Summer Assignments 2023

All students must read and annotate the appropriate book for their course. You can find a link to the English Department's Annotation Guide below. If you have any questions, please contact the English Department Chair Andrew Whelan at awhelan@problemidipeso.com.

Freshmen:
Students enrolled in Honors English I, you must read and annotate Seasons of Life, by Jeffrey Marx. 

Juniors:
For juniors accepted into AP English III, you must read and annotate The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. Use the SJP Annotation Guide (found below) to annotate this selection. The annotations are due at the beginning of the first class of the year. 

Seniors:
For seniors accepted into AP English IV, you must read and annotate Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro. Use the SJP Annotation Guide (found below) to annotate this selection. The annotations are due at the beginning of the first class of the year. 

Both seniors and juniors will need to purchase either a paperback or hardbound copy of your assigned book and annotate that book using the Annotation Guide below as a resource. This guide will serve as your instruction sheet for how to read your book actively and critically. Be sure to bring your annotated copy of the book with you to the first day of classes in September. Your English teacher will grade your annotations based on how well you follow this Annotation Guide in annotating your books. These annotations will serve as a great aid to you during class discussions of the novel in the first week of school. Most importantly, enjoy your reading!

 

            Annotating a literary text (or any text, for that matter) is a valuable skill for students to learn. Annotating can be defined as the process of taking notes directly on the literary text that you are reading. This is a skill that we in the SJP English Department want you to develop as you read your required novel this summer. In order for this to happen, you first need to know why annotating a text is useful and then how to annotate a text.

 

            Taking notes inside a text while reading is particularly useful because it forces your brain to transact with the text while reading. Really, your brain does this all the time anyway whenever you read, but annotating provides you with the opportunity to become cognitive of your brain’s work because you are writing down thoughts as they occur to you. Also, it allows you to keep track of significant plot events, characters, conflicts, literary techniques, and themes so that you can return to them more easily at a later time. In fact, studies show that after a six-week time lapse, students with an annotated text can recall all of the key information in that text after a 15- to 30-minute review session. Finally, as the old adage goes, writing it down is learning it twice. The physical act of transcribing your thoughts while reading cements the information into your memory; once this is done, you can access it later.

 

            Annotating is a skill, and like most skills, it requires practice to develop. Because most of you are probably novices when it comes to taking notes inside the text, here are a few general guidelines to follow. Once you get comfortable with this skill, you may decide to craft your own parameters for annotation. The goal here is to give you a framework at the start. Only you know how you learn best, though, so feel free to adjust or add to this list as needed.

 

1.         Mark key lines: Any time you read a passage that is significant to the plot or character

development, underline it and write brief notes to yourself in the margin describing the

passage and/or why it is important.

 

2.         Ask questions: If a passage or scene is confusing, or if you want to know more about

what is occurring, bracket the passage or scene and jot your question in the margin. Then you can bring the question to class discussion for clarification.

 

3.         React to what you read: If something in the text strikes you, surprises you, troubles you,

or even makes you laugh, mark it and write your reaction in the margin. Often these

passages are intentionally written by the author to elicit such a response, so they can prove important later.

 

4.         Track themes: As you read, you will begin to discern the text’s threads or themes. Once

you notice them, you can begin marking them every time they occur. This is especially

valuable when it comes time to write an essay on the book.

 

5.         Notes at the end of each chapter: If the book is broken up into chapters, you should take a few minutes at the end of each one to list its 4-5 most important plot events. Do it right there in the book, right at the physical end of the chapter itself. That way, when you remember a key plot event but do not remember where in the text it occurs, or when you cannot recall which event occurs before which, you have a resource for easy reference instead of having to thumb through the entire book, mining it for one little piece of plot.

 

            At the beginning, you may find this process a bit laborious, but with some practice, it will become second nature to you. Ultimately, if you stick with it and concentrate on being an active note-taker while reading, you will find that you comprehend texts more fully and are better prepared to discuss and write about what you have read.

 

Otten, Nick. “How and Why to Annotate a Book.” http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/197454.html. 6 May 2013.

 

Zimmerman, Enid. “Understanding How to Annotate.” http://www.arteducators.org/news/national-convention/Zimmerman_How_to_Annotate.pdf. 6 May 2013.

 

 

*Keep this Annotation Guide folded and in your novel for quick reference. You can also find this Annotation Guide online on the Prep website.

The History Department supports the idea of summer reading. Reading – whether for pleasure or for information – reinforces our Ignatian mission by promoting the ideals of a lifelong learner who is “open to growth” and “intellectually competent.” Summer reading also cultivates a community of learners by having a large and diverse group with disparate experiences and ideas share the same text. The History Department encourages students (and parents) to complement their reading with trips to local museums, battle sites, and places of historic value, as well as explorations of integrated websites and film portrayals.

US History Only:  Cather, Willa. My Ántonia. (Dover Thrift Editions, 1994).  ISBN: 978-0-486-28240-4  NOTE:  Students must complete the attached study guide by the beginning of the school year. Click Here

AP US History Only:  Marsh, Dawn G.  A Lenape among the Quakers: The Life of Hannah Freeman (University of Nebraska Press, 2014).  ISBN: 978-0-8032-7520-1  NOTE:  Reading will be assessed at the beginning of the school year.

American Studies Only: Dunbar, Erica Armstrong.  She Came to Slay: The Life and Time of Harriet Tubman (Simon and Schuster (37 Ink), 2019).  ISBN: 978-1-9821-3959-9.  NOTE:  Please complete the study guide by the beginning of the school year. Click Here

Rothstein, Richard.  The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America.  (W.W. Norton & Co., 2017).  ISBN: 978-1-63149-453-6  NOTE:  The study guide is not mandatory--the book will be assessed in class through quizzes and other assessments.  Click Here.

 

AP Psychology: 

Sacks, Oliver. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales (Vintage Press, 2021).  ISBN: 978-0593466674 

NOTE:  Reading will be assessed at the beginning of the school year.

Honors Intro to Sociology: An article and a chapter from a book. See the attached.  NOTE: Reading will be assessed at the beginning of the school year. Click Here

If you have any questions, please contact the Department Chair at ssanchirico@problemidipeso.com.

We hope you enjoy your summer and your summer reading!

Sincerely,
The Religious Studies Department