May 5, 2006

 

Dear PCA Students and Families:

 

We are very excited to present this year’s Summer Reading Program.  You may notice that more books have been

added to this year’s list so that you will have a greater variety from which to choose.

 

The benefits of reading are numerous.  Avid readers:

 

    * read better, write better, and concentrate better

    * are quicker to see subtleties

    * have an easier time processing new information

    * have many interests and do well in a wide variety of subjects

    * develop an ability to understand how other people think and feel

    * acquire the ability to understand how unrelated facts can fit into a whole

    * have a broader vocabulary and mastery of language

 

Studies show that millions of children in the United States lose ground in reading skills during the summer when school is not in session.

Students are advised to read a minimum of five books to keep skills up over the summer.  

 

Students entering seventh and eighth grades are required to read two books.  Students entering ninth through twelfth grades are required to read three books.  All acceptable book titles are on the attached list.  Most of these books are available at any public library or bookstore, and all can be found rather inexpensively on Amazon.com.  A few of the titles are available free over the Internet: you can search for the title and the words “full text” to find them.

 

Students should take notes on their reading and are required to write short book reports on each title read.  Book report guidelines are also attached and the reports will be due on September 8th.  Each report will count for a 15 point homework grade in English.

 

The Summer Reading Program is intended to expose students to a variety of literary works and to foster a love for reading.  It is our hope that parents will encourage their students to do the required reading.  This is an excellent opportunity to partner with your student.  Read these books together.  Discuss your thoughts, feelings, and reactions.  We hope that you will enjoy these selections.

 

Have a blessed summer,

 

 

 

Mrs. Patricia Frye                                                                     Dr. Marilyn Meell

English Department Head                                                          Head of School

 

 

 

2006 - 2007 Required Summer Reading List

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL (read two of the six selected works)

 

Incoming 7th Grade

           

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne                          The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Arsenic and Old Lace by by Joseph Kesselring                         Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot                          The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

 

Incoming 8th Grade

 

The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway                        The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Animal Farm by George Orwell                                                  Watership Down by Richard Adams

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom                                        The Time Machine by H.G. Wells                      

 

 

                                                                                                           

HIGH SCHOOL (read three of the eight selected works)

 

Incoming 9th Grade

 

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe                             Our Town by Thornton Wilder

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley                                           The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

Silas Marner by George Eliot                                                     Deadline by Randy Alcorn

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien                                                     The Iliad by Homer

 

Incoming 10th Grade

 

My Antonia by Willa Cather                                                        Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry                                  Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury                                                Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel                                             King Lear by William Shakespeare

 

Incoming 11th Grade

 

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway                                  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

All’s Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare                      Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Silver Chalice by Thomas B. Costain                                   Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams                            Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

 

Incoming 12th Grade

 

Othello by William Shakespeare                                                A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

1984 by George Orwell                                                              The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli                                              The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis    

Moby Dick by Herman Melville                                                  The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

 

 

Required Summer Reading - Book Report Guidelines

 

Due Date: September 8, 2006

Length: 1 Page for Middle School, 2 Pages for High School, 12 Point Times New Roman Font,

 1” margins, 1.5 spacing

 

Book reports are designed to accomplish two things:

 

1. Demonstrate that you have read and understood a book.

 

2. Demonstrate that you are capable of writing a proper evaluative piece about the book you have read.

 

Knowing this, you should be prepared to read a book, being certain to read for understanding, and then write an essay using all of the skills which have been taught in the classroom. This includes a proper thesis statement within the introductory paragraph, a body which includes paragraphs for each element, and a conclusion which draws all of the elements of the paper together.

 

A rule of thumb: Take notes while reading. These notes should include plot points, character lists with descriptions, and reader observations.

 

Following are elements that, when covered in detail (a paragraph or more), provide the information needed for a good book report. Omitting any one element will surely hurt the final product (and your grade). A good book report is insightful, informative, and well written. It is free of spelling and grammatical problems and is interesting to the reader.

 

Do not use headings or paragraph titles as you write about the following items; the report should be written in plain paragraphs.  The following items are required and should be well developed:

 

SUMMARY: Briefly summarize the main events of the story which lead to the climax. Be sure to tell how the story ended. Include enough details to prove you read the story, but remember that this is only one of many elements in your report.

 

THEME: All stories have a theme (reason the author wrote them). Some have more than one. Tell what the message seems to be and support it with details and examples.

 

READING AUDIENCE: Specifically identify the type of reader for whom the book is intended. Give reasons for your judgment - your opinion is not enough. Give the elements which make it appealing or difficult to read (vocabulary, use of language, style, illustrations, etc). Categorize the reading audience by more than just age group (Is it more for males or females? Is it for people with certain political or religious affiliations? Who would read this book?).

 

ANALYSIS & EVALUATION: Discuss a specific element of the story or biography in great detail. What one thing made this book enjoyable (or miserable)? Were you struck by the author's use of settings, imagery, tone, symbolism, irony, mood, or some other single element?  Discuss why it was so special in this book.  Compare this book to other books written by the same author or to books of the same type (mystery, romance, science fiction, drama, etc.). Was this one better or worse than others you have read? Be honest. Would you recommend it to friends? Don't be afraid to tell what you really thought. Always give specific reasons for your judgments!