BOOK #1: Summer Required
Crooked by Tom and Laura McNeal - Two ninth graders, Clara and Amos, suddenly find their lives turned upside down by their families, by each other, and by the two meanest brothers in town.
As you read, take notes about the characters, their motivations, the symbolism, the plot episodes, the settings, the seasons of the year, the knights’ responsibilities, 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. *
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.
Choices for Summer Reading: Choose One
Hope was Here by Joan Bauer - When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury - The first Earth people to attempt the colonization of Mars try to build their new world in the image of the world they left.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card - Once again, the Earth is under attack. Alien "buggers" are poised for a final assault. The survival of the human species depends on a military genius who can defeat the buggers. But who? Ender Wiggin. He’s brilliant, ruthless, cunning . . . and a child.
Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn - Sent to counseling for hitting his girlfriend, Caitlin, and ordered to keep a journal, sixteen-year-old Nick recounts his relationship with Caitlin, examines his controlling behavior and anger, and describes living with his abusive father.
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord - First published in 1955, A Night to Remember remains the definitive, classic tale of the sinking of the Titanic.
After the First Death by Robert Cormier - Events of the hijacking of a bus of children by terrorists seeking the return of their homeland are described from the perspectives of a hostage, a terrorist, an Army general involved in the rescue operation, and his son, chosen as the go-between.
Emma by Jane Austen - Charming, willful Emma Woodehouse amuses herself by planning other people's lives. When her interfering backfires, she learns a bitter lesson: well-intentioned busybodies are as resented as those motivated by ill will, and everyone should learn to respect the individuality of others.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - In early nineteenth-century England, a spirited young woman copes with the suit of a snobbish gentleman as well as the romantic entanglements of her four sisters.
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien - Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole by Gandalf the wizard and a company of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan - Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression
Books to be read throughout the year:
1st quarter:
The Contender by Robert Lipsyte - After a successful start in a boxing career, a Harlem high school dropout decides that competing in the ring isn't enough of life and resolves to aim for different goals.
Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose - Sequestered in a closed room, twelve jurors must decide the fate of a young man who has been accused of first-degree murder and faces the death penalty. One juror must tactically argue to convince the other jurors that this case has significant "reasonable doubt."
2nd quarter:
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson – Written in just three days, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde explores the double life of a man whose persona swings from honorable and distinguished to repugnant and repulsive.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus.
3rd quarter:
Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner – When Lucas Beauchamp, a black man, is arrested for shooting and killing a white man, young Chick Mallison decides to help Lucas by proving the bullet that killed the white man is not like the bullets in Lucas's gun.
4th quarter:
Night by Elie Weisel - Night is Elie Wiesel’s masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps.
Animal Farm by George Orwell – Tired of their servitude to man, a group of farm animals revolt and establish their own society, only to be betrayed into worse servitude by their leaders, the pigs, whose slogan becomes “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
RUBRIC FOR SUMMER WRITING IN RESPONSE TO READING : Download Rubric 