Required Summer Reading Assignment 2016 for Students Entering Grade 9
Due: first day of class
Points: 50
Assignment:
1.
Choose one book (one that you have not previously read) from any of the three lists below. Or, if
there is a book or books you’ve been wanting to read, and the reading level meets or exceeds
books on the lists below, feel free to read something you’re sure you’ll enjoy. Check websites for
your local library and Goodreads for suggestions. Ask a friend, a parent, a librarian, or a teacher
for a recommendation, and feel free to email Mrs. Westrem
[[email protected]] if you’re not sure about the level of difficulty.
2. Identify and comment on at least seven key passages in the book that seem significant to
understanding the story. Your notes can be typed, written on sticky notes, written in the
margins, or color-coded. Make sure, however, that a teacher will be able to read and follow your
analysis when you share your notes in August. The following topics are suggested areas of
significance to explore:
§
References to the title
§
Turning points in the story
§
Descriptions of an important object
§
Lines indicating a theme/message
§
Interesting descriptions of a character or of the setting
Pleasenote:Thesevencommentsrequiredofyoushouldconsistofyourfavoriteor
mostinsightfulannotationsoutofthemanyyoushouldmakewhilereading.Awellannotatedbookmayhavenotes/markingsoneverypage.Youmightunderlinepassages,
writeshortnotesaboutthetextinthemargins,orboth.Perhapsyouhaveyourown
systemforannotatingthatusessymbolstoindicatedifferentthings(likethoselistedinthe
bulleteditemsabove).Whateveryoursystemis,pleasemakesureyouhavesufficient
annotationsshowingevidenceofyourclosereadingandthoughtfulinteractionwiththe
text.
3. Bringyourbook(oreBook)andallnoteswithyouonthefirstdayofclass.Youmayincur
alatepenaltyiftheassignmentisnotcompleteandthoroughlyannotated.Key: Longer
and/or more difficult book titles are marked with an asterisk (*)
A. FICTION
Ackerman
The Zookeeper’s Wife
Anderson
Speak
Austen
Northanger Abbey*
Bronte
Jane Eyre*
Courtenay
The Power of One
Keyes
Flowers for Algernon
Kidd
The Secret Life of Bees
Kingsolver
The Bean Trees
Lee
To Kill A Mockingbird (if you haven’t already read it)
Potok
My Name Is Asher Lev
Rolvääg
Giants in the Earth*
Schaara
The Killer Angels (historical fiction: Civil War)
Smith
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
White
The Once and Future King
Zusak
The Book Thief
B. Novels by
Michael Crichton
Chris Crutcher
Paula Danziger
John Grisham
David McCullough (historical fiction)*
Walter Mosley
Amy Tan
Jacqueline Woodson
C. NONFICTION
Angelou
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Blais
In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle
Brown
The Boys in the Boat
Callahan
Adrift: Thirty-Six Days Lost at Sea
Coffey
The Boys of Winter
Dye and Beckloff
Amazing Gracie: A Dog’s Tale
Gies
Anne Frank Remembered*
Halberstam
Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World That He Made
Hillenbrand
Unbroken:AWorldWarIIStoryofSurvival,Resilience,and
Redemption**(Note:theabridgedorYoungAdultversionofthisbookis
shorterthantheoriginal,butthereadinglevelremainsaboutthesame.)
Seabiscuit:AnAmericanLegend
Jenkins
A Walk Across America
Jorvsky
Hoop Dreams
Krakauer
Into Thin Air*
Kurson
Shadow Divers
McBride
The Color of Water*
Moore
Disguised—A True Story
Remarque
All Quiet on the Western Front
Ten Boom
The Hiding Place
Van Ryn
Mistaken Identity
Walls
The Glass Castle