Students must read one (1) book from the list below for the grade level in
which they will be enrolled at the beginning of the school year. Students
should also respond to the literature by completing one of the assignments
on the attached assignment sheet. The summer reading assignments will
be taken for a grade in the student’s English Language Arts class within
the first two weeks of school. As a means of recognizing the student’s
efforts, each assignment will be graded and counted as a performance task
grade for the first marking period of the 2015-2016 school year.
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9th
The Catcher in the Rye
Salinger, J.D.
I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings
Angelou, Maya
The Secret Life of Bees
Kidd, Sue Monk
Lord of the Flies
Golding, William
The Alchemist
Coelho, Paulo
* The Chocolate War
Cormier, Robert
The Book Thief
Zusak, Markus
10th
 The Life of Pi
Martel, Yen
 Cry, the Beloved
Country
Paton, Alan
 * The House of Spirits
Allende, Isabel
 A Bridge over the
River Kwai
Boulle, Pierre
 The Stranger
Camus, Albert
 Wandering Warrior
Chen, Da
 Year of Impossible
Goodbyes
Choi, Sook Nyul
 *A Thousand
Splendid Suns
Hosseini, Khaled
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11th
The Color Purple
Walker, Alice
*Song of Solomon
Morrison, Toni
The Scarlet Letter
Hawthorne,
Nathaniel
Animal Dreams
Kingsolver, Barbara
A Lesson Before
Dying
Gaines, Ernest J.
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All the Pretty Horses
McCarthy, Cormac
The Awakening
Chopin, Kate
*Cold Mountain
Frazier, Charles
Cold Sassy Tree
Burns, Ann Olive
All the King’s Men
Warren, Penn Robert
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12th
The Story of the
Shipwrecked Sailor
Marquez, Gabriel
Garcia
The Joy Luck Club
Tan, Amy
Nothing but the
Truth
Avi
A Yellow Raft in Blue
Water
Dorris, Michael
House of Sand and
Fog
Dubus, Andre
Beet Queen
Erdrich, Louise
Chocolat
Harris, Joanne
The Poisonwood
Bible
Kingslover, Barbara
*Book contains mature content
Additional Selections: Any award-winning book or book from the list above that is within the student’s Lexile range.
Helpful Links: Lexile Levels: www.Lexile.com/fab/GA ebooks: www.gutenberg.org
http://thefutureinreading.myon.com/GetGAREADING
School Name: Get Georgia Reading, Georgia Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Username and password: read
The summer reading assignments will be taken for a grade in the student’s
English/Language Arts class within the first two weeks of school. As a means of
recognizing the student’s efforts, each assignment will be graded and counted as a
performance task grade for the first marking period of the 2015-2016 school year.
Requirements:
1. All students need to keep a double entry journal as they read the novel of
their choice.
2. All students need to complete a reader response project of their choice after
reading the novel.
1. Double Entry Journal:
As you read, keep a double entry journal (DEJ) to help you analyze the text. A DEJ
is simply a piece of notebook paper folded long ways to record your thoughts in
two different columns. In the first column, you record the page number and the
text you were reading, and in the second column, you record your thoughts about
the passage. You should record any thoughts that go through your mind as you
read. You should have 10-15 entries while reading. For your thoughts, you can use
the guided sentences provided on the chart. See the example below from a student
who completed a DEJ while reading To Kill a Mockingbird.
Page Number and Passage
Page 35: You are starting to act more like a girl
everyday…
Page 20: The kids are making fun of a
character by acting a play with him in it.
Your Thoughts
I wonder…This reminds me of…I visualize…I’m
confused because…
Jem tells his sister this when she is a girl. I wonder how
this makes her feel when she disappoints him and
doesn’t act like the little brother he may like to have.
I visualize a group of kids making fun of another person
without him realizing he is the one being made fun of.
Consider the following questions when recording your thoughts in your DEJ:
 What has been challenging for you so far? (Be specific.)
 Have you gotten stuck at all? What have you done to get unstuck? What
strategies did you use that you have learned in past English classes?
 What has been interesting for you so far?
 What things are you doing (re-reading, asking questions, talking to friends,
predicting, drawing pictures, summarizing, taking notes, etc) to help you
understand the book?
 Is there anything you understand better now than you did earlier in the book?
 What are you noticing about the plot, characters, style, plot/conflict, or theme?
 What are you wondering?
2. Reader Response Project
Pick ONE of the following opinions:
Choice 1 Create a piece of artwork (painting, sculpture, or other medium) that
represents your understanding of the major themes, ideas, or messages in the novel.
Include a typed 1-page reflection that shows your thorough understanding of the entire
novel and makes a clear connection between your artwork and the novel.
Choice 2 Create a scrapbook (10 pages minimum) filled with objects and captions
such as pictures, postcards, etc. that relate to events, characters, plot details, messages, and
themes in the book. This scrapbook should include sufficient detail to demonstrate that
you have read and understood the whole novel.
Choice 3 Twitter. Create at least 40 tweets from one character to another at pivotal
external or internal events. Be sure to caption each tweet with what part of the book this
tweet would have taken place and what was happening in the novel at that time.
Choice 4 Create a queue of 10 Netflix movies for the protagonist. Explain why the
character wants to view each movie. How are character’s thoughts, struggles and triumphs
mirrored in the movie choices?
Choice 5 Create a soundtrack to go with your novel. Choose up 10 songs you feel
represent specific times throughout the novel. Write a description for each song that
explains why you chose the song and what part of the book it pertains to.
Choice 6 Write a narrative describing a dinner party in which the characters from the
novel are in attendance. Using inferences and implications developed from the text, be sure
to discuss the setting, the menu, the appearance and demeanor of the characters, their
topics of discussion, etc. Use textual evidence to back up the choices that you have made
for your dinner party.
Choice 7 Write a response-to-literature essay analyzing how the writer uses at least
two literary devices and/or stylistic techniques to convey meaning or theme. Be sure the
essay meets the following requirements for writing an effective multi-paragraph responseto-literature essay.
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Presents effective introductory and concluding paragraphs.
Analyzes literature and extends beyond a summary or literal analysis.
Contains a controlling idea or thesis.
Provides evidence from the text using embedded quotes.
Includes relevant information and valid inferences.
Uses a variety of rhetorical devices.
Uses transitions between paragraphs.
Uses a variety of sentence structures.
Uses an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and context.
Exemplary
Proficient
Emerging
Incomplete
Double Entry Both the
quotation chosen
Journal:
and the student’s
response
demonstrate
thought and
insight into the
work. The
response is highly
developed. The
student includes
10-15 entries.
Both the
quotation chosen
and the student’s
response
demonstrate
thought and some
understanding of
the work. The
response is
developed. The
student includes
7-10 entries.
Both the
quotation chosen
and the student’s
response
demonstrate
thought and some
consideration of
the work. Some
development is
present. The
student includes
5-7 entries.
The quotation
chosen and the
student’s response
do not
consideration of
the work. The
response is
undeveloped. The
student includes
less than 5 entries.
Reader
Response
Project:
Well-crafted;
Seems rushed;
Carelessly done;
Incomplete;
Intriguing and
original.
Shows
understanding but
little originality.
Shows little
understanding.
Shows incomplete
understanding.
Assignment meets
some of the state
requirements
related to content
and presentation
but may be
lacking significant
requirements and
fall short in the
neatness and/or
formatting.
Assignment does
not meet all of the
stated
requirements
related to content
and presentation;
may be largely
incomplete or
have severe
problems with
neatness and/or
formatting.
Significant errors
in spelling,
punctuation, and
grammar; some
(not all) errors
interfere with
meaning.
Excessive errors
in spelling,
punctuation, and
grammar; or
errors interfere
with meaning in a
major way.
Assignment goes
beyond the stated
requirements
related to
presentation.
Student
demonstrates
pride in his/her
work regarding
content and/or
presentation.
Assignment meets
most of the stated
requirements
related to content
and presentation
but may be
partially
incomplete or may
fall short in the
area of neatness
and/or
formatting.
Conventions: None or almost no Minimal errors in
errors in spelling,
punctuation, and
grammar.
spelling,
punctuation, and
grammar; errors
do not interfere
with meaning.