English I (Grade 9): Introduction to Literature - Anclote High School

Anclote High School
Summer Reading Lists
English I (Grade 9): Introduction to Literature
Regular students must choose ONE of the following novels to read. Honors students must choose
TWO. After reading, students must complete one of the attached writing assignments on the novel of
their choice.
Thirteen Reasons Why- Jay Asher (Lexile 550)
When Clay Jenson plays the cassette tapes he received in a mysterious package, he's surprised
to hear the voice of dead classmate Hannah Baker. He's one of 13 people who receive Hannah's
story, which details the circumstances that led to her suicide.
Monster- Walter Dean Myers (Lexile 670)
"Monster" is what the prosecutor called 16-year-old Steve Harmon for his supposed role in the
fatal shooting of a convenience-store owner. But was Steve really the lookout who gave the "all
clear" to the murderer, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Native Son- Richard Wright (Lexile 700)
The novel tells the story of 20-year old Bigger Thomas, an African American living in utter
poverty in Chicago’s south side ghetto in the 1930s.
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes- Chris Crutcher (Lexile 920)
Daily class discussions about the nature of man, the existence of God, abortion, organized
religion, and suicide serve as a backdrop for a senior's attempt to answer a friend's cry for help.
The Pigman- Paul Zindel (Lexile 950)
For sophomores John and Lorraine, the world feels meaningless; nothing is important. They
certainly can never please their parents, and school is a chore. To pass the time, they play
pranks on unsuspecting people. It's during one of these pranks that they meet the "Pigman"--a
fat, balding old man with a zany smile plastered on his face. In spite of themselves, John and
Lorraine soon find that they're caught up in Mr. Pignati's zest for life. In fact, they become so
involved that they begin to destroy the only corner of the world that's ever mattered to them.
Whale Talk- Chris Crutcher (Lexile 1000)
Intellectually and athletically gifted, TJ, a multiracial, adopted teenager, shuns organized
sports and the gung-ho athletes at his high school until he agrees to form a swimming team
and recruits some of the school's less popular students.

English II (Grade 10): World Literature
Regular students must choose ONE of the following novels to read. Honors students must choose
TWO. After reading, students must complete one of the attached writing assignments on the novel of
their choice.
Samurai Shortshop- Alan Gratz (Lexile 790)
From his first day at boarding school, Toyo Shimada sees how upperclassmen make a sport out of
terrorizing the first-years. Still, he’s taken aback when the seniors keep him from trying out for the
baseball team–especially after he sees their current shortstop. Toyo isn’t afraid to prove himself; He’s
more troubled by his uncle’s recent suicide. Although Uncle Koji’s defiant death was supposedly heroic,
it has made Toyo question many things about his family’s samurai background. And worse, Toyo fears
that his father may be next.
Snows of Kilimanjaro- Ernest Hemingway (Lexile 820)
The story centers on the flashbacks of a writer named Harry who is on a safari in Africa. He developed
an infected wound from a thorn puncture, and lies awaiting his slow death.
Life of Pi- Yann Martel (Lexile 830)
The precocious son of a zookeeper, 16-year-old Pi Patel is raised in Pondicherry, India.
Planning a move to Canada, his father packs up the family and their menagerie and they
hitch a ride on an enormous freighter. After a harrowing shipwreck, Pi finds himself
adrift in the Pacific Ocean, trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a spotted
hyena, a seasick orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.
The House on Mango Street- Sandra Cisneros (Lexile 870)
The coming of age story about Esperanza Cordero, a young Mexican American girl living in the U.S.
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah (Lexile 920)
Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is
estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists,
and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first-person
account from someone who came through this hell and survived. Ishmael Beah, now 25 years old, tells
how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by
violence. By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy,
found that he was capable of truly terrible acts.
The Poisonwood Bible- Barbara Kingsolver (Lexile 960)
The Price family, Baptist missionaries from Georgia, board an airplane in 1959, bound for the isolated
village of Kilanga in the Belgian Congo, to undertake a mission that has fateful and life-wrenching
consequences for each member of the family: As the family struggles to become acclimated to life in the
village of Kilanga, the Congolese revolt against the Belgian colonial regime seethes just beneath the
surface.
The Chosen- Chaim Potok (Lexile 970)
The novel opens in the 1940's, in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. Two boys who have
grown up within a few blocks of each other, but in two entirely different worlds, meet for the first time
in a bizarre and explosive encounter--a baseball game between two Jewish parochial schools that turns
into a holy war.
The Once and Future King- T.H. White (Lexile 1080)
A collective volume of works based on Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur (c.1469). Includes The
Sword in the Stone, The Queen of Air and Darkness, The Ill-Made Knight, and The Candle in the Wind.

English III (Grade 11): American Literature
Regular students must choose ONE of the following novels to read. Honors students must choose
TWO. After reading, students must complete one of the attached writing assignments on the novel of
their choice.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn- Betty Smith (Lexile 810)
This is the coming-of-age story of Francie Nolan and her Austrian/Irish-American family
struggling against poverty in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City.
The Bean Trees- Barbara Kingsolver (Lexile 900)
Taylor Greer grows up poor in Kentucky, but decides to move west. By the time she reaches
Arizona, she has acquired an unexpected child, a three-year-old named Turtle, and must decide
how to put down roots.
The Hessian- Howard Fast (Lexile 970)
A boy soldier during the Revolutionary War is wounded and hidden on a farm by an American
family. He becomes interested in the farmer’s daughter, and then…
Black Elk Speaks- John G. Neihardt (Lexile 1010)
A 1932 book that relates the story of Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux medicine man.
A Prayer for Owen Meany- John Irving (Lexile 1050)
John Wheelwright is a former citizen of New Hampshire who has become a voluntary exile
from the U.S (having settled in Toronto, Canada). The novel consists of John's memories of
growing up in NH in the 1950s and 1960s with his best friend, Owen Meany.
Angela’s Ashes- Frank McCourt (Lexile 1110)
A memoir by Irish-American author Frank McCourt that tells the story of his childhood in
Brooklyn and Ireland.
Into the Wild- John Krakauer (Lexile 1270)
In April 1992, a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless hitchhiked to Alaska and
walked alone into the wilderness. He gave $25,000 to charity, abandoned his car, burned all
the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life. Four months later, a moose hunter found his
decomposed body. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.

Advanced Placement English Language (Grade 11) ONLY:
-Read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Complete
response logs for both texts.
Eric Schlosser documents the way in which the emergence of the fast food industry mirrors the
evolution of American life in the 20 th century. As you read this book, I want you to think about how
Schlosser develops his argument about fast food’s influence and meaning. You will write a Response
Log in order to further your thinking process and communicate your thoughts and ideas to your
classmates and me. We will often refer to this text in class for supporting material and examples, so
read closely and actively.
The Response Log:
A response log is an effective way to keep a record of your reading responses—positive or negative,
sure or unsure. It offers a chance to respond personally, to ask questions, wonder, predict, or reflect
on the characters, people, events, literary elements, writing techniques, or language of a text. Do not
summarize! Instead, record your textual observations.
1. Use notebook paper (one side only) or you may type
2. Must have two columns (divide the page in half)
3. Each response to a quotation should be 3-5 sentences and should include your analysis of the
literary and rhetorical techniques present in the quotations, the author’s attitude, purpose, or
tone, and relation to personal experience.
4. You must include a total of 20 entries that range from beginning to end. Show me that you
have read and understood the entire text.
5. Make sure that you note the page number for each of your quotations.
Format:
• Title the column on the left “Quotations from the Text” or
• Title the column on the right “Commentary/Responses to the Text.” Responses may start:
o “The imagery reveals...”
o “The setting gives the effect of...”
o “The author seems to feel...”
o “The tone of this part is...”
o “The character(s) feel(s)…”
o “This is ironic because…”
o “An interesting metaphor or symbol is”
o “The detail seems effective/out of place/important because…”
o “An interesting word/phrase/sentence/thought is…”
o “This reminds me of…”
o “Something I notice/appreciate/don’t appreciate/wonder about is…”
o ʺThe author emphasizes________ in order to…”
o Or you may start with something else you feel is appropriate

English IV (Grade 12): British Literature
Regular students must choose ONE of the following novels to read. After reading, regular students
must complete one of the attached writing assignments. Honors students must choose TWO of the
following novels to read and complete two of the attached reading assignments on the novel(s) of
their choice.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll (Lexile 860)
Fantasy fiction tale of a girl named Alice who ralls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world
populated by peculiar and anthropomorphic creatures.
Brave New World- Aldous Huxley (Lexile 870)
Brave New World marked a step in a new direction for Huxley, combining his skill for satire
with his fascination with science to create a dystopian (anti-utopian) world in which a
totalitarian government controlled society by the use of science and technology.
Dracula- Bram Stoker (Lexile: 960)
Having deduced the double identity of Count Dracula, a wealthy Transylvanian nobleman, a
small group of people vow to rid the world of the evil vampire.
The Hound of the Baskervilles- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Lexile 1090)
Sherlock Holmes is asked to investigate the tale of a hound that haunts the lonely moors
around the Baskervilles' ancestral home.
Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad (Lexile 1050)
Marlowe, an introspective sailor, journeys up the Congo River to meet Kurtz, reputed to be an
idealistic man of great abilities. Marlowe takes a job as a riverboat captain with the Company, a
Belgian concern organized to trade in the Congo. As he travels to Africa and then up the Congo,
Marlow encounters widespread inefficiency and brutality in the Company’s stations.

Advanced Placement English Literature (Grade 12) ONLY:
-Read Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor. Complete dialectical journals.
Keeping a dialectical reading journal: You will need a composition book or spiral notebook to make notes about the
following readings. Entries are to be written neatly and legibly (If you wish to type create a table on Word. Use Times New
Roman, 12-­‐point font, 1-­‐inch margins.
Your literary journal is not a diary; it is rather an important means by which you will develop a better understanding of the
texts. It is the place where you will incorporate the ideas we discuss in class, your own ideas about literature and the specific
texts we study, and your personal relationship with those texts. It will be invaluable when you prepare for examinations, and
class discussions. Dialectic means “the art of practice of arriving at the truth by using conversation involving question and
answer.” This is what you must do in your journal—dialogue with yourself. In your journal, have a conversation with the text
and with yourself. Write down your thoughts, questions, insights, and ideas while you read.
Procedure: Draw a vertical line down the middle of the page in your journal notebook and repeat, as needed. Use this double-­‐
entry format to examine the details of a passage and to synthesize your understanding of the details of the texts.
At the top of the left column, write the heading Reading Notes (something from the text). At the top of the right column, write
the heading Analysis and Questions (something from you). While you read or after you read a section of the literature, record
page numbers and notes (details, quotations, summaries, and/or key ideas and concepts) in the left column. In the right
column, write YOUR ideas, insights, thoughts, questions, and commentary related to the notations on the left. Make certain that
you are specific in your observations.
Sample Dialectical Journal for TKAM
READING NOTES
Quote/Passage (#)
“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem
got his arm badly broken at the elbow. . . (3).
(Note: I have not included the entire quotation to
which I am referring. Instead, I use an ellipsis [. . .]
to quote only the part that is most important.)
Atticus, the lawyer, “knew his people, they knew
him, and because of Simon Finch’s industry,
Atticus was related by blood or marriage to
nearly every family in the Town” (5).
(Note: Instead of quoting the part about
Atticus and his job immediately before this, I put it
as a side note at the front before the quotation.
ANALYSIS AND QUESTIONS
Response/Commentary
I remember breaking my foot before a
choir concert. I was not feeling well and
had to leave the risers before a concert.
When I was hopping down from the third riser, I
landed on the side of my foot and broke it. All I
cared about when I was recovering was being
able to walk without crutches or a walking cast
again. This seems to be how Jem kind of feels.
(Making a Connection)
Atticus is a well-­‐respected person in Maycomb,
and since he is a lawyer, he also must be fairly
intelligent. Maycomb must be a small town
where everyone knows everyone if Atticus is
indeed related to most of the people. I think
Atticus most likely will play an important role in
this book because of his position.
(Interpreting/Making a Prediction)
Write when:
• you learn something that will aid you in your analysis of language and literature.
• you learn something that will aid you in your writing.
• you see something you didn’t see before (an epiphany).
• you recognize a pattern-­‐overlapping images, repetition of ideas, details, colors that make a connection.
• you discover that the text is about something different from what you originally thought it was about (structural or
content shifts).
• something puzzles you or confuses you.
• you agree or disagree with an observation by the narrator or author.
• certain details seem important to you.
• circumstances or issues are especially relevant to your life or the lives of others
• you notice something specific about the writer’s style – unique/unusual dialogue or shifting perspective/ time
sequence shifts/effective use of rhetorical/literary devices.
Expectations: You are expected to have a bare minimum of three specific and detailed total entries on each side of the
dialectical journal for each chapter.

REGULAR AND HONORS STUDENTS
Writing Assignments for Summer Reading
Directions: Please answer ONE of the questions below for each of the books you read. Your essay
should be a minimum of 250 words, typed and double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. If
you do not have access to a computer, write your answers neatly in blue or black INK.
1) Discuss the characters in the book. What are their attributes, motivations and conflicts? What
character do you dislike? Why? Does anyone in this work remind you of someone you know? Explain.
2) What is the significance of the title of this work? Would you change the title? Why?
3) What kind of person do you feel the author is? What makes you feel this way?
4) What do you feel is the most important word, phrase, or paragraph? Explain why it is important.
5) What is the overall theme (or message—life lesson) of the book?