Springfield Township High School

8th	9th	10th	11th	12th
Other reading suggestions!

Rationale: In order to begin eighth grade language arts with a shared reading experience, we require each student to read the selection listed under his/her course level. We have selected a novel that relates thematically to the essential questions of each course. We believe that pre-requisite reading should be focused, and a common reading experience helps to establish a community of learners on the first day.

Requirement: Students must read the required novel before the start of the school year in which they will take Integrated Language Arts 8. Teachers will assess the reading during the first few days of the course.

We recommend that students keep a handwritten reading journal that they will be permitted to use as a memory aid for the assessment.

Mikaelsen, Ben. Touching Spirit Bear. Juvenile delinquent Cole Matthews' life is changes by his experience with Circle Justice and survival on a remote Alaskan island. Amazon Review

Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. Tally Youngblood lives in a futuristic society in which citizens believe that they are ugly until they reach age 16. They then undergo an operation to change them into "pretties." Amazon Review.

Wiesel, Elie. Night. A frightening personal memoir of a boy who lived through the horrors of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Amazon.com Review

Knowles, John. A Separate Peace. Gene learns about himself as he faces his responsibility for the accident that hospitalizes his best friend. A coming of age story that explores the evil hidden in our own hearts. Amazon.com Review

Note: A parent (or guardian) who has an objection to a selection designated for his/her son or daughter should send a letter to the high school principal, Mr. Joseph Roy, explaining the objection and requesting an alternative assignment.

Rationale: In order to begin ninth grade language arts with a shared reading experience, we require each student to read the selection listed under his/her course level. We have selected a novel that relates thematically to the essential questions of each course. We believe that pre-requisite reading should be focused, and a common reading experience helps to establish a community of learners on the first day.

Requirement: Students must read the required novel before the start of the school year in which they will take Integrated Language Arts 9. Teachers will assess the reading during the first few days of the course.

We recommend that students keep a handwritten reading journal that they will be permitted to use as a memory aid for the assessment.

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. The story of a rough gang of long-haired teenagers from the wrong side of the tracks. Amazon Review.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. An aging fisherman struggles to catch and return home with the biggest fish of his career. Amazon.com Review

Malamud, Bernard. The Natural. A story about Roy Hobbs, a star baseball player born with rare and wondrous gifts, who is robbed of his prime playing years by a youthful indiscretion that costs him his career and nearly his life. Amazon.com Review

Rationale: In order to begin tenth grade Language Arts with a shared reading experience, we require each student to read the selection listed under his/her course level. We have selected a novel that relates thematically to the essential questions of each course. We believe that pre-requisite reading should be focused, and a common reading experience helps to establish a community of learners on the first day.

Requirement: Students must read the required novel before the semester during which they will take Integrated English 10; however we strongly encourage students to complete their reading during the summer regardless of whether they are scheduled to take English 10 during the first or second semester. Teachers will assess the reading during the first few days of the course.

We recommend that students keep a handwritten reading journal that they will be permitted to use as a memory aid for the assessment.

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. The story of a rough gang of long-haired teenagers from the wrong side of the tracks. Amazon Review.

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck studies misfits, the American Dream, and friendship in a short but compelling novel. Amazon.com Review.

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. This historical-fiction novel takes place in Nigeria. The plot focuses on the life of a male villager, Okonkwo, but the novel is really a social commentary on Africa during the European colonization period. Amazon.com Review

Elster, Charles Harrington, and Joseph Elliot. Tooth and Nail. This mystery novel offers SAT vocabulary preparation through its inclusion of 1,300 words commonly found on the SAT, highlighted and presented in context. Amazon Review.

Alternate assignment distributed to students by Mrs. Ward and Mr. Zgraggen. Copies of assignment also available through the Guidance Office.

Rationale: In order to begin eleventh grade Language Arts with a shared reading experience, we require each student to read the selection listed under his/her course level. We have selected a novel that relates thematically to the essential questions of each course. We believe that pre-requisite reading should be focused, and a common reading experience helps to establish a community of learners on the first day.

Requirement: Students must read the required novel before the semester during which they will take Integrated English 11; however we strongly encourage students to complete their reading during the summer regardless of whether they are scheduled to take English 11 during the first or second semester. Teachers will assess the reading during the first few days of the course.

We recommend that students keep a handwritten reading journal that they will be permitted to use as a memory aid for the assessment.

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. The story of a rough gang of long-haired teenagers from the wrong side of the tracks. Amazon Review.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caufield, kicked out of boarding school, wanders New York City, lost in grief, alienation, and hypocrisy. Amazon.com Review View movie trailer!

Butler, Robert Olen. A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain. In 15 stories, each narrated by a different voice, Olen powerfully evokes the legacy of the Vietnam conflict—the ordeals of the Vietnamese immigrant in the United States. Amazon.com Review

Alternative assignment distributed by Ms. Settino and Mr. Eickhoff. Additional copies of assignment available through Guidance Office.

Rationale: In order to begin twelfth grade language arts with a shared reading experience, we require each student to read the selection listed under his/her course level. We have selected either one novel or a combination of novels that relate thematically to the essential questions of each course. We believe that pre-requisite reading should be focused, and a common reading experience helps to establish a community of learners on the first day.

We recommend that students keep a handwritten reading journal that they will be permitted to use as a memory aid for the assessment.

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. The story of a rough gang of long-haired teenagers from the wrong side of the tracks. Amazon Review.

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. Follow the life of Offred, who reveals the darkness behind the calm facade of a totalitarian society dominated by male fundamentalists. Amazon.com Review View movie trailer

Camus, Albert. The Plague. First one rat, then several; people are dying. Officials quarantine the entire town. Amazon.com Review

O'Brien, Tim. In the Lake of the Woods. O'Brien weaves a mystery about a wife who has disappeared and about a husband whose past may or may not offer clues to the dissapearance. Amazon.com Review.

Saramago, Jose. Blindness. The epidemic is blindness; no one knows why or how it spreads. The devastating impact upon a culture's economy, daily life, and spirit provides the focus for the plot. But, what does it all mean? Amazon.com Review

DeLillo, Don. White Noise. A professor and his wife encounter a deadly toxic accident and addiction to an experimental drug. The result is a witty exploration of consumerism, technology, and, of course, the meaning of life. Amazon.com Review

Alternative assignment distributed to students by Mr. Rodoff. Copies of the assignment also available through the Guidance Office.

Other Reading Suggestions

(Psst: After you finish reading those prerequisite titles, try a few of these titles recommended by the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Services Association YALSA Booklists http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/index.html or take a peek at:

An extensive list of Reading List sources readlists.html

the New York State Recommended Reading List for High School Students http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/5818/booklists.html

Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists http://tln.lib.mi.us/~amutch/jen/index.html

Booktalks Quick and Simple (for descriptions of titles) http://rms.concord.k12.nh.us/booktalks/

Check out this year's PSLA Reading Lists psla03.html

(You can ask your English teacher or Mrs. Valenza for even more suggestions!)