Students taking Dual Enrollment English 121 should read both novels of the paired text selections below, complete the journal assignment, and come to school next year prepared to write a rhetorical essay on topics of the instructor’s choosing. You will be able to use the novels and your journal notes to complete the in-class assignment. Summer reading journals, prompts, and terms quiz will occur within the first two weeks of the new semester.
Novel Pair Choice 1- Read and journal about both of these novels.
The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood", and retreating amid violence and confusion to the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be.
This novel tells the story of a young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Wright's powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country, and of what it means to be black in America.
Novel Pair Choice 2 – Read and Journal about both of these novels.
Discover Joseph Heller's hilarious and tragic satire on military madness, and the tale of one man's efforts to survive it.
It's the closing months of World War II and Yossarian has never been closer to death. Stationed in an American bomber squadron off the coast of Italy, each flight mission introduces him to thousands of people determined to kill him.
But the enemy above is not Yossarian's problem - it is his own army intent on keeping him airborne, and the maddening 'Catch-22' that allows for no possibility of escape.
A classic work of American literature that has not stopped changing minds and lives since it burst onto the literary scene, The Things They Carried is a groundbreaking meditation on war, memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling.
The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim O’Brien, who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three.
Journal Assignment
Journal Rubric
Journal responses to Literature | |||||
| Level 4 10 pts | Level 3 7-8 pts Proficient | Level 2 6 pts Approaching Proficient | Level 1 ≤5 pts Beginning/No Mastery | |
Elaboration of Ideas | Level 4 There are two or more sentences that further explain the details chosen from the text to respond to the question. | Level 3 There are one or two sentences that further explain the details chosen from the text to respond to the question. | Level 2 There just one sentence that further explains the details from the text and how it connects to the response. | Level 1 There is nothing written that further explains the details from the text and how it connects to the response. | |
Details from Text | Level 4 Two or more details are used from the text. The details from the text clearly and completely support the response to the question. | Level 3 One or two details are used from the text. The details somewhat support and respond to the question. | Level 2 One detail is used from the text. The detail only slightly supports and responds to the question. | Level 1 No or only one detail from the text is used in the written reading response. The detail has no connection or support to the response. | |
Mechanics | Level 4 Sentences begin with a capital and have end punctuation. Sentences are complete (no fragments). Punctuation is used correctly through-out. Words are spelled correctly. Paragraphs are used correctly when needed. | Level 3 Sentences begin with a capital and have end punctuation. Sentences are complete. Punctuation is mostly used correctly. Most words are spelled correctly. Paragraphs are mostly used correctly. | Level 2 Most sentences begin with a capital and have end punctuation with some sentence fragments. Punctuation is sometimes used correctly. Most words are spelled correctly Paragraphs are sometimes used correctly. | Level 1 Some sentences begin with a capital and end with the appropriate punctuation. There are sentence fragments. Punctuation is sometimes used correctly. There are many misspelled words. There are no paragraphs used when needed. | |
Content/Consistency | Level 4 All required entries are included with a superior detailed response that directly connects to the literature, as well as personally connects (when required). Response shows a superior understanding of the text. | Level 3 Most required entries are included. Responses consist of basic details that connect to literature, with personal connections (when required). Responses show a basic understanding of the text. | Level 2 Some of the required entries are included. Responses do not always include details that connect to the literature, with few personal connections (when required). Responses do not always indicate a basic understanding of the text. | Level 1 Many required prompts are missing and/or the response lacks detail or has minimal connection to the literature, and is a basic plot summary. Overall, responses indicate minimal understanding of the text. | |
Any questions, you may email me at kelly.mahanna@christina.k12.de.us.
Enjoy your summer!