Summer Reading Requirements—11Honors

 

Students will read three required book plus one book of choice from the reading list below.

 

Required Books for ALL                                                 Selection List: Pick ONE

 

A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway                   Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald                         All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren

The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne                  Catch 22 by James Heller

                                                                                                Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

                                                                                                The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty

                                                                                The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman  by Ernest Gaines

                                                                                                Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

                                                                                                Dinner At the Homesick Restaurant by Ann Tyler

There is no journal assignment for these books. HOWEVER, upon return to school, you will be tested on The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, and A Farewell to Arms on the first full day of classes. You might find it helpful to keep notes as you read.

***It is important that you read the novels thoroughly and independently because much of the composition during the school year will be based on these works. Obviously, you'll be at a disadvantage if you have not understood or completed the reading. STUDENTS SHOULD NOT SUBSTITUTE READING THE WORK WITH OTHER METHODS SUCH AS WATCHING A MOVIE VERSION, READING CLIFF’S NOTES, BARRON’S, OR OTHER STUDY GUIDES--INCLUDING INTERNET VERSIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED CHEATING.

Pay attention to the author’s style and purpose, characterization, symbols, themes, setting, and tone. Think about whether or not these books remind you of other books you have read and in what ways they remind you of those other works. Think about how the main character’s conflict or dilemma may be a commentary on a larger issue by the author. As you read, note the following concepts either on paper or in your mind:

*Notice times when your reading changes:

                --You see something you did not see before.

--You recognize a pattern--the images start to overlap, gestures or phrases recur, 

        some details seem associated with each other.

                --The story suddenly seems to be about something different from what you 

               thought.

                --You discover you were misreading.

                --The writer introduces a new context or a new perspective.

*Notice when you are surprised or puzzled:

                --Something just does not fit.

                --Things do not make sense--consider the question or problem that occurs to you.

*Notice when details seem important and make you look again.

*Notice when something seems significant to you.

*Notice when you particularly enjoy the passage.

Have a good summer. Be steadfast in your reading and desire for knowledge. See you in August.

Uploaded:  4/21/2008