Amanda+W--Sum+Reading

Home Summer Reading Assignment Students

Given the nature of the 2011 summer reading program, you had significant autonomy in selecting the books you would read. While you were responsible for completing a proposal, you were not given other assignments to complete over the summer. As indicated on your proposal form, you are required to write a letter to your 2011-12 Language Arts teacher that demonstrates your thoughtful reading of your book. We have chosen to break this down further into three focused "Power Paragraphs" for two reasons, one, to introduce you to the idea of a power paragraph, and two, to assist you in covering all aspects of the assignment.

__ Prompt for Paragraph One - A Reflection of Your Choice __ Shakespeare's //Hamlet// was no disappointment for my love of wordplay and puns. While reading "Romeo and Juliet" in Freshman English, I enjoyed the puns and sexual innuendos that Shakespeare employs throughout the play. Being a big Eminem fan, another common user of wordplay, I could not help but notice the similarity in their humor. This humor was not omitted from //Hamlet// but incorporated in lines such as, "Hamlet: Lady, shall I lie in your lap? Ophelia: No, my lord. Ophelia: Ay, my lord. Hamlet: I mean my head upon your lap? Hamlet: Did you think I meant country matters?" (Shakespeare 143). With the inclusion of this humor and puns, "Hamlet" was an enjoyable summer reading book that did not disappoint me and further leads me to believe that Eminem is the reincarnation of Shakespeare.

Shakespeare, William. //Hamlet.// New York: Washington Square Press, 1992. Ahhh... Eminem and Shakespeare? I do like Eminem, but I'm not sure if he's quite reached Shakespeare - yet. Great use of evidence from the play. Be sure to follow the power paragraph format; your focus is on clear content and precise organization.

__ Prompt for Paragraph Two - A Discussion of What You Gained by Reading Your Book __ //The Help// by Kathryn Stockett helped me understand that I do not need to agree with what everyone else believes. Reading about how Skeeter goes against the status quo of her town and forms her own opinion about the black servants, I was able to understand the impact one can have by just making up his or her mind and standing up for his or her belief. I realized that, "I actually had a choice in what I could believe" (Stockett 63). After reading //The Help// I was able to separate from the herd instead of continuing to blindly follow.

Stockett, Katheryn. //The Help//. New York: Berkley Books, 2009. Nice job with your format. Be careful to stick to the focus you set in your first sentence.

__ Prompt for Paragraph Three - What to do With it... __ //The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo// by Steig Larsson is perfect for any reader who is a fan of thrillers, mysteries and Law and Order: SVU. Anyone who tries to solve the big mystery on crime shows before the characters on the show is destined to read this page-turning novel. Filled with twists, red herrings, murder and sadist who say things like, "'Those of us who murder for pleasure- I'm not the only one with this hobby- we live a complete life'" (Larsson 454), //The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo// is truly a 600-page book version of Law and Order. I strongly recommend this book to any fan of crime shows or anyone else who is up for a dark thriller.

Larsson, Steig. //The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.// New York: Vintage Books, 2008. I like your description of the ideal reader for this novel. Try to keep your sentences as crisp as your content, the first one drags a bit with the list of genres and SVU.


 * Scoring: Your three paragraphs will be given one overall grade, and the timeliness of your posts will be reflected in your "timeliness" grade. **

// An outstanding response to the prompts will include the following: //
 * A strong topic sentence that clearly establishes the focus on the prompt
 * Evidence that clearly supports the topic sentence
 * Correct use of internal citations and a properly formatted MLA citation for your book (put this citation at the end of paragraph one)
 * Strict adherence to the Power Paragraph format
 * Mechanics are clean and do not detract from meaning