English Honors Grade 9
English 9 Honors: Summer Assignment
Your summer assignment consists of two parts: 1) selecting from a variety of text and collecting your thinking in a Reader’s Response Journal and 2) exploring and becoming familiar with essential vocabulary relating to literary devices, literary terminology, and grammar.
READER’S RESPONSE JOURNAL
- The following texts are connected by the common theme of Coming of Age. Prior to reading, please familiarize yourself with this theme by conducting research. What does it mean?
- “Marigolds” – Eugenia Collier - http://central.aurorak12.org/files/2009/05/marigolds.docx
- excerpt from Johnny Got His Gun – Dalton Trumbo - http://central.aurorak12.org/files/2009/05/excerpt-from-johnny-got-his-gun.docx
- “Time” – Adam Bagdasarian - http://central.aurorak12.org/files/2009/05/time.docx
- “Oranges” – Gary Soto - http://central.aurorak12.org/files/2009/05/orangesgary-soto.docx
- “Hunger” – Richard Wright - http://central.aurorak12.org/files/2009/05/blackboyhunger.docx
- Read and annotate the texts for the specific purpose of showing your thinking and process for making meaning. For each text you will write two responses in your Reader’s Response Journal. Use the examples of proficient reading responses to inform your writing.
- Your first response will focus on your general reactions to the text.
- What did you think? What did you notice? What struck you as interesting or thought provoking
- Your second response will focus on identifying and analyzing the theme of the text.
- What is the author saying about the theme of coming of age? Why are they saying it? How are they saying it?
- Be sure to use quotes from the text to support your response.
- Your first response will focus on your general reactions to the text.
VOCABULARY ASSIGNMENT
In the back of your Reader’s Response Journal we would like you to begin the process of defining and exploring a wide variety of key vocabulary. This list will serve as a foundation from which we will build throughout the year. Please define each of the terms below and find specific examples of the ways that authors are using them in the texts you read.
Theme
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
Metaphor
Simile
Personification
Imagery
Allusion
Analogy
Hyperbole
Tone
Pronoun
Independent clause
Subordinate clause
Compound sentence
Complex sentence
Point-of-View
Syntax
Diction
Connotation
Denotation
Satire




