Summer Reading

2020 Summer Reading Assignments

All students are expected to complete assigned summer reading for their Communication Arts (English) class and level. There also will be summer reading assignments in other academic areas. All assignments will be listed on this page as they become available.

Click on the book title to order from Amazon; click on Annotation Guide (or the PDF) for guiding questions.

Freshmen

Sophomores

Accelerated English
Choose your own book:
• It must be a book you have not read before.
• It can be fiction or nonfiction.
• It must be a book that is not a movie.
• It must be a book that you have not read for another class, or will not read in the upcoming year. Books for the upcoming year include Catcher in the Rye, Fahrenheit 451, Macbeth, Jane Eyre and When the Emperor Was Divine.

Here is a link to a list of possible choices for those who prefer to choose from a list. However, you are not required to choose a book from this list.

Whether you pick a book from the list or not, please fill out this Google form.

College Prep English - Choose One
Choose your own book:
• It can be fiction or nonfiction.
• It must be grade-appropriate.
• It must be a book that you have not read for another class, or will not read in the upcoming year. Books for the upcoming year include Catcher in the Rye, Fahrenheit 451, A Raisin in the Sun, When the Emperor Was Divine, Macbeth and Persepolis.

Here is a link to a list of possible choices compiled by Mrs. Gorman and Mrs. Lopez, the SHS librarians. However, you are not required to choose a book from this list.

Whether you pick a book from the list or not, please fill out this Google form.

Instructional English
• Divergent by Veronica Roth | No Guiding Questions

Juniors

Advanced Placement English
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde | Annotation Guide

AP American Studies - Choose One
• Educated by Tara Westover
• Reading with Patrick by Michelle Kuo
• The Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (free version available online)
Click here to see summaries of these books, and to download/purchase (if desired).

Guiding questions as you read:

What is the purpose of an education?
What does the text reveal about the values of the author?
What does the text reveal about the values of the author's larger community?

Accelerated English - Choose One
• Kindred by Octavia E. Butler | Annotation Guide
• The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson | Annotation Guide
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd | Annotation Guide
• This Boy’s Life: A Memoir by Tobias Wolff | Annotation Guide

College Prep English - Choose One
Choose your own book. We expect that you will choose a book that meets the following criteria:
• It can be fiction or nonfiction.
• It must be a book that you have not read for another class.

Here is a link to a list of possible choices compiled by Mrs. Gorman and Mrs. Lopez, the SHS librarians. However, you are not required to choose a book from this list.

Instructional English
Choose your own book:
• It must be written by an American author (any time period or setting).
• It can be fiction or nonfiction.
• It must be a book that is not a movie.
• It must be a book that you have not read for another class, or will not read in the upcoming year. Books for the upcoming year include The Great Gatsby, The Things They Carried and The President Has Been Shot.

Here is a link to a list of possible choices compiled by Mrs. Gorman and Mrs. Lopez, the SHS librarians. However, you are not required to choose a book from this list.

Whether you pick a book from the list or not, please fill out this Google form.

Seniors

AP Themes and World Masterpieces
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel | Annotation Guide

Writing for College, Media Analysis, Text Exploration and Analysis
Creative Writing, Public Speaking and Political Thought - Choose One
Choose your own book:
• It can be fiction or nonfiction.
• It must be a book that you have not read for another class, or will not read in the upcoming year. Books for the upcoming year include The Road, The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, Johnny Got His Gun, Black Hawk Down, House to House, Slaughterhouse Five, Into the Wild, City of Conversation, The War on Normal People, Citizen Protectorate, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Melting Pot or Civil War, Justice, and The New Jim Crow.

Here is a link to a list of possible choices for those who prefer to choose from a list. The list is organized by genre, and was compiled by Mrs. Gorman and Mrs. Lopez, the SHS librarians. However, you are not required to choose a book from this list.

Instructional English - Choose One
Here is a link to the book choices for this course.

Other Summer Assignments

AP Spanish Language and Culture
AP Calculus BC (PDF)

AP European History
Purchase A History of Western Society (13th Edition) then read and annotate Chapter 14, “European Exploration and Conquest.” (Order online using this link.) Further details and instructions can be found in this PDF.

Other course assignments will be posted as they become available

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