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Mansfield High School (Grades 9-12)
250 East Street, Mansfield, MA 02048
Phone:  (508) 261-7540  Fax:  (508) 339-0259
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Summer 2010
Reading Lists

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MANSFIELD SUMMER READING LIST, 2010
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT


All students at Mansfield High School are encouraged to read one or more books for their enjoyment and for their continued skill development during summer vacation. The following link will give you the information for suggested titles that are related thematically to the different courses’ units. They vary in levels of difficulty. These books should be available at most bookstores and at the Mansfield Public Library.

PDF printable form.

 


All students at Mansfield High School are encouraged to read one or more books for their enjoyment and for their continued skill development during summer vacation. The following suggested titles are related thematically to the different courses’ units. They vary in levels of difficulty. These books should be available at most bookstores and at the Mansfield Public Library.

 

Students entering Grade 9:  

Students who are taking College Prep A or B, must read one of the following choices below.  Students who are taking Honors must read two books from the choices below; one of the choices must be from the selections with asterisks. Students should anticipate an assessment on the reading and take notes on plot, characters, and theme. Notes must be handwritten to use with the assessment.

 

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Sunrise over Fallujah, Walter Dean Myers

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Son of the Mob, Gordon Korman

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Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson

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The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier

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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford

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*A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith

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*Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury

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*I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou              

 

 

Students entering Grade 10:  

Students who are taking College Prep A or B, must read one of the following choices below.  Students who are taking Honors must read two books from the choices below; one of the choices must be from the selections with asterisks. Students should anticipate an assessment on the reading and take notes on plot, characters, and theme. Notes must be handwritten to use with the assessment.

           

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Parrot in the Oven, Victor Martinez

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Eleven Seconds: a story of tragedy, courage, and triumph. Travis Roy

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon

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Farenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

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Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See

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Run, Ann Patchett

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*Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini

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*Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

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*My Antonia, Willa Cather

   

Students in Grades 11 and 12 are encouraged to read one or more books for their enjoyment and for their continued skill development during the summer vacation.  The following suggested titles are related thematically to the different courses’ units.  

To receive extra credit for one of the selections, students must read a book from their designated list, complete a reading journal, and submit their work to their English teacher during the first week that their English class meets.  The reading journal directions may be found on MHS website under Summer Reading.

 

Students entering Grade 11

                                               

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Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer

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A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines

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Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold

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The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd

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The Help, Kathryn Stockett

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The Road, Cormac McCarthy

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Devil in the White City, Erik Larson

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Wait Until Next Year: Summer Afternoons with My Father and Baseball, Doris Kearns  Goodwin

 

Students taking 11 AP must read the following book and may choose one of the selections above for extra credit. AP students are encouraged to take notes on The Jungle to help them review for their assessment.

           

*The Jungle, Upton Sinclair

 

Students entering Grade 12

                                               

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The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls

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Persepolis (Part I), Marjane Satrapi

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The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir, Bill Bryson

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A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah

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The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier’s Education, Craig Mullaney

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Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt                                 

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The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath

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Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson

 

Students taking 12 AP must read the following book and may read one of the above books for extra credit. AP students are encouraged to take notes on Wuthering Heights to help them review for their assessment.

 

                                               

*Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

 

 

 

Extra Credit Reading Journal

 

Extra Credit Reading Journal for Grades 11 and 12.

 

Answer the following questions carefully and thoroughly.  Please use relevant textual evidence to support your ideas. Be sure to identify the book’s title and author’s name.

 

Due:  first week of English class

Length:  approximately 3 pages, handwritten neatly

 

(a)    Write a one-page reaction statement to the book that you read.  Be specific in your thoughts about points that you liked or didn’t like about the book, ideas that intrigued you, etc.  Be sure to include specific textual references. Include page numbers.

 

(b)    Cite a memorable passage of no more than thirty words or three sentences from the book.  Include page number(s). Explain why you have chosen this passage from the book.

 

(c)    Describe your first impression of one character or event that you find interesting.  Give at least three examples of textual evidence that supports or generates this impression. Be sure to include the page numbers.

 

(d)   **Identify what causes a significant change in one character, and describe the results of that change.  This change may be the consequence of a choice, a conflict of some kind that has to be resolved, a display of some outstanding trait like courage, or even the result of an action or event that occurs during the story.

 

**Students who read The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid are to answer the following question instead of “d” (students must answer parts a, b, and c as well).

 

**Does the childhood Bryson describes take place in a lost America?  He paints a rich portrait of community ties and identity.  To what degree do those ties still exist?  What has been lost?  Consider the effects of TV and the computer.

PDF printable form