Lexington
School District Two
English
Language Arts
High
School Summer Reading
2007
Research and evidence of best practices both affirm that the one factor which improves the overall academic achievement of students is the quality and volume of reading. Simply stated, the more students read, the more successful they are in school. Our teachers embrace this research and support requiring all students in grades 6-12 to participate in a summer reading program. Since the program is mandatory, summer reading will count as one test or project grade.
The goals of our summer reading
program include the following:
§
To foster
enthusiasm for lifelong learning
§
To foster
the continuous process of critical thinking and reading
§
To prepare
students to meet the challenges of thoughtful literary analysis
Every high school English student, with parental approval, will select and read one book from any of the following book lists:
The Lexington County Library branches and our high school offices have many of the titles available for checkout.
Upon their return to class, all students will complete and present a written project based upon their "choice" book the first week of school. Students may bring their book and any optional notes to class to facilitate the writing of the project. For the book you have chosen for summer reading, answer the questions that are appropriate to your book's genre.
New students who enroll on or prior to July 30th will be responsible for the entire summer reading assignment.
Students will respond in writing to the questions below that are appropriate for his/her book.
Completed responses will count as one test or project grade.
Completed responses are due Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Students will participate in book talk, additional notes are optional. Students will also need to plan to share a favorite paragraph/excerpt during their book talk.
Questions for BIOGRAPHY or AUTOBIOGRAPHY
1. Why is this person noteworthy?
2. Discuss three to four personality traits that make this person interesting or unique.
3. What challenges has this person had to faced? Explain.
4. How is the person like or unlike someone you know or yourself? Give specific examples.
5. What type of reader (female/male, sports fan, romantic, etc.) would most enjoy this book? Why?
Questions for INFORMATION TEXT (NONFICTION)
1. Why and how did you select this book?
2. What new information did you learn? Explain.
3. How has this book changed or confirmed your thinking about this topic?
4. What sources did the author most likely use in conducting his/her research of this topic?
5. What type of reader (male/female, sports fan, romantic, etc.) would most enjoy this book? Why?
Questions for FICTION
1. Create a new title for the book. Explain your reasoning.
2. Explain the central conflict faced by the main character(s). Explain how the conflict is resolved by the end of the book.
3. State the important THEME (main idea) that a reader might learn from reading this book. Explain.
4. What real-life people and events remind you of the characters and events in the story? Explain the connections.
5. What type of reader (i.e. male /female, sports fan, romantic, etc.) would most enjoy this book?
In addition to the choice book, Honors and Advanced Placement students will read an additional required title that supports the curriculum.
English 1 - Honors The Glory Field - William Dean Myers
English 2 - Honors Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan
English 3 - Honors Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
English 4 - Honors Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
English 4 - AP Language and Composition Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
English 5 - Honors Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
English 5 - AP Literature and Composition A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
Honors and Advanced Placement students will complete a double entry journal (T-Journal) with at least twenty numbered entries to turn in August 22, along with their written responses for their choice book.
Readers
will record some, if not all, of the following in their T-Journals:
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Example T-Journal
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
| Quotations/Questions | Responses |
| 1. "Ladies bathed before noon . . . and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum." (pg. 5) | 1. Favorite passage that "works" because of the simile |
| 2. "Catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave me some pleasure . . . " (pg. 22) | 2. This reminds me f the time in 4th grade that Roger and I faced off against each other. (text-to-self) |
| 3. What is a "hookah?" (pg. 78) | 3. "An Eastern smoking pipe having a long tube passing through a water urn that cools the smoke." |