Summer Assignments, 2017

Summer Assignments, 2017: To be completed before August 21, 2017

4 Questions and Answers about Summer Work with Mr. Weber

Aw come on, Mr. Weber. Why do we have to do summer work? Can’t we just have the summer off? 

I get it—summer IS a time for relaxing, and I hope you’re doing a lot of that!  There are really three reasons: First, by asking you to do work this summer, we relieve you of some of the work you’d otherwise have to do during the year. It’s easier to read these books when you don’t have 8 classes and homework in 5-6 classes each night. If we didn’t do it in the summer, we’d have to cram it in during the year. Second, summer work keeps your mind from going mush—the brain is like a muscle and needs exercising to stay sharp. You want to stay sharp, right?  Third, good schools like torturing their students.  

What happens if I don’t do it? 

That’s bold, but it’s a fair question!  The answer depends partly on your teachers and what they ask you to do to prove you’ve done the work.  I’ve told all your teachers to make sure you’re accountable for it—if you weren’t, it would be unfair to those who did the summer work! What a number of teachers will do is give you a test on the material in the first week of school, and have that be your first “big” test grade for the year. Hey, you want to start off well, right? 

Can’t I just watch the movie? 

Ha—so you noticed that some of these books have been made into movies? Trouble is, your teachers know that, too, and they’ve been instructed to make sure the accountability measures make it improbable that watching the movie will be enough to do well on the assessment. My best advice: don’t risk it. 

Alright, where can I find these books? 

Most of these books are “classics,” and can be obtained at a public library or a local bookstore (like Page and Pallet in Fairhope). The advantage of getting books locally is you can skim through the books and see what appeals to you (and yes, see how long each book is). But these books are available on amazon.com, too. 

Enough small talk. What do I have to do? 

All students in all levels of English must read at least one book this summer. Students in honors or AP English classes must read this book and an additional book. 

Students in honors history classes must read an book, and students in AP American History must read two books. Students in non-honors history classes have no additional reading assignments. 

Finally, there’s some work to do in honors Math classes. 

Here are the specifics:
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English Department (all students)

9th grade (non-honors) —To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

9th grade (honors) — To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee) and Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

10th grade (non-honors)— Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

10th grade (honors) — Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury) and Night  by Elie Wiesel

11th grade (non-honors)— 1984, George Orwell 

11th grade (AP English) — 1984 (Orwell) and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, 
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History Department (honors classes only):

9th grade Honors World History— Read Animal Farm, by George Orwell

10th grade AP Human Geography—Read A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standee

11th grade AP American History—

1. Read Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis and
2. One of the following (your choice). The list consists primarily of historical fiction as well as a few nonfiction books that read like fiction. 
3. Here's what the teacher wants you to do with each book. 

From the Colonial Era
Last of the Mohicans, James Fenimore Cooper
Caleb’s Crossing, Geraldine Brooks

From the Civil War
Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier
March, Geraldine Brooks
Enemy Women, Paulette Jiles

From the American West
Doc, Mary Doria Russell
Creek Mary’s Blood, Dee Brown
My Antonia, Willa Cather

Gilded Age/Turn of Century
In Sunlight in a Beautiful Garden, Kathleen Cambor
Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
Winesburg, Ohio  Sherwood Anderson
Devil in the White City, Eric Larson

Depression Era
Seabiscuit, Laura Hillebrand
All the King’s Men, Robert Penn Warren

World War II
Unbroken, Laura Hillebran
Plot Against America, Phillip Roth
No Ordinary Time Doris Kearns Goodwin

Vietnam
The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien

Civil Rights Era
Warriors Don’t Cry, Melba, Patella Beals
Native Son, Richard Wright

Watergate
All the President’s Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
The Submission, Amy Walman

Katrina
Zeithoun, Dave Eggers
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Math Department

Honors Geometry— Incoming freshman and sophomores taking Honors Geometry next year must complete this “packet” of questions, to be turned in on the first day of classes. 

Honors Algebra II-- Complete this work over the summer: Honors Algebra II Packet

Honors Pre-Calculus: If you are a returning student, Dr. Doyle has assigned you work on your blackbaud.com account. If you are an incoming transfer, please work your way through the following two packets of information:

Packet one, chapters 1-5
Packet two, chapters 6-8