2017 Summer Reading
Grades 10
Included is a list of books. Pleasechoose one book from the Humanities Book List and one book from the STEM Book List.
Then, you will choose a different project (listed below) to accompany each book. Make sure you read the project description carefully so you know what is expected of you. Projects should be neat and aesthetically pleasing. Please include the project number somewhere on the completed project.
All projects are due in homeroom on Friday, September 8, 2017.
PROJECT LIST
(Any project can be used with any book, though some projects may make less sense for certain books. Use your judgement.)
Project 1: Create a timeline of events for the book of your choosing. The time line must be composed of no less than 15 events. Each event must be labeled and accompanied by a description of how the event was significant to the development of the characters or the overall story.
Project 2:Create a booklet that contains 15 quotes from the novel where you see imagery/figurative language being used. Accompany each quote with a picture or drawing and a brief description of the significance of the quote. Each page will feature a new quote, an image and a brief explanation of what it means.
Project 3:Write a newspaper article. Choose an event from the book and “report” on this event in the style of a newspaper article. Your article should be written in the style of professional news articles. (For example, read articles in TheNew York Times. Think of the Who, What, When, Where and Whys.)
Project 4: Create a detailed characterization of one main character and one supporting character. Your character sketches should include a list of traits (physical characteristics, personality traits, motivations, actions, beliefs, etc.), each accompanied by an example from the text.
Project 5: Create a book of at least 5 original poems of varying styles, written from the perspective of one of the novel’s characters. Your poems should tell us about the character’s experiences, lifestyle, beliefs, culture, and personality.
Project 6: Identify the theme of the novel and design a book cover that highlights this theme. Then, write a paragraph, citing examples from the novel, explaining how you determined the theme.
Project 7: Develop a thesis statement (position statement) and write a formal essay supporting that statement. The essay should include and introductory paragraph, at least two body paragraphs (with at least two quotes each), and a concluding paragraph.
A good thesis statement should not be an obvious fact (i.e. Scout Finch lived during the Great Depression), but rather, a statement that is supportable and needs to be proven (i.e. Scout Finch grows and changes as a result of her experiences, and therefore, can be considered a rite-of-passage character).
Project 8: Some novels are written as social commentaries designed to highlight a societal concern. Examine your novel as a social commentary and explain what you think your author is saying about society. Then, find at least 3 current news articles that you think your author would find interesting and briefly explain your choices.
Project 9:Create a movie trailer for your novel. Choose pictures, video clips, and music, or create original content. The trailer should be at least 1 minute and 30 seconds. You must be prepared to submit this via Google Drive.
Project 10: Create an alternate ending to the novel. Perhaps you were surprised or disappointed, or simply envisioned a different ending. Be sure that the new ending is true to the themes and makes sense based on character motivations.
Sophomore Book List
HUMANITIES
A Tale of Two Citiesby Charles Dickens
Considered among the top 100 books of all time, A Tale of Two Cities is a novel set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same period.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Singsby Maya Angelou
Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.
Poetic and powerful,I Know Why the Caged Bird Singswill touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.
The Shack by William P. Young
Mackenzie Allen Phillips's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in this midst of his great sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment, he arrives at the shack on wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change his life forever.
Sophomore Book List
STEM
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
The three laws of Robotics:
1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2) A robot must obey orders givein to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
With this, Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov blends fact and fiction and chronicles the development of the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Obsessed with the secret of creation, Swiss scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein cobbles together a body he’s determined to bring to life. And one fateful night, he does. When the creature opens his eyes, the doctor is repulsed: his vision of perfection is, in fact, a hideous monster. Dr. Frankenstein abandons his creation, but the monster won’t be ignored, setting in motion a chain of violence and terror that shadows Victor to his death.
Mary Shelley’sFrankenstein, a gripping story about the ethics of creation and the consequences of trauma, is one of the most influential Gothic novels in British literature. It is as relevant today as it is haunting.