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English II DPAC Summer Reading

Dear Parents and Potential Students of English II Deer Park Advanced Curriculum (DPAC),

You have requested English II DPAC for the upcoming school year. According to the College Board, the purpose of an advanced course is to prepare every student for college, AP courses, and AP exams. Such preparation entails mastering advanced academic skills through challenging work and appropriate support from the classroom instructor.

Students at Deer Park High School who enroll in the English II DPAC course are expected to read a book from the list below and complete a summer reading assignment. Summer reading assignments provide several advantages for students, including maintaining skills over the summer, fostering independent learning, understanding course expectations, establishing a common framework for discussion and study, and promoting lifelong learning.

Besides reading one of the novels listed, all incoming English II DPAC students are encouraged to complete the accompanying dialectical journal assignment for extra credit, which will be due by the end of the first week of school. Students can earn up to ten extra credit points by completing the assignment, which will be applied to the first major grade of the year. Students should come to class prepared to discuss and write about the text they selected, using their notes and personal observations. An in-class assessment over summer reading will occur during the third week of school and will serve as the first major grade of the year.

Sincerely,
English II PAP Teachers

10th GRADE SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT

Choose one text to read and annotate from the list below. All students should have a minimum of 20 annotations throughout their novel. Students should use sticky notes to mark annotated pages of the book. Annotations should focus on identifying key figurative elements (similes, metaphors, personification, etc.), important pieces of diction, and images within the text that help develop the setting and/or explore characterization.

Fiction Selections:

  • 1984 by George Orwell
  • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  • The Grass Harp by Truman Capote
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
  • A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
  • Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
  • Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Non-Fiction Selections:

  • Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
  • Breaking Night by Liz Murray
  • Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
  • When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Extra Credit Assignment:

While you read and annotate your novel, compose 10 dialectical journal entries that explore the relationship between setting and characterization in the text. In particular, your journal entries should focus on answering the following question:

How do the cultural, geographical, or physical surroundings in the text influence characters’ actions, emotions, and beliefs? (Modified College Board AP Literature Prompt, 2012)
***All entries must be completed on paper and submitted to your teacher the first week of school.


For additional information and resources pertaining to the suggested texts and the dialectical journal assignment, access the link below.