June 2013
Dear English 9 Honors Student,
Welcome to the high school! I am looking forward to working with you next year and would
like you to know a few things about me and the expectations for English 9 Honors.
I have been teaching with Marshall Public Schools since 1992. I was an eighth grade
language arts teacher at the middle school for twelve years and then was a counselor at
Marshall Middle School, Gordon Elementary, and the Calhoun County Juvenile Home School
for four years. In 2007, I came to Marshall High School as an English teacher and have taught
ninth grade English since then.
I have two children who attend Marshall High School, Allison and Riley. If you ask them, they
will tell you that I spend a lot of time preparing for my class and reading students’ papers, and I
expect students in the honors class to invest their best effort into their work, as well. English 9
Honors will provide you with a good foundation for the rest of your English classes throughout
your high school years; therefore, it is important to gain as much as you can from this
experience. You can expect to grow as a writer and as a reader.
Assignments are due on time! If I collect something and you do not have yours with you in
class, it is late. You have until the next class period to turn in a late assignment, but it will be
counted as a late grade. Keeping track of deadlines is important. Previous freshmen have
told me that one of the most difficult adjustments to high school was the pressure they felt
because everything “means more” as grades count towards the future. Their best advice to
combat this pressure is to not get behind and ask for help in seminar if you need it or if you
have to be absent.
In order to prepare for the expectations of Honors English, you will have a reading assignment
over the summer. One goal of English Honors courses in high school is to help you become
more proficient readers as you move toward the more difficult texts and longer reading
assignments that you will encounter in college. Your summer reading assignment is the first
step toward this goal. The assignment is graded and is expected to be turned in on the
first day of class.
If you have any questions on your book selections or the assignment, you can e-mail me at
lbrownell@marshallpublicschools.org
See you in September!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Laura Brownell
English 9Honors teacher
SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT
You will be selecting TWO of your own novels to read over the summer and creating a book talk for
each (see below).
Requirements for novels:
 Fiction or non-fiction
 Something you will enjoy reading
 High school reading level or higher
Book Talk
For each novel, you will be preparing a “book talk.” You will eventually be presenting this
book talk, and you need to have a typed copy to turn in on the first day of school. The book
talk should have the following parts:
 Any helpful background information on the book/author
 A brief summary of the book that just gives the premise of the book without
giving the whole plot away.
 The BIG IDEA of the book (What question is the book trying to answer?)
 A passage that supports the big idea, is a favorite of yours, or seems to be
poignant or significant
BOOK TALKS SHOULD BE YOUR OWN WORK BASED ON YOUR READING OF THE BOOK
(background information on the book/author is the exception—please cite sources for
background information).
Reading Level
In order to determine if a book is the appropriate reading level, you can go online to a book
seller like Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Type the title of the book into the search bar and
you will see a page with a professional review of the book and facts about the book such as
length, date of publication, and suggested reading level.
Often the book review will have a suggested reading level, especially if the review is from
the Library Journal. “Young Adult” is an appropriate level for high school students as would
be an “8th grade or up” or “9-12 grade” rating.
If a book is not given a reading level, it is most likely considered an adult level book, and
you should do some further research to see if it is a good match for you.
Many times on the Amazon site, there are book reviews from customers that may be helpful.
You could also try searching the book at a site like Goodreads and look at the community
reviews.
PLEASE NOTE: Since you are self-selecting these books, it is your responsibility to
make sure that you choose a book that both you and your parents are comfortable with
you reading.
www.mrsbsweebly.weebly.com
A place where you can find a podcast on how to research your book and book level as well
as find a sample book talk (look under SUMMER READING)
On this website, you will also find a blog called “Summer Reading Blog.” Please feel free to
leave questions here as well as let me know what you are reading for your assignment.
SOME SUGGESTED TITLES/AUTHORS (Feel free to select something NOT on the list!)
(FYI—as a class this year we may be reading Tuesdays with Morrie, The Pearl, To Kill a
Mockingbird, and Romeo and Juliet so please do not include these in your self-selected novels).
Check out this website:
Outstanding Books for the College Bound from the Young Adult Library Service Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/outstandingbooks/outstandingbooks.cfm
Books by Mitch Albom (not Tuesdays with Morrie)
Books by Laurie Halse Anderson
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins
Acceleration by Graham McNamee
Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer
Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
Death Be Not Proud by John Gunter
Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
It’s Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Tears of a Tiger Trilogy by Sharon Draper
The Bean Trees, Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kinsglover
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
This Boy’s Life: A Memoir by Tobias Wolff
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell
The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
The Last Shot: City Streets Basketball Dreams by Darcy Frey
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
Tunes for Bears to Dance To by Robert Cormier
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech