Honors English 10 - Salem School District

What kinds of quotations should I choose and what should I write about?• Find passages that you think help us better understand the author’s subject matter, characterizations,attitude, and especially THEMES (messages/”big ideas”). If you find yourself simply repeating what thequotation says, you might want to select a different quotation or reevaluate how you are approaching theresponse. NO SUMMARIES!What format should I use?• Use the left side of the double column notes to copy a significant quote or line from the story with itspage number: use the right column to react to, interpret or ask a question about that quote or line.• All work should be typed. Students must also save a copy of their work electronically so that you will beable to access your saved document if an additional copy is needed. Use 12-point font and one-inchmargins.• Proofread all work before you turn it in!• Be sure to punctuate quotes properly, especially a quote within a quote.When is this due?• Those students who have English first semester can just bring the summer reading assignment to class.Those students who have English second semester can bring the assignment to the HumanitiesDirector’s office on the first day of school. This office is located on the second floor of the HighSchool, across from room 201.• All work must be completed before the first day of school, and handed in to your English teacher OR theHumanities Director on that first day back after summer vacation.Do you have more questions?• Contact the Humanities Director at 893-7069, Ext. 1330.

A Dialectic Journal for To Kill a Mockingbird | Directions & Sample Responses for Chapter OneBelow, please find examples of different types of responses for the first chapter. Notes to you are in boldfacefor each section. For your journals please continue where we have left off (AFTER PAGE 10). Note that theresponses below are significantly shorter than the two paragraphs expected in your writing.Quotations“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem gothis arm badly broken at the elbow . . . (3).( Note: I have not included the entirequotation to which I am referring. Instead, Iuse an ellipsis [ . . . ] to quote only the partthat is most important to what I want to talkabout.)Atticus, the lawyer, “knew his people, they knewhim, and because of Simon Finch’s industry,Atticus was related by blood or marriage to nearlyevery family in the town” (5). (Note: Instead ofquoting the part about Atticus and his jobimmediately before this, I put it as a side note atthe front before the quotation.)“There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go.. . nothing to see outside the boundaries ofMaycomb County. But it was a time of vagueoptimism for some of the people: MaycombCounty had recently been told that it had nothingto fear but fear itself” (7, 8). ( Note: Since myquotation wraps to the next page, I made a noteof it by putting both pages numbers after thequotation. Notice that there is ALWAYS a pagenumber after each quotation.)“The Radleys, welcome anywhere in town, kept tothemselves, a predilection unforgivable inMaycomb. . . .” (9). ( Note: In my response, Itouched on one of the themes of the novel—prejudice—which is appearing in an atypicalway.)“One night, in an excessive spurt of high spirits,the boy backed around the town square in aborrowed flivver . . .” (10).ResponsesI remember breaking my foot before a choirconcert. I was not feeling well and had to leavethe risers before a concert. When I was hoppingdown from the third riser, I landed on the side ofmy foot and broke it. All I cared about when Iwas recovering was being able to walk withoutcrutches or a walking cast again. This seems to behow Jem kind of feels. (Making a Connection)Atticus seems to be a well-respected person inMaycomb, and since he is a lawyer, he also mustbe fairly intelligent. Maycomb must be arelatively small town where everyone knowseveryone if Atticus is indeed related to most ofthe people. I think Atticus most likely will playan important role in this book because of hisposition. (Interpeting/Making a Prediction)Apparently Maycomb is also a very slow, sleepytown that is pretty isolated from everything else.This seems to be especially true since they onlyhave a “vague” notion of FDR’s speech (anallusion to the Great Depression of the 1930s –must be the era in which the story takes place)and there is “nothing” outside of MaycombCounty. I wonder why they see the world thisway – maybe people don’t travel because of theDepression or because that’s just not what peopledid. (Interpreting/Asking a Question)It seems that the town is a little closed minded inviewing the Radleys since they don’t go to churchor do other things common in Maycomb. Thisseems to be a prejudice against their lifestylesince it seems that the town might not reallyknow them and has become pretty superstitiousabout them. People often get suspicious aboutwhat they don’t understand or what seems strangeto them.(Extending the Meaning)This doesn’t sound like a six year old, so it mightnot be as realistic. However, this is written as aflashback, so Scout must be MUCH older now asshe is telling this. Maybe she is just smart.(Challenging the Text)

Summer Reading: Definition of TermsFor your dialectic journal you must “categorize” your quotes. You can find definitions for these categoriesbelow.Making a Connection• How does the quote relate to me?• In what ways does the quote have meaning in my life?Making a Prediction• What may this quote foreshadow?• What will happen later in this story?Interpreting• What does this quote mean literally (on the surface level)?• What symbols could the author be using?• What is the author really trying to tell me? What is the deeper meaning?Ask a Question• What questions does this quote raise?o This is a question that you have, not a question that the characters ask.Extending the Meaning• How does this quote relate to society in general – American culture/society outside the novel?• What idea/theme/motif might be illustrated through this quote and does this same thing apply in thereal world?Challenging the Text• I disagree with what the character/narrator/author is saying because….