CORAL SHORES HIGH SCHOOL
2012-2013 READING LIST and EXPECTATIONS
Summer Reading Expectations for Regular English Classes
The purpose of summer reading for students in regular English classes, is to sustain or improve their
reading level through the free choice of novels. Below is a book list for each grade level, over the
summer every student is REQUIRED to read one book from the list of the English class (s)he will be
entering in August. Reading responses are required and questions to direct the answers of those
responses can be found on page 3 of this handout. Also, if you have taken an Accelerated Reading
test on ANY of these books, please do not to read that book again.
READING LISTS for Regular English Classes
English I
Choose one:
1. Thirteen Reasons Why – Jay Asher
2. Unwind - Neal Shusterman
3. Bruiser - Neal Shusterman
4. Three Little Words - Ashley Rhodes Courter
5. The Five People You Meet in Heaven – Mitch Albom
English II
Choose one:
1. Long Way Gone – Ishmael Beah
2. If I Should Die Before I Wake – Han Nolan
3. House of Scorpion – Nancy Farmer
4. She Said Yes – Misty Burnell
5. 19 Minutes – Jodi Picoult
English III
Choose one:
1. Tuesdays with Morrie – Mitch Albom
2. Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer
3. Black Like Me - John Griffin
4. Farenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
5. House Rules – Jodi Picoult
English IV
Choose one:
1. And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie
2. High Fidelity – Nick Hornby
3. Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
4. Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess
Summer Reading Expectations for
Honors and Advanced Placement Classes
The purpose of summer reading for students in honors or advanced placement classes is to expose
them to various genres of literature which will help to facilitate classroom discussions and analyses
throughout the course of the year. By doing so, this will help create a broad base of literary knowledge
which is necessary when taking either of the Advanced Placement tests. Listed below are the
required readings for each grade level. Students in English I and II Honors will read the book listed,
students in Advanced Placement classes will read both books listed. ALL students are expected to
arrive on the first day of school having read the books for the English class they are enrolled in.
Students will be expected to think, analyze and write about what they are reading and the format for
those written responses are on the next page. All reading lists and forms can be found on the Coral
Shores web page along with a hyperlink to the Coral Shores Literary Terms.
English I Honors
1. Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Sallinger
English II Honors
1. Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
Advanced Placement Language and Composition
1. How to Read Literature Like a Professor – Thomas C. Foster**
2. In Cold Blood – Truman Capote
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition
1. The Awakening – Kate Chopin
2. Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
** AP Language and Composition students should read Foster’s book first and then apply that
knowledge when reading In Cold Blood. A dialectical journal and book cover should be created for this
book as well.
ENGLISH I AND II Honors and I-IV Regular
SUMMER READING NOVEL ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
There are four basic components of the novel -Setting:
details of place and time; atmosphere and mood the course of action including conflict and climax
Plot:
the story; tells what is happening in the novel such as events and experiences of the characters
Character:
person's behavior and developed personality
Theme:
author's message; point of view about human values implied by the action but not directly stated
supported by the setting and characters
Each component feeds or supports the other three to create a unified whole. These components are
skillfully interwoven by the author. They all work around and support the concepts of protagonist (main
character), conflict involving the protagonist (part of the plot which helps carry the theme), and
opposing forces (inside and outside the protagonist also support the theme). At one point, the conflict
in the novel reaches a climax and the story soon ends.
The study of the novel also includes understanding the structure and development of the novel, the
author's style and use of language, and literary devices apparent in the novel such as symbolism.
FOR ALL regular English classes (I-IV)– Record the pages you read at each level, and answer one
question for each level. Type or neatly write your answers and use complete sentences. Remember,
more is better.
FOR ENGLISH I AND II HONORS – answer each question at each level. Type or neatly write your
answers in a notebook that you will turn in at the beginning of the school year.
Level 1 Questions (for the early chapters of the book)
1. What is the time and place of the book? What evidence in the book tells you this?
2. Name and describe the main character in the book. Describe him/her physically and describe
his/her personality and history, if known. Then give your impression of him/her.
3. Name and describe a minor character. Describe her/him physically and describe her/his
personality and history, if known. Explain how s/he is important to the story and the ideas of
the book.
4. Describe the nature of the relationship between two characters. Include their history together
and details of their relationship. Explain the significance of their relationship to the book.
5. Describe one important event in the book and explain why it is significant to the story (to the
plot, the characters, and to the ideas of the book).
6. Explain one specific aspect of the culture described in the book. Tell how it compares to a
specific culture you are familiar with.
7. What are your feelings and thoughts about the novel based on one or more specific things you
have read?
8. Find one specific idea, event, or behavior in the book that relates to real life. Explain the
relationship you see.
Level 2 Questions (for the middle chapters of the book)
1. If the time or place switches around during the book, explain how and give examples.
How does this switching serve the story?
2. What is the general feeling or mood of the book? Give specific examples of how the author
creates that feeling or mood.
3. Compare and contrast two characters psychologically. To do this, consider their behavior and
personality. Consider whether their physical selves support or contrast with their psychological
selves.
4. Choose two types of conflicts listed below and fully explain their development in the novel,
giving examples of each:
a. two people (man v. man)
b. a person and his/her conscience (internal conflict)
c. a person and society a person (man v. society)
d. an animal or nature a person and a spiritual/supernatural being
5. Who is the narrator of the story? Is s/he inside or outside the story? What is her/his
relationship to the story?
6. Is the book written in the first or third person (I or s/he)? How does that affect the story?
7. Explain the organization of the book. How it is important to the story?
8. What is your reaction to a relationship, event, socio-cultural behavior or message/theme of the
book? Be clear about what you are reacting to and exactly what makes you respond as you
do.
9. Choose a sentence or phrase that attracts you. Explain why you chose it, its value in the book
and its value to you.
Level 3 Questions (for the final chapters of the book)
If there is any special language used (dialects, foreign words, slang, etc.) give examples and explain its
use and purpose. What is its effect?
Does the author use humor, irony, symbolism, or metaphors? Give examples and explain the effect.
What is the peak event, the climax, of the novel? What major conflicts lead up to it and what is the
resolution afterward?
1. What is the theme or themes in the novel? How does the author show this idea? Give
evidence. Comment on how this theme fits in the novel and how it applies to life outside the
book. What does this theme mean to you?
2. What did you learn from this novel? In answering this, you may comment on any aspect of the
novel including how it is written.
3. What is the peak event-climax-of the novel? What major conflicts lead up to it and what is the
resolution afterward?
4. Identify a theme or themes in the novel. How does the author show this idea? Cite evidence
from the text. Comment on how this theme fits in the novel and how it applies to life outside the
novel. What does this theme mean to you? (To address this question well, a multi-paragraph
answer is suggested).
5. What did you learn from this novel? In answering this, you may comment on any aspect of thte
novel including how it is written.
THE LITERARY RESPONSE JOURNAL
For AP Language and Literature Classes
Reading response journals are reaction records you keep while reading. They are not complicated,
and will help you keep track of important points in the text as you read. Relate plot, characters, setting
to your personal experiences or to people you know—in life or in literature. Use colloquial, everyday
language. Write down reactions as they occur to you. DO NOT summarize the passage.
Directions:
1. Illustrate a cover for each complete response journal with significant representations of
characters, events, and/or objects from your novels (SYMBOLISM). Place it on the front of your
journal.
2. Create a table with three columns on your paper.
3. Label the first column “Passage from the Novel.”
4. Label the middle column “My Response.”
5. Label the last column “Literary Elements.”
6. Number each entry.
7. As you read, quote significant points from the text in the left column. Use parenthetical citation
(MLA format) to record page numbers. You do not need to copy the entire passage, but
enough of it to make sense to the teacher who checks your journal.
8. After you copy the passage, note in the middle column your reaction/response: Has the story
taken an unexpected turn (PLOT, IRONY)? Have you found an important part of the author’s
message (THEME)? What do you predict will happen (PREDICTION)?
9. Write as much as you can, but no less than six sentences per entry.
10. In the third column, indicate the literary device that your passage exemplifies. (A hyperlink to
the Coral Shores literary terms list can be accessed through the summer reading page on the
website.)
11. You must do a journal for each novel, and each journal must have a minimum of 10 entries.
The entries should cover the entire novel.
Grading
Cover—Quiz grade
Journal (must be typed or neatly written)—1 test grade for each novel
Usage and mechanics will not be the main focus of the journal; however, if there appears to be a lack
of effort on your part to make corrections then, points will be deducted.
Following directions will be counted, as well as using correct MLA format for journal entries.
Sample journal entry
Animal Farm by George Orwell
PASSAGE FROM THE NOVEL
MY RESPONSE
1. “The pigs did not actually work,
but directed and supervised the
others. With their superior
knowledge it was natural that they
should assume the leadership …”
(Orwell 35)
Hmmm…sounds like the pigs are
getting ready to put one over on the
other animals. How can they be so
stupid? This reminds me of the stupid
crowds of commoners in Julius
Caesar. Are uneducated people
really fit to govern themselves?
2. “He (Napoleon) had seemed to
Sounds like Napoleon revises the
oppose the windmill, simply as a
truth. Who really is the dangerous
maneuver to get rid of Snowball, who character—Napoleon or Snowball?
was a dangerous character…The
And those dogs…they seem to
animals were not certain, what the
represent the secret police of Russia
word meant, but…the three dogs who and will probably help Napoleon
happened to be with him growled so
maintain control over the animals.
threateningly, that they accepted his
explanation…” (62)
LITERARY
ELEMENT
character
allegory
character
Possible response beginnings-1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
I think this setting is important because.... (setting)
I like the way the author... (style)
I predict that… (prediction)
This story teaches....(theme)
The story is ending/not ending the way I wanted …(possible situational irony)
This situation John finds himself in the story alludes to the Cain and Abel story in the Bible
when… (allusion)
7. Elizabeth is an appropriate name for this character since Elizabeth’s name symbolizes …
(symbolism, character)
Literary Elements to consider
(A more extensive list of literary terms can be accessed through the summer reading list on the
website, feel free to experiment with those you may not be as familiar with.)
Plot
Symbolism
Character
Theme
Allegory
Setting
Irony (dramatic, verbal, irony of situation)
Allusion
Conflict
Author’s purpose