Saint George’s School English Grades 9-12 Summer Reading Ninth Grade Summer Reading News of the World, Paulette Jiles. Morrow, 2017. ISB: 978-0062409218. Please arrive at school ready to take a quiz on this text. The quiz should be relatively easy if you’ve read the book. Students are welcome to read texts (Grade 8+) off of the Extra Credit Summer Reading List. There is no other set book list for English 9. Other texts will be purchased throughout the year as necessary— parents can expect plenty of fair warning. The class focuses mostly on shorter works. Tenth Grade Summer Reading No mandatory summer reading. Extra credit: • Read any book recommended by Jeff Darnall or Chad Rigsby on Saint George’s School English Recommended Reading for Grades 9-12 • Write a 500-750 word reflective essay identifying a major theme of the book and what the book wants to say about that theme • Avoid mere summary and excessive quotation. Use summary and quotation only to support points you make about the book’s meaning • Extra credit will apply to no more than two books/papers • Extra credit will be assigned to your Semester 1 grade IB English A Summer Reading (HL & SL) The Odyssey, Homer, translated by Emily Wilson. Norton. 2018. ISB: 978-0393356250 (This text is translated. Please be sure to purchase the Emily Wilson translation—others won’t match.) A separate email regarding instructions will be sent to incoming Juniors regarding this assignment. Students are welcome to read texts (Grade 9+) off of the Extra Credit Summer Reading List. 1 Twelfth Grade IB English A Summer Reading No mandatory summer reading. Extra credit: • Read any book recommended by Jeff Darnall or Chad Rigsby on Saint George’s School English Recommended Reading for Grades 9-12 • Write a 750-1000 word reflective essay identifying a major theme of the book and what the book wants to say about that theme • Avoid mere summary and excessive quotation. Use summary and quotation only to support points you make about the book’s meaning • Extra credit will apply to no more than two books/papers • Extra credit will be assigned to your Semester 1 grade IB English B Level 1 & 2 (ELL) Summer Reading Students entering IB English B in the fall of 2020 should arrive having read the following article: “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter” from the Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter/. You will not be able to earn credit for doing any of the other readings from the “Recommended Reading for Grades 6-12,” though I wouldn’t discourage you from reading any of the selections you’d like. Type up a Word document in MLA format (page layout guidelines can be found here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/) and do the following: - Title your document as follows: Learning about Diversity. When naming the file, name it like this: Lastname_SummerReading. - Before you read, write a couple sentences telling me what you know about issues related to diversity, why you think diversity matters, and any other thoughts or personal experiences you have with diversity. If you don’t know anything right now, write down questions you hope to get answered by studying these topics. Put this information under a bold sub-header titled: Before I Read (no less than 100 words). - Summarize the sections of the article in three to four sentences each (no more than 200 words for each section summary). Each section is identified by sub-headers in the article, which there are five of if you include the opening section found at the beginning under the title. Put this information in your Word document under a bold sub-header titled: After I Read. - Lastly, in a new paragraph under a bold sub-header titled: Analysis, explain what you learned and what you can do in your daily life to educate people about the importance of diversity. Also, address whether you agree with the author of the article or not and explain why (no less than 200 words, no more than 500 words). This assignment is due by email before the first day of school. You will be graded on whether you did each part of the assignment as instructed, whether it seems like you actually read the article, and whether you seem to have thought deeply about your answers. If your work seems like it was done last minute or if you don’t have it done before the first day of school, your grade will suffer. The assignment is worth 25 points possible, so make sure to give yourself time to read and think before answering. To turn in your work or to ask questions, email the teacher at [email protected]. Thank you and happy reading! 2 Extra-Credit Upper School Summer Reading (applies to all English classes 9-11 except IB English B) Students are also welcome to read any of the works (Grade 8 or higher) on the Recommended Reading for Grades 9-12 list (see below). Students will receive five extra credit points towards their semester grades for any novel that they read and write a brief reflective essay about. A reflective essay should be 1-3 pages long, with a thesis that completes the sentence, “I think this novel is important or interesting because _______________.” The essay should be carefully thought-out and show real engagement with the text. You may complete up to two of these assignments for extra credit. 3 Saint George’s School English Recommended Reading for Grades 9-12 Teacher Title Author Grade Description level Mr. Darnall The Autobiolgraphy As told to Alex 9+ A riveting glimpse into the life of one of the most influential civil rights leaders of all time. of Malcolm X Haley What’s most amazing about the autobiography are not just the shocking and brutal realities of Malcolm’s life, but also his willingness to change his mind and admit his mistakes. Mr. Darnall Bleak House Charles Dickens 11+ Okay, I’ll just come out and say it: I think it’s the best English novel ever. Over a thousand pages in the Penguin edition. Are you tough enough? Mr. Darnall Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh 11+ The story of Charles Ryder’s various involvements with a strange and dysfunctional but intriguing affluent Catholic family. As in other novels Waugh laments the ineluctable decline of aristocratic values in modern England. His attention to “faith,” however, perhaps provides a kind of hope that doesn’t seem to appear in more sardonic works such as A Handful of Dust. Mr. Darnall Emma Jane Austen 9+ This is my favorite Jane Austen novel, and, in my opinion, Jane Austen assembles a better sentence than any other prose writer in the language. Emma is the story of a young woman who attempts to steer the lives of those around her and only ends up making a mess of things and having to surrender to her own fate. Mr. Darnall The Iliad Homer 9+ Well, this is one you really should read, if you haven’t. The Iliad is one of the most alluded-to texts in Western Literature. At its heart, however, is also a very personal and moving story about the vanity of human ambition and pride, especially in war. Mr. Darnall The Long Goodbye Raymond 9+ Mystery novels need not be “guilty pleasures.” Though sometimes disregarded as merely a Chandler “genre” writer, Raymond Chandler can write circles around most so-called “literary” writers. The Long Goodbye is my favorite of his stories. Mr. Darnall This Boy’s Life Tobias Wolff 8+ The subjects of this memoir are serious, including the protagonist’s conflicts with an abusive stepfather, but the candor of the narrator and many comic scenes make This Boy’s Life a quick and enjoyable read. Mr. Darnall Surprised By Joy C. S. Lewis 10+ An Autobiographical account of Lewis’ journey from early belief in the Christian faith through Atheism and back to a more enlightened Christian belief. Mr. Darnall Man’s Search For Victor Frankl 10+ In the first part of the book Frankl, a psychiatrist, describes his experience in a concentration Meaning camp, focusing especially on his observations of the prisoners different psychological 4 reactions to their suffering and the conclusions he drew from those reactions. In the second part of the book, Frankl gives a brief account of the psychological theory (Logotherapy) he developed as a result of his experience. Throughout, the book offers an inspiring account of a human being’s ability to survive and even respond creatively to evil and pain. Mr. Darnall A Distant Mirror Barbara 9+ A long and beautifully written account of the “calamitous 14th century” in Europe. I am Tuchman particularly impressed by the way Tuchman weaves stories of the era together, exploring the century’s most majestic and most depraved features, illuminating the lives of the high and the low alike. Mr. Darnall Nickel and Dimed Barbara 9+ Ehrenreich writes of her time undercover as a member of the “working poor.” You might Ehrenreich have a different perspective on wait staff, retail salespeople, housecleaners, and others after you read this book. Mr. Darnall Lord of the Flies William 9+ A classic dystopian novel depicting young boys stranded on an island. It is dark and Golding disturbing, but it should get you thinking about how and why we form societies. Mr. Rigsby Americanah Chimamanda 10+ A searing account of Nigerian refugees caught on the dangerous fringes of society in the Ngozi Adichie United States and Britain, this novel has all the trappings of the greatest nineteenth century novel—humor, sadness, adventure, romance—but is also marked by cutting insights into the harsh realities of a post-colonial world.