PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF EDISON TOWNSHIP CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER READING

Transcription

1 PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF EDISON TOWNSHIP CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER READING Take a journey to achieve your dream. Survive the journey, and you will find your true identity. Dear Students: June 2014 With another academic year completed, this is the perfect time of year to grab some books, dive in, and develop the habits of life-long readers. Imagine what you can discover with time and quiet! Prior to the first day of school, you are to select and read one book, fiction or nonfiction, and one non-fiction article listed on the reverse side of this letter. Enclosed you will find a copy of the Summer Reading packet. We highly recommend reading more than two selections, although it is not a requirement. Please refer to the district website at: for electronic versions of all summer reading materials and links. You are expected to submit your Reading Quotes Organizer to your English teacher during the first week of school. (Your teacher will provide you with the specific date.) Please note: Honors students have different summer reading requirements. If you have any questions, contact the Supervisors of the English Departments, Lisa Dunn at Edison High School (732) or Harriet Sideris at John P. Stevens High School (732) For the books on the summer reading list, you may go to the local bookstores, the public libraries, and/or online for your books. For your convenience we have listed a few bookstores, libraries, and websites. Bookstores: Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Menlo Park Mall 1180 Raritan Road 869 Route 1 South Edison Clark North Brunswick (732) (732) (732) Libraries: Main Library North Edison Branch 340 Plainfield Avenue 777 Grove Avenue Edison Edison (732) (732) Websites: Amazon.com Barnesandnoble.com We hope you enjoy your summer read and the sun. See you in September!

2 HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER READING 2014 Reading Quote Organizer While you are reading, critically analyze the fiction and nonfiction texts to identify quotes that support the following themes: Grade 9 Journey Grade 10 Dream Grade 11 Survival Grade 12 Identity Select 8 important quotes in total between the full-length text and article that relate to the grade-level theme. For the fictional work, choose quotes that show how the character acts, thinks, and feels, and specific plot events associated with the theme. The quotes do not have to be the actual character s dialogue and could be part of the narration. For the nonfiction work, select quotes that demonstrate the speaker s purpose as it relates to the theme. Please note: Quotes should be spread evenly throughout the book and/or article. For example, loosely two quotes from the beginning, two from the middle, and two from the end of the full-length text, and two quotes from the article. The reading quote organizer will be collected and used to construct an essay. Important Quotes Page # Why is it Important?

3 Important Quotes Page # Why is it Important?

4 PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF EDISON TOWNSHIP 11 TH GRADE SUMMER READING 2014 Directions: Students must read ONE book (either fiction OR non-fiction) and ONE non-fiction article from the list below. When you return to school in September, you must also submit a Reading Quotes Organizer for the texts that you read (worksheet is attached to this packet). Please choose quotations that support the theme below. Assignments and links to the non-fiction articles are provided on the school and District Websites. GRADE 11 THEME: Survival What does it mean to be a survivor? The human spirit is constantly challenged by obstacles such as loss, family tragedy, illness, natural disaster, and even war. Include references from the texts that you read that relate to the theme of survival. For students entering Grade 11 Fiction Boy21 Matthew Quick When Finley s basketball coach asks him to look out for new kid Russ, he has no idea what s in store. Finley might be used to the racial conflict in his town and the pressures of basketball, but he is totally unprepared for Russ s strange request to be called Boy21. Twisted Laurie Halse Anderson High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. His new physique attracts more attention from the popular crowd, which sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in the school, in his family, and in the world. The Road Cormac McCarthy A father and his son walk alone through burned post-apocalyptic America. They boldly imagine a future in which no hope remains, but in which they are "each the other's world entire. If I Stay Gayle Forman In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Feeling Sorry For Celia Jaclyn Moriarty Life is pretty complicated for Elizabeth Clarry. Her best friend Celia keeps disappearing, her absent father suddenly reappears, and her communication with her mother consists entirely of wacky notes left on the fridge. On top of everything else, because her English teacher wants to rekindle the "Joy of the Envelope," a complete and utter Stranger knows more about Elizabeth than anyone else.

5 Non-Fiction The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens Brooke Hauser Some walked across deserts and mountains to get here. One arrived after escaping in a suitcase. And others won t say how they got here. These are the new kids : new to America and all the routines and rituals of an American high school, from lonely first days to prom. They attend Brooklyn s International High School at Prospect Heights, where all the students are recent immigrants learning English. Zeitoun Dave Eggers The true story of one family, caught between America s two biggest disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina. A riveting account of one family s unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water. Nickel and Dimed Barbara Ehrenreich Millions of Americans work full time, year round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to go undercover and join them. Moving from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, she worked as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaning woman, a nursing-home aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk. She learned that one job is not enough; you need at least two if you want to live indoors. Into Thin Air Jon Krakauer A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that "suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down." He was wrong. The storm claimed five lives and left countless more--including Krakauer's--in guilt-ridden disarray. Tattoos on the Heart Gregory Boyle For twenty years, Gregory Boyle has run Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention program located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, the gang capital of the world. He distills his experience working in the ghetto into a breathtaking series of stories inspired by faith, reminding us that no life is less valuable than another. We Beat the Street Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, Remeck Hunt Growing up on the rough streets of Newark, New Jersey, Rameck, George, and Sampson could easily have followed their childhood friends into drug dealing, gangs, and prison. But when a presentation at their school made the three boys aware of the opportunities available to them in the medical and dental professions, they made a pact among themselves that they would become doctors. Non-Fiction Articles *Links and copies of articles are also provided on the school and District Websites. Used to Hardship, Latvia Accept Austerity, and Its Pain Eases Andrew Higgins The Heartache of an Immigrant Family Sonia Nazario Muscular Body Image Lures Boys Into Gym, and Obsession Michael Gonchar A reading program is a joint responsibility between school and family. Parents might very reasonably disagree about what material constitutes suitable reading for children. The titles suggested are not Board of Education approved texts. They are works that are recommended by such organizations as the American Library Association, the New York Times, and the National Council for Teachers of English. They appear on many reading lists across the nation. Nevertheless, certain titles may contain subject matter that some parents may not want their children to read (whether Grimm s Fairy Tales for young children or books with mature themes and graphic language for older students). Only parents can determine appropriate choices for their children. Check with teachers, local librarians, and book web-sites for reading levels and information about the various titles.