The Hull High School Blog: Summer Reading for Incoming Sophomores

Summer Reading Book Assignments

for Incoming 10^th Graders

Hull High School is committed to preparing all students for success in college and career. We believe that strategic reading is an essential skill for all students, and one that must be practiced in order to be improved on. Research shows that “summer reading programs can be effective in lessening summer learning loss and increasing reading achievement” (www.cslpreads.org). To that end, all HHS students are required to read over the summer in preparation of the upcoming school year.

** Honors students will be required to read two books: the primary text and one choice from the secondary choice list.

** College Prep students will be required to read the primary text. CP students also have the option to read one choice from the secondary choice list for extra credit.

Incoming 10^th Grade – “The Hero’s Journey”

Required primary text: Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow.

Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor's dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favorite (logical) detective, Sherlock Holmes. What follows makes for a novel that is funny, poignant and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world entirely literally.

--Goodreads.com

Assignment:

College Prep students must read the required text assigned for their grade. Honors students must read both the required text and one choice from the secondary text list below. While reading, students will take notes in two-column note format (template is attached). Notes will be collected on the first day of school and will be used for an in-class writing assessment during the first week of school.

College Prep students may choose to read a text from the secondary list below to receive extra credit. If the extra credit option is chosen, students should also fill out the set of two-column notes for the secondary text.

Secondary text choices:

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban - Malala Yousafzai

Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman – Jon Krakauer

Monster - Walter Dean Myers

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian – Sherman Alexie

Name__________________________________________ Date____________________

Grade 10 Summer Reading Notes

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Note taking on the summer reading will help you do the following:

● become intimately familiar with the content of the source

● modify your own thoughts on the topic

● create a shortened version of the source material suitable for study

● personalize the information provided in the source by making personal connections; Record your thinking about the content – don’t just copy

● practice note-taking in preparation for note-taking during lectures and presentations as well as during research in all subjects

● practice using abbreviations that allow you to record ideas efficiently

Task:	Reactions:
Describe a character who learns an important truth.	Reactions to this character’s important truth.
Describe the important truth and its importance within the novel.	Reactions to the truth’s importance within the novel.
How does the character persevere and uncover this important truth?	Reactions to the character’s perseverance and the important truth he/she uncovers?
Describe the outcome in the novel based on this character’s realization of an important truth.	Reactions to the outcome of the novel based on the character’s realization of an important truth.
Evidence from the novel. Find 1-3 lines from the text that describe/support the character’s perseverance and realization of an important truth. .	Reaction to this specific evidence.
Evidence from the novel. Find 1-3 lines from the text that describe/support the lesson and outcome of this realization.	Reactions to this specific evidence.