Honors English 2
Quarterly Outside Reading Assignment
General Assignment:
For each of the four quarters of the school year you will choose, and read, ONE of the novels on the provided list. You may NOT choose a book you have already read. If I find out you have chosen a book you have read at some other point in your life/academic career, I will consider it a violation of our Academic Honesty policy. If you have read all of the books in a particular subset please see me at the beginning of that quarter to arrange an alternate book choice. Books may be obtained from any source: public library, FHS library, online, e-reader, used book store, borrowed from a friend etc.
You MUST register your book with me two (2) weeks into the new quarter. This means you must show me YOUR copy of the book so that I can record it (this may be an electronic copy if you wish). This allows me to know you have your own copy of the book and allows you to get started early. If you start too late you might not be able to find the book you choose. Starting early also allows you to change your mind and your book. Failure to show me your book prior to the deadline will result in a loss of 10% on your assignment.
While most of the reading will take place outside of school, you will have time one to two days a week for silent reading (block day and possibly Friday) depending on the schedule of the week. This means you must bring your outside reading book with you, and you are NOT allowed to read your core book (assigned reading for the class) during this time. Reading a non-OR book or doing any other activity during this time will result in a loss of points. If you finish your OR book, you MUST still bring a book to read for fun.
Quarterly Assignments:
For each of the quarters, you will produce a different product. More in-depth information on these products will be posted on the website; however, here is a brief description of each of the assignments.
Quarter 1: You will produced a written data sheet which analyzes several aspects of your chosen book, including overall meaning, opening and closing sequences and a connection to How to Read Literature Like a Professor – among other requirements.
Quarter 2: Like first quarter, you will be producing a written data sheet. However, this time you will be doing it in a group. In addition to the group data sheet, you will be presenting your book and information in the form of a book talk – an interesting, creative and informative presentation in which you educate your audience about your chosen book. Because you will be working in groups a maximum of 3 people (with possible two groups of four) people can sign up for any one book. This will be done on a first-come-first-served basis.
Quarter 3: This quarter will require you to read a book and do a research paper (I suggest you start early, possibly over Winter Break). Ultimately you will be discussing a common overall meaning that you identify in the book. In order to do this effectively, you will need to do some research. You will be researching literary criticism on the book as well as the topic you choose (and possibly the author). For example, if you choose to look at how poverty is used in the book, then you may need to do some research about poverty in the time period and place in which the book takes place. Or if you want to discuss evil in the book, then you may need to research how philosophers have defined evil. In other words, how does the author deal with your chosen issue, how does he/she build off of others’ ideas, and what do critics have to say about his/her work? Like quarter 2, only 3 people (with a possible 4th in a couple of groups) may sign up for any one book. This will be done on a first-come-first-served basis.
Quarter 4: The last assignment for the year will be a business letter you write to me explaining how your book relates to HTRLLAP, what an overall meaning is, and whether you would recommend the book to your classmates or not.
Book Choices for Outside Reading 2015-2016
Quarter / Choices(unabridged novels only) / Quarter / Choices
(unabridged novels only)
1
Data Sheet
Due 10/10 / Questing/Foundation Literature:
· The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
· The Once and Future King (T.H. White)
· Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe)
· Watership Down (Richard Adams)
· The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame)
· The Epic of Gilgamesh (any translation is fine)
· Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
· The Whale Rider (Witi Ihimaera)
· As You Like It (William Shakespeare) / 3
Research Paper
Due
3/27 / World Literature:
· All Quiet on the Western Front
(Erich Maria Remarque)
· The Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
· The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
· The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Mark Haddon)
· The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (Alexander McCall Smith)
· Nectar in a Sieve
(Kamala Markandaya)
· Siddhartha (Hermann Hesse)
· Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
· Rebecca (Daphne du Maurier)
· North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell)
· Things Fall Apart – (Chinua Achebe)
· Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
· The Count of Monte Cristo
(Alexander Dumas)
· Henry V (William Shakespeare)
2
Group Book Talk and Data Sheet
Due 12/8 – 12/ 12 / Female Authors:
· The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
· Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson)
· Kindred (Octavia Butler)
· Sold (Patricia McCormick)
· Obasan (Joy Kowaga)
· The Woman Warrior
(Maxine Hong Kingston)
· The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
· The House on Mango Street
(Sandra Cisneros)
· Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See)
· The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri)
· Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia Woolf)
· Dreaming in Cuban (Cristina Garcia)
· The Bonesetter’s Daughter (Amy Tan) / 4
Business Letter
Due 5/19 / American Literature:
· A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
· The Sirens of Titan (Kurt Vonnegut)
· The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman Alexie)
· The Secret Life of Bees
(Sue Monk Kidd)
· Maus: A Survivor’s Tale AND Maus II: My Father Bleeds History (Art Spiegelman)
· True Grit (Charles Portis)
· The Sun Also Rises
(Ernest Hemingway)
· The Awakening (Kate Chopin)
· All the Pretty Horses (Cormac McCarthy)
Note: While all these books come off the College Board or FCUSD website, some may not be appropriate for all students. Please choose another selection if you find your choice offends or is too much for you. * Note: When you quote directly from ANY text, make sure to use appropriate MLA formatting.
Outside reading will be worth 10% of your total grade. Your grade will be based on your participation in silent reading, the well-developed completion of your Data Sheet, research paper or business letter and/or any tests, quizzes or essays on your book as I see fit.
REMINDER: All work (as with any other assignment in this class) is due at the BEGINNING of the period on the date it is due. NO EXCEPTIONS/EXCUSES. Work turned in later that day, after school or the next morning will be considered late. You may always e-mail me your DS at or if you are absent or experiencing computer failure. A hard copy will be expected upon your return from your absence or upon the fixing of your printer (there is also a printer in the library for a modest fee).