Catcher in the Rye Song Project

PERTH AMBOY HIGH SCHOOL
300 Eagle Avenue ~ Perth Amboy, New Jersey 08861
732-376-6030 (voice) ~ 732-376-6275 (facsimile)
Dr. Nestor Collazo ~ Principal

Incoming Grades 9 -12 Summer Reading Assignments
Creative Project
(You may choose one of the three creative projects or the writing assignment)

A. Book Review Blog Project
This is a great assignment for those who are computer savvy. This assignment has 2 parts – the book review blog/wiki page and a written explanation. Sites that can be used for this project are: wiki, edublog, blogster, or google.

Blog Requirement
You are to create a book review blog that describes what the book is about including the main character and plot of the story. You should design the blog based on setting and what you learned about the character while reading the book.
Also, include at least 5 links to different sites that you think your character would be interested in along with an embedded video you created or one found from a website. Please be creative when designing your page by adding photos and/or graphics that would be appropriate based on the book you have read. Save the blog and share your link with the teacher.

Written Requirement
You are to give explanations as to why you designed the page the way you did. You should explain why you selected the links, photos, and video you chose to include on your page.

B. Cartoon/Art Project
This assignment is for the artist in you. You can create a 20-page comic book or a 20-page art portfolio about the book you are reading.

Cartoon Project Requirement:
You can physically draw the cartoon or you can use a computer program(s). You can be as creative as you want. If you want to make the people into animals, you can. The plot of your comic should be similar to the book plot. The characters in the comic should act and speak like the characters in the book. You cannot change the characters’ personality.

C. Musical Books Project
This assignment focuses on your knowledge of plot and characters. There are three parts to the assignment.

Musical Books Project Requirement:
1. You are to create a music CD for your book. Pick 10 songs that you feel connect to different events in the book. You should include the lyrics and explain why each song is appropriate for the book. The songs should be in the order of the book. 2. Design a jacket for the CD.
3. Write a dedication for the CD. You should select three characters from the book for your dedication and explain why you are dedicating the CD to each character.

Writing Assignment
If you choose to complete the writing assignment instead of the creative assignment, you are to answer eight of the following questions. Each question is to be answered using paragraph format of 5-8 sentences. Your responses should be complete answers and must be typed.
1. What moment in the book had the biggest emotional impact on you? Explain the emotion and the impact.
Describe why the moment had that emotional impact on you.
2. What is the most poignant (poignant means touching or emotionally tender) moment in the book? Why?
3. In almost every book, the main character or subject of the book comes to realize something about him/herself, others or life that he/she didn’t realize before. What is this realization? What happened to make the main character or subject of the book realize it?
4. What was missing from the book? That is, what would you have liked to have had the author explain more or describe better?
5. In all books, the author describes the setting, or where the book takes place. Pick a specific description of a place that was particularly memorable or vivid and explain why you thought so.
6. Almost all authors try to surprise the reader by having something unexpected happen. What happened that was unexpected or surprising in the book? Why was it unexpected or surprising?
7. Pick a small moment or scene that sticks in your mind after reading this book, one that you don’t think you’ll forget. Describe that moment and say why you won’t forget it.
8. Most books have a moment when a secret or unknown information is revealed. What secret or unknown information was revealed in this book? How was the secret or unknown information connected to the plot or events in the book?
9. At what point did you have a sense of how the book would end? What gave you that sense? If you didn’t know how it would end until you finished it, why did the ending surprise you?
10. Describe, in detail, a minor character and his/her connection to the plot or events in the book

2013 Summer Reading Assignments for AP Language & Composition
Part I
You are to read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. For each novel, you will write a multi‐paragraph analytical essay. Each essay should be at least 3 fully, double‐spaced typed pages. For each essay, you should have brainstorming, an outline and a rough draft.
To Kill a Mockingbird writing prompt: Harper Lee’s resounding novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, tells the story of Scout
Finch, an intelligent girl, living in the South. Through her naivety, the reader sees first‐hand the harsh realities of prejudice. Write a thorough essay analyzing how Lee telling the story through Scout’s eyes intensifies the cruelties of prejudice in the South.
Things They Carried writing prompt: Discuss the idea of “carrying” in O’Brien’s work and how this idea is related to the theme. What is carried in the novel and by whom? Why does the first chapter share its title with the title of the novel?
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Part II
Since this is a writing course, you need to practice writing multi‐drafted essays on a regular basis for a variety of purposes or development patterns. Some patterns are narration, description, process analysis, compare/contrast, problem/solution and cause/effect. You should brainstorm, outline and multi‐draft for each assignment. The more you write, the better you will develop the craft.

Compare and Contrast Prompt
A compare and contrast paper can either examine just the similarities or difference or examine both. Sometimes your purpose in a compare and contrast paper is to analyze two subjects in order to clarify what makes each unique. At other times, your purpose may be to evaluate two subjects in order to determine which has greater merit or worth. For this particular assignment, I want you to compare and contrast a childhood holiday celebration to a holiday celebration 20 years from now. You may consider speaking to a parent, guardian or grandparent to better understand the future’s perspective. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Process Analysis
Process analysis explains in step‐by‐step fashion how something works, is done, or is made. Process analyses provide people with practical information or inform people about things that affect them. The key in this writing is accuracy.

Prompt
Watch a makeover show on television. Then write an essay describing the process you observed. In your introduction and conclusion, address and evaluate the participant’s intent and overall satisfaction with the makeover.

Part III
Throughout the course, you will be required to watch the news. The examples you use on the AP exam must be concrete and valid. During the school year, you will be required to watch CNN Student News. The daily broadcast is only
10 minutes long. During the summer months, the program is not aired since school is not in session; however, you can still view older broadcasts through the archives. I suggest you view some of the archived broadcasts to get familiar with the format. I would like you to keep a daily journal on important news facts. This journal can be kept in bullet format. It should address key national and international news. Try to watch news coverage from various points of view. Don’t just watch Channel 5 news at 5pm. Explore Fox news or news shows on MSNBC. If you get a chance see how two different stations cover a news story. I encourage you to also watch shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It is important for you to understand the craft of satire. I want you to watch the news because you are practicing your listening skills.
Hearing and interpreting information is an important skill. During the school year, you will have current event quizzes predominantly but not limited to the CNN Student News broadcasts. It is important to get into the habit of watching the news not just reading it via the Internet.

2013 Summer Reading Assignments for AP Literature & Composition During the summer all students registered for AP English Literature and Composition are expected to read two books – one longer novel which centers on understanding character, one shorter novel that centers on understanding a philosophy. For the novels, be sure to read carefully and analytically, paying very close attention to details of character, setting, and plot. You are expected to read very closely and be able to recall specific details. You will write one essay for each novel you read.
Part I Required Reading: Read the following longer novel centered on character:
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (2006)
Part I: Assignment:
Writers often reveal and highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters. Choose a character from your novel who plays a significant role and show how that character reveals the surrounding society’s assumptions and moral values. Avoid plot summary.
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Part II Required Reading: Read the following shorter novel centered on a philosophy:
The Stranger by Albert Camus (1946)
Part II: Assignment:
In great literature no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Focus on the scenes of violence in the book. In a well-written organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work.
Avoid plot summary.

Guidelines for AP Essay Writing
In your essay…
· …introduce the full name of the author and title of the work (always underline the title)
· …use the author’s last name for the remainder of the paper
· …make an assertion or state a claim as a controlling idea for the paper (a thesis)
· …use some of the language of the prompt in your opening paragraph (do not simply restate the prompt)
· …use specific details and examples from the book in your supporting paragraphs
· …create strong transitions between sentences and paragraphs
· …do not include plot summary
· …eliminate personal tone (“I think…” or “In my opinion,” for example)
· …form a conclusion to demonstrate that you have proven your thesis

AP Essay Scoring Rubric
For every writing assignment (unless otherwise noted), students will be graded based on how well they address the following criteria.
These standards are established by the College Board. The score reflects the quality of the essay as a whole—its content, its style, its mechanics. Students are rewarded for what they do well and directed to improve upon the areas in which they are lacking.

9-8 A (95-100 for a 9; 90-94 for an 8)
The assignment fulfills the objectives successfully, showing a superior grasp of the subtleties of language, the nuances of meaning, or credible risks in interpretation. The results of the work are often enlightening or surprising, seizing the challenge rather than merely completing the directions.

7-6 B (85-89 for a 7; 80-84 for a 6)
The assignment fulfills the objectives successfully, recognizing the workings of language and meaning beyond their surface meanings.
It may contain errors or misinterpretations, but these do not overshadow the overall work in making meaning.

5-4 C (75-79 for a 5; 70-74 for a 4)
The assignment largely fulfills the objectives, though the answers tend to dwell on surface meanings or takes small steps in interpretation. There may be multiple errors or misinterpretations which interfere with the overall success of the work.

3-2 D (65-69 for a 3; 60-64 for a 2)
The assignment approaches the objectives, completing the basic challenges though with major omissions in insight, irrelevant material, or misinterpretations which dominate the success of the work.

1 F (50-59 points)
The assignment complicates the problems of the 3-2 range, producing work which is largely incomplete or misunderstands the challenge of the assignment. There is little logical or coherent connection in the ideas presented.
“Read deeply…not to believe, not to accept, not to contradict, but to learn to share in that one nature that writes and reads.”
Harold Bloom, How to Read and Why
Have a safe, happy, healthy, and fun summer!