To:          Incoming Coronado High School Freshman Honors English Students
From:     Ms. Chapman and Mr. Lippincott, Honors English Teachers       
Date:      May 15, 2007
Subject:  Summer Reading/Preparation Assignment
CC:        Ms. Humphrey, Principal, Coronado High School

            Welcome to Coronado High School and to the C.H.S. English Honors program.  We are looking forward to rich and rewarding challenges as you transition from middle school to high school.  You will soon discover our campus is buzzing with opportunities for achievement in widely varied areas.  By enrolling in the Honors English Program, you have made a commitment to pursue a rigorous study of English language, literature, vocabulary, and composition.  Our English department has designed a summer program of readiness:

• Read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert L. Stevenson.
• Read The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. (You may check out both books from the CHS library until May 29, but there are limited copies and we recommend you purchase your own texts as we will practice high school discussion skills using textual evidence.   You may want to consider buying used copies or getting them from the library as well.)
• As you read take two-fold notes following the guidelines given on the insert.  This will help you prepare an essay during the first two weeks of school and will provide you a study guide for your examinations.

NOTE:  During the first two weeks of class, you will be asked to write an in-class essay about one of the two novels you have read as summer reading.  Taking thorough notes and being a careful reader will help you to write an essay you can be proud of.

• Also, read the first third of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, which may be checked out from the CHS library until June 3.  (We recommend that you purchase your own copy.  The content of this book will be referenced in your high school and college English classes.)
• Review your knowledge of punctuation, capitalization, and parts of speech.  You are expected to be proficient in each area.  (You will be tested on these during the first week of school.  If you do not score an 85% on any of the diagnostic tests, you will be required to attend clinics during your lunch hour.  Volunteers from the CHS Parent/Teacher Association along with Coronado English teachers will conduct the clinics.  The clinics will continue until you prove proficiency.)

Extra Credit Opportunities:

• Keep track of movies you watch and books you read this summer. You will be able to earn extra credit when submitting a one-page form provided by your teacher for each movie.  Your parents and/or guardians will need to certify that either was completed during the summer months.
• We will be participating in the annual “Pikes Peak Reads” activities put on by the Pikes Peak Library District during the school year.  The selected book this year is Zorro by Isabel Allende.  To help prepare you for this unit you may wish to read this selection, read the young adult version, which should be available over the summer from the library, and/or watch and or familiarize yourself with the legend of Zorro by doing some research or watching one of the many Zorro movies that have been produced.  

Your first week of school will be important.  You will complete an examination covering each text.  Next, you will complete diagnostic/prescriptive tests covering capitalization, punctuation, and parts of speech, as well as basic grammar.  If you score less than 85% on one of the diagnostic tests, you will be required to spend your lunch hour in a clinic workshop at least two days weekly until you reach the 85th percentile.  You will need to bring a sack lunch on those days.  Also, make sure you work on your handwriting.  You will be expected to write in cursive using an ink pen.
Indubitably, we look forward to your arrival.  We thoroughly enjoy our pursuit of knowledge together and in helping you become wordsmiths.  If you have any questions regarding your assignments or expectations, please contact us so that we may help.

Ms. Chapman                      328-3727                            chapmjl@d11.org
Mr. Lippincott                     328-3692 or 391-0695                klippi19@comcast.org

Note to Parents and Guardians:  We appreciate your support with making sure that we are providing each student with the best educational experience possible.  Signing up for an honors class indicates to us that your son or daughter will be willing to work at a rigorous pace to improve both writing and communication skills.  If you have questions about the appropriate placement for your son or daughter, please contact us or a counselor as soon as possible.  If you would like to volunteer to be a part of the grammar clinics or to assist in any other way, please email us to let us know of your interest. 

Instructions for Two-Column Notes/The Dialectical Notebook:

Please Note:  Too often reading is a passive experience.  We sit down with a book, pass our eyes over the words and say we have done the reading assignment.  At first you may think completing an assignment while you are reading is cumbersome, believing, “This is not the way I read.”  In time, however, taking notes will be one way you are actively participating in making meaning of the different works you encounter.  Hopefully you will learn to enjoy the process as you learn to become a more active reader.

While you read, record your questions, comments, and ideas in the response column, next to the part of the text that has piqued your interest.  These responses will be used in class to clear up any problems that you may have had, and to indicate thoughts and reflections that you had as you were reading.  In essence, the “Thoughts” column becomes an intellectual history of your reading experience.  Furthermore, this material becomes the basis for much of the writing you will do while analyzing what we have read.  Good luck!  Don’t be embarrassed by your questions; asking questions is a part of the learning process.  Have fun!  We look forward to meeting you!