LTHS GT Summer Reading

Purpose: The goal of a summer reading assignment is twofold; to give you a head start on the material for
the fall and to prevent your gifted brain and reading skills from atrophying. We chose an
interesting and engaging book that answers some really big questions about humanity.

Book: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond.
(If you really enjoy this book, he has another interesting book called Collapse that talks about whey societies fall.)

Assignment

1. The only required portion of this during the summer is to read. You can wait until the first week of school to do
the activity, or you can do it during the summer: your choice.

2. You will read selections from the book. Focus on the big ideas and don't get bogged down in the science, unless
you are really interested. One way to practice getting the main idea is to verbally explain the main idea to
someone after each chapter.

3. Read the following:

Required to read Choose 4 chapters from the following

Prologue: Yali’s Question Ch. 2: A Natural Experiment of History
Ch1 Up to the Starting Point Ch. 4: Farmer Power
Ch. 6: To Farm or Not to Farm
Ch. 9: Zebras, Unhappy Marriages, and the Anna
Karenina Principle
Ch. 10: Spacious Skies and Titled Axes
Ch. 11: Lethal Gift of Livestock
Feel free to read the rest of the book if you’d like, but you Ch. 12: Blueprints and Borrowed Letters
are not required to do summaries for those extra chapters. Ch. 13: Necessity’s Mother

4. Assignment 1: For each chapter you’ll complete a 4 entry dialectical journal. If you’ve never done one before,
essentially it’s just a journal of what you found interesting in the reading and your personal reaction to
it. John Adams and James Madison kept one their entire life. A format for this is on the back. You will
turn this in electronically.

5. Assignment 2: For each chapter (6 total) summarize AND illustrate the big ideas. One page (FRONT AND BACK) per
chapter is sufficient. For the illustrations, you can use your own artwork, symbols, collage-type cutouts
or computer printouts. Words can be melded into the art in any way you choose. Some chapters may
have more artwork, some may have more words but they should always have both. The page should
clearly show the main ideas and overall argument of the chapter. You should also identify ONE
literary device (list on the back) that the author uses in the chapter. You will turn this in
electronically.

6. Due Date: Sep 5-6. Everything will be turned in electronically.

Questions?
lawv@friscoisd.org stewartj@friscoisd.org
 Dialectical Journal Format & Example

Pg # Quote you found interesting, thought Your personal reaction to it (What conclusions did you have?
provoking, etc How did this change the way you thought? How can you
apply it to other things you’ve read or known

Example “Two types of choices seem to me to
have been crucial in tipping the
Pg23 outcomes [of the various societies'
histories] towards success or failure:
long-term planning and willingness to
reconsider core values. On reflection
we can also recognize the crucial role
of these same two choices for the
outcomes of our individual lives.”
Sticking to core values is essential to success, yet here
Diamond says they can lead to disaster. Should societies and
people constantly assess their values, goals, and habits to
ensure they still match their reality and what is in their best
interest? As your reality changes so should your ideas about
the world and yourself. Are there some core values that
aren’t worth sacrificing for survival?

Literary Devices

 Allegory  Denotation  Paradox

 Alliteration  Deus ex Machina  Pathetic Fallacy
 Allusion  Epithet  Periodic Structure
 Amplification  Euphemism  Personification
 Analogy  Faulty Parallelism  Point of View
 Anastrophe  Flashback  Polysyndeton
 Anecdote  Foreshadowing  Portmanteau
 Anthropomorphism  Hubris  Puns
 Aphorism  Hyperbole  Rhyme Scheme
 Archetype  Imagery  Rhythm & Rhyme
 Assonance  Inversion  Satire
 Asyndeton  Irony  Simile
 Bibliomancy  Juxtaposition  Suspense
 Cacophony  Malapropism  Symbol
 Caesura  Metaphor  Syntax
 Characterization  Metonymy  Tragedy
 Chiasmus  Mood  Understatement
 Conflict  Motif  Verisimilitude
 Connotation  Onomatopoeia
 Consonance  Oxymoron
Rubric:

Dialectical Journal: Minor Grade In Class Reflection Questions: Minor Grade

Chapter Visualization: Major Grade

Category Points
Main Idea clearly evident using both words and pictures. A 10 pts per page (6 pages=60 points)
deep understanding of the main idea also evident.
Literary device chosen and correctly identified 5 pts per page (6 pages= 30 points)
Aesthetics: The look of each page shows organization, 10 points
attention to detail, and careful planning.