Summer Reading 2020
Here's some specific summer reading information in preparation for the 2020-2021 school year at Joseph Case High School. This link will be updated accordingly. .
Dear Case Students and Families,
Reading is an important part of a student’s experience in high school, as in life, and we hope that each student will become a life‐long reader. Summer is a time for recreational reading, for exploring new books, and for reading those books a student never had time for during the busy school year.
Summer reading is also an important sustaining element in all of the Core Values of Joseph Case High School:
Communication
Authentic learning opportunities
Shared responsibility in academic excellence and integrity
Engagement of students as active learners
Higher order thinking skills
Strong 21st century knowledge base
All students are expected to at least two summer reading titles by the time they return to school in the fall, including the required novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris.
High school faculty will join students in summer reading as the springboard to our eighth annual fall interdisciplinary day. This year's choice was a recommendation made to me from educational colleagues as well as parents.
Students have options in each grade for a second title, including some staff recommendations this summer.
Summer reading choices for Grade 9 students include:
- Furthermore by Taharah Mafi
- I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
All students who are choosing to participate in Grade 9 Honors should read Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas.
Summer reading choices for Grade 10 students include:
- Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls **
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill **
- All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
All students who are choosing to participate in Grade 10 Honors should read Last Night I Dreamed of Peace by Dang Thuy Tram.
Summer reading choices for Grade 11 students include:
Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
- Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
- Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
- The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Summer reading choices for Grade 12 students include:
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- Destiny of the Republic by Candace Willard
- Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas **
Students are strongly encouraged to annotate the texts while reading to maximize opportunities for success. Students may annotate the text by writing in the margins or using sticky notes. For incoming freshmen, to annotate a text involves writing down questions you may have about the text, taking notes that contains your original analysis of the text and/or marks important points, highlighting/defining words that you do not understand.
As always, plagiarism or cheating are strictly forbidden. Students need to read the original text and demonstrate their original understanding and analysis of it through formal and informal assessments in the fall. This is an opportunity for students to engage with a text and develop their independence as readers.
**Starred selections contain mature content and language. Should students or their families have specific questions regarding the content of reading selections, they should contact the English Department Head at bbotelho@swanseaschools.org.
Please have a safe and enjoyable summer,
The English Department Faculty