This document provides information for students taking an Advanced English course. It outlines the required summer reading, which includes the books "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago and "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. Students will write two in-class essays analyzing the books. The professor provides resources for obtaining copies of the books for students with financial need. The document also requests commitments from students and parents to complete all assignments and readings over the summer.

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Specialized Science & Math Secondary School
THOMAS ARMSTRONG TORO
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Summer Reading Syllabus
Professor Armando Castillo Escobar, BA,MA ESL
Professor Armando Castillo
English 12
English Department
Have a great Summer!
Feel free to contact me through the class blog.
Note: Summer Class Syllabus must
be signed & attached to students
notebook at the beginning of the
semester to be awarded 5 point to-
ward first test.

2. Dear Students:
Welcome to the 12 grade Advance English
course, Throughout the semester we will be
working with a verity of skills that will prepare
you for collage. As part of this you will read
over the summer the selected books by the
College Board Pro-
gram. It will serve as
the basis for two in–
class 100 point, five
paragraph essays.
The mode of writing
will be a Critical Analysis. The topic of the
essay will be based your individual under-
standing of the literary piece you have se-
lected. The purpose for writing a critique is to
evaluate somebody's work (a book, an essay, a
movie, a painting...) in order to increase the
reader's understanding of it.
A critical analysis is subjective writing be-
cause it expresses the writer's ( your) opinion
or evaluation of a text. Analysis means to
break down and study the parts. Writing a
critical paper requires two steps: critical
reading and critical writing.
Required Reading for all College Board
Advanced students:
1. When I Was Puerto Rican
By Esmeralda Santiago
http://ebooksmio.com/biographies/7279-esmeralda-
santiago-when-i-was-puerto-rican.html
2. The Giver
By Lois Lowry
http://www.4shared.com/office/_F3Ae2HF/the_giver.html
Recourses:
Below you will find other ways to acquire free or inex-
pensive copies of the required summer reading.
1.Students that have financial need should see guidance
counselor, as there a some copies provided by our
school English Program.
2.There are a number of websites where you can pur-
chase new or used books .
EBay ( www.ebay.com)
Amazon.com ( www.amazon.com)
Commitment needed by Students & Parents
1. Students must commit to comply with all
course requirements.
2. Students must complete all reading
assignments.
3. All writing assignments will be done in
class under Professor supervision.
4. Parents must see that all assignments
are completed.
Parent Authorization:
I authorize my son/daughter to be filmed in pic-
tures or video with educational purposes, these
images will be used solely for educational & pro-
motional purposes of our School, The English
Program and the College Board Program. They
will be a property of the institution and no other
person or institution will be authorized to access
them.
___________________ ______________
Parent Date
Instructions &
Suggestions