English III Summer Reading Assignment

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

and

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansbury

As you read, keep a reading journal in which you take notes specifically on characters: what they do and say that tell you something about that character’s personality. Pay close attention to each character’s motivation for doing what they do. You will take a test on both books and write an analytical essay during the first week of school. You will depend heavily on your journal as source material for this essay, so be sure to write down specific quotes that are pertinent to your understanding of characters, setting, theme, mood, and plot.

Select one of the projects below to demonstrate in a creative manner your understanding of ONE of the novels you read. Your project should focus on literary elements such as theme, characterization, setting, symbolism, conflicts, and mood.

All projects are due by Friday of the first week of school.

Creative Project for One Novel (your choice)

Choose one of these projects from below and present to English class.

Comic Strip--drawn by hand or computer, which is at least 12 frames long and highlights important scenes. Short dialogue balloons are fine, but be sure to include an explanation of the scene at the bottom of each frame.

Timeline--of all the major events from the entire book in chronological order. Summarize each event and explain why each was important.

Scrapbook--for the main character or characters. Include mementos of the character such as pictures, ticket stubs, notes from friends, awards, souvenirs, dried flowers etc. All should be labeled and explained. Minimum of ten pages.

Create a Homepage for a character from your book that reflects that character using text, color, graphics, and animation. Include at least four hyperlinked pages: an index page, a favorite activities page, a personal page, and a fourth page that could be a friend’s page, a poetry page, or an advice page, etc. that was written by your character.

A PowerPoint Presentation of at least 10 slides using using: text, color, graphics, and animation. Each slide should represent a different element of the novel. (characterization, setting, plot, climax, denouement, protagonist, antagonist, symbolism, themes, etc.) The presentation itself should persuade others to read the novel.