Summer Reading: 8th Grade English I Honors
Ms. Johnston and Ms. Royal
Charles Townes Center at Sterling School
2015-2016
All rising 8th grade students at Charles Townes Center are required to complete the Summer Reading Assignment which
is in two parts: reading a piece of specific literature and a nonfiction choice. See below for specific requirements.
PART I: LITERATURE
The Assignment: Read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (a favorite amongst 8th graders every year!). Annotate it just as you
have practiced in both 6th and 7th grades. We will complete activities together with this novel when we return to school in
August, so come prepared! Bring your annotated copy of the book with you to class on the first day of school!
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Published 1967, Reprinted 1997 (either edition is fine)
From www.sehinton.com: According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers
and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an
attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and
needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to
rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night when his
friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his world to crumble and
teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser.
PART II: NONFICTION CHOICES
The Assignment: Choose ONE of the following options to complete.
OPTION 1 – Follow a journalist
 Follow a local or national columnist in a newspaper. You must collect at least five current, preferably consecutive
columns by your author. You may use some of the authors I’ve listed below, or find your own. Attached, you
will find a list of suggested newspaper websites; all can be accessed at home or the public library. Check the
homepage of the newspaper for the name of the columnist you would like to follow, or check “Editorials” or
“Op-Ed.”
 Print or bring a copy of the columns you read that show your annotations on the first day of school.
OPTION 2 – Listen to a podcast
 There are many podcasts out there on iTunes and elsewhere. Find one that entertains and interests you. Listen to
at least 5 episodes. Some of Ms. J and Ms. R’s favorites are Freakonomics, How Stuff Works, Meet the Author, TED
Talks, and This American Life…but there are many out there for all interests! Search online for the transcript of
each episode you listen to. Print them, and annotate them as you listen.
 Bring in your annotated transcripts on the first day of school.
.
OPTION 3 – Read a nonfiction book
 Choose a nonfiction book to read. It can be on any topic, as long as it’s on grade level (i.e., a picture book about
the solar system is not on grade-level  ). Do you like coding and programming? Find a book on it! Do you like
history? Choose a historical book (not historical fiction!). Do you like food? Choose a book that discusses the
food industry (not a cookbook!). Does the human mind intrigue you? Choose a psychology book. If you’d like
some suggestions, see the attached sheet. Annotate your book as you read, and bring your annotated book in on
the first day of school. If you check out a book from the library or read an ebook, take notes/annotate on blank
paper, and bring your notes/annotations in on the first day of school 
NEWSPAPER/JOURNALIST SUGGESTIONS:
The New York Times
www.nytimes.com
Click on OPINION (on the top of the homepage, near the left). On this site, you can only get a columnist’s last two
articles free; this will not pose you any problems, of course, if you keep track and consistently access the site within
36 hours of your columnist’s posting each week. *Some NYT columnists post two times per week.
Charles M. Blow
David Brooks
Frank Bruni
Roger Cohen
Gail Collins
Ross Douthat
Maureen Dowd
Thomas L. Friedman
Nicholas Kristof
Paul Krugman
Joe Nocera
The Washington Post
www.washingtonpost.com
Click on OPINION to see a list of regular contributors. *This site requires that you register.
Fred Hiatt
Robert Kagan
David Ignatius
William Raspberry
George F. Will
Ezra Klein
Jim Hoagland
and many more…
The Boston Globe
www.boston.com/bostonglobe
Click on Opinion. Columnists are on the left.
Scot Lehigh
Joanna Weiss
Joan Vennochi
Lawrence Harmon
Jeff Jacoby
Derrick Z. Jackson
Farah Stockman
Miami Herald
www.miamiherald.com
Hover over Opinion and then click on Columnists.
Fred Grimm
Fabiola Santiago
Carl Hiaasen
Andres Oppenheimer
Leonard Pitts Jr.
Marc Caputo
You are not restricted to these columnists. The Greenville News and The Atlanta-Journal Constitution both have
columnists; their websites are just a bit more difficult to navigate in regards to a full list of their columnists.
NON-FICTION BOOK SUGGESTIONS:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Into the Wild by John Krakauer
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Seabiscuit by Laura Hildebrand
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Unbroken by Laura Hildebrand