: mark words with unfamiliar definitions, then look up the words and write their definitions next to it

Context: it may be necessary and helpful to research cultural, historical, biographical information in addition to the footnotes and annotations already included in the book

Cross Reference: connect passages or scenes within the novel to other related ones by writing the corresponding page references next to connecting passages.

Style: make note and describe the effect of diction, structure, figurative language, literary devices, etc.

Analysis: explain how different elements within the story – whether plot, style, theme – work together to form the meaning of the work as a whole or the meaning of a specific passage

If you have any questions, you may contact me by email at jhardesty@trinityclassicalacademy.com.

Happy reading!

Mrs. Hardesty

DUE: First day of school

Read The Picture of Dorian Gray (including the Preface by Oscar Wilde). Then, write a response (400-500 words, printed, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12pt)  to the following question:

Consider Lord Henry’s speech about youth and beauty to Dorian Gray in Chapter 2 of the book. How does this speech inform the events of the rest of the book? How does this conception of beauty compare to your understanding of beauty?