BCS Senior School Summer Reading Program Revised spring 2016 Dear Students and Parents, One of the objectives in senior school English is to promote proficiency in analytical writing. In order to accomplish this, one must be able to read analytically. In other words, to write well, one must read good literature. The senior school English department of BCS is headed toward this goal. We initiated this reading program in order to encourage BCS students to acquire a solid foundation in good literature. We believe that reading is the fundamental prerequisite to learning and becoming truly educated and culturally literate. The summer book list for BCS Senior School consists of books that will challenge students mentally while preparing them for higher education. The summer reading program supplements the high school curriculum in order for students to do well on AP exams, CLEP tests, or college English courses. Students entering grades 9 and 10 are required to read three pre-selected books over the summer. For students entering grades 11 and 12, on-level English students will read two books, and AP students will read three books. The required reading list is as follows: Entering 9 th grade: 1. The Pearl by John Steinbeck 2. Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein 3. Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris Entering 10 th grade: 1. The Good Earth by Pearl Buck 2. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 3. Our Town by Thornton Wilder Entering 11 th grade: 1. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass 2. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair 3. **AP: 1776 by David McCullough or Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Entering 12 th grade: 1. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller 2. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe* 3. **AP: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Students are encouraged to take notes in their books as they read, as these notes will help them write the required essays at the beginning of the school year. Comprehension tests will also be taken over the books to determine whether the students read the books and comprehended the main ideas. The average of the comprehension tests and essays will each count as a TEST GRADE. Additionally, students will write an essay at home over one of the summer reading books. This essay is due the first day of school and will count as a test grade. During the first week of school, students will submit their essays to turnitin.com to check for plagiarism, so be sure to save your essay as you will need an electronic copy of it once you receive the log-in information from your teacher. Entering 9 th grade: This essay will be written at home and due the first day of school. Consider the Harris brothers' message in Do Hard Things. Identify three specific pieces of advice that you feel you need to apply to your own life this year. In a five-paragraph essay which utilizes textual evidence in every paragraph, analyze 1. the wisdom of the Harris brothers' advice, 2. how it is different from the wisdom the world offers, 3. the practical steps you plan on taking to act on their advice, 4. and the outcome you predict from the changes you are making.
Also consider any Biblical characters or heroes of the faith who have acted on similar advice. Be sure to connect your ideas to the message and theme the authors are trying to convey to their audience. Entering 10 th grade: This essay will be written at home and due the first day of school. Students will write a five paragraph essay over the following prompt analyzing Our Town: In I Peter 1:24-25, Peter quotes the following words from Isaiah: All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever. Earlier, Solomon had said, There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who have yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow (Ecclesiastes 1:11). Though both passages speak of the brevity of human life, the contexts give a different meaning to the two assertions. Consider the theme of the brevity of human life as it is presented in Thornton Wilder s Our Town. With which passage would the playwright feel more at home? Why? Support your conclusion with an analysis of the passages and specific citations from the play. Avoid plot summary. Entering 11 th grade: This essay will be written at home and due the first day of school. Students will write a three to five page analysis over the following prompt from The Jungle: The title, "The Jungle," is certainly applicable to the story itself. Explain the different ways a jungle relates to the characters, to the setting, and to the events in this story. How is Chicago like a jungle? Do you agree that this title was the best choice? Why or why not? Avoid plot summary. Entering 12 th grade: Students will write a four to six page analysis over the following prompt from Things Fall Apart: Discuss a character s experience of exile in Things Fall Apart. Consider both the positive and negative aspects of the experience, and show how it relates to the author s overall purpose in the work. Avoid plot summary. For students desiring to go above and beyond the minimum requirement, we have provided an expanded list of optional books, and we encourage students to enhance their educational experience through reading this summer. Students who read three additional books (ones the student has not previously read) from the provided supplemental list will earn an OFF CAMPUS LUNCH (the school is not covering the cost of lunch, but providing the opportunity to leave campus for an extended lunch). In order to verify that students have read the additional books, they will are required to write a paragraph analyzing the theme of the text. These paragraphs are due the first day of school. You will also need to submit a copy of these paragraphs to turnitin.com to check for plagiarism. Please prepare by bringing an electronic copy the first week of school. We look forward to seeing you in August. In the meantime, have fun reading! Sincerely, English Department P. S. While most of these books are considered classics, Bethesda Christian School does not wholly endorse everything contained within them. Students and parents are responsible for determining what is or is not appropriate for individual students. Should there be an objection regarding a required book, please contact the English department head promptly, stating the nature of the concern, at jpowers@bcsfw.org.
Bethesda Christian School Senior School Optional Reading List for Summer Reading Adams, Richard, Watership Down Alcott, Louisa May, Little Women Aldrich, Bess Streeter, A Lantern in Her Hand Augustine, Confessions of St. Augustine Austen, Jane, Emma Austen, Jane, Persuasion Bagnold, Enid, National Velvet Baldwin, James, Nobody Knows My Name Barnes, Joyce, Amistad: A Junior Novel Benge, Janet, George Mueller Blackmore, Richard, Lorna Doone Borland, Hal, When Legends Die Bradbury, Ray, Fahrenheit 451 Bradstreet, Anne, The Works of Anne Bradstreet Bronte, Charlotte, Jane Eyre Bronte, Emily, Wuthering Heights Browning, Elizabeth, Sonnets from the Portuguese Carter, Forrest, The Education of Little Tree Cather, Willa, Five Stories Cather, Willa, My Antonia Cervantes, Miguel, Don Quixote de la Mancha Chekov, Anton, Short Stories Chekov, Anton, The Cherry Orchard Christie, Agatha, Murder on the Orient Express Clancy, Tom, Politika Colson, Charles, Born Again Conrad, Joseph, Heart of Darkness Conrad, Joseph, Lord Jim Cooper, James Fennimore, The Deerslayer Cooper, James Fennimore, The Last of the Mohicans Costain, Thomas B., The Silver Chalice Crane, Stephen, The Red Badge of Courage Crichton, Michael, The Andromeda Strain Crichton, Michael, The Lost World de Maurier, Daphene, Rebecca Defoe, Daniel, Robinson Crusoe Dickens, Charles, David Copperfield Dickens, Charles, Hard Times Dickinson, Emily, Poems Dostoevsky, Fyodor, Crime and Punishment Dostoevsky, Fyodor, The Brothers Karamazov Douglas, Lloyd C., The Robe Doyle, Arthur Conan, The Adventures of S. Holmes Dumas, Alexander, The Count of Monte Cristo Dumas, Alexander, The Man in the Iron Mask Dumas, Alexander, The Three Musketeers Edwards, Gene, The Divine Romance Eliot, George, The Mill on the Floss Eliot, T.S., Murder in the Cathedral Elliot, Elisabeth, Passion and Purity Elliot, Elisabeth, Savage My Kinsmen Elliot, Elisabeth, Shadow of the Almighty Elliot, Elisabeth, Through Gates of Splendor Eman, Diet, Things We Couldn t Say Fast, Howard, April Morning Fast, Howard, Citizen Tom Paine Faulkner, William, The Sound and the Fury Forester, E.M., A Passage to India Foxe, John, New Foxe s Book of Martyrs Frank, Anne, The Diary of Anne Frank Franklin, Benjamin, The Autobiography Gaines, Ernest, A Lesson Before Dying Garcia-Marquez, Gabriel, 100 Years of Solitude Golding, William, Lord of the Flies Goldsmith, Oliver, The Vicar of Wakefield Grisham, John, The Street Lawyer Grisham, John, The Testament Haley, Alex, Queen Haley, Alex, Roots Hamilton, Edith, The Greek Way Hansberry, Loraine, A Raisin in the Sun Hardy, Thomas, Return of the Native Hardy, Thomas, Tess of the D Urbervilles Harris, Joshua, Boy Meets Girl Harris, Joshua, I Kissed Dating Goodbye Hawthorne, Nathaniel, House of Seven Gables Hawthorne, Nathaniel, The Blithesdale Romance Henderson, Dee, O Malley Family Series Herriot, James, All Creatures Great and Small Herriot, James, All Things Bright and Beautiful Hersey, John, Hiroshima Hilton, James, Good-bye, Mr. Chips Hilton, James, The Lost Horizon Hugo, Victor, Les Miserables Hugo, Victor, The Hunchback of Notre Dame Hunt, Irene, Across Five Aprils Hunt, Irene, Up a Road Slowly Hurrand, Hannah, Hind s Feet on High Places Ibsen, Henrik, A Doll s House Ibsen, Henrik, An Enemy of the People Irving, Washington, The Sketchbook James, Henry, The Portrait of a Lady Janney, Rebecca Price, Great Women in History Joyce, James, A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man Kafka, Franz, The Metamorphosis Kafka, Franz, The Trial Keith, Harold, Rifles for Watie Keller, Helen, The Story of My Life Kelley, William, Selected Wks. of Washington Irving Kipling, Rudyard, Captains Courageous Kipling, Rudyard, Kim Kipling, Rudyard, Short Stories Kipling, Rudyard, The Light That Failed Knowles, John, A Separate Peace Leman, Kevin, The Real You Lewis, C.S., Mere Christianity Lewis, C.S., Screwtape Letters Lewis, C.S., Surprised by Joy Lewis, Sinclair, Main Street London, Jack, The Call of the Wild London, Jack, The Sea Wolf Longfellow, Henry, Poems: Longfellow MacDonald, George, The Baronet s Song Malory, Sir Thomas, Morte D Arthur Marshall, Catherine, Julie Masters, Edgar Lee, A Spoon River Anthology
Maupassant, Guy de, Short Stories Melville, Herman, Billy Budd Melville, Herman, Moby Dick Melville, Herman, Typee Michner, James, Centennial Michner, James, Hawaii Miller, Arthur, Death of a Salesman Miller, Arthur, The Crucible Milton, John, Paradise Lost Mitchell, Margaret, Gone with the Wind Moliere, Tartuffe Moliere, The Misanthrope Morris, Gilbert, Heart of a Lion Mother Teresa: In My Own Words Munro, H.H., Short Stories of Saki Nee, Watchman, Spiritual Authority Nordhoff, Charles, Mutiny on the Bounty O Neill, Eugene, Emperor Jones Orczy, Baroness, The Scarlet Pimpernel Orwell, George, Animal Farm Orwell, George, Nineteen Eighty-four Packer, J.I., Knowing God Paton, Alan, Cry, the Beloved Country Peretti, Frank, Piercing the Darkness Peretti, Frank, This Present Darkness Phillips, Michael, Angels Watching Over Me Plutarch, Lives of Noble Greeks and Romans Poe, Edgar Allen, Poems Poe, Edgar Allen, Tales Poe, Edgar Allen, The Fall of the House of Usher & Stories Pope, Alexander, The Rape of the Lock Porter, W. S. (O. Henry), Short Stories Potok, Chaim, The Chosen Price, Eugenia, The Georgia Trilogy Rawlings, Majorie, The Yearling Remarque, Enrich, All Quiet on the Western Front Richter, Conrad, Light in the Forest Richter, Conrad, The Town Richter, Contad, The Rawhide Knot & Other Stories Rostand, Edmond, Cyrano de Bergerac Sandburg, Carl, Abraham Lincoln Grows Up Sandburg, Carl, The People Sandoz, Mari, The Story Catcher Scott, Walter, Ivanhoe Shaara, Jeff, Gods and Generals Shaara, Jeff, Rise to Rebellion Shaara, Jeff, The Last Full Measure Shaara, Michael, The Killer Angels Shakespeare, William, A Midsummer Night s Dream Shakespeare, William, As You Like It Shakespeare, William, King Lear Shakespeare, William, Othello Shakespeare, William, The Merchant of Venice Shaw, George Bernard, Major Barbara Shaw, George Bernard, Pygmalion Shelley, Mary, Frankenstein Sienkiewicz, Henryk, Quo Vadis Silkin, John, ed. The Penguin Book of WWI Poetry Smith, Betty, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Sophocles, Oedipus Rex Steinbeck, John, The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck, John, The Pearl Steinbeck, John, The Red Pony Sterne, Laurence, Tristam Shandy Stevenson, Robert, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Stoppard, Tom, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead Stowe, Harriet Beecher, Uncle Tom s Cabin Swift, Jonathan, Gulliver s Travels Taylor, Mildred, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Thoene, Brock, Zion Chronicle Series Thoreau, Henry, Walden Thurber, James, A Thurber Carnival and Others Tolstoy, Leo, Anna Karenina Tolstoy, Leo, War and Peace Twain, Mark, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur s Court Twain, Mark, Life on the Mississippi Twain, Mark, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Updike, John, Rabbit, Run Verne, Jules, Around the World in Eighty Days Verne, Jules, Journey to the Center of the Earth Vidal, Gore, 1876 Wallace, Lew, Ben-Hur Washington, Booker, Up From Slavery Wells, H.G., The Time Machine Wells, H.G., The War of the Worlds Wharton, Edith, Ethan Frome Wick, Lori, English Garden Series Wiesel, Elie, Night Wilde, Oscar, The Importance of Being Earnest Wilder, Thorton, Our Town Wilder, Thorton, The Bridge of San Luis Rey Wilkerson, David, The Cross and the Switchblade Williams, Oscar, A Little Treasury of Great Poetry
Symbolism Chart for The Pearl (entering 9 th grade) Page Number Symbol Textual Evidence (Concrete Detail) Analysis of Symbol (What does the symbol mean? Has the meaning changed?)