WCCS Summer Reading Assignments All Honors and AP English students are to complete a required reading assignment as detailed in this packet. Students in grades 6-8 and CP high school courses are exempt from REQUIRED summer reading assignments. However, all upper school students are invited and encouraged to participate in the 1,000 PAGE READING CHALLENGE. Every student who completes the challenge and turns in a form during the first week of school will be invited to attend a reading celebration in the fall. 1,000 Page Reading Challenge Details Students may count any material (EX: novel, handbook, manual, blog), genre (EX: mystery, classic, nonfiction, graphic novel), and format (EX: print, electronic) toward this total. Parents should make the final call on what is/isn t appropriate reading for their children Students may provide an estimated page equivalent for items that do not have preset page numbers. AP & Honors students may count their required reading towards this grand total. The sheets must be turned in on time and signed by a parent/guardian in order to count.
STUDENT GRADE What did you read? When did you read it? How many pages did you read? TOTAL PARENT/GUARDIAN SIGNATURE * If needed, you may print and attach additional copies of this sheet.
HONORS & AP REQUIRED READING Honors 9 th & 10 th Grade Honors 9 th & 10 th graders need to pick one book from the reading list below and complete one project from the given choices. The projects are due when we return from summer break. You will also take a quiz on this book. You may not pick something you have read before. You will have opportunities to choose from this list again throughout the school year. Choose wisely and with parent input. You may wish to review titles on Shmoop.com before making a selection. Though these books are influential and canonical works that appear on reading lists throughout the country, some may contain concerning material which may be inconsistent with WCCS policy and mission statement. When in doubt, please rely on your God-given sensitivity towards what is and isn t appropriate. Also, bear in mind that God can use worldly works to convey His truth about who we are and how we should strive to live. 9 th /10 th Honors Book Choices 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner Animal Farm by George Orwell Billy Budd by Herman Melville Black Ice by Lorene Carey Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Ceremony by Leslie Silko Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton Dawn by Elie Wiesel Deliverance by James Dickey Dune by Frank Herbert Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne W. Houston and James D. Houston Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser Flight of the Intruder by Stephen Coonts For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday I Never Promise You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg I, Robot by Isaac Asimov In The Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez Killer Angels by Michael Shaara Lord of the Flies by William Golding Moby Dick by Herman Melville My Antonia by Willa Cather Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Our Town by Thornton Wilder Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow River, Cross My Heart by Breena Clarke Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein The Bone Setter's Daughter by Amy Tan The Fixer by Bernard Malamud The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King The Natural by Bernard Malamud The Tenants by Bernard Malamud The Terrorist by Caroline B. Cooney The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor Wise Blood by Flannery O' Conner
9 th /10 th Honors Book Report Options 1. Heroes and superheroes Select three people your character would think of as a hero or superhero. Describe the characteristics of the hero and why those characteristics would be important to your character. Also describe which characteristics your character would most want for himself/herself that the hero or superhero possesses. This should be in essay form and be at least 1500 words and in essay form. You will be graded on the basic essay rubric we use for this class and that you discussed accurate inferences you ve made about the character and their life. Make sure you cite all the places in the book you reference. 2. Create a childhood for a character If your main character is an adult, try to figure out what he or she would have been like as a child. Write the story of his or her childhood in such a way that shows why he or she is the way he or she is in the novel. This should be at least 3000 words. You will be graded on your grammar, conventions, and ability to relate instances to inferenced based knowledge of the character from the story. Make sure you cite the page number when you refer to the book. On a separate piece of paper, list all of the connections you made with the book and your story. 20 inferenced based pieces of information are expected to be on the sheet and laced into the story. 3. Word collage Write the title of the book in the center of a sheet of paper. Then look through magazines or other forms of media for words, phrases, and sentences that illustrate or tell something about your book. As you look, think in terms of the theme, setting, plot line, as well as characters. Work to get fifty such words, phrases, or sentences so the whole poster board is covered. The visual impact of the collage should tell a potential reader a lot about the book. This should be very artistic. You should not use more than one sentence at a time. DO NOT copy and paste words and phrases into a processor. Find the words and phrases in magazines, articles and other forms of media. 4. Alternative Ending This should be 3000+ words long. You will be graded on your grammar, conventions, and ability to relate instances to inferenced based knowledge of the character from the story. Make sure you cite the page number when you refer to the book. On a separate piece of paper, list all of the connections you made with the book and your story. 20 inferenced based pieces of information are expected to be on the sheet and laced into the story. 5. Song or Rap Write a 1500 word song or rap about the book. It should follow a AABB rhyme scheme. It should reflect deep analysis and inferences based on the story. 6. Analytical essay Your writing must contain a thesis that argues something about the text. This should NOT be a summary or general overview. Write a 1500 word essay analyzing the book, its characters and/or themes. There should be proper in text citation. 7. Create your own project. You will need to contact your teacher ahead of time and get your project idea approved. Include a rubric. Explain how you should be evaluated. Work should be 1500-3000 words depending on the nature of the project. ***Sources should be cited in-text.
AP & Honors 11 th Grade Read and annotate (see handout) TWO texts (Weston & Lewis). Be prepared to complete projects and written assignments in class based on the readings. A Rulebook for Arguments by Anthony Weston (any edition will suffice) One of the following nonfiction works by C. S. Lewis The Problem of Pain The Abolition of Man Miracles Mere Christianity Surprised By Joy A Grief Observed AP & Honors 12 th Grade Read and annotate (see handout) TWO texts (Kingsolver & Free Choice). Be prepared to complete projects and written assignments in class based on the readings. The free choice list represents the titles which appear most frequently on the AP exam. Your free choice selection must be something you have never read before. Some of the free-choice texts may contain concerning material which may be inconsistent with WCCS policy and mission statement. You may wish to review titles on Shmoop.com before making a selection. When in doubt, please rely on your God-given sensitivity towards what is and isn t appropriate. Also, bear in mind that God can use worldly works to convey His truth about who we are and how we should strive to live! Some choices may contain sensitive content [REQUIRED] The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Plus one of the following fiction works: The Awakening by Kate Chopin Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte King Lear by William Shakespeare Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston* Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
ANNOTATING A TEXT --AP/H 11 & AP/H 12-- How to annotate- Make notes any way you want; there is no wrong way. However, most students report greater levels of success and satisfaction when they are consistent with how they annotate their texts. Can you develop a system that will mean something to you? Ask yourself what is most appealing to you. Some students prefer pen (doesn t smudge) and some will use pencil so they can erase. Some students use a single highlighter, while others use a detailed color-coding system. Still others are wary of marking directly on the text at all and will insert sticky notes on top of the pages. Ways to annotate o Highlight o Underline o Add sticky notes o Write comments in the margin Your reaction Yuck! Wow! Oh no! A summary This boy has trouble relating to others. A question you have Will Clara find out in time? What does this mean? A prediction you make Maybe it was his neighbor. Ideas that occur to you as you read This character is a lot like his mom. Definitions of any words you looked up sagacity= judicious o Circle or box in important words and phrases o Use symbols!? * {} = o o Create an index of important ideas/motifs in the back of your book Draw pictures to illustrate ideas What to annotate- Mark anything that you think is: o Confusing o Interesting o Surprising o Important o Inconsistent with other details o Particularly persuasive o Particularly emotional o Particularly memorable or quotable
When to annotate- As you read. By and large, this should be an in the moment activity. Do not attempt to read the whole book then go back and mark it all after the fact. You will not remember the nuanced details. However, it may be helpful to periodically go back and mark the last page, paragraph, or chapter while your thoughts are still fresh. Sometimes we don t realize how important an idea is, what something means, or how something makes us feel until we read on. How often to annotate- Some pages will have more noteworthy content than others. On some pages, it may be reasonable to make 5, 6, maybe even 7 markings. On other pages you may struggle to find anything worth marking. You want your markings to be helpful, so don t treat this as busy work, and don t go marking too much (if you mark everything, nothing will stand out). Instead a good rule of thumb is to have an average 2 thoughtful annotations per page. ***A few notes*** At the beginning of the year your teachers will collect your books and you will be given a grade for your annotations. Your work must be original and unique to you. It is okay if some of your markings do not make sense to your teacher (as long as they make sense to you). It is not okay if you and another student turn in identically marked texts. While it is suggested that you use a print copy of your text, if you can successfully annotate a digital copy AND share your annotations with your teacher, you are welcome to do so.