2014 Summer Reading Guide – MHHS Social Studies
· All students need to choose one book from the list that corresponds with their scheduled course for next year.
· Students then should choose one of the project choices and have it completed by September 2nd.
· Please note that the September 4th due date applies to all students regardless of the semester in which they have Social Studies.
Honors World History Summer Reading Choices – 9th grade
1. Snow Falling on Cedar- David Guterson
In 1954 a local fisherman is found suspiciously drowned, and a Japanese American named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with his murder. In the course of the ensuing trial, it becomes clear that what is at stake is more than a man's guilt. For on San Pedro, memory grows as thickly as cedar trees and the fields of ripe strawberries--memories of a charmed love affair between a white boy and the Japanese girl who grew up to become Kabuo's wife; memories of land desired, paid for, and lost. Above all, San Piedro is haunted by the memory of what happened to its Japanese residents during World War II, when an entire community was sent into exile while its neighbors watched
(Profanity and some sexual suggestive material)
2. 13 Days- Robert Kennedy, Arthur Slesinger Jr.
In October 1962, when the United States confronted the Soviet Union over its installation of missiles in Cuba, few people shared the behind-the-scenes story as it is told here by the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. In this unique account, he describes the hour-by-hour negotiations, with particular attention to the actions and views of his brother, President John F. Kennedy.
3. The Jungle- Upton Sinclair
The Jungle is a 1906 novel written by journalist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair wrote the novel with the intention of portraying the life of the immigrant in the United States, but readers were more concerned with the large portion of the book pertaining to the corruption of the American meatpacking industry during the early 20th century, and the book is now often interpreted and taught as a journalist's exposure of the poor health conditions in this industry. The novel depicts in harsh tones poverty, absence of social programs, unpleasant living and working conditions, and hopelessness prevalent among the working class, which is contrasted with the deeply-rooted corruption on the part of those in power. Sinclair's observations of the state of turn-of-the-twentieth-century labor were placed front and center for the American public to see, suggesting that something needed to be changed to get rid of American wage slavery.
4. I will plant you a Lilac Tree – Laura Hillman
Gripping novel written from the perspective of a teenage girl who falls in love while suffering the horrors of Nazi concentration camps. This is a remarkable true story of one young woman's nightmarish coming-of-age. But it is also a story about the surprising possibilities for hope and love in one of history's most brutal times.
Honors American History Summer Reading - 10th grade
1. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
Story of a Harlem teenager who fights in the Vietnam War when he is unable to attend college. Perry, the main character, questions why black troops are assigned the most dangerous tasks, questions the point of the war and other issues faced by teens during the 1960s. **Violence and profanity used in this novel**
2. Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
True story on the author’s experience at a Japanese-American internment (prison) camp during World War II. This book shows how unfairly the American citizens were treated because of their race because of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
3. Mississippi Trial by Chris Crowe
Novel set in 1955 Mississippi where a sixteen-year old and his grandfather are at odds over the issue of a black teen from Chicago who was murdered in their town.
Honors Economics Summer Reading Choices – 11th grade
1. Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! By Robert Kiyosaki
Rich Dad, Poor Dad chronicles the story of the authors two dads, his own father, who was the superintendent of education in Hawaii and who ended up dying penniless and his best friends father who dropped out of school at age 13 and went on to become one of the wealthiest men in Hawaii. Kiyosaki uses the story of these two men and their varying financial strategies to illustrate the need for a new financial paradigm in order to achieve financial success in the new millennium.
2. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century – by Thomas Friedman
When scholars write the history of the world twenty years from now, and they come to the chapter "Y2K to March 2004," what will they say was the most crucial development? The attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the Iraq war? Or the convergence of technology and events that allowed India, China, and so many other countries to become part of the global supply chain for services and manufacturing, creating an explosion of wealth in the middle classes of the world's two biggest nations, giving them a huge new stake in the success of globalization? And with this "flattening" of the globe, which requires us to run faster in order to stay in place, has the world gotten too small and too fast for human beings and their political systems to adjust in a stable manner
3. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Levitt and Dubner)
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime?
These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life—from cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing—and whose conclusions turn the conventional wisdom on its head.
Honors U.S. Government Summer Reading Choices – 12th grade
1. Four days in November by the staff of the New York Times
The assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas forty years ago remains, and will always remain, indelible in the minds of those old enough to recall it. The coverage provided by The New York Times is still generally considered the most complete of its day. The Times covered history as it was happening, from the assassination to the funeral. Here were the first portraits of Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby, the earliest speculation regarding the prospects of Lyndon Johnson's administration, the immediate reaction from world leaders, and, perhaps most of all, the pulse of a populace reeling from an event that surpassed both understanding and belief.
2. All the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
Beginning with the story of a simple burglary at Democratic headquarters and then continuing with headline after headline, Bernstein and Woodward kept the tale of conspiracy and the trail of dirty tricks and dark secrets coming -- delivering the stunning revelations and pieces in the Watergate puzzle that brought about Nixon's scandalous downfall. Their explosive reports won a Pulitzer Prize for The Washington Post and toppled the President. This is their book that changed America.
3. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
When Machiavelli’s brief treatise on Renaissance statecraft and princely power was posthumously published in 1532, it generated a debate that has raged unabated until the present day. Based upon Machiavelli’s first-hand experience as an emissary of the Florentine Republic to the courts of Europe, The Prince analyzes the usually violent means by which men seize, retain, and lose political power. Machiavelli added a dimension of incisive realism to one of the major philosophical and political issues of his time, especially the relationship between public deeds and private morality. His book provides a remarkably uncompromising picture of the true nature of power, no matter in what era or by whom it is exercised.
Project Choices
1. Diorama, poster, collage or some piece of artwork
· Artwork must reflect the main idea or a scene from the novel.
· Must be neat, colorful and obviously not thrown together in five minutes.
· Students must write a one page explanation of how the project reflects the novel. No personal reference in writing (ex. I, you, me, us our, etc.)
Artwork- 70% / Writing- Grammar 15% / Writing- Matches novel/length 15%70%: Artwork is neat, creative, and colorful and effort put into the project. / 15%: 0-3 grammatical errors in the writing. / 15%: The entire page of writing matches the novel and the writing is one full page in length.
50%: Missing one of the items stated above. / 10%: 4-7 grammatical errors in the writing. / 10%: The writing matches the novel or the writing is between ¾ and ½ of a page.
25%: Project is not neat, not colorful, lack of effort / 5%: 8 or more grammatical errors in the writing. / 5%: The writing does not match the novel. Or the writing is ½ a page or less.
0%: No project / 0%: No writing / 0%: No writing
2. Soundtrack project
· Pretend your novel was turned into a movie.
· Choose TEN songs that would be the soundtrack.
· List the title, artist who performed the song and a section of lyrics.
· Write a one paragraph (5-7 complete sentences) rationale/explanation on how the song reflects the theme of a chapter.
· The songs must go in order of the novel.
Grammar: 25% / Lyrics w/website (include title and artists): 25% / Descriptions match theme of novel: 25% / Order of the Book: 25%25%: 0-4 errors in the descriptions for the songs. / 25%: all 10 songs have a portion of the lyrics, title, artist and website lyrics came from. Not missing any songs. / 25%: All descriptions are 5-7 sentences in length and match the themes of the novel. / 25%: All ten songs/descriptions go in order of the novel.
17%: 5-8 errors in the descriptions for the songs. / 17%: Missing 1 or 2 songs. All songs have a portion of the lyrics, title, artist and website lyrics came from. / 17%: 1 or 2 descriptions are not 5-7 sentences. Descriptions match the themes in the novel. / 17%: 1 or 2 of the songs are out of order from the novel.
9%: 9-12 errors in the descriptions for the songs. / 9%: Missing 3 or 4 songs. All songs have a portion of the lyrics, title, artist and website lyrics came from. / 9%: 3 or 4 descriptions are not 5-7 sentences. Descriptions match the themes in the novel. / 9%: 3 or 4 of the songs are out of order from the novel.
0%: 13 or more errors. / 0%: No lyrics turned in or missing 5 or more songs. / 0%: 5 or more descriptions are missing. Descriptions do not match themes in the novel. / 0%: 5 or more of the songs are out of order from the novel.
-Project due by Tuesday, September 2nd.
-Projects count for 10% of the first quarter of the course. (3rd quarter for students who have history spring semester).