Summer Independent Reading 2012
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[Lower School] [Middle School] [Upper School]
Why We Ask Our Students to Read
One of the goals of summer independent reading at St. Anne’s-Belfield School is to create for students an opportunity to make reading a rich, positive, and enjoyable experience. To achieve this goal, students must first get into – or not fall away from – the habit of reading. We believe students should be encouraged to follow the interests and passions they have developed over the course of their lives. In addition, they should be encouraged to read widely, both to explore new territory and to encounter minds and worlds they might not otherwise have sought out on their own.
In The Power of Reading, Stephen Krashen reviews research on reading going back over 100 years. He reports that in study after study the research is consistent on one thing: when students are engaged in free voluntary reading—that is, when they have choice over the material they select—the benefits are profound. He concludes that such students will “acquire a large vocabulary, develop the ability to understand and use complex grammatical constructions, develop a good writing style, and become good (but not necessarily perfect) spellers.” In addition, “their reading comprehension will improve, and they will find difficult, academic-style texts more comprehensible. Their writing style will improve, and they will be better able to write prose in a style that is acceptable to schools, business, and the scientific community.” Perhaps most importantly, these benefits accrue to students no matter what reading material they select. The significant variable is their development of the habit of reading – that it become a natural rather than an alien activity for them to pick up and read a book, magazine, or journal. If this habit develops, there is a far greater likelihood that students will associate reading with pleasure rather simply with academic obligation.
To develop the habit of reading, and keeping in mind Krashen’s injunction that “reading about things that matter to us is the cause of literature language development,” all students in the Middle and Upper School are expected to read a minimum of three hours per week – approximately 30 to 40 minutes per day. We encourage students to widen the range of their reading to include, for example, biography, short stories, nature writing, history, or poetry. This summer all students in the Upper School should read the required book listed for their grade (see below – books have been ordered through the bookstore and distributed to students). They should also read several other books of their choice. In addition, we encourage Upper School students to explore a particular passion – whether that passion be baseball, birding, or botany – and they should feel free to do this exploration from a variety of sources, including books, essays, magazines, journals, and newspapers. While students in the Middle School do not have any specific book requirement, they are expected to read independently from sources of their choosing, including books, magazines, journals, and newspapers.
We ask students to keep a simple log for their summer reading, a log that includes the date, book title, and number of pages read. Click here to download the Upper School reading log, and teachers will collect them on the first day of classes.
Summary of Summer Reading Requirements
For Lower School:
For Middle School:
- To develop the habit of reading, students are expected to read a minimum of three hours per week. They may draw their reading from a variety of sources of their choosing (e.g., books, newspapers, magazines, journals, essays, and poetry).
- At the beginning of the school year, students will be asked to respond to their summer reading experience from a list of options provided by the teacher.
- Students will keep a log of their summer reading. Click here to download the log.
- Please click here to view the Summer 2012 list of suggested titles.
For Upper School:
Required Summer Reading:
This summer all students in the Upper School should read the required books listed for their grade (see below – books have been ordered through the online bookstore). They should also read at least two other books of their choice.
For English 9:
- Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon
- Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo (abridged)
For English 10:
- Alan Paton, Cry, the Beloved Country
- John Knowles, A Separate Peace
For Advanced Genre Studies:
- Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
For Honors English 11
- Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- Herman Melville, Billly Budd
For Honors American Studies:
- Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- Arthur Miller, The Crucible
- Dave Eggers, Zeitoun
For American Studies:
- Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- Arthur Miller, The Crucible
- Dave Eggers, Zeitoun
For Honors English 12:
- A. S. Byatt, Possession
- Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go
For English 12:
- Lucy Grealy, The Autobiography of a Face
- Tobias Wolff, This Boy’s Life
Summary of Summer Reading Requirements for Upper School English Classes:
- For each English course in the Upper School, students will read one, two, or three common books. (See list above)
- In addition to this common book, students will read at least two other books of their choice.
- To develop the habit of reading, students should try to read on a daily basis.
- There will be a link to goodreads.com if students would like ideas about where to turn for independent reading books.
AP US History
- Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
AP French Language and Culture
- Please click here to download the summer reading assignment.
AP Biology
- Read the first 5 chapters in Biology text: Campbell Biology (9th Edition)
AP Chemistry
- Please click here to download the summer reading assignment.
AP Spanish Language
- Please click here to download the summer reading assignment.
