City School District of Albany

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1 Dear Parents and Students: City School District of Albany High School Summer Reading List and Writing Assignment 2010 Summer shouldn t mean taking a break from learning, especially reading. High school reading demands a high level of comprehension in fiction, non-fiction, narrative texts, textbooks and much more. Studies show that most students experience a loss of reading skills over the summer months, but those who continue to read actually gain skills. Efforts should be made during the summer to help sustain reading skills, practice reading and read for enjoyment. This summer, students entering grades 9-12 will be required to choose a non-fiction title from the lists below. Honors students are required to read an additional selection of fiction along with the required non-fiction title as outlined. Students entering World Literature, IB, and AP are required to read the two selections of fiction listed for those particular courses. ALL students will complete a writing assignment or assignments as outlined in this brochure. These required summer-reading books are available at your public library, high school library and local bookstores. Although students have a required summer reading, we recommend they read additional books of their own choice to keep them reading all summer. Your encouragement and support of your son s/daughter s reading will go a long way toward helping us meet the student-learning goals that we all share. Enjoy your summer and enjoy some terrific reading! Secondary ELA Supervisor Margaret E. DiGiulio

2 Firehouse by David Halberstam (biography) Out of all the men who responded to the terrorists attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, from the Engine 40 Ladder 35 firehouse, only one man survived. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer In March 1996, a group of people joined an expedition to climb Mount Everest. This group included journalist Jon Krakauer and lead climber Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of the climbers, the expedition met with disaster. Krakauer analyzes why. Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler s Olympics by Jeremy Schaap This book uncovers the history of one of sports greatest track and field stars, Jesse Owens. It traces the racial struggles he faced in America and the dramatic contests in 1936 at the Olympics in Nazi Berlin.

3 Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World s Worst Dog by John Grogan Grogan recounts his misadventures with Marley - a clumsy, mischievous, mentally unstable 97lb. yellow lab. The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your Dreams by Derek Jeter An account of the inspirational life of baseball player Derek Jeter. Persepolis: The Story of A Childhood by Mrjane Satrapi (non-fiction, biography, graphic novel) Graphic novel depicting how the author lived in Tehran, Iran until the country came under the control of the Islamic regime.

4 The Cheating Culture by David Callahan Callahan reports on cheating in sports, education and business, exposing how people will do anything (legal or illegal) to get ahead. Let Me Play : The Story of Title IX, The Law that Changed the Future of Girls in America by Karen Blumenthal The gripping history about women s struggle for equality in sports from the 1960 s to the 1990 s Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell Gladwell notes how small changes inhuman behavior can start a fad or change the world. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson Erik Larson tells the parallel stories of Daniel Burnham, the main architect of the 1893 Chicago World s Fair, and serial killer Henry H. Homes, who used the fair to lure victims to their deaths. The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls The author tells the story of how she and her siblings eventually found the resources and will to leave home away from their alcoholic father and distant mother. The Autobiography of Malcolm X Story of Malcolm X, the Black Muslim leader, firebrand and anti-integrationist The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Friedman Award-winning journalists suggest that the globe is flattening with technology binding more and more countries together.

5 9H: Call of the Wild by Jack London 10H: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie 11H: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd World Literature: The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini AND Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky IB 11: The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Note: Students entering World Literature, IB, or AP do NOT have to read the nonfiction selection AP: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison IB 12: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston

6 SUMMER WRITING ASSIGNMENT FOR ALL STUDENTS: Students entering Grades 9R, 10R, 11R and 12 R will select ONE of the following statements and write a critical essay discussing the non-fiction text they read. Students entering Grades 9H, 10H, and 11H will choose TWO of the following statements. One will discuss the non-fiction text and the second will discuss your required fiction text. Students entering World Literature will choose TWO of the following statements. One will discuss The Kite Runner and the second will discuss Crime and Punishment. IB 11 and IB 12: Contact Mr. Grove at AP Lit. and Comp.: Contact Mrs. Houlihan at Critical Lens Options: When people don t express themselves, they die one piece at a time. Laurie Halse Anderson Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere. Elie Wiesel Simply to endure is to triumph. Patrick McCormick Confront the dark parts of yourself. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. August Wilson Great Literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost degree. Ezra Pound There is first the literature of knowledge and secondly, the literature of power. Thomas DeQuincey Literature is the question minus the answer. Roland Barthes

7 Albany Public Library OTHER FUN SUMMER PROJECTS CAN BE LOCATED AT Book House: Book Stores Barnes & Nobles: Borders: Amazon: