Incoming Grade 11, US History II Students

Bloomfield High School

Social Studies Department

Summer Reading

2015 Incoming grade 11, US History II Students

The following assignment is for students entering US History II this year, for most students

this will mean they were Sophomores and are now entering Junior year. Please check your

schedule to ensure that you are in US History II for the upcoming school year.

This assignment is broken into 2 sections. Please complete both sections prior to the first

day of school. Your specific US II teacher will ask for and collect this assignment within the first two weeks of school. None the less please have the work completed before the first

day of school to ensure that you are ready regardless of your specific teacher’s deadline.

This assignment will count as extra credit and will be added on to your grade in September

to ensure you get off to a successful start.

You are expected to obtain a copy of the book on your own. A copy is available from the

Bloomfield Public Library, local bookstores, and electronic retailers. Section One:

Please read one of the following books:

A. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

All Quiet on the Western Front (AQWF) was written in 1929 and is still today

considered an all time classic war novel. The book tells the story of a group of young

Germans as they start the war as idealistic boys and eventually turn into grizzled veterans disillusioned by the realities of the Great War. The novel itself was considered provocative

enough to be banned in Nazi Germany some 5 years after it was written.

This book is available in eformat:

http://explainallquietonthewesternfront.weebly.com/full-text.html B. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Help is a contemporary novel (2009) set in the American South at a difficult time in

American History. The Civil Rights movement was just beginning and the Jim Crow South

was starting to come apart. The Help tells the story primarily of three women one white,

two African-American who by the end of the book complete their own unique journey in

the Civil Rights movement. C. The Girl in the Red Coat by Roma Ligocka

The Girl in the Red Coat is the only non-fiction book on this list, it is a personal memoir by

the author who explores her life and times surviving the Holocaust and the terrible

aftermath. Similar to other survivor accounts in some ways this book stands out as a very

modern account (2003) due to the fact that it goes well beyond her experiences during the

Holocaust and follows the author for years after.

This book is available in eformat: http://www.openisbn.com/download/0312287941.pdf A Tab will open at the bottom of the screen. Click open.

When the screen pops up, click The Girl in The Red Coat: A Memoir.

Click the read online tab. Scroll through to read.

Section Two:

Complete one of the following assignments BEFORE the first day of school (please note the

due date will be up to your specific USII teacher) A. Write a 5 paragraph (minimum) essay that acts as a book report describing at least

3 major themes in the book. Please also include a thesis that addresses this

question: “Of all the books that could be chosen why would this book be considered

essential to understanding major events that will be covered in USII”.

B. Draw 2 Political cartoons that highlight major themes in the book. The cartoons

MUST be original and include a one paragraph interpretative statement that

describes what you were attempting to convey in your cartoons. C. Write a minimum 20 line Poem that includes a reference to at least 3 major events

in the book. Also, include a one paragraph interpretative statement describing what

the poem is about.