BOOK #1: Summer Required
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom - Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.
As you read, take notes about the characters, their motivations, the symbolism, the plot episodes, the settings, the teacher’s responsibility, temptation, the themes of the story, the allusions to other works of literature, etc. Review the notes you have made before you come to class.
Assessment: Objective quiz on Tuesday, August 12, 2008. *
Assessment: Objective quiz on Tuesday, August 12, 2008. *
BOOK #2: Your choice from the list below.
As you read, take notes about the characters, their motivations, the symbolism, the plot episodes, the settings, temptation, the themes of the story, the allusions to other works of literature, etc. Review the notes you have made before you come to class.
Assessment: In-class response writing that you will on Tuesday, August 12, 2008. You will need to bring your book to class.*
*This one test on both texts will count as two major grades.
Summer Reading Selections: Choose One
Bleachers by John Grisham - Presents a novel about high school football in a small Texas town, a place in which football has become a religion.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - It's 1964, the year of the Civil Rights Act, in Sylvan, S.C. Fourteen-year-old Lily is on the lam with motherly servant Rosaleen, fleeing both Lily's abusive father T. Ray and the police who battered Rosaleen for defending her new right to vote.
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer - A childhood dream of someday ascending Mount Everest, a lifelong love of climbing, and an expense account all propelled writer Jon Krakauer to the top of the Himalayas last May. His powerful, cautionary tale of an adventure gone horribly wrong is a must-read.
Issac’s Storm by Erik Larsen - On September 8, 1900, a massive hurricane slammed into Galveston, Texas. A tidal surge of some four feet in as many seconds inundated the city, while the wind destroyed thousands of buildings. By the time the water and winds subsided, entire streets had disappeared and as many as 10,000 were dead--making this the worst natural disaster in America's history.
Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody - Written without a trace of sentimentality or apology, this is an unforgettable personal story — the truth as a remarkable young woman named Anne Moody lived it. To read her book is to know what it is to have grown up black in Mississippi in the forties and fifties — and to have survived with pride and courage intact.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison - First published in 1965, The Bluest Eye is the story of an African-American girl who prays -- with unforeseen consequences--for her eyes to turn blue so she will be accepted.
Almost a Woman by Esmeralda Santiago - From a three-room apartment in Brooklyn occupied by ten family members, Esmeralda Santiago begins a journey that is both a triumphant struggle for identity and independence, and a mother's worst nightmare.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan - An instant bestseller, this startlingly original debut novel tells the emotionally honest and intensely moving story of several generations of Chinese-American women and their families, illuminating the special mysteries of the bonds between mothers & daughters.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker - This is the story of two sisters-one a missionary in Africa and the other a child wife living in the South-who sustain their loyalty to and trust in each other across time, distance, and silence.
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara - This novel reveals more about the Battle of Gettysburg than any piece of learned nonfiction on the same subject. Michael Shaara's account of the three most important days of the Civil War features deft characterizations of all of the main actors, including Lee, Longstreet, Pickett, Buford, and Hancock.
A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines - Set in rural Louisiana, the novel is a gripping exploration of the themes of respect, dignity, and pride with a focus on the effects of possible violence within a small, closely-knit society.
Books to be read throughout the year
1st quarter:
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry - An apartment on Chicago’s South side after World War II; focuses on frailties and failings of one family facing racial discrimination.
2nd quarter:
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines - In a small Cajun community in 1940s Louisiana, a young black man is about to go to the electric chair for murder. A white shopkeeper died during a robbery gone bad; though the young man on trial had not been armed and had not pulled the trigger, in that time and place, there could be no doubt of the verdict or the penalty.
3rd quarter:
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - In early colonial Massachusetts, a young woman endures the consequences of her sin of adultery and spends the rest of her life in atonement.
4th quarter:
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote - The detached yet penetrating account of the savage and senseless murder of a family.
RUBRIC FOR SUMMER WRITING IN RESPONSE TO READING : Download Rubric 