Coyle and Cassidy

High School

      2 Hamilton Street  |  Taunton, MA 02780  |  Phone: 508.823.6164  |  Fax: 508.823.2530

" Tradition

   Lives

   Here "

SUMMER READING EXPERIENCE:  A JOURNEY

 This summer’s reading experience examines the important role journeys play in the development of the individual throughout life.  Through our many journeys we come to know and understand ourselves and others by the way in which we reflect upon and react to our journeying experiences.

This summer you will be asked to strengthen your reading and reflecting skills by reading, engaging, and reflecting upon a multimedia package centered on the theme of journeys.  We hope this experience will be both enjoyable and informative.

          Your multimedia package will include the following:

1.      One text which the entire school will read.  The text that has been chosen by the Summer Book Reading Committee is Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture. (UPDATE: Please keep Randy Pausch along with his family and friends in your prayers. Dr. Pausch died on July 24th at the age of 47.)

2.      An interactive journal that will be maintained with The Last Lecture (The interactive journal is required for this text only.  All other works included in the multimedia package will have completed worksheets requirements) and that will be handed in to your homeroom teacher on the first full day that all students return to school in the fall. (Instructions about the Evaluation process and the journal requirements are attached and are on the school website)

3.      A second text which you will have the option to select from the attached choice list.

4.      A film that you select to view and reflect upon from the attached list of recommended films that examine a variety of journeys.

5.      A work of art that you can select to view and reflect upon from the recommended art work found at these selected websites (attached).

6.      A song of your choosing that you see as being related to the theme of Journey.

7.      A package of short work sheets for items 2-6 that will help with the reflection/engagement process and which must also be handed in on the first full day that all students return to school in the fall (Instructions about the Evaluation process and the work sheet requirements are on the school website)

A GOOD READER’S FRAMEWORK

Like writing, reading is a recursive activity.  Students make progress unevenly.  Students may read several paragraphs and/or chapters with insight and understanding and then they come to a tougher section where they might decode words without understanding or without their having any insight about what it is they have read.  Therefore, it is helpful if teachers can help students by giving them a process framework with which they can help students strengthen their reading capacity.

The layout of the Dialogue Journal that follows, which students will use to interact with the assigned summer reading text for the whole school, will provide students with a process for skill building that follow the framework outlined below.

1. Good readers pause occasionally to take stock of (summarize, paraphrase) what it is they have read.
2. Good readers create pictures and images in their heads about what it is they have read.
3. Good readers enter the text by asking question:  Who?  Why?  What? How?  When? Where? Etc.
4. Good readers cite specific details from the text to support their ideas about the text.
5. Good readers (and reflectors) make reasonable predictions and inferences based upon what they have read.
6. Good readers link ideas, themes and characters from one text with ideas, themes and characters from another text or another media form (e.g. art, film, drama, etc).

The Dialogue Journal

A Dialogue Journal enables you, the reader, to respond to an article, book or other piece of writing in a personal and analytical way.  Furthermore, it forces you to pause and reflect on what the author has communicated, thereby strengthening your reading comprehension ability.  This is what good readers do naturally.

Directions:

1. Draw a real or an imaginary line down the middle of each page in your journal.  Label the left-hand side of the page, What the Book Says, and the right-hand side of the page, What I Say. 
2. Use the left-hand side of the page to record something from the book that interests you or that puzzles you.  Copy the passage exactly as it is written.  You may use ellipses (…) if the passage is very long.  Remember to write the page number in parentheses after each passage.  Using some of the attached questioning and/or interactive reading strategies, use the right-hand side of the page to respond to your selected passage.  This will indicate your feelings about the passage.  Then write a more analytical response to the passage.  To do this, closely examine the text and briefly write about it insightfully.  (See the example of a Dialogue Journal entry below.)  Remember to respond with clear and complete sentences.

Below is a sample Dialogue Journal that a student wrote to John Howard Griffin’s Black Like Me:

          What the Book Says                                        What I Say

          Brandvik, Mary Lou.  Writing Process Activities Kit.  West Nyack, N.Y:  The Center For Applied Research Education, 1990.

Suggestions for Journal Entries

1.  Ask yourself questions about the characters and the action.  Begin a journal entry with, 

“I don’t understand why …” or “I was surprised when…” or “I’m confused about…”

2.  Imagine that you are speaking to the writer.  What do you like/dislike about the book?  

For example, were you satisfied by the ending?  Disappointed?  How would you have liked to see the book end?

3.  What is the most memorable scene in the book and why?

4.  What quotation stands out in your mind and why? 

(First note the context of the quotation—when or where it happened, and the speaker.)

5.  How does the book’s structure (how it is put together) contribute to the theme of a journey?  

Look especially at the beginning and the ending as well as major divisions. 

6.  Do any unusual techniques help you understand the book? 

Are certain actions, imagery, or phrases repeated? Write down words, phrases, or details that strike you.  

Why did you notice them?  Why do think they are there?

7.  From whose point of view is the story told? How does this influence your knowledge of what happens? 

How does it influence your sympathy for certain characters? 

8.  What effect does setting(s) have on the characters? Consider both place and time period.

9.  Did you ever question a character’s motivation for his/her actions? When?  Why?

10.  Which character is the hardest to understand and why?  

11.  How does the title reflect upon character, conflict, and theme? What else might it suggest?

12.  Can you empathize with a particular character?  Why?

13.  Did you personally connect with this book for some reason? What does it make you think about? 

SUMMER READING RUBRIC EVALUATION

N.B.  Grades earned for the multimedia package (Excellent, Satisfactory, or Unsatisfactory) will be indicated on the report card.  Students who receive an unsatisfactory will have a short period of time to redo the assignment for an upgrade.  Students who receive an excellent commendation will have 10 points added to the “5^th” quarter or final assessment cumulative point total in English prior to determining the final average to appear on the report card in June.  Students who receive a satisfactory commendation will have 5 points added to the cumulative point total in English, and students with an unsatisfactory grade will not receive any extra points.

Suggested List--Summer Reading 2008--Journeys

• Angela’s Ashes- Frank McCourt

• As I Lay Dying- William Faulkner*

• For One More Day- Mitch Albom

• In the Heart of the Sea- Nathaniel Philbrick

• Just Who Will You Be- Maria Shriver

• King Lear- William Shakespeare*

• Speak- Laurie Halse Anderson

• The Count of Monte Cristo- Alexandre Dumas

• The Odyssey- Homer

• The Secret Life of Bees- Sue Monk Kidd

• Their Eyes Were Watching God- Zora Neale Hurston*

• Two Old Women- Velma Wallis

*Required reading for AP English students

Films for Summer Reading Experience:

NOTE TO PARENTS: Several of the films listed below have an R rating due to their language, violence, and/or mature subject matter. We do feel that the subject matter of these movies is important enough to warrant their placement on this list. We do, however, want to inform you of the rating and suggest that if your student would like to choose one of these films - please consider watching it with them.

Students should watch one of the following films and answer the questions on the accompanying worksheet.

FILMS (Ratings):

Journey Artworks

Look over the artworks here and choose one that speaks to you- there are paintings, illustrations, prints, industrial design and sculpture.   Be sure to look at all of them before making your choice.   Notice there are 2 images for some of the artworks.

After you have chosen the artwork, spend at least one minute really looking at it before you begin to write.  Answer the first two questions that apply to all the artworks, and then answer the specific questions for the artwork you have chosen

For all artwork-

1. Identify the art work- Title, artist, year
2. After you have spent a full minute just looking at the artwork to see all the details, take an inventory and describe EVERYTHING you see in the image in as much detail as you can.

Specific Questions by artwork- answer in 1-2 well developed paragraphs.

1. The Knight, Death and the Devil, Albrecht Durer, 1513

In addition to the three named characters in the title, there are several other creatures.  Choose one of them and explain how they are participating in the journey and what Durer may be saying about them.

How does the knight appear to feel about his scary companions on his journey? 

2. The Journey of Life- Youth and Old Age, by Thomas Cole, 1840- Note- Look at both paintings to answer the questions.

Look at the two different images- (they are part of a series of four.)  Describe the differences between the two stages of the man’s journey giving examples from what you see in each.  What is different in the relationship between the man in the boat and the figure in white in the two paintings?  What is different about the environment he is sailing toward?

3. Fur Traders Descending the Mississippi, George Caleb Bingham, 1845

We know the profession of these people based on the title.  What kind of lifestyle do you think they lead?  Where might they be going?  As they look out of the painting at us- the viewers on the shore- what do they think about us?

4. The Third Class Carriage, Honore Daumier, 1863

The part of the carriage shown is the third class.  Describe what you see to be the difference between the people facing us and the people who are seated behind them in the higher priced seats.  What types of people are in the two different parts of the train and what might Daumier be saying about them?

5. Liberty Enlightening the World, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, 1886        (2^nd image)

How does this figure communicate the idea of “Liberty”- what does she hold in her hands and why, how is she posed?  How does its location communicate that idea to immigrants who have and continue to pass through New York coming to America? 

6. Broadway Boogie Woogie, Piet Mondrian, 1943

The title of this painting refers to Broadway, a famous street in New York City and “boogie woogie” a style of rhythmic, danceable swing music that was popular in the 1940’s.  What about the painting reminds you of a busy and lively city?  What about the painting reminds you of music?  For both questions, refer to specific things you observe in the painting.

7. Reptiles, M.C. Escher, 1943

Write the story of the reptile’s journey from the point of view of the lizard re-entering the “flat” world of the paper.  What was his struggle and how did he get to the end of the journey?  What do you think happens next to all the reptiles behind him?  What is Escher saying about the journey of life that these creatures are taking?

8. Going and Coming; Norman Rockwell, 1947

What can you describe about the type of journey these people are taking?

What took place in the time period between the top frame and the bottom frame, based on your observations?  Use your imagination to describe the day.

9. Cadillac Cyclone, 1959 (2^nd image)

What kinds of journeys do you imagine the designers of this vehicle imagined it would take?  What technology could have influenced the design of this concept car?  What kind of vehicle does it remind you of?  Explain your answer.

10. The Gates; Christo and Jean Claude, 2005 (2^nd image)

The Gates was an art installation in New York City’s Central Park.  It covered 23 miles of walkways throughout the park and was open for only 16 days in February before it was taken down and all the materials recycled.

How might public art like this change someone’s feelings and perceptions about a familiar place, like a park?  What is different in the purpose of an art work like this with an “expiration date” and a painting that will live on in a museum for a hundred years?

The following are Word documents for each worksheet used in this project.  Please right click the link and "Save Target As..." in your documents, open MS Word and open the document.  You can then type in your answers and save it to print out for your teachers.  You can also copy/paste the worksheets' information since all three are posted below the bulleted links:

• Book 2 Worksheet

• Film Worksheet

• Music Worksheet

Summer Learning Experience – Journeys

Report Form to be used with 2^nd book chosen from the list

{This form may be completed on the computer or printed out and filled in by hand. Please bring it to school on the first full day for all classes in September, 2008.} 

Your Name_______________________________________

I read the book__________________________________   by_____________________________________

1.       Identify and Describe two of the main characters in this story:

2.      What do you see as the conflict in the story and how is it resolved?

3.      Describe the element of journey in the book and talk about an important effect it had on one of the characters.  (If you don’t think there was an element of journey in the text, tell why…)

4.      One thing I really liked about this book was … (e.g. imagery, dialogue, style, characters, etc.)

Report form to be use with Film chosen from choice list

Your Name_______________________________________

I watched the film_____________________________ director_____       ___________

1.      Identify and describe two of the main characters in the film …

2.      What is the conflict in the film and how is it resolved?

3.      Describe the element of journey in the film and talk about an important effect it had on one of the characters (If you don’t think there was an element of journey in the film, tell why…)

4.      The best part of this film was when...

Music Worksheet

Report form to be use with Music chosen:

Your Name_______________________________________

I listened to the song:  ________________________________By: _____________________________

1. The style of music is considered (ex: rock, country, pop…)

2. My favorite line or image from the song was… and it struck me because…

3. I see the connection to journeys because…