SOUTH COBB 2009-10
Greetings South Cobb families! Below you will find the list of reading selections for the 2009-2010 school
year. Please note that for each grade level course, we suggest students complete at least 2 of the reading
selections. Students in Honors and Advanced Placement courses are expected to read a minimum of 3 books.
RISING 9TH GRADERS
RISING 10TH GRADERS
RISING 11TH GRADERS
RISING 12TH GRADERS
9th Grade Literature
10th Literature and World
Literature
Fiction
- I Know Why the Caged Bird
Sings by Maya Angelou
- Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
or Narcissus and Goldmund by
Hesse
- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest
Hemingway
- Romiette and Julio by Sharon
Draper
- The Color Purple- by Alice
Walker
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet
Stowe
- Cry, the Beloved Country by
Alan Paton
- The Three Theban Plays by
Sophocles
- Native Son by Richard Wright
- Diary of Anne Frank
- Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by
Ishamael Beah
- Kite Runner- (World Lit.
suggestion) by Khaled Hosseini
American Literature
General
Fiction
- The Secret Life of Bees by Sue
Monk Kidd
- Confederacy of Dunces by
John Kennedy Toole
- Their Eyes were Watching
God by Zora Neale Hurston
- Death of a Salesman by Arthur
Miller
- Moby Dick by Herman
Mellville
- Every Time a Rainbow Dies
by Rita Williams-Garcia
- Slam! by Walter Dean Myers
- The Afterlife by Gary Soto
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- Pride & Prejudice by Jane
Austen
Fiction
- Angela's Ashes by Frank
McCourt
- The House on Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros
- Great Expectations by Charles
Dickens
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
(Honors)
- Forged by Fire by Sharon
Draper
- The Battle of Jericho by
Sharon Draper
- The Skin I’m In by Sharon
Flake
- Ironman by Chris Crutcher
- Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
- Jesse by Gary Soto
- Bronx Masquerade by Nikki
Grimes
Non Fiction
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective
Teens by Stephen Covey
- The Seven Pillars of Wisdom
by T.E. Lawrence
- To Be a Slave by Julius Lester
Non Fiction
- Wouldn’t Take Nothin’ for
My Journey Now by Maya
Angelou
- In Search of Our Mothers’
Garden by Alice Walker
- It’s Not About the Bike by
Lance Armstrong
- Daily Newspaper (Current
Events)
Non Fiction
- Daily Newspaper (Current
Events)
- Fast Food Nation by Eric
Schlosser
- African American Troops in
WWII by Alexander Bielowski
- They Tell Me of a Home by
Daniel Black
AP Language and Composition
- Brave New World by Aldous
Huxley
- The Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass: An
American Slave, Written by
Himself (Yale)
- Their Eyes Were Watching
God by Zora Neale Hurston
- Importance of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde
REQUIRED ITEMS FOR THE
COURSE:
- Fast Food Nation: The Dark
Side of the All-American Meal
by Eric Schlosser (with new
afterword),
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel
British Literature
- The Mayor of Casterbridge
by Thomas Hardy
- Tess of the d'Ubervilles by
Thomas Hardy
- David Copperfield by Charles
Dickens
- Beowulf
- Wuthering Heights by Emily
Bronte
- The Canterbury Tales by
Geoffrey Chaucer
- A Tale of Two Cities by
Charles Dickens
- The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde
Multicultural Literature
- Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
- The Chosen by Chaim Potok
- Ceremony by Leslie Marmon
Silko
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel
- Parrot in the Oven by Victor
Martinez
AP Literature
- The Oedipus Trilogy by
Sophocles
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua
Achebe
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Wuthering Heights by Emily
Bronte
Top Ten Project List: One project is required for each reading selection.
Book Summary - Write a summary of the novel from one character’s point-of-view (300-500 words).
Compare/Contrast - Write an essay in which you compare and/or contrast this novel with the film version of this
book OR with a novel by the same or different author (300-500 words).
3. F.Y.I. - Research a topic connected to your novel and create an informational brochure. Be sure to include a
bibliography (found on Cobb County District Website: Research Paper) of where you get your information.
4. Interview - After studying a written interview in a newspaper or magazine, write an interview between you and a
character from the book (two pages).
5. Letter - Compose a letter to the author of the book. Use business letter format and address specifics from the novel
(200-250 words).
6. Newspaper Article - Study a news article to familiarize yourself with the format and write a detailed news article
about an event from the book. Include a heading and the 5 W’s—Who, What, When, Where, and Why.
7. Review - Write a book review of your summer reading selection. Find examples of other book reviews in a
newspaper, magazine, or on-line to use as a template for your work (300-500 words).
8. Storyboard - Create a story board that depicts important scenes from the book as they might be included in a film.
9. Timeline - Place important events from the plot of your summer reading selection on a detailed timeline.
10. X-ray - Look beyond the literal meaning and write an essay about the theme, specific symbolism, imagery, figurative
language, and/or allegory of your summer reading selection (300-500 words).
1.
2.
AP Language
Summer Reading Projects:
*The projects listed below should be completed in place of the projects listed above.
1. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself (Yale)
Project: Keep a journal, summarizing each chapter, and explaining the style, structure, and techniques of the writer. Each entry
should be 2-3 well-developed paragraphs.
2. The Kiterunner by Khaled Hosseini
Project: Keep a journal, summarizing each chapter, and explaining the writer's style, structure, and techniques. Each entry should
be 2-3 well-developed paragraphs.
3. Read 5 speeches of your choice from the "Top 100 Speeches" on the website, AmericanRhetoric.com.
Project: Write several paragraphs, explaining the content and strategies used by each writer/speaker. Then write a 1-2 page typed
essay, explaining which of the 5 speeches was most effective and why (be specific).
4. Read 8 mode essays:
Project: *See the South Cobb website (southcobbhigh.org) in early June for the details of the reading and project.
NOTE: You should wait to purchase other novels for the class, which will be read during the semester, until the school year
starts, and your teacher confirms them.
South Cobb families…here are a few tips to help your child(ren) have a successful summer in reading:

For vocabulary development, ask your child to keep a word log to record unfamiliar and/or interesting words
discovered while reading the book:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

For help with reading comprehension, ask your child to think about the book and talk to you about any, or all, of the
following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Write each word
Using context clues, try to figure out the meaning of the word.
Look up the dictionary definition.
Identify the parts of speech (noun, adjective, verb, etc.).
Write an original sentence with each new word using context clues.
Which character do you like the best and why?
Which character did you like the least and why?
Why did the author use this setting for the story?
What more do you know after reading the story?
What do you feel about what you read?
What else does it make you think about?
What questions do you have for the author?
For other reading tips in addition to these, please visit these websites:
www.readingrockets.org/org/article/385
www.seedsofknowledge.com/reading4.html