Summer Learning

Freshmen Reading

Accelerated English

Choose your own book. We expect that you will choose a book that meets the following criteria:

• It must be fiction.
• It must be a book that you have not read for another class.
• It should be a book that is a “window” into a different perspective or a “mirror” into a perspective that is similar to your own. 
• Use this Annotation Guide | PDF for the book that you choose. 

If you would like a more guided experience, please choose a book from the list below use this Annotation Guide | PDF: 

• A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Ellen Oh, Elsie Chapman, et al.
• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
• Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
• The Distance Between Us: A Memoir by Reyna Grande
• Home Remedies: Stories by Xuan Juliana Wang
• I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez

• The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

• Muslim Girl: A Coming of Age by Amani Al-Khatahtbeh

• Proud: Living My American Dream by Ibtihaj Muhammad

College Prep English and Instructional English

Choose your own book. We expect that you will choose a book that meets the following criteria:

• It must be fiction.
• It must be a book that you have not read for another class.
• Use this Annotation Guide | PDF for the book that you choose. 

If you would like a more guided experience, you can choose a book from this list:

• The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
• Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
• Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
• Rash by Pete Hautman
• Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

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

Sophomore Reading

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, American Like Me, When the Emperor Was Divine and A People's History of Heaven.

Here is a link to possible book choices for Sophomore Accelerated English 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 and Instructional English

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 Fahrenheit 451, Dear Martin, and Fresh Ink.

Here is a link to possible book choices for Sophomore College Prep English 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.

Junior Reading

11 AP Language and Composition - Chose One

• Crying in H-Mart by Michelle Zauner

• Educated by Tara Westover

• Reading with Patrick by Michelle Kuo

• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (free version available online)

Guiding questions as you read:

• How does family/community shape our sense of belonging?
• What factors contribute to someone's identity?
• What contributes to a person's growth and what limits it?

AP American Studies - Choose One

• Educated by Tara Westover
• Reading with Patrick by Michelle Kuo
• 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

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 or will not read in the upcoming year.

College Prep English and Instructional English

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 or will not read in the upcoming year. Books for the upcoming year include The Poet X and The Things They Carried. 

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

Senior Reading

12 AP Literature and Composition

• Life of Pi by Yann Martel | Annotation Guide

World Literature, Media Analysis, Mythology & Folklore, Creative Writing, Public Speaking, Political Thought, and Instructional English

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 1984, The Road, The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, Into the Wild, The War on Normal People, Hillbilly Elegy, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Young & Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America's Revolutions, Justice, The New Jim Crow, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Things Fall Apart, The History of Love, Homegoing, In the Time of the Butterflies, All the Light We Cannot See, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Life of Pi, The Librarian of Auschwitz, and Pachinko.

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.

AP European History

In A History of Western Society (14th Edition), read and annotate Chapter 3, “European Exploration and Conquest.” Further details and instructions can be found in the 2025 AP European History Summer Letter.

Other course assignments will be posted as they become available.

Mathematics

Some students seek to practice prerequisite skills over the summer. In general, students can access sites such as IXL Math and Khan Academy to practice previous coursework and skills. The following courses offer a targeted review of prerequisite skills: Algebra 1, Geometry AB/BC, AP Calculus AB, and AP Calculus BC. In the Fall, all students will have support from their teacher and ICL/ELC tutors.