2015-2016 REQUIRED INDEPENDENT READING PROGRAM (6-11)
Reading is vital to learning and has been shown to increase students’ abilities in all subject matters. It is an active mental process
that improves vocabulary, concentration and focus. It is also a life-skill that, once developed, will serve the reader well both at
work and leisure. Reading is IMPORTANT! Therefore, independent reading is a required part of the English curriculum at Aurora
Christian School.
In order to enhance the use of classroom instructional time and learning environment, the ACS Independent Reading Program is
updated annually. Please read carefully for changes from last year.
SUMMER INDEPENDENT READING: CHRISTIAN LIFE/APOLOGETICS
Journals are due in English classes on Friday, August 21, 2015.
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New students enrolled after August 15 will submit journals on Friday, September 11, 2015.
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Directed journaling will form a composite test grade for students’ Independent Reading summer book. The specific questions
required for journaling will be available on the ACS website by June 1, 2015. Journal responses must be completed in an 8” x 10”
one-subject spiral notebook (which will also be used for journaling during Independent Reading Days in the spring).
Read:
*ISBN numbers of preferred editions provided for your convenience.
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Take Your Best Shot, Austin Gutwein
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Just Like Jesus, Max Lucado
You Were Made to Make a Difference, Max Lucado and Jenna Lucado Bishop
Crazy Love, Francis Chan
6 Grade
7 Grade
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8 Grade
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9 Grade
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10 Grade
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11 Grade
Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis
The Case for Faith, Lee Strobel
1400315158
9780849921223
9781400316007
1434768511
0060652926
0310234697
FALL INDEPENDENT READING: CLASSICS
Tests over the fall Independent Reading classic novel will be set up in a format that tests both recall and understanding. Each test
will be comprised of objective questions (matching/true and false/multiple choice) and subjective questions (essays). Students will
read weekly, and although the focus will be independent reading and comprehension, they will receive teacher support in terms
of era, terminology, theme, etc., in preparation for the test.
Read:
*ISBN numbers of preferred editions provided for your convenience.
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The Black Stallion, Walter Farley
0679813438
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Johnny Tremain, Esther Forbes
0440942500
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Slave Dancer, Paula Fox
1416971394
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To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
0446310786
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The Hound of the Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
0425104052
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Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
0345342968
6 Grade
7 Grade
8 Grade
9 Grade
10 Grade
11 Grade
*ISBN numbers of preferred editions provided for your convenience.
SPRING INDEPENDENT READING:
Middle School – Biography (teacher approval)
High School: 9-11 – Classics (choice of 5)
Second semester Independent Reading Days will offer a bit of variety, as students will read a classic work of their choice from the
list below and be assessed on weekly journaling for daily grades and a creative presentation of the information in the work for a
test grade. Books must be obtained by the first Friday of spring semester. Details of and rubrics for the creative presentation
may vary by course and will be explained to students, as well as available on RenWeb, at the beginning of the semester.
High School Classics Choices (select one from appropriate grade level):
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9 Grade
(ISBN/SKU – any full version is fine)
The Call of the Wild, Jack London
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
The Story of My Life, Helen Keller
Profiles in Courage, John F. Kennedy
The Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
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10 Grade
Idylls of the King, Alfred Lord Tennyson
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
1984, George Orwell
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neal Hurston
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11 Grade
Moby Dick, Herman Melville
The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin
Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
+++Honors English 11 will read The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson (provided by the school)
SUMMER INDEPENDENT READING: CHRISTIAN LIFE/APOLOGETICS
Journals are due in English classes on Friday, August 21, 2015.
th
New students enrolled after August 15 will submit journals on Friday, September 11, 2015.
Directed journaling will form a composite test grade for students’ Independent Reading summer book.
Journal responses must be completed in an 8” x 10” one-subject spiral notebook (which may also be used for journaling during
Independent Reading Days in the spring).
Students must write a journal response of 150 -250 words for each chapter of the summer independent reading book, including
preface/introduction/conclusion. Please consider the following “starters” to help you think through your ideas and what you’d
like to discuss in your written response. The goal is to share with your teacher what you’ve learned, what you think, how you feel,
and/or questions that arise in your mind about what you’ve read.
Reading Response Journal Starters:
I began to think _______.
I love the way ________.
I can't believe ________.
I wonder why _______ ?
I noticed _______.
I think _______.
I observed _______.
I wonder ________.
If I were __________.
I'm not sure _______.
I felt sad when _______.
I wish that _______.
This made me think of ______.
I was surprised ________.
It seems like _________.
I'm not sure ________.
This reading teaches _______.
I began to think of _________.
I wonder what this means?
I really don't understand this part _______.
I really like/dislike this idea because ________.
I think these ideas are important because ________.
I like/dislike this writing because ________.
This part is very realistic/unrealistic because _________.
This situation reminds me of a similar situation in my own life. It happened when_________.
I would/would not share this with someone else because________.
This is relevant because ________.