Summer Assignments ELA – Incoming 10th Grade

  • Read Antigone by Sophocles (including the explanatory notes) from this site.
    • In an essay, compare and contrast the moral complexities in Antigone with those of any other book we read in 9th grade. Support your essay with specific quotes from the play.
  • Read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by R. Skloot. You can borrow the book from school or your local library or purchase a copy of your own. (Note: watching the movie is not a substitute for reading the book.)
    •  In an essay, using specific references from the book, agree with, disagree with, or qualify the following assertions: In the setting of the book, Baltimore and Johns Hopkins had de jure segregation. Some critics have pointed out, however, that greed and sexism were larger factors than racism in how Lacks and her family were treated. In other words, according to these critics, a poor white person would have been treated the same way, and the general public, especially women, faced significant barriers in dealing with the patriarchal medical establishment. Support your essay with specific quotes from the book.