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Southside High School’s Summer Reading List for 2006
All College Prep (CP) students must read two books – one is required and you
must choose the other one. The one you choose must
be appropriate for your age/grade level. You may read murder mysteries,
science fiction, thrillers, suspense, histories, biographies –anything appropriate for your age. You may not count comic books, children’s
books, etc. - All Honors students must read three books– two are required and you must choose the other one appropriate for your
level (see above).
- All IB students must read three books –no choices; read what is on the list.
- By September 1, you will be asked to
write one of the in-class essays on the back of this sheet foreach book. Your teacher will choose which of these essays to ask you; be
prepared to answer any of them. Students should take notes
while they are reading each selection; they will be awarded credit for their
notes, which are limited to one sheet of notebook paper perbook and must be in the student’s own handwriting. Note-taking categories
include plot, setting, characterization, language, tone,
point of view, theme, and quotations. The grade for these essays will count
5% of your total 9 weeks grade. Also, be prepared for any
additional discussions, assignments, tests, quizzes, or projects that your
teacher may choose to give you on these books. IB Seniors,
you will have a folder due on One Hundred Years of Solitude, and the essay
questions on the other two novels. The grade for these
essays will count 5% of your total 9 weeks grade. The bookstores and
libraries should be stocked with these books. Southside may
also have a few to check out – see your English teacher.
Enjoy your reading!
9th Grade: Forged by Fire (Draper) and one of your choice
9th Grade Honors: The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway), I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings (Angelou), and one of your choice
9th Grade IB Students: A Separate Peace (Knowles), Black Boy (Wright), and
The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway)
10th Grade: A Gathering of Old Men (Gaines) and one of your choice
10th Grade Honors: A Separate Peace (Knowles), Black Boy (Wright), and The
Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway)
10th Grade IB Students: Things Fall Apart (Achebe), A Tale of Two Cities
(Dickens), The Hound of the Baskervilles (Doyle)
11th Grade CP and CWP: Jazz (Morrison) and one of your choice
11th Grade Honors: Things Fall Apart (Achebe), A Tale of Two Cities
(Dickens), The Hound of the Baskervilles (Doyle)
11th Grade AP/IB: Death of a Salesman (Miller), One Day in the Life of Ivan
Denisovich (Solzhenitsyn), Anthem (Rand)
12th Grade CP and CWP: Things Fall Apart (Achebe) and one of your choice
12th Grade Honors World Lit: The Joy Luck Club (Tan), Siddhartha (Hesse),
and one of your choice
12th Grade AP: Death of a Salesman (Miller), One Day in the Life of Ivan
Denisovich (Solzhenitsyn), Anthem (Rand)
12th Grade IB: One Hundred Years of Solitude (Garcia Marquez), Things Fall
Apart (Achebe), Heart of Darkness (Conrad)
- Questions for Summer Reading
Instructions: Consider these questions as you read your summer books. You
will be given one of these questions to
respond to at the beginning of the school year as your assessment on that
book.
If you will be in English I, II, CP/CWP III or CP/CWP IV, consider these
questions:
1. What is the conflict/central struggle in the story? Briefly describe. Are
the other characters drawn into this
conflict/central struggle by the main character?
2. What was the author’s purpose for writing this story? Give reasons for
your answer.
3. Which characters change as the story progresses? Give examples.
4. Who is your favorite character in the story? Why? Do any people in your
life remind you of the characters in the
book? Explain your answer.
5. How did the author maintain your interest throughout the book? Give
examples.
6. If you were the author, how would you have ended the book differently?
Why?
If you will be in Honors, Pre-IB, AP, IB, or Honors World Lit, consider
these questions:
1. Show how the title signifies the purpose and theme of the work (such as A
Lesson Before Dying) rather than
simply its subject (such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer). Avoid mere plot
summary.
2. Explain how the full presentation of a complex and important character
who – on the basis of the character’s
actions alone – might be considered evil or immoral, makes the reader react
more sympathetically than he or she
otherwise might.
3. Some novels seem to advocate changes in social and political attitudes or
in traditions. Note briefly the particular
attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then
analyze the techniques the author uses to
influence the reader’s views.
4. Show how an inanimate object (e.g., a seashell, a handkerchief, a
painting) is important and how two or three of
the purposes the object serves are related to one another.
5. Select a quote that reflects a significant moment, and discuss the
significance of the quote to the overall plot.
6. Many novels contrast places to represent opposing forces or ideas that
are central to the meaning of the work.
Explain how the places differ, what each place represents, and how their
contrast contributes to the meaning of the
work.
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