Cleveland Heights High School Library
Summer Reading

Ninth Grade English 1 Honors
Summer 2010

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Expectations for Cleveland Heights High School students:
  • Summer Reading is a District Wide initiative and NOT EXTRA CREDIT.
  • Students entering the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District within seven days prior to the start of school will be given additional time to complete the required work.
  • Incomplete reader response questions will be given the score of zero.
  • Summer Reading grades will be calculated in to your first quarter grade.

Directions: All incoming ninth graders enrolled in English 1 Honors will read BOTH of the following two texts:
I.
Title
Author
  The Secret Life of Bees Kidd, Sue Monk
  A Gathering of Old Men Gaines, Ernest
 
II. Required Assignment
  All students will complete reader's response questions for both reading selections.

The written responses are due Wednesday, September 1, 2010.
  A. The Secret Life of Bees Reader’s Response Questions and Tasks  Click here for a printable version of the Reader's Response Questions for The Secret Life of Bees..

Select SIX of the following prompts. Compose at least one well developed paragraph consisting of a main idea or topic sentence and detailed supporting sentences for each of the selected prompts.
Use evidence from the novel to support and develop your observations. Respond to each question as completely as possible and make sure to include a direct passage (using quotation marks) for each of the six responses. These responses should reflect careful thought.
You can expect that teachers may also request additional writing, projects, quizzes, or discussion based upon your reading.
    1. How is August the “Queen Bee”?
    2. Explain how the quotes about the life of bees are designed to symbolize events in the story?
    3. What does August see in Lily to make her the apprentice “Queen Bee”?
    4. What does the image of the Black Madonna represent to Lily, May, August and June?
    5. What is the sign Lily asks May to request from her mother to prove she has loved Lily?
    6. What are some clues that August knows more about Lily’s story than she lets on?
    7. What causes May to drown herself? If you had been there that night, what would you have done?
   
8.
 What is wrong with T-Ray? Can you make a guess about why he acts as he does?
   
9.
 How would you describe what is wrong with May? What event from her past has contributed to her condition?
   
10.
 Why does June resent Lily so much? What event breaks down the wall of mistrust?
   
11.
 What causes Deborah Fontenel to abandon Lily? Is Lily able to forgive this?
   
12.
 Why does June continue to reject Neil? Why is May so against June’s rejection of Neil?
   
13.
 Explain the function of the “wailing wall” May builds. From where does the idea come?
   
14.
 What famous celebrity plans to visit Tibouron? Why do the townspeople organize to disrupt the celebrity’s activity?
   
15.
 How does T-Ray find Lily? Describe the sequence of events that causes T-Ray to allow Lily to stay.
   
16.
 Talk about an instance where literature and references to literature are used to make a point in the story.
   
17.
 How would you describe the way in which Lily, as the narrator, speaks to the reader? What sort of assumptions does Lily make about the reader?
   
18.
 Would this story have seemed different if it were set in the 90s, or in New Hampshire, or during winter? How does the story’s unique setting add to the themes?
   
19.
 Does Lily seem like a believable character to you? Find proof to support your answer.
   
20.
 Why do you think Sue Monk Kidd’s first novel became so successful? Provide one specific reason you think this novel works.
   
21.
 Is there anything about the author’s background that might have led to her writing about the topics or themes of the novel?
   
22.
 What would you have done if you were Rosaleen being “dissed” by the three racists?
   
23.
 What would you have done if you were Lily witnessing the racist incident?
       
  B. A Gathering of Old Men Reader’s Response Questions and Tasks. Click here for a printable version of the Reader's Response Questions for A Gathering of Old Men.. 

Select SIX of the following prompts. Compose at least one well developed paragraph consisting of a main idea or topic sentence and detailed supporting sentences for each of the selected prompts.
Use evidence from the novel to support and develop your observations. Respond to each question as completely as possible and make sure to include a direct passage (using quotation marks) for each of the six responses. These responses should reflect careful thought.
You can expect that teachers may also request additional writing, projects, quizzes, or discussion based upon your reading.
    1. Describe the setting of the novel. Remember to describe the time and the place of the novel. How is this setting important to understanding the novel?
    2, Describe Candy’s personality and appearance. What is her attitude toward the old men?
    3. Describe Mathu’s personality and appearance. What are the other characters’ attitudes toward him?
    4. Describe Mapes’ personality and appearance. How is he both sympathetic and unsympathetic toward the old men?
    5. Describe the relationship between Gil and Cal. How do the events of the novel create conflict for this relationship?
    6. Which characters claim to have shot Beau? Why do they claim to have shot him?
    7. Who really shoots Beau? Why?
    8. Who is Fix? Describe his conflict with Gil.
    9. Describe the relationship between Mathu and Mapes. How are they friends? How are they not friends?
    10. Describe the scene in the graveyard. How is this scene relevant to the rest of the novel’s plot?
    11. Provide at least three examples of racism depicted in the novel.
    12. Detail the sequence of events that occur within the one day that the novel takes place.
    13. Which character would you identify as the central protagonist?
    14. What do you think about the judge’s final verdict? Is it a fair verdict or not?
    15. What do you think is Gaines’ central message in this novel? What facets of social justice is he trying to highlight?
       
III. In addition to the mandatory reading selection, students are encouraged to monitor their self-selected reading over the summer months.
       
       
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