Mr.

Feldman
mfeldman@philasd.org
English III Summer Reading 2016
READING:
Please purchase and read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
ANNOTATING:
As you read The Great Gatsby, make an average of 1 2 annotations (written
comments) on each page of the book. Annotation is the act of talking to the text as you
read it. Though you may not be speaking out loud, you will be writing/taking notes about
what you are reading as you read it.
Write your name on the inside cover of the book; it will be collected upon your return to
school.
BASIC ANNOTATION GUIDELINES
Central Question: What stands out to me as I first examine this text?
1. Underline or highlight any unfamiliar words . Later you can come back and write a
synonym or brief definition of these words in the margin.
2. Underline or highlight main ideas or important passages the author presents .
Also note supporting details with arrows or other symbol to show connection to main
idea.
3. Make brief notes in your own words about the main idea or action of a
paragraph or page. Note when a something first appears in the text: a character, a
conflict, a setting, a symbol.
4. If something in the text causes you to ask a question, make a note of it in the
margin.
5. If something in the text causes you to have a comment, make a note of it in the
margin. These can be informal personal reactions of the kind you might make
watching a TV show, such as whyd he do that?! or favorite character or I hope she
doesnt miss the train. Or they can also be literary and academic in nature, like why
repetition here or too much dialogue or all this description is boring or Theme!
(make sure to also write down your comment!)
6. Finally, you may want to create your own consistent method of symbols to use while
annotating, such as stars, acronyms, exclamation points, or other symbols.
WRITING:
After you finish reading The Great Gatsby, write a 5-paragraph literary analysis essay about the
novel. Use what you learned in your previous English classes to analyze and construct an argument
about the text, forming a thesis and providing textual evidence to craft your argument. Highlight your
thesis using the highlight tool on Google Docs.
Write your essay on a Google Document, using your school district Google account (which is your
student ID number @philasd.org). (If you cant access this account for some reason, complete it on a
different account.) Title your file Your Full Name English III Summer Work. Share this file with Mr.
Feldman at mfeldman@philasd.org any time before the first day of school!

Where can you get The Great Gatsby? www.abebooks.com is a great website for cheap used books.
Amazon.com has affordable new and used books as well.
SEE REVERSE FOR HONORS ENGLISH III REQUIREMENTS
Mr. Feldman
mfeldman@philasd.org
HONORS English III Summer Reading 2016
If you have selected to be in Honors English III, and you meet the criteria to be in the class, please work
under the assumption that you will be placed into that class and do the extra work. If you have
questions, please email Mr. Feldman at mfeldman@philasd.org. I will do my best to provide you with
guidance; however, nothing can be guaranteed or set in stone until the rostering process is complete.
READING:
Honors English III students please purchase and read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and
read one additional book from the list below (your choice). You do not need to purchase the second book
if you can read it another way (digitally, library, etc.).
ANNOTATING:
Complete the annotation work for The Great Gatsby as described on the reverse side of this sheet.
You do NOT need to annotate your second (choice) novel, but you are encouraged to do so for your own
benefit (it will not be collected and graded; only The Great Gatsby will).
WRITING:
First, access the online textbook called Critical Theory Today at http://tinyurl.com/feldmanfulltexts.
Read the introductory chapter (pages 1 10), and then choose another chapter with a Critical Theory
that youd like to learn about. Read that chapter (up to the Questions for further practice page; you can
skip the sample essay that follows), and do your best to apply that Critical Theory to The Great
Gatsby to write a 5-paragraph essay, using the ideas, terminology, and approach to this method set
forth in the chapter.
Then, choose a different chapter (a different Critical Theory) to read about, and apply that
different Critical Theory to your choice novel in a separate 5-paragraph essay. In each essay,
construct an argument about the text using the Critical Theory, forming a thesis and providing textual
evidence to craft your argument. Highlight your thesis using the highlight tool on Google Docs.
Write BOTH essays on a single Google Document, using your school district Google account
(which is your student ID number @philasd.org). (If you cant access this account for some reason,
complete it on a different account.) Title your file Your Full Name HONORS English III Summer
Work. Share this file with Mr. Feldman at mfeldman@philasd.org before the first day of school!
BOOK CHOICES*:
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Native Son by Richard Wright
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Their Eyes Were Watching God

by Zora Neale Hurston
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken
Kesey
Kindred by Octavia Butler
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya
Angelou

Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien

*You may choose to read a different book of equal literary merit (i.e. a classic, a widely-respected work of
literature) to the books on this list. Please email mfeldman@philasd.org with your book choice for approval.