English 9 Honors: 9 Honors Summer Reading Celebration

9 Honors Summer Reading Celebration

Book List and Instructions

Novel Options

Choose ONE of the following options. Please choose a novel that you have not read previously. You are responsible for finding a copy of your chosen novel. Books-A-Million has a display of books from the list available. The school has copies of Ender’s Game, and you can borrow one for free; stop in at the high school office to pick one up.

· Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

· Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

· Hate List by Jennifer Brown

· The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

· The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier

· The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-Time by Mark Haddon

· Sabriel by Garth Nix

· The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

· The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

· Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (The school owns copies of this novel. Contact the 9 Honors teachers and/or stop by the school to pick up a copy.)

**NOTE** Some of the novels on this list contain content that may be questionable to some parents. It is the responsibility of the students and parents to choose a novel that is appropriate for the student.

Part One: Mark it up!

Reading should make you smile knowingly, frown gravely, giggle annoyingly, sob bitterly, grimace expectantly, and shout excitedly—preferably in one sitting. Hence, it should cause you to react and interact with the book, not because of the existence of the book itself but because of what lies within. For this reason, we encourage you to hold a conversation with your chosen novel using one of the following two methods:

1) Margin Scribbling: If you own your novel, write in the margins (the blank edges), reacting to the reading with your comments.

2) Post-It Note Reading: If you do not own your novel or would prefer not to write in it, mark up your book with sticky notes in which you converse with and comment on it.

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Comment Suggestions:

· Write down your thoughts and opinions on events/characters/etc

· Argue with the characters or author

· Prove/disprove predictions you made before reading

· Make connections to your life and/or world history or current events

· Ask questions

· Mark troublesome words

· Reflect on the moral/lesson at hand

**Note** The more comments made, the better!

Part Two: Chat it up!

What do you do after you’ve seen a spectacular movie? Chances are you don’t wipe your brow and give a sigh of relief as if to say “Whew! Thank goodness that’s over with!” Instead, you text your BFF to say, “OMG! That movie __(insert title)___ was WICKED awesome!!!!” (Or something like that.) And then you proceed to discuss the details of the movie and what you loved and/or hated about it.

Reading should have the same effect. So, instead of completing a study guide (lame!) or a project (boring!), we invite you to chat it up! In order to make the chatting process smooth and purposeful, create 7-10 questions to spark discussion.

Your discussion questions should follow these guidelines so that they are meaningful and thought provoking:

1) Your questions should encourage people to think deeply, argue different perspectives, and/or share their beliefs/thoughts on an issue in the novel. (i.e. Do you think stepmothers are as evil as the Brothers Grimm make them out to be? Why does Cinderella seem so fearful of staying past midnight and exposing her true identity and what does this reveal about her and society?)

2) Your questions should not focus on basic-level knowledge of the novel or be answerable in one word. (i.e. Who is the main character? Where does he/she live? What is his/her least favorite food?)

Due Date: You need to have both of these parts prepared for discussion and evaluation on the second day of school: Tuesday, August 23^rd.

If you have questions, please contact

the following teachers via email:

Mr. Rapp: mr.rapp.english@gmail.com

Mrs. Gibson: jdgibson@access.k12.wv.us

Ms. Moore: sarah.moore@access.k12.wv.us