10th Grade English Language Arts Summer Reading Assignment:
Incoming 10th Grade – 2015-16
All students entering the tenth grade are required to read one ELA book from the list
below (summaries on back), draft an outline, complete the writing assignment, and
submit the outline and typed essay on the first day of classes. The assignment
will count as your first ELA project grade of the semester. These books are all
available through local libraries, bookstores and through online book vendors.
Writing Assignment - Write a literary analysis essay that answers one of the
following questions. Your answer to the question will be your Thesis Argument. DO
NOT simply summarize what happens in the book. Make sure to analyze the book
through selecting and explaining evidence to support your Thesis Argument.
Essay Question Options:
1. Characterization: The protagonist is the main character in a work of literature who
often changes in some important way by the end of the work. In your book, identify and
describe three ways the protagonist changes. Explain why these changes are important
in the story.
2. Conflict: In every story, the protagonist faces and must cope with or overcome
conflicts. Common types of conflicts are character vs. character, character vs. self,
character vs. society or character vs. nature. In your book, identify and describe three
major conflicts. Explain why these conflicts are important in the story. Note: The
conflicts you identify may be the same type of conflict.
3. Theme: In all books, the author wants to convey certain messages to the reader. These
are the themes of the novel, and they usually are developed through the characters and
the conflicts they face within the text. Write an essay in which you identify and explain
three themes in your book. In other words, what are the major messages that the author
is trying to convey through his/her storyline? Note: DO NOT write one word themes,
such as family, religion, childhood. INSTEAD, write a phrase that explains the topic of
your theme, such as: dangers of dictatorships; gender roles can be challenged, etc.
Essay Checklist:
Overall
__You MUST create an OUTLINE for your essay and hand it in with your essay.
__Your essay must be 2 ½ -3 pages long, double spaced with 12-point Times New
Roman font.
__Proofread and spell-check your work for correct conventions - punctuation,
capitalization, spelling and grammar (reading it ALOUD often helps to catch errors)
Introduction:
__Introduce the title of the book (italicized) and the author’s first and last name
capitalized.
__Introduce information relevant to your thesis argument (ex. setting, characters, key
plot points).
__All essays must have a clearly articulated Thesis Argument answering the chosen
question.
Body Paragraphs (at least three):
__Clear Topic Sentence is a Supporting Argument for the overall Thesis Argument
__Textual evidence should be both paraphrased and in the form of direct quotes.
__Use at least one quote per body paragraph.
__Evidence is introduced, explained and analyzed.
__Concluding Sentence finalizes the argument.
Conclusion:
__Re-states the Thesis Argument in new words.
__Summarizes the Supporting Arguments.
__Finalizes the Thesis Argument.
__Connects the Thesis Argument to the larger world.
Book Summaries – 10th Grade
10th Grade centers on world literature. Over the course of the year, we will discuss
writing from around the world, and understand how these global perspectives reflect
universal themes. The books listed below are written by diverse authors and are set in
locations around the world. They offer a taste of the reading that we will cover in the
coming school year.
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah (229 pages
and 920 Lexile) - This gripping true story is about a boy growing up in Sierra Leone in
the 1990s during one of the most brutal and violent civil wars in recent history. Beah
was a typical precocious 12-year-old, into hip hop and fun. After his home was attacked
by rebel forces, he was recruited by the national army and made a full soldier. This book
describes his journey.
Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman (256 pages and 750 Lexile)
In 1941, 15-year-old Vidya's life in Bombay stands in direct contrast to that of her
relatives in Madras for whom the traditional path of an arranged marriage, babies, and a
life of serving a husband is not only expected but is also considered a girl's only proper
option. Turmoil is raging within Colonial India's borders as many view their British
occupation negatively, holding protest rallies. The teen's idyllic life changes in an
instant when he is beaten by the British police and suffers extensive brain damage. This
is a poignant look at a young woman's vigilance to break from expectations and create
her own destiny amid a country's struggle for independence.
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (256 pages and 1030 Lexile) - A
romantic and magical novel set on a ranch in turn-of-the-century Mexico. Tita is in love
with Pedro, but her mother declares that as the youngest daughter, she cannot marry.
Following tradition, she is supposed to care for her mother. Unable to freely express her
love, Tita infuses her emotions into her wondrous cooking which has powerful and
surprising effects on those who eat it.
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (352 pages and 910 Lexile)
This novel is based on the lives of the four Mirabal sisters (code name: "Mariposas,"
butterflies), three of whom were martyred in 1960 during the liberation of the
Dominican Republic from the dictator Trujillo. Through the surviving sister, Dede, as
well as memories of Minerva, Patria, and Maria Teresa, we discover the compelling
forces behind each sister's role in the struggle for freedom. Though murder, torture,
and imprisonment are ever-present, Alvarez wisely chooses to focus on the personal
lives of these young wives and mothers, full of love, beauty, and, especially, hope.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (372 pages and 840 Lexile) – The story
follows Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son
of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early
1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend days running kites and telling stories of
mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of
their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could
have ever predicted.
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane (368 pages and 1040 Lexile)
Mark Mathabane was weaned on devastating poverty and schooled in the cruel streets of
South Africa's most desperate ghetto, where bloody gang wars and midnight police raids
were his rites of passage. Like every other child born in the hopelessness of apartheid,
he learned to measure his life in days, not years. Yet Mark Mathabane, armed only with
the courage of his family and a hard-won education, raised himself up from the squalor
and humiliation to win a scholarship to an American university.