G.W. Hewlett High School
English Department
Summer Reading 2013
For Students Entering Grade 9
9R: Select and read one or more of the books on the list below. On the first day of school in September, you will be asked to discuss the books in your English class with your teacher. You will need to be prepared to talk about the characters in the book, the decisions those characters make, and how those decisions affect characters and events. After teacher-directed discussions, there will be a writing assignment given in class.
9H: Select and one or more of the books on the list below. On the first day of school in September, you will be asked to discuss the books in your English class with your teacher. You will need to be prepared to talk about the characters in the book, the decisions those characters make, and how those decisions affect characters and events. After teacher-directed discussions, there will be a writing assignment given in class.
Both 9R and 9H: With an increased emphasis on non-fiction reading in the Common Core State
Standards, all students will be required to read three New York Times articles and complete a S.O.A.P.S. response (directions on page 2). The articles must accompany the written responses. Articles from the
New York Times can be accessed from the high school’s ProQuest database and from the Woodmere Public Library.
A Home on the Field by Paul Cuadros
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
Falling Through the Earth: A Memoir by Danielle Trussoni
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Iliad by Homer
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Parents, please note: Works of literature may contain mature language or content. However, these works have been recommended based on their literary merit and relevant themes. These selections have been included in summer reading assignments in well-regarded school districts across Long Island.
Parents may wish to assist their children in making an appropriate selection. Students may confer with their current teacher in making a selection.
1

Directions for Completing a S.O.A.P.S. Response
Students need to recognize that any good composition, whether written, spoken, or drawn, is carefully planned. This composition has integral parts that work together in a complex and subtle arrangement to produce meaning. Originally conceived as a method for dissecting the work of professional writers,
SOAPSTone provides a concrete strategy to help students identify and use these central components as a basis for their own writing.
SOAPSTone (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, Tone) is a strategy offered by the College
Board for Pre-AP and AP students. S.O.A.P.S. is an acronym for a series of questions that students must first ask themselves, and then answer, as they analyze an essay, or plan to write their own.
Who is the Speaker?
The voice that tells the story
What is the Occasion?
The time and the place of the piece; the context that prompted the writing: Writing does not occur in a vacuum. All writers are influenced by the larger occasion: an environment of ideas, attitudes, and emotions that swirl around a broad issue. Then there is the immediate occasion: an event or situation that catches the writer's attention and triggers a response.
Who is the Audience?
The group of readers to whom this piece is directed: Determine who the audience is that the writer intended to address. It may be one person or a specific group. This choice of audience affects how and why writers write a particular text.
What is the Purpose?
The reason behind the text: Students need to consider the purpose of the text in order to identify the thesis or the argument and its logic. Ask yourself, "What did the writer want the audience to think or do as a result of reading the text?"
What is the Subject?
State the subject in a few words or phrases.
What is the Tone?
The attitude of the author: The spoken word can convey the speaker's attitude and thus help to impart meaning through tone of voice. With the written word, it is tone that extends meaning beyond the literal, and students must learn to convey this tone in their diction (choice of words), syntax (sentence construction), and imagery (metaphors, similes, and other types of figurative language). The ability to manage tone is one of the best indicators of a sophisticated writer.
2