Many high school teachers have assigned reading over the summer.

High School English Recommended Reading List

High School Summer Assignments & Reading

ENGLISH
All grades, as in, every high school student, should have a copy of The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White, the most recent edition is best.

The literature listed below is in the order in which it will be read.
“Handout” means I will give you a copy. Please pay attention to the ISBN numbers where they are listed. Acquiring the right edition means you will have the correct page numbers for homework and essay assignments. Sometimes publishers update editions and the numbers have changed but the edition is the same. That’s okay. 

9th grade
Required summer reading:
The Education of Little Tree         Forrest Carter (ANY UNABRIDGED ED)

Main texts:
The Odyssey           Homer ISBN 0-14-044556-0 (Penguin Classics editions)
The Apology & Allegory of the Cave     Plato (Themes for World Lit. Handout)
Nicomachean Ethics     Aristotle (Themes for World Lit. Handout)
The Book of Job        The Bible (Themes for World Lit. Handout)
Romeo and Juliet        Shakespeare ISBN-10: 0743482808
1984                       George Orwell  ISBN 0-451-52493-4
Catcher in the Rye      JD Salinger ASIN: B000BR53YU
The Bear           William Faulkner (Handout)
Barn Burning    William Faulkner (Handout)
The Glass Menagerie     Tennessee Williams ISBN-10: 0811214044
Never Let Me Go     Kazuo Ishiguro ISBN -1-4000-4339-5

10th grade
Required summer reading:
Bless me, Ultima                Rudolfo Anaya (ANY UNABRIDGED ED)

Main texts:
Oedipus the King              Sophocles (Handout)
The Poetics                           Aristotle (Handout)
The Inferno                         Dante  ISBN 0-451-52798-4
The Tempest                 Shakespeare ISBN-10: 0743482832
A Christmas Carol        Charles Dickens ISBN 0-553-21244-3The Birthmark                   Nathaniel Hawthorne (Handout)
The Crucible                 Arthur Miller ISBN 0-14-048138-9
Collected stories          Edgar Allen Poe (ANY EDITION     CONTAINING ALL THE STORIES)
The Scarlet Letter       Nathaniel Hawthorne ISBN 0-14-243726-3
The Yellow Wallpaper       Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Handout)

11th grade AP Lit
Required summer reading:
Their Eyes were watching God       Zora Neale Hurston (ANY UNABRIDGED ED)

Main texts:
Agamemnon                   Aeschylus (Handout)
Macbeth                       Shakespeare ISBN: 0-7432-7710-3
Les Miserables              Victor Hugo ISBN: 0-671-50439-8
(This is a particular abridged edition that must be bought used on Amazon or ? PLEASE do not buy any other edition. It’s translated by Charles E. Wilbour and published by Pocket Books, part of the Pocket Classics series)
On Writing Well                 Howard Zinsser ISBN-10: 0060891548
The Mark on the Wall             Virginia Woolf (Handout)
Heart of Darkness       Joseph Conrad (ANY UNABRIDGED EDITION)
Death of a Salesman          Arthur Miller  ISBN 0-14-048134-6
The Scarlet Letter            Nathaniel Hawthorne ISBN 0-14-243726-3

12th grade
Required summer reading:
Native Son                                   Richard Wright (Any UNABRIDGED version)

Main texts:
Alcestis                                       Euripides (Handout)
Complications                              Atul Gwande  (Handout)
Hamlet                                         Shakespeare ISBN-10: 0-7434-7712-X    (Folger Shakespeare Library Edition)
Faust                                            Goethe/Mamet (Handout)
The Death of Ivan Ilych                Leo Tolstoy ISBN 0-553-21035-1
Collected Poems                         Robert Frost (handout)
Collected stories                         Ernest Hemmingway (handout)
Atlas Shrugged                            Ayn Rand  (Handout)
Barn Burning                     William Faulkner (handout)
Old School                                  Tobias Wolfe ISBN-10: 0375701494
As I lay Dying                           William Faulkner ISBN 0-679-73225-X


 
English 9-12 Honors - Independent Reading Book List

Of Mice and Men                     John Steinbeck
The Secret Life of Bees                   Sue Monk Kidd
Cold Sassy Tree                             Olive Ann Burns
Ellen Foster                 Kaye Gibbons
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight In Heaven       Sherman Alexie
The Old man and the Sea       Ernest Hemingway
Alice in Wonderland                     Lewis Carroll
House of the Spirits                   Isabel Allende
The Joy Luck Club                    Amy Tan
Anywhere But Here                   Mona Simpson
Stones for Ibarra                           Harriet Doerr
The fifth Child                               Doris Lessing
The Handmaids Tale                     Margaret Atwood
My Antonia                      Willa Cather
Bag of Bones                                 Stephen King
The Yellow Flowers in the Antepodean Room          Janet Frame
Atonement                                  Ian McEwan
Waiting                                         Ha Jin
Interpreter of Maladies                Jhumpa Lahiri
Midnight’s Children            Salmon Rushdie
Kavalier and Klay                     Micheal Chabon
The Posionwood Bible                    Barbara Kingsolver
Survival in Auschwitz                    Primo Levi
Song of Solomon                         Toni Morisson
Fateless                                         Henri Kersatz
For Whom the Bell Tolls    Ernest Hemmingway
Map of the World                           Jane Hamilton
Angeles Ashes                               Frank McCourt
Enduring Love                              Ian McEwan
Escapes                                   Joy Williams
Frankenstein    Mary Shelley


 
MATHEMATICS
AP Physics, Calculus, and AP Calculus 11th and 12th
(students who have completed Pre-Calculus, and who will be taking Calculus, AP Calculus, Physics 11, or AP Physics)

My expectation is that the students will choose at least one book from this list to read over summer and present it to the class during the first quarter.

A list of suggested reading for Calculus and Physics students:
Euclid’s Window by Leonard Mlodinow
How the Universe Got its Spots by Janna Levin
Poetry of the Universe by Robert Osserman
Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter
Hypatia of Alexandria by Maria Dzielska
The Code Book by Simon Singh
Fermat’s Enigma by Simon Singh
Imagining Numbers by Barry Mazur
The Mathematical Traveler by Calvin Clawson
Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman
A Brief History of Time by Stephan Hawking
The Character of Physical Law by Richard Feynman
The Man Who Knew Infinity by Robert Kanigel
In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat by John Gribbin
The Advent of the Algorithm by David Berlinski
The Tour of Calculus by David Berlinsky

 

PERFORMING ARTS

Song Share Announcement - ALL GRADES participate

Begins Wednesday, 9/15. Choose a section of a song (no more than 90 seconds) that you like and are capable to share. Avoid lyrics with profanity, put downs of cultural, gender, ethnic or religious group, or that contain explicit sexual descriptions, or violent images. This is not about who sings well or who feels they do not. Nor is it a preliminary audition for the winter shows. Instead, the purpose is to establish a bond between the members of group by taking a personal risk. Singing can be a vulnerable experience. If the adventure sounds ominous, hang in there; it actually is a very liberating activity. We support one another while doing it. Everyone survives.  We appreciate that for new and for returning students (as well as for me, since I also participate), the experience creates a few butterflies. I truly understand hesitations about getting up in front of peers and singing. 

My recommendations:
1.    The selection can be short, even a minute is fine- 2 verses + chorus.
2.    Pick a song you like, in your vocal range, that doesn't jump too high or low.
3.    Avoid "Happy Birthday", "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" or "Star Spangled Banner"- or songs of that nature. None seem to work well.
4.    Songs that are rhythmic or percussive (Rap) are okay, but make sure lyrics are appropriate.
5.    As for accompaniment, some students have played guitar or piano while singing. Most, if not all, sing a cappella. Again, the experience is built around singing. 

Song share won't happen until Wednesday, 9/15. (Monday, 9/13 Performing Arts meets to discuss Song share, pass out syllabi, and audition information) On the field trips that start our year, new students should talk with their classmates about song share. They will see that everyone is in the same boat, no matter how much they posture. On Wednesday, let the veteran students go first and see how the room responds to one another while we sing. It may sound scary, but it is a "good" scary. Not like crossing the freeway blindfolded...

Auditions for the Winter Plays commence once Song Share completes. Auditions usually consist of a short monologue or scene from our selected play (to be announced), as well as a song from that same show. A short choreographed piece also will be presented.

Questions, contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

With respect
Sampad,
For the Performing Arts Directing Team - Mayana, Leah & Sampad

 
SCIENCES
9th Grade Biology:
Read: Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, A Graphic Adaptation by Michael Keller, illustrated by Nicole Rager Fuller
ISBN 1-60529-697-X  or 1-60529-948-0

10th Grade Chemistry:
Please download a copy of the following virtual textbook for use in class (it is also available free online at the moment, but just in case download one for yourself!). Note that we also have a paper textbook that will be distributed in September. http://www.chem1.com/acad/webtext/virtualtextbook.html

Summer Homework:  Read Chapters 1 and 2 in the virtual textbook (under "beginner/First Semester" in the left column, numbers 1 and 2).  Memorize (or re-memorize) the first twenty elements on the periodic table: know the atomic number, name, and symbol for each.

AP Environmental Science:
Incoming 11th grade students:  Savannah Lives by Staffan Ulfstrand  ISBN 0-019-850925-1

Incoming 12th grade students:  Elephas Maximus: A Portrait of the Indian Elephant by Stephen Alter  ISBN 0151006466

Textbook Homework:
Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions, 16th Edition by G.Tyler Miller and Scott E. Spoolman.  ISBN 1-4390-6650-7  available at cengagebrain.com.  NOTE THAT STUDENTS WILL NEED TO PURCHASE A ONE-YEAR LICENSE TO THE EBOOK!

Chapter 1 Review questions 6,7,8 and 9, and Critical Thinking problems 6, 7, and 10.  You must bring these answers for the first day of class!
 

SOCIAL STUDIES

U.S. and AP U.S. History 10 and 11 - AP Integrated American Studies

Incoming 10th Graders, Advanced Placement Integrated American Studies “A” :

Textbook:  Ayers, Edward L., et al. American Passages: A History of the United States. Volume I. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Assignment: Read chapters 1- 4.  For each chapter, visit textbook companion website and answer the multiple-choice questions and short answer questions.


Incoming 11th and 12th Graders, Advanced Placement Integrated American Studies “B” :

Textbook:  Ayers, Edward L., et al. American Passages: A History of the United States. Volume II Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Assignment: Read Chapters 16-20. For each chapter, visit textbook companion website and answer the multiple – choice questions and short answer questions.

Incoming 10th, 11th and 12th graders :
To begin, use the following link: http://www.wadsworth.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&discipline_number=21&product_isbn_issn=053464791X

1.    Verify that you have accessed the appropriate textbook.
2.    Select appropriate chapter from the drop-down menu on the left side of the screen.
3.    To answer the multiple choice questions, click on, “tutorial quizzes” from the menu on the left.
4.    After completing the quiz, notice the option of sending the quiz results to the instructor. This option appears at the bottom of the screen. Email the results to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Be sure to save a copy of your quiz in the case of a failed email transmission.
5.    In order to complete the short answer/paragraph questions, click on “essay questions”. Note: We are not treating these questions as full essay topics. You can answer each question in a detailed paragraph. Send your responses as outlined in step #4.

You will have a reading comprehension test on your 2nd day of academic classes.

Values in World Thought, 11th & 12th Grade

Juniors: “Man’s Search for Meaning” Viktor Frankel plus a book TBA for Africa.

Seniors: “The Courage to Survive” by Kucinich. Students should already have a copy as Dennis Kucinich gave it to them. And “Ethics for the New Millennium” By the Dalai Lama.

World Religions 12th Grade
Read The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz over the summer.  We may have copies of this book at the school to purchase.



SPANISH

Students will benefit from reviewing the first two, and intermediate/ advanced students may enjoy Julio Cortázar's work.

1)    http://www.studyspanish.com/tutorial.htm is great for reviewing all levels of Spanish and has a clear breakdown of the grammar, and can be complemented with activities from:
2)    http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/SLC/index.php
3)    http://www.juliocortazar.com.ar/ A website with plenty of poems and short stories by the Argentinian author Julio Cortázar that can be found through the link "sus obras."

Stern Grove in San Francisco has a few free shows coming up featuring wonderful Spanish-speaking musicians:
DePedro on July 18th from Spain and Bomba Estereo of Colombia on July 25th.
Information can be found at http://www.sterngrove.org/index.html.
Students will be required to attend cultural events (they will be able to choose which ones and when) during the year, and these shows can count toward that requirement.