English III Summer Reading Project

The Middle of Everywhere by Mary Pipher

“We think the world apart. What would it be like to think the world together?”

-Parker Palmer

The English III Summer Reading Project is due September 8, 2011. If it is turned in a day late, you will receive 25 points off; it will not be accepted after September 9th. All text from the project must be typed in Times New Roman 12 Point Font and uploaded into turnitin.com by midnight of September 8th. The text must be combined in one Word document before being uploaded. The project

Part A: Family Focus/American Dream(25 Points)

In this part of the project, you will compare and contrast one family/individual’s culture that was discussed in the novel to the United States. The way in which you present this information is up to you, but it must be done in a creative way (PowerPoint, iMovie, poster, Photostory, etc). In this part of the assignment, you must answer the following:

  1. Where is this family/individual from?
  2. Where are you from (city,state)?
  3. Describe their culture. (beliefs, clothing, food, etc.)
  4. Describe your culture based on Pipher’s guidelines of defining “culture.” (“women, gardeners, Piphers, …”, Southerners, etc.)(Pipher 13)
  5. Why did this family/individual leave their home country?
  6. What was their experience like in traveling to America?
  7. How does this family/individual define the American Dream?
  8. How do you define the American Dream?

Part B: Annotation (25 Points- 1 point for each annotation)

While reading the novel, you will be annotating (making notes of major ideas that are relevant to the theme of the novel) your novel using sticky notes (if you are borrowing the novel from the school) or writing in the novel (if you purchased the novel). If you purchased the novel, you may want to consider highlighting or using multiple colors to annotate. There is an essay, “How to Mark a Book,” found on the Mount Tabor website that will help you in understanding why/how you annotate a novel.

The following are key points you should annotate (make note of) in your novel:

Required:

  1. At the end of each chapter, you must write plot notes (a quick few words or phrases which summarize what happens in the chapter). This is useful for quick locations of passages in discussion and for writing assignments. TOTAL: 12

Choose 13 more in-text notes using the following annotation tips as your guide. You may mark:

  1. Interesting anecdotes (short stories) or findings
  2. Confusing sections/words
  3. Images that stand out to you
  4. Statistics/Facts that surprise you
  5. People/families introduced who are memorable to you

*You are not limited to this list.

Your guidelines for the additional 13 notes are the following:

  • Choose portions of text that are at least a sentence in length but no more than a paragraph which are, to you, the most important sections in the novel. If you are writing in the book, highlight or underline it. If you are using sticky notes, write the page number and as much of the quote that will fit.
  • On the back of the sticky note OR on the page in the margins (if you purchased the novel) write a few quick words or phrases to explain why the passage is significant

You should have 25 total annotations for this section.

Part C: Short Answer Questions (50 Points- 1O points each)

The answers to these questions will aid you in the Seminar in September you will be participating in. All answers must be typed in Times New Roman 12 point font. Each question should be answered in at least 4 sentences and no more than 12.

*some questions adapted from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

  1. Define the term refugee based on the definition given from the United Nations in Chapter 1. How does it differ from an immigrant?
  2. *In the foreword, Mary Pipher discusses how September 11th changed the way she thought and felt about this novel. Do we as a country view people of different races or nationalities differently, post 9/11. What has changed politically in this country since this novel was published.
  3. How would you define Americans? Pipher defines Americans on p.22. You may use this definition as a guide, but you cannot copy her definition.
  4. Define globalization. Is the “unique” actually “vanishing,” as Pipher suggests, with the loss of locally owned and the rise of corporations? (Pipher 10-11)
  5. Make a list of 10 misconceptions many refugees have about America, according to the novel. You must include misconceptions noted throughout the novel, not just in the beginning pages.

1.

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10.

  1. Pipher believes “it takes most people from one to three years to learn social English and five to seven years to learn academic English” (75). How important do you feel language is in integrating into American culture? Give examples from the novel to support your answer.
  2. *In Chapter 6, we “sit-in” (alongside Pipher) on a high school ELL class taught by a composite instructor known as Mrs. Kaye. Why does Mrs. Kaye decide not to return to this school next year? How do the students react to her news? And how have they changed, individually and collectively, over the course of their time in Mrs. Kaye’s classroom?
  3. *The novel describes the role of a “cultural broker” to newcomers. What particular activities were you surprised to find on her list? If you met a refugee or even a recent immigrant, would you be interested in becoming a cultural broker? Do you think this is something that you could do on an informal basis? Why or why not?
  4. There are many experiences of refugees described in this novel. What is the most surprising to you? Explain your answer.
  5. After finishing the novel, what would you say is the most dangerous thing in America for newcomers?