SUMMER READING LIST FOR
HONORS AND AP ENGLISH 2015
Students will need to purchase their own
copies of the assigned books.
7th grade ELA G/T The Giver (Lowery)
English I Honors 8
A Raisin in the Sun
English II honors 9
Death of a Salesman
English III honors 10 The Crucible
English IV honors 11
AP English
Pygmalion
Ethan Frome
A ¼- ½ inch notebook/ composition book
should be started in 8th grade beginning in the
Honors English I Class. Subject dividers will
be needed to separate the different works, or
use stick on tabs if using a composition book.
At least one page should be devoted to each of
the items listed below for every summer
reading novel/play.
Your wording on these pages/note cards
should be very clear and to the point. Do not
waste words or space. You will not want to
shuffle back through all that writing in the
spring of your senior year and neither do your
teachers want to when we grade. Be brief but
thorough. Remember the purpose of the notes
is to have a record of the readings for your use
to review prior to the AP exam.
A. Setting/s-Find quotes that show
evidence of the setting. Then discuss the
importance of the setting as it is
relative to the rest of the story.
B. Brief summary of the plot. Include 5
significant quotes that show the
development of the plot.
C. Character motivation- Find a quote that
characterizes each major and minor
character.
D. Themes- messages/ ideas that author
intends to address. Give proof from work
that each theme exists in work.
These should be major issues that
affect the plot.
E. Motifs- types of people, things/images,
ideas that keep appearing
F. Author’s connection to the topic (why
he/she wrote it) – You will have to
research the author’s life for this. Please
document the source using MLA style
documentation. Please do not give any
other info on author except the
connection that the work has to
his/her life.
G. Author’s style of writing- certain words,
dialect, sentence structure, etc, you notice
that are distinctive just to this work. Does
the author use lots of similes or other
things? Use quotes from text
H. Tone- Identify the overall attitudes the
author/narrator conveys to the reader and
list words or phrases that help create these
attitudes.
I. Mood created in you by the workWhat feelings do you get from reading
this, and what strategies does the author
use to create this mood. (actions of
characters, a certain character’s point of
view, setting, word choice, dialect/
character speech, etc )
J. Symbolism- Please list any symbols that
exist and explain what they stand for.
Research can be helpful here. Please
document any sources that you may
use. Use MLA form of documentation.
K. 2 Significant passages from text
along with an explanation of why
these are important.
**Note to Students: You selected to be in
the honors program because you wanted
an education that would prepare you for
college studies. Using Spark Notes or
some similar website to gather the
information does not take the place of
reading the book. The information you
gather from Cliffs Notes, Pink Monkey or
some other commentary is not going to
give you in analyzing text.
The English department strongly
encourages you to use these resources as
helpers as you read the assigned text. But
to use them in place of reading the text is
going to make you useless during class
discussions. You have no idea what you
are talking about, and it will be obvious.
You will be tested on the book upon
return to school- no matter which
semester you take English and your
notebook will also be graded. Those
grades do count toward your 1st semester
grade in English.
*** Please turn in your book and
assignment to your English teacher at the
beginning of school. Teachers do cover the
summer reading novel during their classes
but do not give you time to read since you
should have already read the book.