SOUTH KINGSTOWN HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
2011 SUMMER READING REQUIREMENTS
All students will have required summer reading that will be assessed the first week of school. Students who are unsure about which book to select should consult with their librarian, English teacher, or reading specialist.
GRADE 9
That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.
— Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
English 9 - Select one (1) novel from the list below.
There will be a TEST and an ESSAY.
(Bring your notes: they will count as part of your test!)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Fantasy)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Classic)
Maus I by Art Spiegelman (Graphic Novel)
The Maze Runner (Vol. 1 of The Maze Runner Trilogy) by James Dashner (Science Fiction)
Wolf Rider by Avi (Mystery)
or, in memory of Lindsay Ann Burke,
Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn (Contemporary)
Honors 9 - Students must read one (1) assigned novel.
There will be a TEST and an ESSAY.
(Bring your notes: they will count as part of your test!)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Classic)
Assessment: 9th grade students will be tested on their reading during the first days of school. The test will consist of multiple choice, true/false, matching, and character identification questions. Also, students will write an essay (using their notes) about one of the books, addressing EITHER of the following prompts:
1) Discuss how this book has helped you to understand yourself.
2) What important things does the main character learn about himself? How did the book’s author show the difficulty of understanding oneself?
To support your essay with well-developed examples, it is necessary for you to record a minimum of nine relevant quotations from the novel (including chapter and page numbers) on a graphic organizer while you read. Make certain to keep an organizer for each novel, and bring them to your English class during the first day of school. A model quotation from Wolf Rider by Avi is on the graphic organizer below.
GRADE 9
Student Graphic Organizer for Required Essay/Writing Sample
(Create your own on a separate piece of paper.)
Book Title: (Capitalize and Underline) ____________________________________
Quotation
“Andy knew how much he needed [his father] and loved him” (202).
Relationship of Quotation to Prompt
Andy realizes that he depends on others (like his father) for love and support.
GRADE 10
And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about.
— East of Eden by John Steinbeck
English 10 Writing Workshop AND Introduction to American Literature students are to read one (1) book from the list below. There will be a TEST and an ESSAY. (Bring notes: they will count as part of your test!)
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Water for Elephants* by Sarah Gruen (2008 Reading Across Rhode Island selection)
*Includes mature content
Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen (Writing Workshop 10 only)
Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman (Writing Workshop 10 only)
English 10 Honors American Literature students are to read the two (2) books below.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck — TEST, NOTES, and ESSAY
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee — TEST, NOTES, and ESSAY
Assessment: 10th grade students will be tested on their reading during the first days of school. The test will consist of multiple choice, true/false, matching, and character identification questions. Also, students will write an essay (using their notes) about one of the books, addressing EITHER of the following prompts:
1) Discuss how this book has helped you to understand more about what it means to be an American.
2) What does the novel tell you about the importance of community?
To support your essay with well-developed examples, it is necessary for you to record a minimum of nine relevant quotations from the novel (including page numbers) on a graphic organizer while you read. Make certain to keep an organizer for each novel, and bring them to your English class during the first day of school. A model quotation from East of Eden by John Steinbeck is below:
GRADE 10
Student Graphic Organizer for Required Essay/Writing Sample
(Create your own on another piece of paper.)
Book Title: (Capitalize and Underline) ____________________________________
Quotation
“In the country the repository of art and science was the school, and the schoolteacher shielded and carried the torch of learning and beauty. The schoolhouse was the meeting place for music, for debate. The polls were set in the schoolhouse.”
Relationship of Quotation to Prompt
This quotation made me think of how much public education shaped American culture, and how even today schools are still centers of their community.
GRADE 11
It is a good thing to experience everything oneself, he thought. As a child I learned that pleasures of the world and riches were not good. I have known it for a long time, but I have only just experienced it. Now I know it not only with my intellect, but with my eyes, with my heart, with my stomach. It is a good thing that I know this.
— Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
English 11 Humanities and Writing Workshop in Humanities students are to read one (1) book from the list below.
There will be a TEST and an ESSAY. (Bring notes: they will count as part of your test!)
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
The Kite Runner* by Khaled Hosseini
*Includes mature content
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
AP 11 students are to read both of the following:
The Odyssey by Homer - TEST, NOTES, and ESSAY
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse - TEST, NOTES, and ESSAY
Selection of articles on current events
(see separate handout for guidelines)
Assessment: Humanities students will be tested on their reading during the first days of school. The test will consist of multiple choice, true/false, matching, and character identification questions. Also, students will write an essay (using their notes) about one of the books, addressing EITHER of the following prompts:
1) Discuss how this book has helped you to understand more about different cultures.
2) How does the main character’s journey shape his/her development? How do his/her encounters with the unfamiliar help him/her grow as an individual?
To support your essay with well-developed examples, it is necessary for you to record a minimum of nine relevant quotations from the novel (including page numbers) on a graphic organizer while you read. Make certain to keep an organizer for each novel, and bring them to your English class during the first day of school. A model quotation from Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi appears below:
GRADE 11
Student Graphic Organizer for Required Essay/Writing Sample
(Create your own on another piece of paper.)
Book Title: (Capitalize and Underline) ____________________________________
Quotation
“Then came 1980: The year it became obligatory to wear the veil at school” (3).
Relationship of Quotation to Prompt
I realize how different customs reflect different attitudes towards the sexes.
GRADE 12
Work keeps at bay three great evils: boredom, vice, and need. — Candide by Voltaire
With the exception of AP English 12 students, all seniors are to read one (1) book from the list below.
There will be a TEST and an ESSAY. (Bring notes: they will count as part of your test!)
Candide by Voltaire
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
The Memory of Running* by Ron McLarty
Flight* by Sherman Alexie
Five Skies* by Ron Carlson (2009 Reading Across Rhode Island selection)
*Includes mature content
AP English 12 students are to read all of the following:
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville - TEST, NOTES, and ESSAY
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - TEST, NOTES, and ESSAY
Candide by Voltaire - TEST, NOTES, and ESSAY
Assessment: 12th grade students will be tested on their reading during the first days of school. (NOTE: Seniors who are not enrolled in an English course 1st semester are required to complete this assessment during Wednesday morning Testing Center by the second week of classes.) The test will consist of multiple choice, true/false, matching, and character identification questions. Also, students will write an essay (using their notes) about one of the books, addressing EITHER of the following prompts:
1) Discuss how this book has helped you to think about your own future.
2) Discuss how one of the main characters either does or does not take control of his or her own life. How does the author show the importance of goals and personal values in that character’s life?
To support your essay with well-developed examples, it is necessary for you to record a minimum of nine relevant quotations from the novel (including chapter and page numbers) on a graphic organizer while you read. Make certain to keep an organizer for each novel, and bring them to your English class during the first day of school. A model quotation from Candide by Voltaire appears below:
GRADE 12
Student Graphic Organizer for Required Essay/Writing Sample
(Create your own on another piece of paper.)
Book Title: (Capitalize and Underline) ____________________________________
Quotation
“...I may be lucky enough to find Miss Cunégonde also” [said Candide].
“I hope,” said Martin, “that one day she will make you happy, but I doubt it very much.”
“You are very hard in your beliefs,” said Candide.
“It is because,” said Martin, “I have seen the world.” (104)
Relationship of Quotation to Prompt
This passage suggested to me that it’s unrealistic to pin my hopes for the future on some kind of out-of-reach romantic ideal.
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