Honors English 11 | Summer Reading Assignment
2015-2016
You will need three books for the start of the 2015-2016 school year, two which are required for
everyone and the third will be your choice.
Required
1. How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
Just read the Introduction and the chapters “Geography Matters” and “It’s More Than Just Rain or
Snow.” Be prepared to write about the significance of these chapters, what Foster is saying and why
it is important to think about these things when we read – this will also be on your summer reading
test. This book will be a resource throughout the school year, so you will need to have a copy you
can keep.
2. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
You should read and take notes, annotate, mark passages, keep a reading journal, etc. While I will
not be grading your notes, I will be giving you a reading test within the first week of school and you
will be writing a paper about this book. Your school year will start much more smoothly if you read
this book and write about it in such a way that you will further your own understanding and
remember what you read.
As you read, if you try to connect Foster’s book to O’Brien’s and take notes on that connection, you
will have an enviable head start to your first paper.
Reader’s Choice
Over the summer, you should choose something you want to read, something that interests you,
makes you turn the pages and look for other books just like it when you’re finished. There are times
when we must study something as we read, really understanding the writing, themes, allusions,
symbolism, etc., but there are other times when we should just read for the fun of it.
Some of you, I know, admit to not being much of a reader. However, it truly does pay to read: people
who read more score higher on standardized tests such as the ACT and statistics have also shown
that those who read because they want to (not because it was assigned) tend to make more money
in their lifetime than those who don’t.
There are, of course, a few requirements.
1. The book you choose should be appropriate for your reading level – no, you cannot read
Green Eggs and Ham and have that count. If you have questions about what is appropriate
for your reading/age level, please see me.
2. You can read fiction or nonfiction, but I do want there to be at least 125 pages in the book.
(If you’re reading an e-book, just look up the page numbers on Amazon and make sure it
meets the requirement.)
3. Please read a book you haven’t already read.
Because of popularity and recent movies, the only books you aren’t allowed to read for this
assignment are The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, The
Hunger Games series by Sharon Collins, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, any of James Dashner’s
The Maze Runner series books, and the books from the Divergent series by Veronica Roth.
Over the summer, I also have a list of books I will be reading. I know I want to read Ready Player
One by Ernest Cline, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, The Winter Family by Clifford Jackman,
Live From New York by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales, and The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan
in addition to anything else I run across. I will be doing book talks on all of these titles when we get
back to school in August.
Speaking of book talks – that will be your assignment for this self-chosen book. Book talks will
begin the first week of school. Your book talk should include the following:
1. The title and author of the book
2. A visual. Ideally, you will have the book in class with you. If you don’t have a copy of the
book because you got it from the library or it is on your Kindle, etc., you should provide a
visual that includes the cover or other artwork or images related to the text.
3. A summary/overview of the book and characters. Keep in mind - we want absolutely NO
spoilers. Don’t give away any major plot points. Just tell us about some of the characters,
what the story is about, etc. Just think of a movie trailer – give us some of the basics, a feel
for the story, but don’t give us so much information that we don’t need to read it.
4. A passage. You will read us a passage from the book. This could be from the beginning,
from an exciting part of the book, a great description of something, etc. The passage should
pique our interest, but not include any spoilers.
5. Themes/essential questions. Tell us what this book deals with (e.g., life after death, what
happens when you make bad decisions, etc.).
6. Other related books/stories/movies. Does this book deal with any of the same issues that
another book or movie deals with? If so, let us know by saying something like, “If you watch
The Walking Dead, you will like the book I read, World War Z. They both deal with how
people cope with the zombie apocalypse and both try to imagine how the real world would
react.
7. Be prepared to answer questions. I may ask you to answer questions about the book you
read, and I will give the other students in the classroom the opportunity to ask questions as
well.
The book talk will be worth 50 points.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me over the summer at
foster_l@betheltate.org. Please also sign up for my Remind messages by either texting the code
@LFHONORS to 81010 or e-mailing LFHONORS@MAIL.REMIND.COM. If you send an e-mail, you
do not need to put anything in the subject or body of the e-mail. I will send you reminders and
announcements throughout the school year by using the Remind app.
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!