UMHS Summer Reading 2019
CHOICE IN READING MATTERS
“Reading should not be presented to a child as a chore, a duty.
It should be offered as a gift”- Kate DiCamillo
For four years, we conducted our One Book. One School. Summer Reading Program at Upper Moreland High School. The goal of the program was to engage our entire UMHS family in the focused reading of one title that would link to the themes and character education opportunities of the upcoming school year. We are proud of the work we engaged in during One Book. One School. and the conversations that were started from the shared perspective of reading one book. However, we continued to reflect on the varied interests of our students and dug even deeper into the research regarding adolescent reading. Last year, we wanted to give our students the opportunity to choose the genre and content of their summer reading book that best fit their interest. That is why we decided to offer multiple titles at each grade level. Students chose one title from the list that they found the most interesting and read that title over the summer. Upon their return in the Fall, we found that providing students with choice truly did create more meaningful and engaging reading experiences for our students, which help set the tone for a reading rich classroom culture across all grade levels.
This year, we will continue with choice in summer reading options. Here is a part of our why:
When students are routinely assigned books to read without any opportunity to act on their own judgment, many end up dreading the reading and often fail or refuse to complete it. But when we provide students with choices (even within parameters), they make their own decisions and they feel empowered and important. Empowering students to choose sets them up for success as lifelong readers. Offering choice allows our conversations to focus on books students enjoy reading, and thus the discussions are exciting and passionate. Allowing students to choose their books also provides opportunities for them to explore conflicts and issues applicable to their lives. Often, young adult novels address many topics more relatable to students than those of many canonical classics.
Choice also helps establish and deepen relationships between teachers and students and between students themselves. When students have the opportunity to talk with each other about their books, they have the opportunity to form new relationships and build a true learning community.
From the National Council of Teachers of English
(Full text article can be found here.)
Requirements for Summer Reading 2019: Choose One
The Fine Print
Every UMHS student is required to choose one of the books for their grade level or to follow the specific directions for the course they are entering in the Fall.
Students are certainly encouraged to read additional books of their choice
that are not on the list OR multiple titles from the grade level's list.
This, however, is not a requirement.
CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS:
Upon their return to school in September, students will engage in small and large group discussion focused on their book of choice. Teachers will also utilize the summer reading titles as an opportunity to gain a sense of students' writing ability as they are assigned writing activities linked to the title they have read.
FOR STUDENTS IN HONORS, Gifted, AP, or 2+1+2 ENGLISH:
Click on the button below for the requirements for your summer reading.
Literature and Inclusivity
Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Glass Doors
“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created and recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books.”
- Rudine Sims Bishop, from the National Council of Teachers of English
The Danger of a Single Story
Why We Have Included Graphic Novel Options
Where to Get Your Book
Upper Moreland Free Public Library
Barnes & Noble Website
Amazon
Better World Books