AP LANGUAGE SUMMER READING SCHEDULE
ARDMORE HIGH SCHOOL - 2013=2014
Congratulations on your decision to take Advanced Placement Language and Composition! I look forward
to a productive, challenging, and intellectually stimulating year together. This is a college level class that
will require commitment and hard work. Therefore, it is important that all students read during the
summer, since reading, like most skills, improves with practice. In AP Language, we intertwine social
issues into our study and discussion of texts in order to begin preparation for the national test in AP
English Language and Composition. The assignments included in this packet are designed to serve as the
basis for our discussions and activities at the beginning of the school year. A significant percentage of
the first nine week’s average will be based on these assignments.
Please note: All written work is to be original. Do not work on this assignment together. Please be
forewarned that phrases, sentences, and ideas copies from either online or other sources will be
considered cheating. Academic honesty is required in this course.
The summer reading assignment is divided into three parts.
I.
A. Read and analyze The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, using
active reading strategies and annotating as you read.
I suggest purchasing this book so that you may highlight, take notes and flag as you read.
However, we do have copies of this book available to check out for the summer. If you use one of
these loaned books, please place all of your annotation on post-it notes and attach to the
necessary pages. The Bookseller on Main Street has a supply of this novel ordered.
B. Then, create a didactic journal. Choose at least six passages from the book that you
(not other sources) sense are significant in some way. They might stand out because they are
beautifully written, thought provoking, or crucial to the message. This becomes the left column
of your didactic journal, which needs to include page numbers as a reference. The right column
will contain at least three sentences of analytical commentary about each quote. This
commentary could focus on DIDLS, how the passage relates to the theme, or you may even pose a
thoughtful question and attempt to answer it. Your didactic journal should use a mixture of all
these types of commentary. You may handwrite this journal neatly in ink, or it may be word
processed. This journal will become the basis of a formal essay during the first days of class in
the fall.
II.
A. Read and analyze ONE of the non-fiction books listed below, using active reading
strategies and annotating as you read.
B. You will prepare a presentation of some kind over the non-fiction book of your choice.
Your presentation will discuss the theme of the book, and may be a one-page
handwritten journal, a poster the visually represents the theme, or a power point
presentation. You also are encouraged to create your own way to portray the theme.
You will have a book talk the first week of school, using your annotated book as a
resource. A suggested list of books appears below. You may also choose a non-fiction
book by an American author– discussing a current issue, a memoir, etc – not on this list.
This is meant to be fun – not work – choose a book you enjoy! Use Google or Amazon to
help you pick a book which appeals to your interests.
Any questions regarding the summer reading assignment should be addressed to Ms. Lee at
plee@ardmore.k12.ok.us.
STUDENTS AND PARENTS ARE CAUTIONED THAT SOME OF THESE TITLES DEAL WITH
MATURE THEMES AND ARE REMINDED THAT THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT
CURRICULUM IS MEANT TO BE COLLEGE LEVEL WORK.
Friday Night Lights
Bissinger
Black Hawk Down
Bowden
A Walk in the Woods
Bryson
The Year of Magical Thinking
Didion
*An American Childhood
Dillard
Nickled and Dimed in America
Ehrenreich
Life the Movie
Gabler
How Starbucks Saved My Life
Gill
The Tipping Point: How Little Things can Make a Big Difference
The Innocent Man
Grisham
An Inconvenient Truth
Gore
Escape
Jessup
Into the Wild
Krakauer
Freakonomics
Levitt and Dubner
Lies My Teacher Told Me
Loewen
Angela’s Ashes
McCourt
*The Color of Water
McBride
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace
Reading Lolita in Tehran
Nafir
*Dreams from My Father
Obama
The Last Lecture
Pausch
Amusing Ourselves to Death; or Technopoly
Postman
The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family
Raddatz
Hunger of Memory
Rodriguez
Fast Food Nation
Schlosser
Gladwell
Mortenson
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Lincoln at Gettysburg
Sedaris
Wills
Outliers : the story of success. Malcolm
Gladwel
Eagon, Timothy. The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dustbowl.
Bradley, James. Flags of Our Fathers.
Goodwin, Doris Kearns. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.
Hillenbrand, Laura. Seabiscuit: An American Legend
McCollough, David. 1776.
Wolfe, Tom. The Right Stuff.
*These books are available to be checked out from AHS