Southeast High School
Accelerated English 10 - 2016 Summer Reading
The long, leisurely days of summer are fast approaching. What a great opportunity to sit
back and relax with a great book!
Goal:
The goal of summer reading is to maintain and enhance your reading skills while you are
away from school. Since active reading requires practice, it is important to continue reading
on your own. Participating in summer reading will allow us to start the year at the same
level of excellence you are leaving at. We also hope you grow to enjoy reading for pleasure!
Additionally, The Southeast Big Summer Read is opportunity for all of us at Southeast High
School, students and staff, to share in the experience of reading the same book.
Instructions:
Accelerated English 10 students are required to read two books this summer. One is the
Southeast Big Summer Read book. The other is required only for Acc. English 10. There is
an assignment for each on the back. All reading and assignments are due on the first
day of school: Tuesday, September 1st. Be prepared to participate in graded class
discussions on these books upon returning to the classroom. There will also be a test and/or
essay over them at some point during our first week back.
1. The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom (Required)
**Southeast Big Summer Read**
“Eddie is a grizzled war veteran who feels trapped in a meaningless life of fixing rides
at a seaside amusement park. His days are a dull routine of work, loneliness, and
regret. Then, on his 83rd birthday, Eddie dies in a tragic accident, trying to save a
little girl from a falling cart. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven
is not a lush Garden of Eden, but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by
five people. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of
them changed your path forever. One by one, Eddie's five people illuminate the
unseen connections of his earthly life.” –Amazon.com
AND
2. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (Required)
“Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill
a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother,
Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial
of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores
big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a
tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up.”
–Amazon.com
Note: If you have already read To Kill a Mockingbird, please read either
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
Assignment:
Write an essay on each question below. Answers may be handwritten or typed, roughly 500
words. Answers should demonstrate close and active reading.
1. There are many life lessons we can learn from The Five People You Meet in Heaven. A
few of the powerful themes from are: lives sacrificed to save others, forgiveness and
letting go of anger, the power of love, and the interconnectedness of life (that there
are no random acts). Choose one of the themes above. Explain how it is portrayed in
the book and how it connected to you and your life.
2. Compare and contrast Eddie and Atticus Finch in terms of their character and
personality. Be specific citing explicit moments from each text. (This essay should
not include on the surface differences such as job, age etc. Please don’t include these
in your essay.)
Note: If you are completing this essay after reading one of the other two books,
please answer the same question, but replace Atticus Finch with Frank McCourt or
Francie Nolan
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or comments over the summer.
I would be more than happy to answer any questions or simply discuss what you are reading,
required or otherwise! I look forward to spending the 2016/2017 school year with you.
Mrs. Baker
[email protected]