Tremper High School
English Department
Survey of Literature and Composition Honors 9
Summer Reading Assignment

Dear 2008-2009 Ninth Grade Students,

Welcome to your honors English class at Tremper High School.  All honors students are required to do a summer reading assignment, vocabulary assignment and study guide to prepare them for the rigors of the freshman course.  Your book this summer is Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein, available at RK News Hallmark 5914 75th St., Kenosha, Wis. , 694-4055.  The edition required is Barnes and Noble Classic, ISBN 13:978-0-7434-8758-0.  Please read the introduction and utilize the end notes, which explain the text.

Honors students engage with text by doing a close reading and marking in the textbook, which is turned in for a grade two weeks after the class begins.  Students must use highlighter, blue or black ink, (no pencil) and mark the following:

Vocabulary words                 Pink          50
Besides marking and defining them in the novel, students will submit a typed or handwritten copy of the 50 words with the pages they're found on and a definition that matches the context they're used in.

Characterization                   Green       Major and minor characters
Mark all the characters in the novel, beginning with Walton in Ch. 1-4, Victor Frankenstein and his immediate family and friends, Elizabeth Lavenza and Clerval, Justine Moritz, and the DeLacy family, Victor's university professors, and of course, the Creature.  Comment on how Shelley develops the characters through what they say (dialogue), what they do (actions), what other characters think of them, and their own thoughts, which are confined to Victor, the Creature, and Walton.  Do not use sentences such as "Walton is nice" or "Elizabeth is caring."  Try to use vocabulary that describes the characterization that Shelley created.

Conflict                          Yellow         Man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. society and man vs. nature

Mark all the conflicts the characters encounter in the novel.  Besides highlighting the conflict in yellow, write the conflict in the margins of the text.

Foreshadowing                     Blue                       Clues and hints to future actions
Speculate and predict what the future actions and events of the novel will be.  Highlight the foreshadowing in blue in the text, and then write in the margins of the novel what you think is going to happen based on Shelley's clues.

Lightning, electricity             Red
Highlight all the instances of lightning and electricity in red,

At the end of each chapter, write a short summary in the text of the events of the chapter.  This will help you keep track of events during review, during the first weeks of class when we complete the study guide, and for the first quiz on the novel, given the second day of class.

Enjoy the summer reading!  Although the language involves elevated diction, you'll find the plot of what happens when a man tampers with what should be left a mystery intriguing.  If you have any questions, please e-mail
cpastor@kusd.edu.

Teachers of Survey of Literature and Composition Honors 9
Mrs. Carol Lechusz
Mr. Nicolas Cicerale

Word document: Honors English 9.doc

PDF Format: Honors English 9.pdf