Summer Reading for 9th Grade
Due: August 30th
Did you know that students who read over the summer start the next year at least two
months ahead of the students who do not read? Summer is a wonderful time to read the books
you like best. At SST, we use creative summer reading assignments to make sure our students
are ready for the next grade.
Summer reading requires students to read ONE book from our list this summer and
complete the corresponding activity. These books and activities have been designed for your
student to be able to answer essential questions about the journey of self discovery. The theme of
self-discovery through journey will continue onto the first quarter of the school year, so consider
this a head start!
Summer Reading is a major grade in high school! All written responses must be neatly
typed and edited for spelling and grammar. All answers must be typed double spaced, Times
New Roman, and 12 pt. font. This is what is called “MLA Format” and is a universally
recognized typing format for liberal arts. Please refer to attached MLA Format guide for an
example.
The following books can be bought from Amazon, Half Price Books, Barnes and Noble,
or any other local book store. I encourage you to use Goodreads.com and other sites to make sure
you are comfortable with your student reading the novel that your student chooses.
Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
Wild, by Cheryl Strayed
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank
Call of the Wild, by Jack London
The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck
Please let me know if you have any questions about the assignment! I will be checking my email account over summer.
Mrs. Swanson
[email protected]
Summer Reading for 9th Grade
Due: August 30th
Directions: Select one of the above travel/journey-themed text to read, interpret, and
enjoy this summer. Upon your return to school, you will be participating in a class discussion
pertaining to our summer reading selections. To help you prepare for this discussion, you must
come to class with typed responses to your questions. Not every question should be answered.
Refer to the directions below on how many questions to answer. Most of the questions welcome
multiple interpretations (there is more than one right answer) and will enhance our discussion on
the day of the seminar. Be sure to provide detailed examples and include at least one quotation
from the text to support each response for the novel specific questions. When providing a direct
quotation, be sure to use MLA format (author/page number) as modeled in the following
examples: (Jenkins 33) or (Steinbeck 25). Review the following website to help you format your
paper using MLA format: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Thematic Questions
Directions: Answer any five out of the following questions. These are open ended questions and
there is no right answer. I only ask that you think deeply about the questions, relate them to your
personal experience, and answer sincerely.
1. Is humankind inherently good or evil?
2. Do the characteristics of a hero remain the same over time?
3. In the face of conflict and challenge, what causes some individuals to prevail while others
fail?
4. When does a positive personality trait become a tragic flaw?
5. Are we governed/ guided by fate, free will, a greater power, or do we fall somewhere on
the spectrum between?
6. What is happiness and what is the degree of importance in one’s life?
7. How does personal experience shape or alter truth?
8. How does family play a role in shaping our value and beliefs?
9. Are there universal characteristics of belief systems that are common across people and
time?
10. What is mortality and what are the factors that have an impact on the development of our
morality?
11. How do our values and beliefs shape who we are as individuals and influence our
behavior?
Summer Reading for 9th Grade
Due: August 30th
Novel Specific Questions
Directions: Answer 4 out of the following questions. Relate your answer to your novel. Write in
complete sentences. Back up your answer by providing text evidence (a quote) for each question.
1. Journeys come in many different forms. There are emotional journeys that we undertake,
physical journeys that we go through, and spiritual journeys that change our outlook on
life. These journeys are not exclusive and usually coincide . Describe what type of
journey the main character went through. Was it all three? Did the character change
throughout the story due to their experience?
2. What motivated the main character to go on their journey? What were they searching for?
Did they find it?
3. What was the main character’s life before their journey? How did their upbringing and
life experience affect their decisions?
4. Consider the time period during the novel. How did the cultural or societal issues of the
time affect the character and their journey?
5. What misconceptions, untruths, and/or stereotypes did your author have about people
who were different than them AND places that were different than the one they grew up
in? Where do you think these personal biases came from? How did their experiences of
meeting new people and immersing themselves in a different places challenge those
misconceptions, untruths, and/or stereotypes?
6. How did other characters in your novel view the main character? Address some of their
misconceptions and stereotypes.
7. What types of conflicts does your author face on his journey (man vs. man, man vs. self,
man vs. nature, man vs. society)? Provide examples.
8. What was the most life changing event for your character in their journey? How did it
change them?
9. Compare and contrast your life experience thus far to the main character of your novel.
Can you relate to them? In what way is your life experience similar to that of the main
character? If you aren’t like them, what are the main differences?