Summer Reading Assignments
by Christine Hoover
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Book – title and author |
Fiction / Non-Fiction |
Brief Summary of text – Fiction - include characterization of main character and state main conflict with resolution Non-fiction - include reasoning and main argument |
Controversial Issues |
State your Goal /Objective– Why this book? Why the attached project? |
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Jr/Sr AP English
How to Read Literature Like A Professor Thomas C. Forster
Waiting For Godot Samuel Beckett
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Non-fiction, literary criticism
Fiction, drama |
from back cover of book] In this practical and amusing guide to literature, Thomas C. Foster shows how easy and gratifying it is to unlock those hidden truths, and to discover a world where a road leads to a quest; a shared meal may signify a communion; and rain, whether cleansing or destructive, is never just rain. Ranging from major themes to literary models, narrative devices, and form, How to Read Literature Like a Professor is the perfect companion for making your reading experience more enriching, satisfying, and fun
from sparknotes.com] Two men, Vladimir and Estragon, meet near a tree. They converse on various topics and reveal that they are waiting there for a man named Godot. A boy enters and tells Vladimir and Estragon that Godot will not be coming. This happens three times. The boy insists that he did not speak to Vladimir yesterday. After he leaves, Estragon and Vladimir decide to leave, but again they do not move as the curtain falls, ending the play.
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Not much controversial, discusses sex in literature briefly, but not pruriently
Suicidal ideation; implied death of God; notion that life is absurd
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Introduces and reinforces AP level analysis; leaves students with a professor during their summer months
Introduces Theatre of the Absurd, a descendant of which [Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead] will be read and analyzed after Hamlet. Much of the year is focused on literatures’ progression from Beowulf to modernism and post-modernism.
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Senior English
The Last Lecture Randy Pausch
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Non-fiction, memoir |
“Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” is the title of Pausch’s last lecture when he was given three months to live with a cancer diagnosis. The premise is that individuals can achieve their dreams regardless of their circumstances. It promotes responsibility for one’s own life. |
Death, mortality |
This book prepares students for the responsibility of senior year and the college or work life that will follow. I hope it will inspire students to take chances with their college and career preparation, research projects, and mentorship opportunities. |
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Book – title and author |
Fiction / Non-Fiction |
Brief Summary of text – Fiction - include characterization of main character and state main conflict with resolution Non-fiction - include reasoning and main argument |
Controversial Issues |
State your Goal /Objective– Why this book? Why the attached project? |
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Junior English
Going Where I’m Coming From Edited by Anne Mazer
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Non-fiction |
This is a collection of memoirs written by various authors about their American youth combined with a cultural clash. We discover what may or may not define an American. |
None |
This book has been selected because of its look into American Identity (the theme for the junior year) through the eyes of immigrants or first generation Americans. The project will be blogging with the teacher and other students about the definition of an American through the use of the memoirs, history and choices made. |
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Sophomore English
Hiroshima John Hersey
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Non-fiction, historical documentary |
[Amazon.com
Review] |
War violence |
Connects knowledge base from freshman world studies to sophomore world literature. Introduces issues in Japan that will be discussed in East Asian literature unit. Acts as review of literary terms learned in freshman English. |
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Book – title and author |
Fiction / Non-Fiction |
Brief Summary of text – Fiction - include characterization of main character and state main conflict with resolution Non-fiction - include reasoning and main argument |
Controversial Issues |
State your Goal /Objective– Why this book? Why the attached project? |
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Freshmen English
Dove – By Robin Lee Grahm
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Non- fiction |
This is an autobiographical account of a young man’s journey to self-discovery. Robin takes a 5-year trip around the world in a sailboat by himself. He discovers other cultures and he discovers himself. |
Robin drops out of high school at the age of 16 to begin this journey. |
I want the freshmen to begin thinking about how they can discover who they are. I feel that this is a powerful book about self discovery and chance-taking from which they can learn. I will be having the freshmen keep a journal of discovery connecting themselves to Robin in the story. There will be guiding questions for the journal. |
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Eighth Grade English
I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree (Laura Hillman)
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NF |
Story of a Jewish girl and her journey through Nazi concentration camps, where she meets her future husband. |
Human Extermination, Physical, emotional and sexual abuse related to times of war |
We read the Anne Frank’s Diary Play at the beginning of the year, and this book allows us to compare and contrast ideas from different sources on the same topic. We also discuss perspective, because both protagonists are Jewish girls, but they have different experiences during the Holocaust.
The attached project is to review a procedure from 7th grade ELA that we will use in 8th grade as well. It also proves that the student has likely read the book. |
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Book – title and author |
Fiction / Non-Fiction |
Brief Summary of text – Fiction - include characterization of main character and state main conflict with resolution Non-fiction - include reasoning and main argument |
Controversial Issues |
State your Goal /Objective– Why this book? Why the attached project? |
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Seventh Grade English
1.Heartbeat S. Creech 2.Single Shard L. Park 3.Ida B K. Hannigan 4.39 Clues R. Riordan 5.Among Hidden M. P. Haddix 6.Chew on ThisEric Schlosser 7.My Life in Dog Years Gary Paulson
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fiction fiction fiction fiction fiction Non-fiction Non-fiction |
1. 12 year old Annie deals with the impending birth of her brother and her grandfather’s inevitable death. She uses poetry to express her deepest hopes and fears. 2. Tree-ear is a 12 year old orphan boy on a quest to become a master potter that can lead to creativity, fame and fortune. This historical fiction novel deals with poverty, homelessness, and striving to move up in social class. 3. 10 year old Ida B learns that her mother has cancer. Ida B also learns to deal with the future and letting go of childhood as well. 4. 11 year old Dan and 14 year old Grace are on a hunt to find the 39 clues in this series. The clues were left by their wealthy grandmother in her will. What is at the end of the quest remains a mystery, but the kids know it will lead to fame and fortune. 5. 12 year old Luke is a sheltered child in a futuristic society. He has been hidden from the government his whole life by his parents because he is the 3rd child, and families only are allowed two children. As he is coming of age, he plans on escaping this boring and desolate life. 6. The author of this book also wrote “Fast Food Nation” and is on a cable series titled “30 Days”. This book explains the history of fast food in America. 7. The author Gary Paulson shares stories of dogs he owned while growing up. It is written in a series of vignettes |
1. death 2.homelessness 3. death 4. none 5. none 6. none 7. parents are alcoholics |
Students will choose a book and read a genre of their pleasure. When students return from summer break, they will share the book they chose to read on a Literacy Poster. This poster will discuss the importance of literacy in the student’s life with examples of how they use literacy skills everyday. The summer reading piece will discuss the story elements and are to be defined and described on the poster. Here students will explain the defining characteristics of the summer novel. |
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Publications
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Book – title and author |
Fiction / Non-Fiction |
Brief Summary of text – Fiction - include characterization of main character and state main conflict with resolution Non-fiction - include reasoning and main argument |
Controversial Issues |
State your Goal /Objective– Why this book? Why the attached project? |
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AP Biology
Your Inner Fish Neil Shubin
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Fiction
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Neil Shubin a leading paleontologist tells the story of evolution by tracing the organs of the human body back millions of years to fish before the first creatures walked the earth
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None
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The book reveals the deep connections between the human anatomy of fish, reptiles and other creatures described in the book
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World Studies
10th The Jungle-Upton Sinclair
World Studies
9th - Grade All Quiet on the Western Front- Erich Marie Remarque
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Fiction
Fiction |
In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, Jurgis and his wife Ona, Lithuanian immigrants, come to Chicago in search of the American dream. Harsh living and working conditions take their toll on their family, whose struggle with poverty destroys their dream and forces Jurgis to embrace the Socialist philosophy. The Jungle — often dismissed as political propaganda — survives as Upton Sinclair's poignant and disturbing tale of the hardships immigrants faced in the early 20th century.
In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque takes you inside the gruesome realities of World War I through the eyes of Paul Bäumer, a sensitive teenager and typical infantryman in the German army. Enlisted with his classmates at the urging of a teacher, Paul reaches manhood during three years as a soldier. Paul's loss of innocence is the focus of the author's sentiments about patriotic myths and the lasting effects of World War I on an entire generation.
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graphic details about working conditions.
-War -violence
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Analyze the impact of industrialization and the modern corporation in the United States on economic and political practices with emphasis on: Laissez-faire policies; monopolies; standard of living.
Explain the effects of industrialization in the United States in the 19th century including: changes in work and the workplace; immigration and child labor and their impact on the labor force; urbanization.
Analyze the reasons for the rise and growth of labor organizations in the United States including: unregulated working conditions, violence toward supporters of organized labor. Analyze the geographic processes that contributed to changes in American society including: industrialization and post-industrialization; urbanization; immigration.
Analyze the causes and effects of World War I with emphasis on: militarism, imperialism, nationalism and alliances; the global scope, outcomes and human costs of the war; the role of new technologies and practices including the uses of poison gas, trench warfare, machine guns, airplanes, submarines and tanks; the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations |
