2014 Drew Summer Program English Course

Explanation of Short-Hand Assignments and Activities

Reading/Vocab Quiz: students are expected to read carefully, make notes in the margins, and be
prepared to discuss their interpretations relating to theme and literary form. Reading quizzes
may include plot-based questions, analytical questions, quotation identification, and
vocabulary. Vocab questions will simply ask for definitions. Students should look up and note
(in the text) any words that they dont know while theyre reading, and they will have access to
these notes (context) during these portions of quizzes.

NBE = notebook entry. Notebook entries accompany at-home reading assignments, and I
encourage students to be both personal and analytical in their prose. Notebook entries should
not include any plot summary; instead, they should focus on parts of the reading that are of
particular interest to the student. Making a personal connection to the reading, accepting the
authors hand, is what were trying to do here.

Presentation #1: students should plan a short (10 minutes) glimpse of their outside reading to
be shared with the class. Though no written component is required, students should carefully
organize and execute this 10-minute presentation. Consider sharing your first impressions, the
basic plot and characters, the unique aspects of literary form, and the earliest and most
apparent themes.

Body paragraph: I will provide very specific guidelines for this one-page formal essay; students
will compose it on a Word doc, and they will email it to me no later than 12:30 on Thursday,

Presentation #2: like the first presentation, students should plan a 10-minute update of their
supplemental text (they should be half-way finished). The same types of
suggestions/expectations apply.

Salvage the Bones essay: students will write a 3-5 page essay on Jesmyn Wards Salvage the
Bones. I will provide specific expectations for this essay, but the most basic questions are the
following: What is the novel about? and How is this theme conveyed through the elements of
literary form? Students will email the final draft of this essay to me no later than 12:30 on

Literary reading: functioning as the final presentation of this summer course, a literary reading
is a 20-minute, student-led presentation on his/her outside-of-class text. Students are expected
to actually read a section or sections of their chosen novel, and they will lead a discussion on the
connections between their novel and Salvage the Bones. I will model a literary reading on, and I
will provide a document with specific guideline and expectations.