Osborne High School English Summer Required Reading 2014-2015
Directions: Parents and students should choose ONE book together. However, students in an
Honors literature course are encouraged to read TWO books. Be sure to find a book suited to
your student’s needs, interest, and maturity level. Students should select a book to which their
parents have no objection. You may find all books in the library or may purchase one from a
bookstore (www.amazon.com).
Disclaimer: Students should read books that TOTAL at least 140 pages. Students should complete
their own work, neither sharing ideas nor working with another on any element of this project.
Scan for more
information.
Philosophy: The goals of summer reading for Cobb County are to improve literacy and to promote lifelong
reading. As students grow and mature, they need to continually practice their reading skills. While early
reading skills are basic, when students grow older, they need selections that stimulate their imaginations,
improve their thinking skills, and enhance their vocabulary development. The lists are based on
recommendations from classroom teachers, librarians, and students, and support the Common Core Standards
for English.
Assessment:
The reading should be completed by August 22, 2014. You must complete a Level 1 and a Level 2 activity.
Please see the attached list of assessments that may be completed before the due date.
Additionally, in the beginning month of your English course, you will have an opportunity to demonstrate your
understanding of the novel selection(s) through an in class essay response.
Lists (also see attached list of teacher recommended titles):
Cobb County Suggested Reading List (Partnership with Cobb Library)
http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice/librarymedia/Resources/SummerReading/MiddleandHigh/SuggestedSum
merReadingListforMiddleandHighSchool2014.pdf
100 Best Novels from the Modern Library
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html
101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers by the College Board
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/boost-your-skills/23628.html
Young Adult Library Services Association lists of “Best Books for Young Adults,” “Outstanding Books for the
College Bound,” “Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers,” etc.
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklistsbook.cfm
Reminder: While providing readers a choice, we remind you to check the Lexile score of the novel to ensure
that you enjoy something on an appropriate reading level. Any bookstore salesperson or media specialist may
help you with this. Additionally, you may check the title on http://www.lexile.com. This score denotes reading
ability and text difficulty on a scale, allowing readers to select titles that meet and challenge a reader’s unique
abilities and interests.
Osborne High School Summer Reading Suggested Titles
Ninth Literature
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
World Literature
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Sold by Patricia McCormick
Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
American Literature
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
AP Language
Brothers and Keepers by John Edgar Wideman
Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World by Tina Rosenberg
The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids by Alexandra Robbins
Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything by James Gleick
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
AP Literature
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Native Son by Richard Wright
British Literature
1984 by George Orwell
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Multicultural Literature
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
When I Was Puerto-Rican by Esmeralda Santiago
The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream by Sampson Davis, George
Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt
British Literature or Multicultural Literature
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
Summer Reading Assessment Assignment (Due upon your return to school)
Complete one of the following assignments in each level to show that you have read and thought about
your reading in a meaningful way. You must complete an activity in each level.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Level One Activity (Choose 1 of the activities below)
Design a book jacket (a new cover) that highlights the book. Fold
a sheet of paper in half. Then, create a cover that represents the
entire book and provides its title/author’s name. On the back,
write a description to get readers interested in choosing this book
as their next read.
Illustrate the Hero’s Journey that occurs in your novel. For each
level on the journey find appropriate quotes with page numbers
that demonstrates the complete journey.
Write a letter to your teacher (whom you haven’t even met yet)
trying to convince him/her to read one of the books you chose to
read over the summer. If you would prefer to convince them
never to read that book, your letter should say that. [The letter
must be at least one full page long.]
Prepare a television commercial that advertises the book. It could be a movie trailer for the upcoming
film. It could be an advertisement encouraging people to read the book. It could be promoting an
approaching interview with the author on a popular TV show. A DVD/videotape copy of the project
must be submitted.
Level Two Activity (Choose 1 of the activities below)
1. Rewrite the ending of the book, changing what happens. Write in the style that the author does. Be sure
to show what happens, not just tell how the ending is different. [Minimum: 2 pages.]
2. Complete a Dialectical Journal. A dialectical journal is another name for a double-entry journal or a
“reader-response” journal. A dialectical journal is a journal that records a dialogue, or conversation,
between the ideas in the text (the words that you are reading) and the ideas of the reader (the person who
is doing the reading). This is what you must do in your journal—keep a dialogue with yourself. In your
journal, have a conversation with the text and with yourself.
Directions for the Dialectical Journal:
A. Once you have finished writing your
1. Begin by setting your paper up in MLA format
response label it using one of the following
(heading, margins, etc.)
codes:
2. Underneath the title (which should be Dialectical • (Q) Question – ask about something in the
Journal for _______) create two columns.
passage that is unclear
3. Label the left-hand column "Quotations" and the • (C) Connect – make a connection to your life,
right-hand column "Notations".
the world, or another text
4. On the left-hand side, copy interesting or
• (P) Predict – anticipate what will occur based
important passages from the novel. Make sure to
on what’s in the passage
include a page number!
• (CL) Clarify – answer earlier questions or
5. On the right-hand side, comment on the passage. confirm/disaffirm a prediction
Your comments should be longer than the original • (R) Reflect – think deeply about what the
passage and should focus on literary criticism as
passage means in a broad sense – not just to the
well as personal response. Each entry should be
characters in the story. What conclusions can you
well-written and formal, although a short
draw about the world, about human nature, or
paragraph will be sufficient for length.
just the way things work?
• (E) Evaluate - make a judgment about the
character(s), their actions, or what the author is
trying to say.