Incoming 10th Grade Summer Reading
Assignment
Directions: Choose ONE of the following options
Option 1
After reading one of the books from the attached list, choose one of the prompts
below. Compose an essay using the ITAC format that fully addresses the prompt.
(See attached graphic organizer and scoring guide.)
1. Works of literature often feature characters who overcome hardship and
misfortune. From a work of literature, select a character who overcomes hardship
and misfortune. In a well developed composition, explain how the character
overcomes adversity and why this success is important to the work of literature.
2. In literature as in life, people can make choices and must live with the
consequences of those choices. From a work of literature, select one character
who makes a choice. In a well developed composition, identify the character’s
choice and explain what happens as a result of this choice.
3. Often in works of literature, a character learns or discovers something that
changes his or her life. From a work of literature, select a character who learns or
discovers something that changes his or her life. In a well developed composition,
identify the character, describe what the character learns or discovers and explain
how the discovery relates to the work as a whole.
Option 2
All Sophomores are required to take either the PSAT or the ASVAB tests. Research the PSAT
and the ASVAB test options for your future. Follow the instructions on the attached powerpoint
document to create a presentation of approximately 2-3 minutes in one of the
media choices listed.
Book List
All plot summaries taken from Amazon.com
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: Mark Haddon
Mark Haddon's bitterly funny debut novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime, is a murder mystery of sorts--one told by an autistic version of Adrian Mole. Fifteenyear-old Christopher John Francis Boone is mathematically gifted and socially hopeless,
raised in a working-class home by parents who can barely cope with their child's quirks.
He takes everything that he sees (or is told) at face value, and is unable to sort out the
strange behavior of his elders and peers.
Late one night, Christopher comes across his neighbor's poodle, Wellington, impaled on a
garden fork. Wellington's owner finds him cradling her dead dog in his arms, and has him arrested. After spending
a night in jail, Christopher resolves--against the objection of his father and neighbors--to discover just who has
murdered Wellington. He is encouraged by Siobhan, a social worker at his school, to write a book about his
investigations, and the result--quirkily illustrated, with each chapter given its own prime number--is The Curious
Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Maus, a graphic novel: Art Spiegelman
YA Told with chilling realism in an unusual comic-book format, this is more than a tale of
surviving the Holocaust. Spiegelman relates the effect of those events on the survivors' later
years and upon the lives of the following generation. Each scene opens at the elder
Spiegelman's home in Rego Park, N.Y. Art, who was born after the war, is visiting his
father, Vladek, to record his experiences in Nazi-occupied Poland. The Nazis, portrayed as
cats, gradually introduce increasingly repressive measures, until the Jews, drawn as mice,
are systematically hunted and herded toward the Final Solution. Vladek saves himself and
his wife by a combination of luck and wits, all the time enduring the torment of hunted
outcast. The other theme of this book is Art's troubled adjustment to life as he, too, bears the burden of his parents'
experiences. This is a complex book. It relates events which young adults, as the future architects of society, must
confront, and their interest is sure to be caught by the skillful graphics and suspenseful unfolding of the story.
Basketball Junkie: Chris Herren
In this blunt, self-deprecating memoir, Herren tells his story as one of the greatest high school
athletes to come out of southern New England. Fall River, Mass., has a storied basketball
tradition, and Herren's achievements on the court made him a local hero as well as bringing
him to the attention of national recruiters and Sports Illustrated. Overwhelmed by expectations,
Herren avoided school and abused drugs and alcohol. Although Herren managed to make it to
the NBA, his life continued to spin out of control until he OD'd in his car and was found unconscious with a bag of
heroin on the seat beside him. Herren offers explanations for his downfall but doesn't make excuses. Neither does he
glorify the partying and excess that made his life a blur. What he does achieve is something more valuable: giving a
stark portrayal of the surreal existence led by young sports stars in a world of rapacious agents, vicious rivals,
oblivious fans, and educational institutions that enable their "student" athletes to get away with almost anything. In
the end, this is a sobering, cautionary tale for star-athletes-to-be.
The Hunger Games Trilogy (pick a book): Suzanne Collins
In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought,
fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12
districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The
Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are
broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all
citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district's female
representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker
who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger
representatives who have trained for this their whole lives.
The Book-Thief: Markus Zusak
Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers.
Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is
taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class
neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living
by the work of their hands. The child arrives having just stolen her first book–although she
has not yet learned how to read–and her foster father uses it, The Gravediggers Handbook, to
lull her to sleep when shes roused by regular nightmares about her younger brothers death. Across the ensuing
years of the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Liesel collects more stolen books as well as a peculiar set of friends: the
boy Rudy, the Jewish refugee Max, the mayors reclusive wife (who has a whole library from which she allows Liesel
to steal), and especially her foster parents..
Speak: Laurie Anderson
Laurie Halse Anderson's award-winning, highly acclaimed, and controversial novel about a
teenager who chooses not to speak rather than to give voice to what really happened to her
marks ten years in print with this special anniversary edition. Bonus material created for this
edition includes a new introduction and afterword from the author, resources, and discussion
guide. Will also include a preview of Anderson's newest book, Wintergirls. The quintessential
edition for all fans of this powerfully moving book.
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she
quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop
worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life like the staggering degree
of her poverty, the weight of her family's future resting on her shoulders, or her secret love for a
factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition. Kimberly learns to constantly translate
not just her language but herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles.
I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Ali Nujood (Nonfiction)
“I’m a simple village girl who has always obeyed the orders of my father and brothers.
Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today I have decided to say no.”
Forced by her father to marry a man three times her age, young Nujood Ali was sent
away from her parents and beloved sisters and made to live with her husband and his
family in an isolated village in rural Yemen. There she suffered daily from physical and
emotional abuse by her mother-in-law and nightly at the rough hands of her spouse.
When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago (Nonfiction).
Esmeralda Santiago's story begins in rural Puerto Rico, where her childhood was full of both
tenderness and domestic strife, tropical sounds and sights as well as poverty. Growing up, she
learned the proper way to eat a guava, the sound of tree frogs in the mango groves at night,
the taste of the delectable sausage called morcilla, and the formula for ushering a dead
baby's soul to heaven. As she enters school we see the clash, both hilarious and fierce, of
Puerto Rican and Yankee culture. When her mother, Mami, a force of nature, takes off to New
York with her seven, soon to be eleven children, Esmeralda, the oldest, must learn new rules, a new language, and
eventually take on a new identity.
The Boy in Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being
packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their
home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall
fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange
people he can see in the distance. But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there
must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new
environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting
results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.
That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton
Ever since Mark's parents died, he has been living with Bryon. The boys are more like
brothers than mere friends. They've been inseparable--until recently. Something seems to be
changing between them, and Bryon can't figure it out. Is it Cathy, Bryon's new girlfriend?
Is Mark jealous? Bryon is also tired of y-James knows he is a tough teen, but he wants to be
even tougher, just like his older brother, the Motorcycle Boy. He wants to stay calm and
laugh when things get dangerous, to be the strongest streetfighter and the most respected
guy this side of the river.
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Does Jerry Renault dare to disturb the universe? You wouldn't think that his refusal to sell
chocolates during his school's fundraiser would create such a stir, but it does; it's as if the
whole school comes apart at the seams. To some, Jerry is a hero, but to others, he becomes a
scapegoat--a target for their pent-up hatred. And Jerry? He's just trying to stand up for what
he believes, but perhaps there is no way for him to escape becoming a pawn in this game of
control; students are pitted against other students, fighting for honor--or are they fighting for
their lives?
Heroes by Robert Cormier
Francis Joseph Cassavant is eighteen. He has just returned home from the Second World
War, and he has no face. He does have a gun and a mission: to murder his childhood hero.
Francis lost most of his face when he fell on a grenade in France. He received the Silver Star
for bravery, but was it really an act of heroism? Now, having survived, he is looking for a
man he once admired and respected, a man adored by many people, a man who also received
a Silver Star for bravery. A man who destroyed Francis's life.
English Language Arts Composition Scoring Guide
Topic/Idea Development
Score
Description
6



Rich topic/idea development
Careful and/or subtle organization
Effective/rich use of language
5




Full topic/idea development
Logical organization
Strong details
Appropriate use of language
4



Moderate topic/idea development and organization
Adequate, relevant details
Some variety in language
3

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
Rudimentary topic/idea development and/or organization
Basic supporting details
Simplistic language
2

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Limited or weak topic/idea development, organization, and/or details
Limited awareness of audience and/or task
1


Little topic/idea development, organization, and/or details
Little or no awareness of audience and/or task
Standard English Conventions
Score
Description
Control of sentence structure, grammar and usage, and mechanics (length and
complexity of essay provide opportunity for student to show control of standard
English conventions)
4

3


Errors do not interfere with communication and/or
Few errors relative to length of essay or complexity of sentence structure, grammar
and usage, and mechanics
2


Errors interfere somewhat with communication and/or
Too many errors relative to the length of the essay or complexity of sentence
structure, grammar and usage, and mechanics
1


Errors seriously interfere with communication AND
Little control of sentence structure, grammar and usage, and mechanics
_______/10
Total Score = Topic/Idea Development + English Conventions
ITAC Graphic Organizer:
Introduction: Talk about the prompt.
At the end of the paragraph, introduce the story and character you are writing about. This
is your thesis statement
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Talk about the story: Summarize the story you are writing about
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Answer the question: Address the prompt. For this story you are writing about what?
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Conclusion: Restate your thesis. Make a connection to the text. Relate the prompt to
yourself, the world, or another book. Wrap it all up!
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