CREC MEDICAL PROFESSIONS & TEACHER PREPARATION ACADEMY
9th Grade Required Summer Reading and Assignments
The following readings and assignments are required for incoming freshmen at Medical Professions and
Teacher Preparation Academy. The assignments have been designed with the Cambridge First Language
English exam in mind and are intended to help students start building up the skills, which will be tested in
May, during the summer.
The assignments will be due during the first two weeks of school and will count on the first quarter grade.
Additionally, the paper written by the students may be used in their final portfolio.
The 9th grade curriculum is Cambridge Frist Language English. The course is designed to prepare students for
the Cambridge IGCSE exam. At the end of year, in May, students will complete the exam, which consists of
two components, each which is 50% of the grade:
 Component 1 - 1 hour 45 minutes or 2 hour exam
 Component 2 - Portfolio of comprised of three different papers
The exam is a great opportunity for students, paid for by the school, which puts students on a global level, as
students all over the world participate in the Cambridge First Language English course and take the exam.
If there are any questions regarding the summer reading, please contact the school at 860-298-0602 or contact
Michelle Hannon by email at mhannon@crec.org.
Have a great summer, I look forward to seeing you all in the fall!
Assignment # 1
The Freedom Writers Diary – Erin Gruwell
Students will be expected to read the book Freedom Writers over the course of the summer and complete three
journal entries:
1. Based on your reading of Year One, What is your initial reaction of the students from Woodrow
Wilson High School and their teacher, Ms. Gruwell? This journal should be one page. When
answering, be sure to consider the following:
a. What questions did you have while you were reading? Write down the questions and make
sure to go back and answer them completely.
b. What reactions did you have to events in the book? Pick two events you felt were important
and explain your reaction, how you felt, what you were thinking, etc.
2. How does this book relate to your own experiences in school? To answer this connection question
you need to use examples from your own life and compare your experience to what happened in the
book. Be specific. This journal should be one page.
3. Imagine that you are Ms. Gruwell, write a one page journal entry about her feelings toward her
students and her feelings toward her job. What does she think about the students in her class, the
issues they have? What about her colleagues? What is her opinion of teaching? Why does she do it?
Remember, you are imagining that you are Ms. Gruwell, so you should write in the first person
narrative, using the pronoun “I.” You should begin your entry, “Dear Journal,”.
This assignment is due on Monday, September 9th, 2013
10 Univac Lane at 10 Targeting Center, Bloomfield Ave, Windsor, CT 06095
Phone: 860-298-0602  Fax: 860-298-0668  www.crecschools.org
CREC MEDICAL PROFESSIONS & TEACHER PREPARATION ACADEMY
Assignment # 2
Student Choice books with Accelerated Reading quizzes
Throughout the school year students will be using Accelerated Reader: “AR is a computer program that helps
teachers and librarians manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. Your child picks a book
at his own level and reads it at his own pace. When finished, your child takes a short quiz on the computer.
(Passing the quiz is an indication that your child understood what was read.) AR gives children, teachers, and
librarians feedback based on the quiz results, which the teacher or librarian then uses to help your child set
goals and direct ongoing reading practice.” – from Accelerated Reader Parent’s Page. Students will have their
own unique username and password which will be used to sign into a personalized account in order to take
quizzes and track points.
Students will be reading various books throughout the summer, books of their choice from the lists below.
Students will be required to read a total of 40 points. Points are accrued through taking the reading
quizzes upon completion of the books. For example, reading Catcher in the Rye and earning a 100% on the
quiz earns the student 11.0 points. If students get questions wrong, they will earn less than 11.0 points.
The lists below contain the books students can select along with the number of points available per each
book. Students need to select at least one book from the Classic Literature list and at least one book
from the Young Adult Literature list. Students will need to select more than one book in order to fulfill the
40 point requirement.
Be careful – the books are to be read over the summer, however, the quizzes will be taken during the
second week of school, September 2, 2013. It is in the best interest of students to read their books in July
and August, closer to the start of school so the information from the books can be retained and students can
be successful on their quizzes.
This assignment is due on Monday, September 2nd, 2013.
Student Choice Book List:
Students must earn 40 points – select at least one book from the classics list and at least one
book from the current young adult literature list. Student will need to read a minimum of two books in
order to get 40.0 points total. Points are awarded when taking the quiz.
For example:
Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
11.0 points
The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
+ 10.0 points
____________________________________
21.0 points – I still need to read 19.0 more points
10 Univac Lane at 10 Targeting Center, Bloomfield Ave, Windsor, CT 06095
Phone: 860-298-0602  Fax: 860-298-0668  www.crecschools.org
CREC MEDICAL PROFESSIONS & TEACHER PREPARATION ACADEMY
Classic Literature:
Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger – 11.0 points
Great Expectations – Charles Dickens – 7.0 points
Black Like Me – John Howard Griffin – 11.0 points
All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque – 10.0 points
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou – 13.0
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë – 33.0
The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – 2.0
The Awakening – Kate Chopin – 12.0
Chocolate War – Robert Comier – 8.0
Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway – 4.0
Catch 22 – Joseph Heller – 30.0
Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston – 10.0
1984 – George Orwell – 17.0
The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath – 11.0
The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan – 14.0
Bless Me Ultima – Rudolfo Anaya – 14.0
A Separate Peace – John Knowles – 10.0
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley – 17.0
Persuasion – Jane Austen – 19.0
Current Young Adult Literature:
Unwind – Neal Shusterman – 14.0
The Earth, My Butt and Other Round Things – Carolyn Mackler – 8.0
Looking for Alaska – John Green – 11.0
The Book Thief – Markus Zusack – 18.0
The Fault in Our Stars – John Green – 10.0
Between Shades of Gray – Ruta Sepetys – 9.0
The Maze Runner – James Dashner – 15.0 (there are other books in the series which can be read for 15.0 as
well)
Uglies – Scott Westerfild – 13.0 (there are other books in the series which can be read for 13.0 as well)
Maximum Ride: School’s Out Forever – James Patterson – 11.0 (there are other books in this series which can be
read for 7.0 – 11.0 points)
The Truth About Forever – Sarah Dessen – 16.0
Life of Pi – Yann Martel – 16.0
If there is another current Young Adult book that students wish to read, please email me at
mhannon@crec.org to confirm that the book is acceptable. Or – students can check on www.arbookfind.com
to see if the book has a quiz available. If the book is available on www.arbookfind.com it’s fine to read, if it is
not available on www.arbookfind.com then the book will not be able to be read in order to earn points.
10 Univac Lane at 10 Targeting Center, Bloomfield Ave, Windsor, CT 06095
Phone: 860-298-0602  Fax: 860-298-0668  www.crecschools.org