Dear Parents, I hope you are enjoying the start of summer. Enclosed with this letter is the summer reading assignment for your child. We hope that your child will find the books interesting and entertaining. Books were selected after discussion and review by the Program s faculty, and were considered useful supplements to the educational curriculum planned for the coming school year. In each grade, there is one required reading that has been assigned to all students in that grade. A second book can be chosen from the provided list, a third book is one chosen independently by the student. Students are also encouraged to read a short story or 2 3 poems of their choosing. We tried to develop a list of books that would be entertaining and interesting to students, and have included books of multiple genres and varying levels of reading difficulty, ranging from easy to more difficult. We ask that you review these books and assignments with your child as soon as possible. Some of the books may be challenging for students with reading difficulties, while others are more manageable. If a book is chosen that is difficult for your child, we recommend guided reading (with a parent or tutor) or the use of audio versions of the books (some may even be available for free through the NY Public Library). If you or your child feels that these books may be particularly challenging, or if your child is very interested in an appropriate book that is not on our list, please contact me by July 7 th and I will discuss a modified/customized reading list for your child. Please ensure that your child has completed the readings and posted the accompanying writing assignment to the google classroom site by September 1 st. I hope you have a relaxing, healthy and enjoyable summer! Sincerely, John Kugler, PhD Director, Upper School Bridge Program
9th Grade Bridge - Reading Assignment Summer 2017 Reading Assignment: Read the Required Book noted below, 1 book from the reading list, and a book of your own choice. We ask that you read at least 3 books, although you are welcome to read more if you like. Required Reading: Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Bach). Every student in the 9th grade is assigned this book to read for the summer. English classes in the 9th grade and can be more challenging Ender s Game Orson Scott Card Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury Miracle s Boys Jaclyn Woodson My Losing Season Pat Conroy **Mythology Edith Hamilton (Read Part 1 in its entirety, & Part IV: chapters 1 & 2 chapters, & any hero chapter you choose from Part III) Shoeless Joe W.P. Kinsella Legend Marie Lu **Letters to a Young Scientist E. O. Wilson That Was Then, This Is Now S.E. Hinton The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mark Twain The Alchemist Paul Coelho The Color of Water James McBride The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Mark Haddon The Fault in Our Stars - John Green The Hobbit JRR Tolkien The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, or Mocking Jay Suzanne Collins **The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupery The Red Pony John Steinbeck Written Assignment: Write a 2-3 paragraph response discussing your reactions to the assigned readings. Describe several characters from the books that have caught your attention. Your analysis should include personal identification with some of the aspects of these characters. Posting the written assignment: Please email or share the assignment as a Google Doc with Ms. Cait Hynes at chynes@bayridgeprep.org. The grade on this assignment will be part of your first semester grade in English Literature. This assignment is due by September 1st.
10th Grade Bridge - Reading Assignment Summer 2017 Reading Assignment: Read the Required Book noted below, 1 book from the reading list, and a book of your own choice. We ask that you read at least 3 books, although you are welcome to read more if you like. Required Reading: I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban (Malala Yousafzai and Christian Lamb). Every student in the 10th grade is assigned this book to read for the summer. English classes in the 10th grade and can be more challenging. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur s Court Mark Twain Angela s Ashes Frank McCourt Black Like Me John Griffin Born Free Joy Adamson **The Physician Noah Gordon Hard Times Charles Dickens Into Thin Air John Krakauer **Silent Spring Rachel Carson **Sir Gwain and the Green Knight (any translation) The Adept Katherine Kurtz & Deborah Turner Harris **The Boys in the Boat Daniel James Brown The Boy In the Striped Pajamas John Boyne The Curious Case of Benjamin Button F. Scott Fitzgerald The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes) Arthur Conan Doyle The Once and Future King T. H. White The Secret Life of Bees Sue Monk Kidd The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafón Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson World Without End Ken Follet Yes, Chef: A Memoir Marcus Samuelsson **Your Inner Fish Neil Shubin Written Assignment: Write a 2-3 paragraph response discussing your reactions to the assigned readings. Describe several characters from the books that have caught your attention. Your analysis should include personal identification with some of the aspects of these characters. Posting the written assignment: Please email or share the assignment as a Google Doc with Ms. Angela Loffredo at aloffredo@bayridgeprep.org. The grade on this assignment will be part of your first semester grade in English Literature. This assignment is due by September 1st.
11th Grade Bridge - Reading Assignment Summer 2017 Reading Assignment: Read the Required Book noted below, 1 book from the reading list, and a book of your own choice. We ask that you read at least 3 books, although you are welcome to read more if you like. Required Reading: Dibs In Search of Self by Virginia Axline. Every student in the 11th grade is assigned this book to read for the summer. English classes in the 11th grade and can be more challenging. 1776 David McCullough A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes) Arthur Conan Doyle **Black Hawk Down Mark Bowden Catch 22 Joseph Heller Dead Lucky: Life After Death on Mount Everest Lincoln Hall Ellen Foster Kaye Gibbons First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers Loung Ung Jia Hyejin Kim Journey Through Genius William Dunham Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden October Sky Homer Hickam **On Secret Service John Jakes Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus Orson Scott Card Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Marjane Satrapi **Plain Truth Jodi Picoult **The Botany of Desire Michael Pollan The Chosen Chaim Potok The Color Purple Alice Walker The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck The Kitchen God s Wife Amy Tan The Last Lecture Randy Pausch The Natural Bernard Malamud The Twelve Justin Cronin The Road Cormac McCarthy The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Anne Fadiman The Spy Who Came In From the Cold John le Carre Tom Sawyer Mark Twain Written Assignment: Write an essay discussing your reactions to the assigned readings. Describe several characters from the books that have caught your attention. Your analysis should include personal identification with some of the aspects of these characters. Post your assignment to the google classroom site listed below. Posting the written assignment: Please email or share the assignment as a Google Doc with Ms. Rebecca Rice at rrice@bayridgeprep.org. The grade on this assignment will be part of your first semester grade in English Literature. This assignment is due by September 1st.
12th Grade Bridge - Reading Assignment Summer 2017 Reading Assignment: Read the Required Book noted below, a book of your own choice, a book from the reading list, and one other literary type which could be 2-3 selected poems or a short story. Required Reading: Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman OR Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (Read at least one of these). All students in the incoming Senior Year will be reading these books. English classes in the 12th grade and can be more challenging. Additional Literary Type: Any 2-3 poems from Still I Rise Maya Angelou A Painted House John Grisham A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes) Arthur Conan Doyle Catch 22 Joseph Heller Dead Lucky: Life After Death on Mount Everest Lincoln Hall Ellen Foster Kaye Gibbons **Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need A Green Revolution - Thomas Friedman Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig In His Time Ray Robinson Jia Hyejin Kim Journey Through Genius William Dunham Mutant Message Down Under Marlo Morgan October Sky Homer Hickam Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus Orson Scott Card Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Marjane Satrapi Ragtime E. L. Doctorow The Chosen Chaim Potok The Color Purple Alice Walker The Five Equations that Changed the World Michael Guillon The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck The Kitchen God s Wife Amy Tan The Last Lecture Randy Pausch The Natural Bernard Malamud The Passage Justin Cronin **The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell The Road Cormac McCarthy The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Anne Fadiman Tom Sawyer Mark Twain Written Assignment: Write an essay discussing your reactions to the assigned readings. Describe several characters from the books that have caught your attention. Your analysis should include personal identification with some of the aspects of these characters. Post your assignment to the google classroom site listed below. Posting the written assignment: Please share the assignment as a Google Doc with Dr. Noreen Stewart at nstewart@bayridgeprep.org. The grade on this assignment will be part of your first semester grade in English Literature.
This assignment is due by September 1st.