Requirements for MHS English Department

Reading

A pdf of this information can be found HERE.

 

9^th Grade College Prep
Reading: Choose ONE book from the list below:

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

2. March by John Lewis

3. Everyday by David Levithan

4. A Separate Peace by John Knowles

5. Taking Hold by Fransisco Jimenez

6. Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson

7. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

8. Being Jazz: My Life as a (transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings

9. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

10. Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

Assignment:

Directions for the written assignment can be found here: Summer Reading Puzzle Project

 

 

9^th Grade Honors
Required Reading: 

1. The Odyssey by Homer.  We recommend the Penguin Classics version, translated by Robert Fagles, ISBN-13: 978-0143039952. Audiobook, PDF of book.

2. After reading The Odyssey, read The Penelopiad, by Margaret Atwood. PDF of book. 

Assignment:

1. Print & complete the study guide and Hero’s Journey chart while reading The Odyssey.   These should be handwritten on a hard copy.

2. Complete dialectical journal while reading The Penelopiad.   

All summer reading work should be brought to class on the first day, as you will use it for a writing assignment, project work and presentations during the first weeks of school.

No A.I. should be used for summer reading.

 

 

10^th Grade College Prep
Required Reading:

1. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Assignment:

There is no required assignment other than reading. We encourage you to take notes on significant quotes and notable literary devices (like symbolism, motifs, themes, etc.).

 

 

10^th Grade Honors
Required Reading:

1. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Assignment:

Take handwritten Cornell Notes on the novel and bring them with you at the start of the school year.  Be sure you have also made note of any significant quotes and larger themes, like the concept of identity (how it is shaped, impacted, changed, etc.), and how one’s home shapes one’s identity.

 

 

11^th Grade College Prep

Required Reading & Assignment: 11CP Summer Reading Packet

11^th Grade Honors (The Fate of the Novel AND Reimagining the Canon)

Required Reading: 

1. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 

Assignment:

• Take handwritten Cornell Notes on the novel and bring them with you at the start of the school year. We encourage you to take notes on significant quotes and notable literary devices (like symbolism, motifs, themes, etc.). 

 

11^th Grade Honors

Required Reading: 

1. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 

Assignment:

Take handwritten Cornell Notes on the novel and bring them with you at the start of the school year. We encourage you to take notes on significant quotes and notable literary devices (like symbolism, motifs, themes, etc.).

 

 

 

Advanced Placement Literature & Composition: GRADES 11 AND 12
Required Reading:

1. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro

2. The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Assignment:

• Detailed assignment requirements and expectations for the reading are outlined on the AP Literature & Composition Summer Reading Assignment doc linked HERE

Advanced Placement Language & Composition: GRADE 12
Required Reading:

1. The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids - Alexandra Robbins

2. Choose one memoir from the list provided in the link below. 

Assignment:

Detailed assignment requirements and expectations for both readings are outlined on the AP Language & Composition Summer Reading Assignment doc linked HERE

 

 

12^th Grade College Prep AND Honors

In recognition of the time many of our seniors will be investing in college applications and personal narratives over summer break, there is no required reading for any senior College Prep or Honors classes.  We do, however, have a recommendation:

Recommended Reading for ALL 12th Grade College Prep and Honors Courses:

Where You Go is Not Who You Will Be by Frank Bruni

Please note that personal narrative workshop time will be incorporated into the first semester in all senior classes. Students are encouraged to begin working on their personal narratives, regardless of their post-graduation plans.

 

**BE SURE TO NOTE PAGE NUMBERS WHENEVER POSSIBLE WHEN TAKING NOTES