TO: DHS Honors English Students and Parents
FROM: DHS English Department
RE: SUMMER READING for Honors English classes – 2010
The English Department is excited to promote the reading of author
Patricia McCormick for its “One School, One Author” initiative. Students are required to read one of her
titles, Cut, My Brother’s Keeper, Sold, or The Purple Heart, in preparation for the school year. On Monday,
September 13, Dartmouth High School will host author Patricia McCormick as she offers various programs
for the student body throughout the school day. All students will be tested during the first week of school
on the “One School, One Author.” We have undertaken this and other initiatives as part of our Small
Learning Communities Grant. With this particular initiative, we underscore the possibilities brought about
by the entire high school community’s reading of the same author, and discussing the themes and
philosophies presented in these titles during the coming school year.
In addition to the “One School, One Author” title, English teachers are requiring those students
enrolled in Honors English classes to read one additional title over the summer months. Copies will be
available at local public libraries and at local booksellers: Baker Books and Barnes and Noble.
We ask students to read and enjoy the following titles, and to note questions / ideas they have on the
material. If students return to school to find that their English classes are scheduled for second semester,
they may need to go back to reexamine their reading during the winter holiday vacation.
HONORS ENGLISH SUMMER 2010 READING LIST
English 9 Honors:
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
“Set in a small Southern town during the Depression, the novel follows three
years in the life of 8-year-old Scout, her brother, Jem, and their father, lawyer Atticus
Finch—three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man. The
unconditioned and unconditional wisdom of children is shown to be superior in this tough
and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up.”
Students will complete a project and participate in a Socratic Seminar based on their summer
reading during the first two weeks of the semester. The themes presented in this novel will be referred to
often throughout the semester as students begin their English 9 Honors curriculum.
Students will be tested on their reading of the book on Tuesday, September 7, 2010 for first
semester students and in January for second semester students.
English 10 Honors:
Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
“Henry David Thoreau refuses to pay taxes and protests the Mexican War . . .
a drama as relevant as tomorrow’s headlines.”
All Grade 10 Honors English students should research information on Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Henry David Thoreau, and Transcendentalism before reading this play. The play leads directly into the
mid-1800s themes and reading of the Grade 10 Honors American Literature classes.
Students should also be aware that the play is making a statement about the Vietnam War, which
was taking place at the time of its writing. The stage directions allow for the audience to learn about
Thoreau’s past life through the use of flashbacks on the night he is imprisoned.
Students will be tested on their reading of the play on Tuesday, September 7, 2010 for first
semester students and in January for second semester students.
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English 11 Honors:
All Grade 11 Honors English students are asked to read one novel from the below list of 20082010 New York Times Best Seller List.
Alex Cross’s Trial by James Patterson
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner
Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve
Commencement by J. Coutney Sullivan
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
The 8th Confession by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The Last Child by John Hart
The Last Son by Nicholas Sparks
Let the Great Word Spin by Colum McCann
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Look Again by Lisa Scottoline
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
On Folly Beach by Karen White
Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Shack by William P. Young
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
South of the Road, by Pat Conroy
Tinkers by Paul Harding
The White Queen by Phillippa Gregory
Early in each semester, first and third quarters, English 11 Honors students will be asked to
create projects using this summer reading. In addition to the projects which will be assigned during the
first two weeks of class, students are required to write a research paper junior year. The English 11 Honors
research paper requires students to research a theme presented in a book of their choice (from the above
list). The summer reading requirement will provide students with titles that could possibly be used for their
research paper.
Grade 12 Honors:
Zusak, Marcus, The Book Thief
“Set during World War II in Germany . . . this is an unforgettable story about the ability
of books to feed the soul . . . the kind of book that can be life-changing, because
[it] . . . offers a believable, hard-won hope.”
Students will be tested on their reading of the novel on Tuesday, September 7, 2010 for first
semester and in January for second semester students. Students will complete a project based on the book,
and themes introduced in the novel will be explored throughout the semester.