Summer Reading

Middle School Reading

Summer Reading 2019 • Middle School

Middle school students will be reading at least four books this summer. General expectations are outlined below.

Each fifth grader will read:

Each sixth grader will read:

Sixth grade students should expect September assignments in their English classes based on The Cay and their chosen novel. With this in mind, we recommend all students have copies to bring to school in September. 

Each seventh grader will read:

Seventh grade students should expect September assignments in their English classes based on Refugee and their chosen nonfiction text. With this in mind, we recommend all students have copies to bring to school in September.

Each eighth grader will read:

Eighth grade students should expect September assignments in their English classes based on Brown Girl Dreaming and their chosen nonfiction text. With this in mind, we recommend all students have copies to bring to school in September.

While we have some required titles at each grade level, at least half of the summer reading is free choice. In this way, students will also be able to read what they choose to read, something summer should be for.

We encourage parents and students to explore the YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) website, which has terrific resources to help teens find books. The following lists, in particular, are well worth exploring:

Many Thayer students see that summer reading helps them grow, keeps them engaged in the most important academic skill, and provides entertainment. Since we teachers are not working with students over the summer as they complete their reading, we need parent and student support in order to make the summer reading program effective and successful.

Should you have questions or concerns regarding summer reading, please feel free to email or call me.
Sincerely,

Brian Cibelli
English Department Head
bcibelli@thayer.org
781-664-2326

Young Adult Library Services Association Lists

 

Upper School Reading

Summer Reading 2019 • Upper School

Students entering all grades must read THREE books: one required for their grade level (under“For All”), one from the “Choose at Least One” list for their grade level, and one of their own selection. Please note that students registered for Honors or AP level English must read a second required text in addition to those three, and that the second required text for AP Literature & Composition is different than the second required text for AP Language & Composition.

The optional texts lists are intentionally short so that more students read the same books. We hope this common reading will spark frequent, substantial literary discussions about those texts. A defining characteristic of the Thayer community is that we enjoy sharing with each other—that sharing includes passionate conversations about books!

MEMBEAN: Membean accounts will stay open and available throughout the summer. We encourage students to continue their work with Membean; frequent vocabulary practice improves reading comprehension (and confidence!) and performance on standardized tests. 9th graders and new 10th and 11th graders will open Membean accounts at the start of the school year.

9th
REQUIRED
For All: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Sáenz
For Honors: The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger

For All (choose at least one):
Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline
Warcross, Marie Lu
Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel

10th
REQUIRED:
For All: The Universe Versus Alex Woods, Gavin Extence
For Honors: Micro Fiction, edit. Jerome Stern

For All (choose at least one):
The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan McGuire
Code Name Verity, Elizabeth E. Wein

11th
REQUIRED:
For All: One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey
For AP Lit: Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann
For AP Lang: Educated, Tara Westover

For All (choose at least one):
In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
The Other Wes Moore, Wes Moore
Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy

12th
REQUIRED:
For All: Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
For Honors: Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
For Voice/Advanced Comp: The Elements of Journalism, edit. by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel

For All (choose at least one):
The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith
Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini

Required reading for French IV Honors
Kiffe Kiffe, Demain par Faïza Guène

Required reading for AP French
Une si longue letter par Mariama Bâ