Dear Regents Community,
Remember the long, lazy days of childhood summers, when you had nothing more pressing to do than
splash in the local swimming hole or pool and then curl up in the sun or under a shady tree with a good
book? Now we live in such a fast-paced world that those simple pleasures seem in danger of disappearing
for our children. As a parent, I love sharing with my son the experience of my most treasured vacation
memory: going to summer story time at the local library and coming home with a huge stack of books to
explore. Those warm, dreamy afternoons spent with Curious George, dinosaurs, and King Arthur seemed
to last forever.
Summer is the perfect time to reconnect with family and friends, as well as to share the hobbies and
experiences that refresh us. Whether you are relaxing at the lake house or driving across the country, we
hope that you will take this opportunity also to share with your children the books and authors that you
remember most fondly. What could be better than sitting around the campfire with some S‟mores and
reading aloud together a tale of adventure or suspense?
The pages that follow include our summer reading philosophy statement, as well as the entire summer
reading program for grades K-12. Hopefully you will take the time not only to become familiar with the
summer reading of your grade, but also to look at what the other classes are reading. Adventure, history,
romance, adversity, victory, tragedy, and mystery lie within the pages of the books listed.
It has been a distinct pleasure working with our faculty and librarians on the summer reading program.
When you get this list, mosey on over to your neighborhood bookstore or library, where it is nice and cool,
and enjoy some wonderful and fascinating stories together with your family and friends!
Blessings for a restorative and peaceful summer,
Carol Blosser
Humanities Chair
A Statement on Summer Reading
A guide for students entering K-12th grades
Summer reading is one of essential elements of what we are trying to accomplish in the Humanities. We
are trying to inculcate and encourage our students to have a lifelong love of reading and learning. We
recognize that books assigned during the school year have to compete with the pressures of a rigorous
academic and extracurricular life here at Regents. Summer is the perfect time to enjoy a fine example of
literature or history in a friendly, familiar, and family filled environment.
Therefore, we have chosen books which reflect our desire to have students love and appreciate their
summer reading experience while reading great works that are not only age appropriate and accessible but
are also books they will enjoy reading. Too often we expect reading to be a chore because of the pressures
of the school year and the intensity of the text itself. In contrast, summertime is an opportunity to relax
with a book and have the chance to interact with it in a personal way. To develop a love for reading, we
must embrace the idea that we can read for pleasure and the books we choose for summer reading reflect
our desire to build interest in reading through great, and more importantly, enjoyable stories.
Grammar School Summer Reading
“Developing the ability and desire to pursue reading is education.” Susan Schaffer Macaulay
Summer reading is a pleasurable experience for the entire family. Below are some recommendations, tips
and resources to inspire a love for reading in your home this summer.
Requirements:
Entering K-2nd : 15 book minimum (books over 50 pages count as two books)
Entering 3rd-6th: Five chapter book minimum (50 pages or more) – These students should
be prepared to write a summary from ONE book during the first days of school to verify
reading and evaluate writing ability.
Keep a record of books you read: List by title, author, dates you read them, and a
parent‟s initials verifying completion.
Tips for your Summer Reading Plan:
1.
Establish reading aloud books as a family priority. Read to your children daily, even if they are
past the “learning to read” stages. Research shows this inspires children and increases their
academic performance.
2.
Have your child read aloud so you can hear his fluency. Also this will help him develop
expression, sound out unfamiliar words, and expand his vocabulary.
3.
Discuss what you read together. Share favorite parts, predict upcoming events, imagine yourself
in the book, and define new vocabulary. Have your child re-tell what he has read to ensure active
engagement and comprehension.
4.
Check out books from your local library frequently. Plan visits to libraries, garage sales, HalfPrice Books, and Goodwill to book shop.
Choose books that your child would love to read and at a level they can read
independently and for pleasure. (See link to article in resource section below.)
The entire Grammar School list is attached for your reference. Our list is by no means
exhaustive or mandatory, but it does contain many tried and true books and authors.
However, feel free to read whatever book is of most interest to your child.
More suggested book lists are in the Additional Resources section below.
Additional Resources:
Great sites with parent sections that include downloadable brochures, articles, and book lists are:
www.trelease-on-reading.com and www.readingrockets.com
Article: “Selecting Books for Your Child: Finding „Just Right‟ Books”
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/28279/:theme=print
Books containing suggested Book Lists:
Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease
Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
Books Children Love by Wilson and Macaulay
GET YOUR MIND INTO A BOOK AND HAVE A GRAND ADVENTURE!
Kindergarten and First Grade Reading List
Title
Billy and Blaze books
Brambly Hedge books
Madeline books
Paddington Bear books
Babar books
Andrew Henry‟s Meadow
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
The Very Busy Spider and other titles
Cowboy Sam Books
Chanticleer and the Fox
The Parables of Jesus and other titles
Angus and the Ducks
Corduroy
Hare and the Tortoise
The Big Snow
Ox Cart Man
Reason for a Flower
Chrysanthemum and other titles
A Birthday for Frances and other titles
Julius and other titles
Angelina books
The Snowy Day
The Story of Ferdinand
The Little Airplane and other titles
Narnia Picture books
Paul Revere‟s Ride
Katy Meets the Impressionists and other titles
Make Way for Ducklings
The Legend of the Teddy Bear
Smudge and other titles
Katy No-Pocket
The Little Engine that Could
The Art of Miss Chew and other titles
Beatrix Potter books
Curious George books
The Blind Colt
Henry and Mudge books
The Lighthouse Family series
Mr. Putter and Tabby books
Nate the Great
Caps for Sale
A Child‟s Garden of Verses
Casey at the Bat
The Biggest Bear
The Lemon Drop Jar
A Chair for my Mother
Harry the Dirty Dog books
Second Grade Reading List
Author
Anderson, C.W.
Barklem, Jill
Bemelmans, Ludwig
Bond, Michael
Brunhoff, Jean De
Burn, Doris
Burton, Virginia Lee
Carle, Eric
Chandler, Edna
Cooney, Barbara
De Paola, Tomie
Flack, Marjorie
Freeman, Don
Galdone, Paul
Hader, Berta and Elmer
Hall, Donald
Heller, Ruth
Henkes, Kevin
Hoban, Russell
Hoff, Syd
Holabird, Katherine
Keats, Ezra Jack
Leaf, Munro
Lenski, Lois
Lewis, C.S.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth
Mayhew, James
McCloskey, Robert
Murphy, Frank
Newberry, Clare T.
Payne, Emily
Piper, Watty
Polacco, Patricia
Potter, Beatrix
Rey, Margaret
Rounds, Glen
Rylant, Cynthia
Rylant, Cynthia
Rylant, Cynthia
Sharmat, Marjorie
Slobodkina, Esphyr
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Thayer, Ernest
Ward, Lynd
Widman, Christine
Williams, Vera
Zion, Gene
Title
American Girl Doll books
Jenny the Cat Club books
A Bear Called Paddington
Apple and the Arrow
The Buddy Files
The Best Loved Doll
Henry Huggins books
The Boy in the Alamo
The Courage of Sarah Noble
Mice of the Westing Wind series
Mercy Watson series
The Reluctant Dragon
Brer Rabbit
Pee Wee‟s Tales
Betsy books
Little Eddie books
Moses the Kitten and other titles
Zoo School
Jeremy
The Nancy Drew Notebooks
Girl of the Alamo
Betsy-Tacy books
Missouri School Day and other titles
Skylark and other titles
Animal Friends
Magic Tree House series
The Littles books
A-Z Mysteries
Capital Mysteries
Cobble Street Cousin series
Pioneer Daughters
Boxcar Children series
Little House series
Author
American Girl Collection
Averill, Esther
Bond, Michael
Buff, Mary Marsh
Butler, Dori Hillestad
Caudill, Rebecca
Cleary, Beverly
Cousins, Margaret
Dalgliesh, Alice
Davis, Tim
DiCamillo, Kate
Grahame, Kenneth
Harris, Joel Chandler
Hurwitz, Johanna
Haywood, Carolyn
Haywood, Carolyn
Herriot, James
Hornick, Laurie Miller
Karon, Jan
Keene, Carolyn
Kerr, Rita
Lovelace, Maude Hart
MacBride, Roger
MacLachlan, Patricia
Oke, Janette
Osborne, Mary Pope
Peterson, John
Roy, Ron
Roy, Ron
Rylant, Cynthia
Van Leeuwen, Jen
Warner, Gertrude
Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Third Grade Reading List
Title
American Girl History Mystery
Newspaper Caper and other titles
Tom Swift, Young Inventors series
Animal Ark series
Brambley Hedge series
Oz series
Milly Molly Mandy
The Arrow Over the Door
Henry Huggins and Ramona books
Hardy Boys and the Secret Files
The Saturdays and other titles
Hank the Cowdog
Ginger Pye and other titles
The Wind in the Willows
Betsy series
Dog Stories, Cat Stories, and other titles
Sugar Creek Gang books
Twig
Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew
A Mouse Called Wolf and other titles
Strawberry Girl and other titles
The Young Mandie Mysteries
Pippi Longstocking books
Betsy Tacy and other titles
Owl in the Family
Twenty-One Balloons
The Scout series
The Cobble Street Cousins
Time Warp Trio
The Good Master
One Hundred and One Dalmations
The Box Car Children
Little House on the Prairie books
Author
American Girl Collection
Anderson, Max Elliot
Appleton, Victor
Baglio, Ben
Barklem, Jill
Baum, Frank
Brisley, Joyce
Burchac, Joseph
Cleary, Beverly
Dixon, Franklin
Enright, Elizabeth
Erickson, John
Estes, Eleanor
Grahame, Kenneth
Haywood, Carolyn
Herriot, James
Hutchens, Paul
Jones, Carolyn
Keene, Carolyn
King-Smith, Dick
Lenski, Lois
Leppard, Lois
Lingren, Astrid
Lovelace, Maude Hart
Mowatt, Farley
Pene du Bois, William
Prins, Piet
Rylant, Cynthia
Scieszka, Jon
Seredy, Kate
Smith, Dodie
Warner, Gertrude
Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Fourth Grade Reading List
Title
The Indian and the Cupboard series
Peter and the Star Catchers series
Oz Series
The Penderwicks
The Kingdom series
Accidental Detective series
A Little Princess
What Katy Did
Myths of the Greeks and Romans
Hardy Boys
Hank the Cowdog series
The Moffats and other titles
Thunder from the Sea
The Misty series
Trailblazer Adventure books
The Redwall series
The Nancy Drew series
The Girls of Lighthouse Lane
The Princess Tales
Mine for Keeps
Doctor Doolittle series
Christy Fiction series
The Mistmantle Chronicles
Anne of Green Gables
Five Children and It
The Borrowers
Year Down Yonder
Cooper Kids Adventure series
Pollyanna
Grandma‟s Attic series
The Wilderking Trilogy
The Williamsburg Years
Encyclopedia Brown series
Treasures in the Snow
Ballet Shoes and other titles
I Survived series
Swiss Family Robinson
Author
Banks, Lynne
Barry, Dave
Baum, Frank
Birdsall, Jeanne
Black, Chuck
Brouwer, Sigmund
Burnett, Frances Hodgson
Coolidge, Susan
D‟Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar Parin
Dixon, Franklin
Erickson, John
Estes, Eleanor
Harlow, Joan
Henry, Marguerite
Jackson, Dave and Neta
Jacques, Brian
Keene, Carolyn
Kinkaid, Thomas
Levine, Gail Carson
Little, Jean
Lofting, Hugh
Marshall, Catherine
McAllister, Margaret
Montgomery, Anne
Nesbit, Edith
Norton, Mary
Peck, Richard
Peretti, Frank
Porter, Eleanor
Richardson, Arleta
Rogers, Jonathan
Rue, Nancy
Sobol, Donald
St. John, Patricia
Streatfeild, Noel
Tarshis, Laura
Wyss, Johann
Fifth Grade Reading List
Title
Jaywalker
Chip Hilton Sports series
The Little Princess
R.T. Margaret and the Rats
The Wheel on the School
The Black Stallion
The Little White Horse
Princess Academy
The Redwall Series
Red Rock Mysteries
Lassie Come Home
The Mandie series
Ella Enchanted
The Princess Tales
White Fang
Number the Stars
The Light Princess
The Mistmantle Chronicles
Anne of Green Gables
Five Children and It
The Borrowers
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Young Patriots series
Annie Henry series
Summer of the Monkeys
The Wilderking Trilogy
The Williamsburg Years
Heidi (unabridged)
Treasures in the Snow
Eagle of the Ninth and other titles
The Cay
The Mennyms
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Swiss Family Robinson
Author
Beatty, Patricia
Bee, Clare
Burnett, Frances Hodgson
Conly, Jane Leslie
Dejong, Meindert
Farley, Walter
Goudge, Elizabeth
Hale, Shannon
Jacques, Brian
Jenkins, Jerry
Knight, Eric M.
Leppard, Lois Gladys
Levine, Gail Carson
Levine, Gail Carson
London, Jack
Lowry, Lois
MacDonald, George
McAllister, Margaret
Montgomery, L.M.
Nesbit, Edith
Norton, Mary
O‟Dell, Scott
Olasky, Susan
Olasky, Susan
Rawls, Wilson
Rogers, Jonathan
Rue, Nancy
Spyri, Johanna
St. John, Patricia
Sutcliffe, Rosemary
Taylor, Theodore
Waugh, Sylvia
Wiggin, Kate
Wyss, Johan
Sixth Grade Reading List
Title
Little Women
Time Cat
Iron Thunder and other titles
Jaywalker and other titles
Crown and Covenant series
The Hiding Place
The Secret Garden
Blood on the River
Once Upon a Marigold
Life of Faith series
Brady
Cheaper by the Dozen
Honus and Me
Any title by G.A. Henty
A Father‟s Promise
Jason‟s Gold and other titles
The Redwall series
Small Steps: The Year I got Polio
Mandie series
Liberty Letters
Ella Enchanted
White Fang
Number the Stars
Anne of Green Gables
Little Britches series
The Squire‟s Tales series
Kensuke‟s Kingdom
The King‟s Fifth
Bridge to Terabithia
The Francis Tucket books
The Westing Game
Summer of the Monkeys
The Ultimate Gift
Eagle of the Ninth
Lad: A Dog
Author
Alcott, Louisa May
Alexander, Lloyd
Avi
Beatty, Patricia
Bond, Douglas
Ten Boom, Corrie
Burnett, Francess Hodgson
Carbone, Elisa
Ferris, Jean
Finley, Martha
Fritz, Jean
Gilbreth, Frank
Gutman, Dan
Henty, G.A.
Hess, Donna
Hobbs, Will
Jacques, Brian
Kehret, Peg
Leppard, Lois Gladys
Lesourd, Nancy
Levine, Gail Carson
London, Jack
Lowry, Lois
Montgomery, L.M.
Moody, Ralph
Morris, Gerald
Morpurgo, Michael
O‟Dell, Scott
Paterson, Katherine
Paulsen, Gary
Raskin, Ellen
Rawls, Wilson
Stovall, Jim
Sutcliffe, Rosemary
Terhune, Albert P
Logic and Rhetoric Summer Reading
Part of enjoying a great work of literature is being able to personally invest yourself in the story presented.
Students should be prepared to discuss their experience with the text in the format of our daily class
discussions. Given that there is a choice of readings at each grade-level, the discussions in class will be
enhanced by the varying experiences of each student. Therefore, we will be able to discuss the underlying
truth and beauty in literature and in history as students bring their varied experiences to the table.
The first writing assignment of the year will be a response paper over the summer reading. Listed on each
grade‟s summer reading list are the questions to use as your template for writing your response paper which
will be due on the second day the class meets. These questions serve as a guide both for the journey
through the text as well as discussion in class. It also allows the student to write their response as they read
or immediately after they read the text during the summer.
7th Grade
Summer Reading
Use the guidelines below to respond to your three summer reading books.
Please write a response paper for each of the three books you read.
Because we know you need to practice your typing, you may either type OR handwrite your responses.
Your responses will be due at the beginning of your second meeting in class.
You must purchase the book, Around the World in Eighty Days, with the specific ISBN of
978-0-451-52977-0 and bring it to class for discussion once school begins. This specific ISBN is needed in
the fall the students for the students to quickly reference the same page at the same time. No e-books allowed for
Around the World in Eighty Days.
***Note: Do not use Cliff Notes, Spark notes, movies, abridged versions, or any other substitute/aid materials.
Response paper format: You have been asked to read three books over the summer, Around the World in Eighty Days
and two other books of your choosing from our list below. There are four questions for you to answer (for each book)
and you should anticipate writing one paragraph for each question. Please follow the paragraph format that you have
learned at Regents. Open each paragraph with a topic sentence, support the topic sentence with examples and analysis,
and conclude the paragraph with a summary concluding sentence.
1: What is the book about?
Write a brief summary of the book. Remember to begin your paragraph with a topic sentence (main idea of
paragraph). The next few sentences should include the main events of the story and the last sentence of your
paragraph should be a concluding statement.
2: What were your connections between the text and your prior experience or knowledge?
Was there anything in the book that you read that you were familiar with already? (life experiences, history
class, other books, television documentaries, discussions with parents, etc.)If not, what ideas were new to
you? (not characters or fictional places but personalities, experiences, the time period, etc.)
3: To which character did you most strongly respond? Why?
Did you like or dislike a particular character in the book? Explain your answer. Describe their personality.
What was it about them that you admired or did not admire? If you did not feel anything about the character,
explain why you think they did not make an impression on you.
4. As you read the book, how did it change a view you previously held?
Describe how it revealed something new to you whether it is about life in general or yourself. Did you
change your mind about anything after you read the book? Explain. Did you learn anything new from
reading the book? Explain. Did you just enjoy reading about a familiar subject? How was it already familiar
to you?
Required Text: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne (ISBN# 978-0-451-52977-0)
Please choose TWO of the following books to read in addition to the above required literature book. It does not matter
which edition/ISBN# you read (no abridged versions).
Books of Choice (hard copy or e-books):
1. The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
2. Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)
3. Silent Night (Stanley Weintraub)
4. Swimming to Antarctica (Lynne Cox)
5. Hatchet (Gary Paulsen)
6. Sea Wolf (Jack London)
7. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
8. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
9. A Thousand Never Evers (Shana Burg)
8th Grade
Summer Reading
Use the guidelines below to respond to your three summer reading books.
Please write a response paper for each of the three books you read.
Because SOR requires handwritten responses, YOUR RESPONSES MUST BE HANDWRITTEN.
Your responses will be due at the beginning of your second meeting in class.
You must purchase the book, Animal Farm, with the specific ISBN # 978-0-451-52634-2 and bring it to class for
discussion once school begins. This specific ISBN is needed in the fall for the students to be able to quickly
reference the same page at the same time. No e-books allowed for Animal Farm.
***Note: Do not use Cliff Notes, Sparknotes, movies, abridged versions, or any other substitute/aid materials.
Response paper format: You have been asked to read three books over the summer, Animal Farm and two other
books of your choosing from our list below. There are four questions for you to answer (for each book) and you should
anticipate writing 1 paragraph for each question. Please follow the paragraph format that you have learned at Regents.
Open each paragraph with a topic sentence, support the topic sentence with examples and analysis, and conclude the
paragraph with a summary concluding sentence.
1: What is the book about?
Write a brief summary of the book. Remember to begin your paragraph with a topic sentence (main idea of
paragraph). The next few sentences should include the main events of the story and the last sentence of your
paragraph should be a concluding statement.
2: What were your connections between the text and your prior experience or knowledge?
Was there anything in the book that you read that you were familiar with already? (life experiences, history
class, other books, television documentaries, discussions with parents, etc.)If not, what ideas were new to
you? (not characters or fictional places but personalities, experiences, the time period, etc.)
3: To which character did you most strongly respond? Why?
Did you like or dislike a particular character in the book? Explain your answer. Describe their personality.
What was it about them that you admired or did not admire? If you did not feel anything about the character,
explain why you think they did not make an impression on you.
4. As you read the book, how did it change a view you previously held?
Describe how it revealed something new to you whether it is about life in general or yourself. Did you
change your mind about anything after you read the book? Explain. Did you learn anything new from
reading the book? Explain. Did you just enjoy reading about a familiar subject? How was it already familiar
to you?
Required Text: Animal Farm by George Orwell (ISBN# 978-0-451-52634-2)
Please choose TWO of the following books to read in addition to the above required literature book. It does not matter
which edition/ISBN# you read (no abridged versions).
Books of Choice (hard copy or e-books):
1. The Great Divorce (C.S. Lewis)
2. Enemy Brothers (Constance Savery)
3. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)
4. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (John Boyne)
5. The Hiding Place (Corrie Ten Boom)
7. War of the Worlds (H. G. Wells)
8. The Pearl (John Steinbeck)
9. 1984 (George Orwell)
9th Grade
Summer Reading
Use the questions as a template for writing your response. Please write one response paper for each of the
books you read. There are three questions for you to answer and you should anticipate writing 1-2
paragraphs for each question. In keeping with the more personal and informal nature of summer reading,
your responses must be handwritten. Your responses will be due at the beginning of your second meeting
in class. Since the purpose of the response paper is to help you during class discussion of the text,
reference the text often in your responses. Use standard MLA formatting for textual references.
Note: Do not use Cliff Notes, Sparknotes, movies, or any other substitute/aid materials. Regents‟ desire is
for each student to enjoy these works and appreciate their role in history. Please use the ISBN number to
access the appropriate versions.
1: What is the main idea or theme of the book? Choose one brief passage that seems to exemplify this idea
and provide a few key details.
2: What did you learn from this book?
3: As you read the book, how did it change a view, idea, or understanding you previously held? Describe
how it revealed something new to you (whether it is about the period covered in the book or yourself).
9th
Please read:
Perelandra,
Please choose ONE of the following
C.S. Lewis
No specific ISBN
That Hideous Strength
C.S. Lewis
978-0007157174
Killer Angels
Michael Shaara
978-0345348104
Biggest Brother
Larry Alexander
0451218396
Band of Brothers
Stephen Ambrose
978-0743224543
Anna of Byzantium
Tracy Barrett
978-0440415367
Daughter of Venice
Donna Jo Napoli
0385900368
Dearest Friend
Lynne Withey
0743229177
Joan of Arc
Mark Twain
978-0898702682
10th Grade
Summer Reading
Use the questions as a template for writing your response. Please write one response paper for each of the
books you read. There are three questions for you to answer and you should anticipate writing 1-2
paragraphs for each question. In keeping with the more personal and informal nature of summer reading,
your responses must be handwritten. Your responses will be due at the beginning of your second meeting
in class. Since the purpose of the response paper is to help you during class discussion of the text,
reference the text often in your responses. Use standard MLA formatting for textual references.
Note: Do not use Cliff Notes, Sparknotes, movies, or any other substitute/aid materials. Regents‟ desire is
for each student to enjoy these works and appreciate their role in history. Please use the ISBN number to
access the appropriate versions.
1: What is the main idea or theme of the book? Choose one brief passage that seems to exemplify this idea
and provide a few key details.
2: What did you learn from this book?
3: As you read the book, how did it change a view, idea, or understanding you previously held? Describe
how it revealed something new to you (whether it be about the period covered in the book or yourself).
10th
Choose ONE of the following
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Quo Vadis
Victor Hugo
Henryk K. Siekiewicz,
translated by W. S. Kuniczak
0-451-52788-7
0-781-80550-3
0-781-80763-8
11th Grade
Summer Reading
Use the questions as a template for writing your response. Please write one response paper for each of the
books you read. There are three questions for you to answer and you should anticipate writing 1-2
paragraphs for each question. In keeping with the more personal and informal nature of summer reading,
your responses must be handwritten. Your responses will be due at the beginning of your second meeting
in class. Since the purpose of the response paper is to help you during class discussion of the text,
reference the text often in your responses. Use standard MLA formatting for textual references.
Note: Do not use Cliff Notes, Sparknotes, movies, or any other substitute/aid materials. Regents‟ desire is
for each student to enjoy these works and appreciate their role in history. Please use the ISBN number to
access the appropriate versions.
1: What is the main idea or theme of the book? Choose one brief passage that seems to exemplify this idea
and provide a few key details.
2: What did you learn from this book?
3: As you read the book, how did it change a view, idea, or understanding you previously held? Describe
how it revealed something new to you (whether it be about the period covered in the book or yourself).
11th
Please choose ONE of the following History Books:
Brunelleschi‟s Dome:
How a Renaissance Genius
Reinvented Architecture
Ross King
0-142-00015-9
Michelangelo and the Pope‟s Ceiling
Ross King
0-1420-03697
Mid-Summer Night‟s Dream
Shakespeare
0-486-27067-x
Selections from:
Will in the World
Chapters: 1,2,3,4,10,11,&12
Greenblatt
0-393-32737-x
Please read the following Literature Books:
12th Grade
Literature (2013-2014)
Summer Reading/Writing Assignment
12th
The Tempest
Shakespeare
0-7434-8283-2
Use the three questions below as a template for writing your response. You should anticipate writing 1-2 paragraphs
for each question. In keeping with the more personal and informal nature of summer reading, your responses must be
handwritten. Your responses will be due at the beginning of your second meeting in class. Since the purpose of the
response paper is to help you during class discussion of the text, reference the text often in your responses. Use
standard MLA formatting for textual references.
Note: Do not use Cliff Notes, Sparknotes, movies, or any other substitute/aid materials. Regents‟ desire is for each
student to enjoy these works and appreciate their role in history. Please use the ISBN number to access the appropriate
versions.
1: What is the main idea or theme of the book? Choose one brief passage that seems to exemplify this idea and provide
a few key details.
2: What did you learn from this book?
3: As you read the book, how did it change a view, idea, or understanding you previously held? Describe how it
revealed something new to you (whether it be about the period covered in the book or yourself).
Rhetoric 2 (2013-14)
Summer Reading/Writing Assignment
This summer, upcoming seniors will read two books for their Rhetoric 2 summer reading/writing assignments. The
first book – Anthony Weston‟s text, A Rulebook for Arguments – clearly and concisely outlines the principles of
argumentation students will need to be familiar with before matriculating into Rhetoric 2. Each senior will also choose
a second book that addresses the subject of his or her conditionally approved thesis topic. The steps for selecting the
thesis book and the details of the thesis summer reading assignment are as follows:
Steps for Selecting Theses Summer Reading Books:
First Thesis Book:
o Weston, Anthony. A Rulebook for Arguments. 4th ed. Hackett, 2008.
o Available through Amazon via the following link: http://www.amazon.com/Rulebook-ArgumentsAnthony-Weston/dp/0872209547
o Note: Students should purchase this book (approximately $8.00 soft cover)since it will be
referenced throughout Rhetoric 2, and is a helpful resource for writing senior-level history and
literature themes, college application essays, etc.
Second Thesis Book Criteria:
o Students will also select a second thesis book – a primer on (or scholarly introduction to) the main
themes/subjects of his or her thesis. See Thesis Book Approval Process below.
o
Some general guidelines:
The primer should be 200+ pages, published by a scholarly publishing company (e.g.. X University
Press), broad/comprehensive enough to expose students to various aspects of their thesis topics.
Thesis Book Approval Process:
o
After receiving an email confirming that his/her thesis proposal has been conditionally approved
(see the document titled, “Thesis Topic Criteria and Selection/Approval Process”), students should
email the Thesis Program Director (Mr. Alvarez - [email protected]) a list of three
books they would like considered for approval.
o
Format for book list email:

For each book listed on the book email, students will (a) write a bulleted outline of
information about the book, (b) write a two-paragraph essay about the book‟s suitability
for the writing assignment.

The details for the list and essay submissions are as follows:
Part 1 – Bulleted List of Information:
o Name of the book‟s author/s,
o Author‟s academic and professional credentials,
o Title, publishing company, place and date of publication,
o A note on the length of the book,
o A pasted URL (website link) to a site that describes the book‟s
contents.
Part 2 – Two-paragraph essay:
o Write a two-paragraph essay that describes (a) the content of the
book, (b) how the book relates to the student‟s thesis topic and
research interests, (c) why the student feels the book is suitable for
the thesis summer writing assignment.

Miscellanies:
Students who read and write on unapproved thesis books will not receive credit
for the reading or writing assignments.
The Thesis Program Director will approve or reject all the books on the book
proposal list within seven days of receiving the proposal email.
Thesis Summer Writing Assignment:
After reading both thesis summer reading texts (A Rulebook for Arguments; an approved thesis topic book), students
will write a 1,500-word essay that adheres to the following standards:
Paper should use MLA citation and formatting standards, including
o Header (student‟s name; instructor‟s name; course name; date),
o Pagination (last name and page number in top-right corner,
o In-text parenthetical citations for all references,
o Works Cited page
Additionally, the essay should:
o Clearly and concisely summarize the main points of the approved thesis book;
o Link Weston‟s suggestions for constructing clear, concise, and persuasive arguments to an
original critique of the content and style of the approved thesis text.
Readings for Wider Study
The following books are not required. This is a compilation of books which the faculty
has suggested as quality reading. If you find you have the time over the summer and
would like to read a selection beyond your summer reading and you are looking for
suggestions you may use this list as a guide.
Logic and Rhetoric Readings For Wider Study
Fiction
Call of the Wild, Jack London (7-8)
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott (7-8)
Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens (7-8)
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens (7-8)
Once and Future King, T.H. White (7-8)
The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien (7-8)
The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia, Esther Hautzig (8-9)
A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Alexander Soltzhenitsen (8-9)
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (8-9)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson (7-9)
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (8-12)
Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen (8-12)
Wuthering Heights, Bronte (9-12)
The Mill on the Floss, Eliot (8-12)
Byzantium, Lawhead (9-10)
The Jungle, Upton Sinclair (10)
My Antonia, Willa Cather (9-10)
Uncle Tom‟s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe (10)
Life of a Slave, Frederick Douglass (10)
Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane (9-10)
As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner (10)
What Men Live By, Tolstoy (9-12)
War and Peace, Tolstoy (10-12)
Resurrection, Tolstoy (10-12)
Billy Budd, Melville (10-12)
Crime and Punishment, Dostoyevsky (10-12)
Fathers and Sons, Turgenev (11-12)
The Red and The Black, Stendhal (11-12)
Madame Bovary, Flaubert (11-12)
The Age of Innocence, Wharton (11-12)
Brideshead Revisited, Waugh (11-12)
The Trial, Kafka (10-12)
Metamorphosis, Kafka (10-12)
The Plague, Camus (11-12)
The Stranger, Camus (10-12)
Père Goriot, Balzac (10-12)
One, No One, and One Hundred Thousand, Pirendello (11-12)
Lord Jim, Joseph Conrad (10-12)
Nostromo, Joseph Conrad (10-12)
Of Human Bondage, Somerset Maugham (11-12)
Gulliver‟s Travels, Swift (10-12)
The Magic Mountain, Mann (12)
The Return of the Native, Hardy (10-12)
The Divine Comedy, Dante, (11-12)
The Sorrows of Young Werther, Goethe (10-12)
Les Miserables, Hugo (9-12)
Two Years Before the Mast, Dana (9-12)
Captains Courageous, Kipling (8-12)
David Copperfield, Charles Dickens (8-12)
The Gambler, Dostoyevsky (9-12)
Poor Folks, Dostoyevsky (9-12)
The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky (11-12)
The Once and Future King, White (9-12)
Notes from the Underground, Dostoyevsky (12)
Frankenstein, Shelley (10-12)
The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis (9-12)
Candide, Voltaire (12)
Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
Portrait of a Lady, James (11-12)
The Old Man and the Sea, Hemmingway, (10-12)
The Sea Wolf, London (10-12)
The Call of the Wild, London (10-12)
Mutiny on Board the HMS Bounty, Bligh, (8-12)
Northwest Passage, Roberts (8-12)
Endurance, Shackleford (8-12)
Drama
The Crucible, Arthur Miller (9-12)
A Doll‟s House, Ibsen (9-12)
Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot (11-12)
The Cocktail Party, T.S. Eliot (11-12)
The Cherry Orchard, Anton Chekhov
The Spanish Tragedy, Thomas Kyd
Faust, Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw
Barefoot in the Park, Neil Simon (10-12)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee Williams (10-12)
Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller (12)
History and People
Flag of Our Fathers, James Bradley (7-12)
Democracy in America, Alexis De Tocqueville (10)
Federalist Papers, Hamilton, Jay, and Madison (10)
Common Sense, Payne (10)
History of English Speaking Peoples (abridged in one volume), Winston Churchill (12)
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence (9-12)
Here I Stand, Roland Bainton (9-12)
Persian Wars, Herodotus (9-10)
History of the Peloponnesian Wars, Thucydides (9-10)
Intellectuals, Paul Johnson (11-12)
John Adams, McCullough (9-10)
The Greek Way, Edith Hamilton (9-12)
Balkan Ghosts, Robert Kaplan (11-12)
To the Ends of the Earth, Robert Kaplan (11-12)
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West,
Stephen E. Ambrose (10-11)
Citizen Soldier, Stephen E. Ambrose (9-12)
How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill (9-12)
Arts and Culture
Beholding the Glory, ed. Jeremy Begbie (9-12)
Art in Action, Nicholas Wolterstorff (9-12)
Walking on Water, Madeline L‟Engle (9-12)
Voicing Creation‟s Praise, Jeremy Begbie (9-12)
The Mind of the Maker, Dorothy Sayers (9-12)
Rainbows for the Fallen World, Calvin Seerveld (9-12)
All God‟s Children and Blue Suede Shoes, Meyer (10-12)
The State of the Arts, G.E. Veith (9-12)
Modern Art and the Death of a Culture, H. R. Rookmaaker (11-12)
The Shock of the New, Hughes (12)
Biblical Studies, Church History, & Theology
The Bible and the Future, Hoekema (11-12)
Redemptive History and the New Testament Scriptures, Ridderbos (11-12)
The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin (11-12)
The New Testament and the People of God, Wright (11-12)
How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, Fee and Stuart (9-12)
A History of Christianity, 2 Volumes, Kenneth Latourette (9-12)
The Story of Christianity, Justo Gonzalez (7-12)
Van Til‟s Apologetic: Readings and Analysis, Greg Bahnsen (11-12)
Philosophy of Religion, C. Stephen Evans (9-12)
On Christian Doctrine, Augustine (9-12)
On the Trinity, Augustine (11-12)
A House for My Name, Peter Leithart (9-12)
The City of God, Augustine (11-12)
Math and Science
The Faith of a Physicist, Polkinghorne (11-12)
Belief in God in an Age of Science, Polkinghorne, (11-12)
Flatland, Abbott (12)
Flatterland, Stewart (12)
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn (12)
Intelligent Design, Dembski, (10-12)
A Brief History of Time, Hawking (11-12)
The Great Physicists from Galileo to Einstein, Gamow (9-12)
The Copernican Revolution, Kuhn (9-12)
A Short History of Chemistry, Partington (11-12)
The Elegant Universe, Greene (12)
Reason in the Balance, Phillip Johnson (9-12)
Intelligent Design, William Dembski (9-12)
Science and its Limits, Del Ratzsch (9-12)
Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth, Jonathan Wells (11-12)
Math: Is God Silent?, James Nickel (10-12)
A Tour of the Calculus, David Berlinski (11-12)
The Advent of the Algorithm, David Berlinski (11-12)
Origins of Life, Walter Bradley (10-12)
Ideas
In Praise of Folly, Erasmus (9-10)
Ideas Have Consequences, Richard Weaver (11-12)
The God Who is There, Schaeffer (12)
He is There and He is Not Silent, Schaeffer (12)
Escape from Reason, Schaeffer (12)
The Everlasting Man, Chesterton (11-12)
From Socrates to Sartre, Levine (11)
The Passion of the Western Mind, Tarnas (11-12)
Aristotle for Everybody, Mortimer J. Adler (10-11)
Unaborted Socrates, Peter Kreeft (9-11)
Between Heaven and Hell, Peter Kreeft (11)
The Universe Next Door, William Sire (11)
After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, Alisdair MacIntyre (11-12)
Through New Eyes, Jordan (12)
Always Ready, Greg Bahnsen (12)
Apologetics to the Glory of God, John Frame (12)
Postmodern Times, Gene Edward Veith Jr. (11-12)
Idols For Destruction, Herbert Schlossberg (11-12)
The Closing of the American Mind, Allan Bloom (11-12)
The Conservative Mind, Russell Kirk (11-12)
The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis (11-12)
Fear and Trembling, Soren Kierkegaard (11-12)
Sickness Unto Death, Soren Kierkegaard (11-12)
Twilight of the Idols, Friedrich Nietzsche (11-12)
The Birth of Tragedy, Friedrich Nietzsche (11-12)
Christianity: A Total World and Life System, Abraham Kuyper (11-12)
Warrant: The Current Debate, Alvin Plantinga (11-12)
Warrant and Proper Function, Alvin Plantinga (11-12)
The Kalam Cosmological Argument, William Lane Craig (11-12)
Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton (10-12)