Herron High School
2013 English Department Summer Reading
Why summer reading?
High schools with high academic expectations encourage and promote year-round learning and the
reinforcement and strengthening of reading and writing skills by providing summer reading selections. As a
Classical, Liberal Arts high school that is preparing students for entrance into college, Herron High School
recognizes the value in and importance of summer reading as a means of not only improving reading and
writing skills, but also as a way of helping to prepare students for standardized assessments such as the SAT,
ACT, ISTEP/ECA, and AP exams.
How do I obtain books?
Books required for summer reading can be obtained at the library, a book store such as Half-Priced Books, or
through an online book seller such as www.amazon.com. Students may be asked to bring the books to class
in the first weeks of school for discussion as activities.
Originality and Plagiarism
All work is expected to be original and the student’s own. Students who rely on information from online
sources such as www.sparknotes.com or who are found to have used content from internet or other outside
sources without giving credit to those sources risk failure on the assignment and additional disciplinary
consequences.
Questions?
Summer reading information is available on Herron’s website: www.herronhighschool.org
Or, contact a member of the English department if you have questions or concerns.
Katherine Basile: [email protected]
Kimberly Carver: [email protected]
Mindy Cundiff: [email protected]
Ken Isgar: [email protected]
Christina Lear: [email protected]
Dave Pappas: [email protected]
Summer Reading Assignments for English Courses
FOR FRESHMAN:
**9th Grade English: [email protected]
By the start of school, the following book should be read. There will be separate assignments and assessments on the
book when you return to school, so be sure you are prepared.
 Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
Any student who is interested in taking English 9 for honors credit should ALSO complete the following assignment by
the first day of school as part of your application. Students will be placed in Honors in the first weeks of school.
Read a second book, either:
Heart of Darkness by James Conrad
OR
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
-
Write a 300 – 500 word personal essay response to one of these novels. Analyze a theme or literary element
that you find interesting. Organize your essay in paragraphs, and try to avoid summarizing the text.
Type in MLA format and print your essay if at all possible.
FOR SOPHOMORES:
**10th Grade English: [email protected]
By the start of school, the following book should be read. Instructions for assignments are below.
 The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn by Mark Twain
**10th Grade PreAP English: [email protected]
By the start of school, the following books should be read. Instructions for assignments are below.
 The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn by Mark Twain
 Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
10th grade Reflection Assignment for both English 10 and English 10 PreAP
You must keep a reading journal. English 10 students will journal on Huck Finn. Pre-AP students will journal on both
Huck Finn and Into the Wild. The expectations for this journal are:
1. You must read each book with the following question in mind: How do the actions or dialogue in this text
relate to loyalty and/or rebellion?
2. You must accomplish two things in your journal entry:
a. For each section of the book, you must record at least three quotes (minimum one full sentence; no
more than 1 paragraph) and copy it into your journal.
i. Huck Finn sections
1. Chapters 1-10
2. Chapters 11-20
3. Chapters 21-30
4. Chapters 31-43
Based on 3 entries per section, your Huck Finn journal must include at least 12 quotes and responses.
ii. Into the Wild sections:
1. Chapters 1-4
2. Chapters 5-8
3. Chapters 9-13
4. Chapters 14-18
**Pre-AP ONLY--Based on 3 entries per section, your Into the Wild journal must include at least 12 quotes and
responses.
b. You must write a response to each quote that follows exploring how you think the quote helps us
answer the question above. Potential response prompts include:
i. Who is being loyal to what/who and why?
ii. Who is rebelling against what/who and why?
iii. Is a character torn between loyalty and rebellion? Why? What makes their decision difficult?
Remember –We can be loyal to/rebel against a person, a group, a religion, a way of behaving, a belief, a
country, etc. Think of the concepts of loyalty and rebellion broadly so that you can find a connection in
every section.
Your journal should be set up in two columns with each quote from the text directly next to your analysis of it. You
can copy and paste this table into a Word document or recreate it on notebook paper. Find your OWN quotes! Do
not rely on the internet to identify “important quotes.” Your quote selection and analysis should represent your
individual reading and should not mirror any other students’ or online summary websites.
Example set-up:
Quote from the Text
Response to the Quote
3. Whenever you feel compelled to do so, record any questions you might have or pause to reflect on any
moments in a chapter that made you start thinking about major issues that we face in our lives or world.
FOR JUNIORS:
**11th Grade
By the start of school, the following book should be read. There will be separate assignments and assessments on the book
when you return to school, so be sure you are prepared.
 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
**11th Grade Advanced Placement Language and Composition (APLAC): [email protected]
By the start of school, the following books should be read. There will be separate assignments on each book; assignment
instructions are available on our class website: www.myhaikuclass.com/kcarver/aplanguage. Additionally, you must contact
Ms. Carver at [email protected] to gain access to post required assignments online. The first assignment is due
August 5th, so contact her as soon as possible to gain access.
 ONE of these books on Writing.
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
On Writing by Stephen King,
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamotte
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner.
 Choose a Pulitzer Prize Winning Columnist. Read six of their columns (including the Pulitzer Prize winning article).
FOR SENIORS:
**12th Grade English: [email protected]
By the start of school, the following books should be read.
 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
 The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Students are to read each, keeping a chapter-by-chapter log of their reading. Each chapter log should include a
response to five passages. Each passage response should include, the chapter, an explanation of the passage (or a
direct quote, if short enough), and a 2-3 sentence explanation of why that passage is or seems to be significant.
There will be an assessment the first week of school covering the books.
**12th Grade Advanced Placement Literature and Composition: [email protected]
By the start of school on August 13, 2013, the following books should be read. In a college-level literature course, it is
helpful if you take detailed reading notes and use post-its or highlighting/underlining and margin notes to annotate
importation sections of the text in preparation for assessment and classroom discussion.
 The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald
 A Doll’s House (sometimes titled A Doll House) by Henrik Ibsen (a play)
In a college-level literature course, it is helpful if you take detailed reading notes and use post-its or
highlighting/underlining and margin notes to annotate importation sections of the text in preparation for assessment
and classroom discussion. Complete (hand-written) reading notes in the following format for each text. May be used
on assessment; will be graded.
Chapter/Pg
Numbers
Act I, pages
1–4
Summary Notes: Bullet points are fine. Include
important information about characters, conflict
development, setting, theme, and literary
techniques
- Setting = nice home, maybe the 1800s?
- Nora = main character- house wife,
mother, returns home with packages
- Nora hides macaroons from husband
Response / Analysis: Bullet points and short notes
are fine. Include connections, questions, analysis,
and predictions
-
Why does Nora hide the cookies? Is she
worried about disobeying her husband?
Seems like a possible feminist issue.
This reminds me of ___________________.