St. John Paul II Catholic High School
Required Summer Reading Assignments
2016
Required Summer Reading English 9
Language and Introduction to Literature (English 9):
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Language and Introduction to Literature Honors (English 9 Honors):
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel where the reader sees and experiences life in a fictional Alabama town during
the 1930s. Life is portrayed in a way to show how the main character, Scout, faces the challenges in her life and
learns from them. She has to learn about the racism that was present in her town and how women were
treated by some men. She has to learn how to grow up in a world where she doesn't necessarily agree with
what society dictates she should do. The experiences she goes through with her brother, Jem, illustrate how
difficult growing up can be.
Guidelines for both English 9 and English 9 Honors Summer Reading
There will be a summer reading assessment on your return to school in August. The test will comprise two parts:
multiple-choice questions about recurring story details, and short-essay questions that are more open-ended.
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The best way to prepare for the test is to do the following:
Read the assigned book, pausing to highlight major characters (you’ll know them when you come across them) and
to note important conflicts, plot events, and setting details.
Take the time and opportunity to discuss the book with your friends and family. Book talks are one of the best
ways to understand, care about, and remember a storyline.
Caution: Do not use Spark Notes to replace your summer reading. You must live with a book for a while to absorb
the story, to relate to the characters, to catch on to the themes, and to appreciate the author’s style.
After reading the novel, you may want to watch the 1962 black and white DVD starring Gregory Peck to help you
understand the story a little more. Please keep in mind that the test in August will be based on the novel, not on
the movie, so you will need to read the novel.
You may have multiple items to work on, read, or complete before the beginning of the school year. Please do not
wait until the last minute to read this novel. With that being said, though, please understand that if you read it
early in the summer, you may want to reread it closer to the end of summer. That way, you will remember more
information about the novel closer to the test time.
Required Summer Reading English 10
Language and American Literature (English 10):
Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Pudd’nhead Wilson, which takes place in the mid-1800s, is about switched identities—specifically, the infant son of a rich
man swapped with the infant son of a slave girl—and the chain of events that occurs when one of the boys grows up to be
an irresponsible young man. Mark Twain, who had little tolerance for human foibles, wrote this satire to illuminate racial
injustice and southern aristocracy in the years after the Civil War (by the way, a satire makes human misbehavior look
ridiculous so that the author’s reproach of that behavior is easier for the reader to swallow). The story is sometimes praised
more mightily that Huck Finn. Like Huck Finn, Pudd’nhead Wilson contains dialect and long, wordy sentences, which you
might find troublesome. If so, try reading the text aloud. Understanding will eventually become easier.
Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story about the author’s renewed friendship with Morrie, an old college professor, who
happens to be dying from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Actually, Morrie isn’t dying. He is trying to live the best he can by
opening his house to visitors. When the author becomes a weekly visitor, he and Morrie share many deep conversations
about what really matters in life, lessons that the author needs to learn to live his own life more fully.
Language and American Literature Honors (English 10 Honors):
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is much more than a young teenager’s recounting of his adventures on a raft ride
down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave. It is also a satire about social values run amok in the mid-1800s. As you
read the book, you should try to figure out what social values Twain is criticizing. Also, be prepared to stumble through the
first couple of chapters. Twain is a trailblazer when it comes to using authentic dialect. In fact, he uses no fewer than seven
different dialects in Huck Finn. One way to navigate through and understand the dialects is to read them aloud for a while
until you become accustomed to then. Then, sit back and enjoy the fun escapades of Huck and Jim.
The Glass Castle is a memoir written by Jeannette Walls in which she recounts her childhood and adolescence in a
dysfunctional family. She describes continual “skedaddles,” her father’s alcoholism, her mother’s neglect, and her siblings’
struggle to overcome disappointments and to do the best they could with what little they had. By telling a story of fortitude
with a great deal of humor, Walls manages to lift us up rather than to bring us down.
Guidelines for both English 10 and English 10 Honors Summer Reading
There will be a summer reading assessment on your return to school in August. The test will comprise two parts:
multiple-choice questions about recurring story details, and short-essay questions that are more open-ended.
The best way to prepare for the test is to do the following:
•
•
•
1.
2.
3.
Take the time and opportunity to discuss the book with your friends and family. Book chats are one of the best
ways to understand, care about, and remember a storyline.
Do not use SparkNotes-style summaries or movies to replace your summer reading. You must live with a book for a
while to absorb the story, to relate to the characters, to catch on to the themes, and to appreciate the author’s
style. On-line summaries have a place for clarifying what you do not understand and for refreshing before a test,
but they cannot substitute for the original text. The same applies to movies. While comparing and contrasting
books and movies can be an entertaining exercise, be aware that movies often deviate from the original text. They
will not help you—and may actually confuse you—when the time comes to take the test.
Read the assigned books, pausing to highlight major characters and to note important conflicts, plot events, and
setting details so that you can better answer the following questions:
Setting – What is the time period? What makes the time period significant? Over how much time does the story
take place? Where does the story take place? Why are these places important? (Note: Would the story have been
the same had it been set in a different time and place?)
Characters – Who is the main character? Who are the other important characters? How would you describe each?
How does each character relate with the other characters? Do any of them change over the course of the story?
How?
Conflict – With whom or what is the main character in conflict? How do you know? Is there just one problem or
are there many? What are they?
4.
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Plot – Can you track the plot events of the story? How do they move from one situation to the next? What are the
complications? Are there flashbacks?
Climax – At what point in the story does the conflict change? How does the conflict change?
Resolution – How does the book end? How have the problems been solved? Are you satisfied with how the
problems have been solved?
Point of View – Who is telling the story? Can you believe everything the narrator tells you?
Theme – What lesson(s) is the book trying to teach or what point(s) is it trying to make?
Symbols – A symbol is most often something concrete that stands for something abstract. Did you notice any
symbols in the book? How would you explain them?
If, over the summer, you have questions or concerns about the reading requirements, please feel free to send an
e-mail to Mrs. Pepper at [email protected].
Required Summer Reading English 11
Language and British Literature (English 11):
1984 by George Orwell
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Language and British Literature Honors (English 11 Honors):
1984 by George Orwell
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Guidelines for both English 11 and English 11 Honors Summer Reading
Students are required to read Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis and 1984 by George Orwell. HIGHLIGHT and ANNOTATE
important quotations about plot, themes, characters, literary devices (irony, metaphors, imagery, motifs, foreshadowings,
etc.), and anything else that is meaningful to you. (See owl@purdue for information regarding
annotating and highlighting). Write definitions of words you have to look up in the margins of your books. You are
responsible for any words you do not understand.
During the first week of class bring your books and /or notes with you to class. You will be allowed to use your books on a
test made up of quotations, vocabulary, and ideas from the books (100 pts.). Make sure that you know the authors,
characters, themes, etc. Showing up without the books, saying you lost them, or failing to highlight and annotate will
prevent you from doing well on the test. Do not come to class unprepared.
AP English Language and Composition (AP Comp):
“What Do Students Need to Know About Rhetoric” by Hepzibah Roskelly
“The Rhetoric of Advertising” by Renee Shea
The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales.
Guidelines for AP Comp Summer Reading
1. Read and heavily ANNOTATE The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis, The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert, and Deep
Survival by Laurence Gonzales. HIGHLIGHTwhat you think is of value, write questions in the margins—especially if you
disagree with the author—and outline the argument each author is presenting to you. (The best way is to do it by chapters.
Also, see owl@purdue for information regarding annotating and highlighting.) Be thoroughly prepared to discuss these
texts. Bring them to class (100 pts.) the first week of school. You will write an essay about each in class, and you will be
allowed to use the texts.
2. Also, read the following articles and be prepared for a test the first day of class in August:
"What Do Students Need to Know About Rhetoric" by Hepzibah Roskelly
"The Rhetoric of Advertising" by Renee Shea
To view the articles, go to http://apcentral.collegeboard.com. From the AP Course Homepages drop down menu, select
English Lang. & Comp. Under "Classroom Resources," you will see the "From Your AP Colleagues" section. Links to both
articles are in this section.
You may also use the following links to access the articles:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/ap06_englang_roskelly_50098.pdf
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/32181.html
3. AP Vocabulary: Please look up a definition and an example for each of these terms. We will have an open note test over
them the first week of school.
Ad hominem
argument
allegory
alliteration
allusion
asyndeton
Ambiguity
analogy
antecedent
anaphora
Antithesis
aphorism
apostrophe
caricature
Chiasmus
Clause
colloquialism
conceit
Connotation
denotation
diction
didactic
Euphemism
extended metaphor
figurative language
Figure of speech
genre
hyperbole
imagery
Inference/infer
invective
irony/ironic
juxtaposition
Loose sentence
periodic sentence
metaphor/simile
Metonymy
synecdoche
mood/tone
narrative
Onomatopoeia
oxymoron
paradox
parallelism
Parody
pedantic
point of view
polysyndeton
Prose
repetition
rhetoric
rhetorical appeals (3)
Rhetorical question
Sarcasm
satire
style
Subordinate
clause
syllogism
symbol
syntax
Theme
thesis
transition
understatement
zeugma
Wit
Required English 12 Summer Reading
Language and World Literature (English 12)
Guidelines for English 12 Summer Reading
You will choose your own book to read this summer. Your guidelines are as follows:
1.
It cannot be a book you have read, or are reading, for any other class in this school. This rules out, for
example, books such as To Kill a Mockingbird and Huckleberry Finn.
2.
Your book may be fiction or nonfiction.
3.
Your book must have won or been nominated for a major literary prize. I am including links to websites
which have excellent lists of awards, but there are some not on these lists which you could find on your
own. For example, the CASEY award is for the best baseball book written in a given year. If you are
interested in reading something about a particular subject—such as baseball—just run a search for awardwinning books on that subject.
There truly is something that each one of you should want to read. If you like science fiction and fantasy,
you might look for books that have won the Nebula Award; fans of crime fiction would enjoy Dagger
Award winners; and the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award are given for both fiction and nonfiction.
http://www.awardannals.com/v/Special:Awards
(Note: make sure you click on “Books” at the top of this web page.)
http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/books/awardwinners.html
4.
Your book must be an adult-level or YA book, not one that has won a children’s book award (therefore,
although the Newbery prize, for example, is indeed a major award, you are not allowed to read a
Newbery winner for this project).
5.
Please avoid “awards” that are clearly not major (such as a blogger’s “top ten” or those endless lists that
pop up on amazon.com and Facebook newsfeeds).
6.
Please choose a book that you and your family consider appropriate.
7.
Bring your book and some paper on the first full day of class.
8.
If you have questions about the suitability of your book choice, email me over the summer
([email protected]).
Language and World Literature Honors (English 12 Honors)
Guidelines for English 12 Honors Summer Reading
You will choose your own book to read this summer. Your guidelines are as follows:
1.
This cannot be a book you have read, or are reading, for any other class in this school. This rules out, for
example, books such as To Kill a Mockingbird and Huckleberry Finn.
2.
Your book may be fiction or nonfiction.
3.
Your book must have won or been nominated for a major literary prize. I am including links to websites
which have excellent lists of awards, but there are some not on these lists which you could find on your
own. For example, the CASEY award is for the best baseball book written in a given year. If you are
interested in reading something about a particular subject—such as baseball—just run a search for awardwinning books on that subject.
There truly is something that each one of you should want to read. If you like science fiction and fantasy,
you might look for books that have won the Nebula Award; fans of crime fiction would enjoy Dagger
Award winners; and the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award are given for both fiction and nonfiction.
http://www.awardannals.com/v/Special:Awards
(Note: make sure you click on “Books” at the top of this web page.)
http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/books/awardwinners.html
4.
Your choice must be adult-level, not a book that has won a children’s or YA award (therefore, although
the Newbery prize, for example, is indeed a major award, you are not allowed to read a Newbery winner
for this project).
5.
Please avoid “awards” that are clearly not major (such as a blogger’s “top ten” or those endless lists that
pop up on amazon.com and Facebook newsfeeds).
6.
Please choose a book that you and your family consider appropriate.
7.
Next, find a full-length review (longer than a couple of paragraphs) of your book from a reputable
newspaper, magazine, or journal. Because your book won a major award, you should have no difficulty
finding reviews. Read and print out the review of your choice.
8.
Bring your book, the book review, and some paper on the first full day of class.
9.
If you have questions about the suitability of your book or review choices, email me over the summer
([email protected]).
10. Have a great summer!
AP Literature (AP Lit)
Guidelines for AP Lit Summer Reading
1.
Your mission, Part 1 is to read How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster (Revised
Edition). This book, which is not nearly as boring as it sounds (actually, it isn’t boring at all), is an excellent
introduction to literary analysis.
2.
Your mission, Part 2 is to read any ONE novel from the following list:
A Passage to India (E. M. Forster)
All the Pretty Horses (Cormac McCarthy)
Cry, the Beloved Country (Alan Paton)
Far from the Madding Crowd (Thomas Hardy)
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
Middlemarch (George Eliot)
Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)
Song of Solomon (Toni Morrison)**
The Unvanquished (William Faulkner)
**Mature themes
3.
“How do I know which novel to choose?” you may ask. Go to amazon.com and read a synopsis of the
novels. If you read a plot summary on Sparknotes, you will ruin your reading experience by already
knowing how the novel ends. Bad idea!
4.
“Why did you choose these particular novels?” you might also ask. I chose them because each one is an
excellent novel to have read for the AP Literature exam. These ten novels also represent a variety of
authors, styles, and time periods, so you should all find something you will like on the list.
5.
You should take notes as you read your novel. You will want to keep up with the plot, of course, but you
should also be thinking of Foster’s emphases (geography, illness, weather, allusions to the Bible—just to
name a few) and where you see them in your novel. Your notes are entirely for you, but should be your
own work—no attached Sparknotes (or Gradesaver, or Shmoop, etc.).
6.
Bring both books, your notes, and notebook paper to the first full day of class. You will be writing an inclass essay in which you apply a concept from Foster’s book to your novel.
7.
Get a head start on those college applications. Go ahead and write an admissions essay (or two). You’ll be
glad you did once the first deadlines roll around in October.
8.
Email me if you have any questions over the summer.
9.
Enjoy your summer!
10. I don’t like odd numbers, so…REALLY enjoy your summer!