Seattle Lutheran Reads!
Summer Reading 2019
What: In our mission to build community we invite you to read John Green’s novel, Turtles All The Way Down with your family this summer. This novel was voted on by our Humanities department, faculty, staff and our school families. Turtles All The Way Down serves to unite us as a student body when we convene in the fall. We will talk about it in classes and draw upon it throughout the year as well.
Why: Seattle Lutheran High School is committed to helping its students become lifelong learners. In order to achieve this, students must be ready to pursue their education both inside and outside of the classroom. Reading not only helps students maintain skills they already have but also helps students excel in the year to come. While it is mandatory for every Seattle Lutheran High School student to read one* book for their Summer Reading Project, we encourage your student to read more than just one book this summer. It will have a positive (and lasting!) effect on his or her future.
Instructions for this summer: Read John Greens’ Turtles All The Way Down. While you are reading, flag or underline ten significant passages that stand out to you. There will be a follow-up assignment on the book during the first week of school in September, so you must have your copy of the book with you when you arrive at school. SLHS will provide a copy for every student.
To learn more about the book, follow these helpful links:
Email English teachers if you have questions. Meredith Zandi, Jen Foster, and Peter Wilson
More information on our criteria for selecting literary works can be found here.
If there is some reason you wish for your student to be given an alternative assignment, please click here.
Happy reading!
Summer Reading for Students Entering AP English 12
In addition to Turtles All The Way Down, read one of the following selections: Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, or All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy.
Complete the Summer Annotations: Read one of the novels and annotate the text with your analysis and commentary. Pay attention to the literary elements listed below to guide your annotations. Complete at least fifteen (15) annotations, and submit them in a document, as sticky notes, or as screenshots of notes from an e-book.
Literary Elements
Jane Eyre
-Analyze the social, cultural, and historical significance of the various settings to deepen comprehension of Jane Eyre and how setting reinforces the developments in characters, plot, and themes.
-Analyze how plot developments produce psychological dilemmas for the main characters.
-Analyze how the relationship between Jane and other characters portray both the complexity of the characters as well as Jane’s psychological development.
-Analyze how multiple characters acting as narrators, each with a limited and possibly unreliable perspective, influence the interpretations of events, characters, and themes.
All the Pretty Horses
-Analyze how All the Pretty Horses fits the pattern of a quest novel, and the movement of the main character from innocence to experience.
-Analyze the effect that specific literary devices, including foreshadowing and symbolism, have on specific passages and how they operate within the context of the novel as a whole.
-Analyze the different roles and functions that characters play in the novel and how the relationships among character actions, dialogue, thoughts, and feelings portray the nuances of complex characters and advance the narrative.
