Copy of English 3 CP Optional Summer Reading

English III CP Optional Summer Reading

A note for incoming English 3 CP students:

The phrase “summer reading” often has a negative connotation- we want to change that!

We want to give you the freedom to choose what you read over the summer so that reading

becomes part of a fun and relaxing summer.

THE PURPOSE: Why do we want students to read during the summer anyway? There are two major

reasons:

❏ We want to make reading fun for students. Reading is essential to a well-rounded

education. Reading makes students better writers, better thinkers, and better people. The more

students read, the better life-long learners they will become. We want students to read as much

as they can and anything they can!

❏

Reading during the summer also helps prevent the dreaded “summer slide” where students

seem to forget all that they learned during the school year. No one should go for two whole

months without reading something! Reading during the summer helps relieve the August brain

fog.

The English III CP teachers have created an optional extra credit assignment. If

completed over the summer and submitted during the first week of school, students will

receive extra credit towards their first quarter grade. For this assignment, students must

pick a book off of the reading list below, and then choose a project from the choice board

to complete. Students should view the options and the rubric closely prior to completing

their project.

Suggested reading list, curated by our incredible media center specialists:

- We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist (Memoir)

- Scythe by Neal Shusterman (Dystopian fiction)

- Heroine by Mindy McGinnis (Realistic Fiction)

- The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Mystery)

- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Fantasy)

- Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton and others (Multiple authors and stories that all wind

together)

- Girls Like Us by Randi Pink (Historical Fiction)

- Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam (Novel in Verse)

- Almost American Girl by Robin Ha (Graphic Memoir)

- In the Shadow of the Moon by Amy Cherrix (Nonfiction)

- Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steve Sheinkin

(nonfiction)

- Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

- Miles Morales: Spider Man by Jason Reynolds

- Infinity Son by Adam Silvera

English III CP Optional Summer Reading

Project Choices (choose 1)

1. COMPARE THE PLAY TO THE

MOVIE: Write one letter to the

director critiquing the following:

settings, costumes,

sequencing, accents/dialect, scenes added

and deleted, characters added and

deleted, and any other signiﬁcant

adaptations. Write one letter to the

author as if you are the director

apologizing for and explaining the

reasoning for the adaptations. Instead of

writing letters, you can create, direct, and

star in a talk show where you accomplish

the same goals via interviews. You must

type the script.

2. CREATE A NEWSPAPER:

This project should resemble a real newspaper

with writing in columns; you can include a variety

of different kinds of features including

horoscopes for characters, “Dear Abby” advice

column, comic strips, news articles,

advertisements, personal ads, obituaries, sports

page, celebrity and entertainment page, food

section, and photos. Everything you include, must

be based on events and characters in the play or

the time period.. Must be typed. 3-4 Pages in

length.

3. TIMELINE: List all the major events from the

play and organize them in the order they would

have happened Be sure to include important

events that may only be mentioned (not

necessarily explored) within the text that

contribute signiﬁcantly to the audience's

understanding of the background of a particular

character / situation / location / etc. On your

timeline, write a short description of what

happens at each event, and if possible, try to

identify the time of each event with dates,

seasons, etc. Add pictures and symbols to make

your timeline colorful.

4. RELATE CURRENT EVENTS: Find 3

articles that relate to the theme, plot,

character, or an event in the play that is

signiﬁcant. Annotate the articles by citing

them, writing a few sentence summary of

the article, a few sentence credibility

check on the author (why they can be

trusted on this topic) and a detailed,

thorough explanation of how the current

event reﬂects an idea from the play. Must

be typed.

5. CREATE A MAP: Make a list of all the locations

(houses, stores, streets, parks, lakes, etc.) Then

draw the map showing a bird’s eye view of the

area. Label each location. Create a legend below

the map with the list of the locations and a

description of important events that occur at

each. The map must be detailed, colorful, and

large enough to be seen clearly.

6. FILM, DIRECT, AND STAR IN YOUR

FAVORITE SCENE: Recreate a scene from the

play. Write a script including dialogue and stage

directions. Create the set, add music, recruit

actors and ﬁlm it. Your ﬁlm has to make sense to

someone who has not read the play, so you will

need to include a prologue and epilogue. Script

must be typed.

7. CREATE A COMIC STRIP: It should

have an illustrated cover with the title

and author, and be comic book size.

Inside, retell the story using dialogue and

descriptions of the setting and

characters. Put your writing in bubbles.

Create colorful illustrations that help tell

the story. Create 10-12 comic strip

segments.

8. WRITE A WINDOWS AND MIRRORS

REFLECTION: Choose 5 quotes from the play

that resonated with you. Space out quotes from

throughout the novel and look for high impact.

Type each quote with parenthetical

documentation and under the quote, compose a

paragraph that explains why the quote resonated

with you and how it could be perceived as a

window and a mirror. A strong, well-organized

paragraph is required for each quote. Window:

How is the quote signiﬁcant to the book as a

whole; what does it reveal about the character or

the story?

Mirror: How does the quote reﬂect back to

you - something you believe to be true about

yourself; something you value and try to

emulate?

9. CREATE A SCRAPBOOK: Choose one of the

main characters and reﬂect on several events that

occur to him or her. You can include photographs,

letters, postcards, telegrams, a family tree,

newspaper article clippings, memorable items, or

anything else. If you include objects or

photographs, be sure to write captions below

describing what they are or what's going on and

their signiﬁcance to the character. Create a nice

cover for your scrapbook. On the inside, paste an

information sheet identifying the full name of the

character, his/her age (guess if you don't know),

birthdate (if known), where he/she lives, and any

other important information. The scrapbook

should be 8-10 pages in length.

10. CREATE AN ARTISTIC RENDITION:

Choose a theme, setting, or event from

the play to illustrate. You may draw,

paint, sculpt or create in some other

medium. Attach a typed on-paragraph

explanation of your work and its

relativity to the play.

11. Poetry Writing

Write a poem of at least 24 lines to describe the

events, characters, etc. of The Crucible. The poem

must be your own creation and include some

literary elements and have correct grammar and

punctuation.

12. Journal

Write a diary of at least 6 entries regarding your

chosen character’s perspective of the events in

the play: court, jail, trial, hangings, etc. The

perspective can be a character in the play or

outside of the play such as a reporter, or a

person who really lived during that time period.

You can include pictures.

English 3 Project Rubric- linked here.