Northwest High School
2015 Incoming 9th Grade Students
Summer Reading Assignment
(Instructions & Reading Response Chart are posted on the NWHS website for downloading)
ON-LEVEL: Incoming 9th grade students: Choose 2 current event articles. These could be from the newspaper or on-line.
Each article must be at least 500 words and should be about a topic of your choice (no sports, fashion, or
entertainment). For each article, complete the Interrogating an Article capture sheet. Additionally, there is a list of
suggested reading in the packet and on the website. Please select one of the novels to read at your leisure. The entire
summer reading assignment is due by the second day of school and will be submitted to your English teacher. The
summer reading assignment will not be accepted after the 2nd day of class (Tuesday, September 1, 2015).
HONORS: Incoming 9th grade students: Choose 2 current event articles. These could be from the newspaper or on-line.
Each article must be at least 500 words and should be about a topic of your choice (no sports, fashion, or
entertainment). For each article, complete the Interrogating an Article capture sheet. Additionally, you must select one
of the novels from the list of suggested reading available in the packet and on the website. For that novel, you must
complete the Summer Reading Response Chart. The entire summer reading assignment is due by the second day of
school and will be submitted to your English teacher. The summer reading assignment will not be accepted after the
2nd day of class (Tuesday, September 1, 2015).
Helpful Hints for choosing the right book for you:
On the internet- type in http://www.amazon.com/
1) Select BOOKS on the drop down menu
2) Type in the full title of the book
3) Click search
4) Scroll down to find a review and/or summary of the book
Northwest High School
Suggested 9th Grade Summer Reading List
April Morning by Howard Fast
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Hiroshima by John Hershey
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
My Antonía by Willa Cather
The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor by Gabriel
Garcia Marquez
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by
Ernest J. Gaines
The Honorable Prison by Lyll Becerra de Jenkins
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
Waiting for the Rain by Sheila Gordon
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson
McCullers
Sunrise over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers
Betsey Brown by Ntozake Shange
Cut by Patricia McCormick
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephan Crane
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Black and White by Paul Volponi
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
Silas Marner by George Eliot
When the Legends Die by Hal Borland
Buried Onions by Gary Soto
Emma by Jane Austen
The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
Wish You Well by David Baldacci
Children of the River by Linda Crew
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Working by Studs Terkel
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Yoruba Girl Dancing by Simi Bedford
Graphic Novels:
Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks
47 Ronin by Sean Michael Wilson
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
: The Graphic Novel by Ransom Riggs
Eye of the World: Graphic Novel Volume
One by Robert Jordan
Good Neighbors. Book One by Holly Black
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
NAME:___________________________
9th Grade Summer Reading Interrogating an Article Capture Sheet
Complete two charts, one for each article. (Honors and On-Level)
Author’s Perspective
What is the
subject?
Your Perspective
What do you know about subject?
What is
the author’s
opinion (claim)
about the subject?
What is your opinion about the subject?
Who is the
intended
audience?
Why are you reading this?
Why is this
important to the
author?
How is this important to you?
What are three
pieces of
evidence that
support the
author’s opinion
(claim)?
Quote
1.
2.
3.
Paraphrase
Source Information for Article Capture Sheet
Gather necessary information for bibliographical fields:
Author: Last name:_________________________________First Name:__________________________
Article title:________________________________________________
Title of Source (magazine, newspaper, journal, etc…):_______________________________________________
Title of Database/Website:_________________________________
Publisher of Website/Database: ____________________________________
Date published:________________page #: __________________issue or section?_____________
Most recent date of access:______________________ Website address:________________________________________________
Now, put the above information into MLA format:
Last name, First. “Title of article.” Title of Newspaper or Website or Journal (original source). Original date published: section or issue. page number. Title of
Database. Publisher. Web/Print. Date of access. (example: 20 Sept. 2011= format).
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Parenthetical Citation: ______________________________________________________________________________
Example: ( Last Name Page #)
Adapted by Catherine Elliott, Instructional Technology Specialist, OCTO, MCPS
Adapted from Brazilian Rain Forest. Permission granted from The Critical Thinking Consortium for use by Alberta teachers.(REVISED On Level Team
3.25.2014)
2015 Summer Reading Response Chart / 9 Honors
Name____________________________________________
Grade___________
Date Completed ______________
Title of Chosen Book__________________________________________
Author__________________________________
Directions: After reading the book, fill in each box with the appropriate responses.
Selection of text
Discuss why you selected this
particular text.
Favorite and Least Favorite Characters Favorite Character :
Identify your favorite and least
favorite character.
Include a one-word description of each One Word Description:
that reveals his/her characterization.
Choose a word that describes their
What do you like?
character/personality, such as
ambitious, fearless, depressed, etc. (Do
not use physical descriptions.)
Explain what you like/dislike
about each character.
Quotes
Provide two of your favorite lines from
the book.
Quote #1
Explain why they are your favorites.
Explanation:
Quote #2
Explanation:
If you could change the title of this
book, what would it be?
Why?
What is the author’s message to the
reader?
(Think about theme when answering
this question)
Do you appreciate the way the story
ends?
Yes/No? Explain.
Would you recommend this book to
others to read?
Yes/No? Why/why not?
Least Favorite Character:
One Word Description:
What do you dislike?