Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy Summer Reading Assignment - 2021/2022 Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck Dear Incoming Freshmen and Parents: Each summer, students at Collegiate Academy have a summer reading assignment. Literacy is a key component in being successful in high school, and our summer reading assignment is designed to help students maintain—and even sharpen—the skills they already possess. This year’s summer reading assignment for LA9 H and LA9 is based on John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men. Published in 1937, Steinbeck’s novella tells the story of George Milton and Lennie Small’s lives as migrant farm workers in Depression-era California. The two men face many obstacles while trying to realize their own American Dream. Students should obtain their own personal copy of Of Mice and Men, read/annotate it, and then be prepared to be tested on the book during the first week of school. An online PDF copy of the novella can also be found here: Of Mice & Men PDF Link. Students who choose to read the online PDF version can annotate their copy with the Kami extension which has been installed on all students’ school-issued Chromebooks. We will continue our study of the novella into the beginning of the school year, so it is imperative that all reading is completed by then. STUDENT HACK: ANNOTATING When you read, it is important to annotate, or interact with the text. We all naturally have ideas, feelings, mental images, and questions while reading; annotating is simply noting these ideas, feelings, mental images, questions, etc. Use sticky notes to mark significant passages/quotes in the text that you find particularly interesting or important while you are reading. Then, write down our thoughts, feelings, reactions to those passages/quotes on the sticky note. Please do not hesitate to contact either of us if you have any questions or concerns! Sincerely, Ms. Heather Ulmer & Ms. Christine Balsiger [email protected] [email protected] Language Arts Teachers 814-874-6300 www.eriesd.org/npca Always Reaching Higher