Honors Nine: Summer Assignment

 

The Honors English and History Programs at Chugiak High School hold their students to the highest academic standards and expect students to show a willingness to expand their academic horizons.  Over the summer, students will complete a writing assignment, which will allow us to evaluate each student’s writing ability and the appropriateness of placement in the Honors Program.  Be ready with your essay on the first day of class.

 

Writing Assignment: 

Using appropriate 5-paragraph essay format, write an essay that answers the following question:

 

What makes a successful student?

 

Review the handout about Honors 9 Criteria on the next page before starting your essay to obtain some ideas. 

 

Make sure your essay includes an introduction with a preview or three point thesis statement, body paragraphs with topic sentences and a conclusion.  Support your essay with specific examples.

 

Recommended Reading:

There are several novels that we recommend reading over the summer to help prepare you for the upcoming school year, as well as provide you with a solid literature base.  The list below contains a variety of novels that may be covered by your teacher.  Previous knowledge of the novels will prove beneficial.

 

Animal Farm                                                   George Orwell

Edith Hamilton’s Mythology                           Edith Hamilton

Lord of the Flies                                             William Golding

Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar               William Shakespeare

Things Fall Apart                                            Chinua Achebe

 

 

Expectations:  Essentially, an Honors 9 English student needs to be a student who truly stands out from his/her classmates in depth of thought, writing/reading comprehension skills, ability to understand sophisticated ideas, and motivation to work diligently with difficult concepts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honors English and History Nine

 

                The Honors 9 program is designed for students who demonstrate academic ability, motivation, and a specific interest in an accelerated curriculum.  A study of literary classics, expository writing, and world history will be the focus.  The history of the human race and how mankind developed in time encompasses the study of philosophy, art, language and literature, and political history. We study people, places, events and how all of these relate in time.

 

To succeed, a student needs the following:

Knowledge of Essay Structure

  • Simple and complex sentence structure
  • Knowledge about paragraph structure: topic sentence, support statements, transitions
  • Knowledge how to connect thoughts to thesis and topic sentences
  • Thesis construction. Can create a sentence that is arguable and provable

 

Reading Comprehension

  • Willingness to tackle difficult material, such as primary documents and classical literature
  • Analysis of literature beyond surface understanding; theorize

 

Speech Techniques and speech construction

  • understanding of presentation and construction techniques

 

Study Skills

  • ability to use resources to produce a product
  • ability to use  an index, glossary, table of contents, map, dictionary, thesaurus,
  • note taking skills
  • outlining skills

 

Self-motivation

  • Flexibility
  • Responsibility
  • Recognition of student jobs and tasks
  • Independence-taking the initiative to use the tools provided to succeed
  • High academic goals
  • Understanding of the significant time requirements for an honor’s course of study
  • Willingness to go above and beyond the basic expectations

 

 

We are looking for a student who is willing to participate, express opinions, and take charge of his/her education.