Summer Reading

All students are responsible for choosing and reading ONE of the above texts. For instance, choose ONE non-fiction or ONE fiction title, NOT one from each… unless you really just want to read! 

* Exceptions: English 11 LSP is required to read one book: The Bean Trees
                  AP Lit students are required to read one of the books on the Holy Cross list AND All the Light We Cannot See. 

The Cathedral Summer Reading Program seeks to 

• Increase students’ college readiness through independent reading, 
• Introduce and engage students in the year’s Holy Cross core value, and
• Provide a meaningful writing sample as a baseline for English coursework.

Students need to do the following by the first full day of classes:

• Buy and read! Yes, you are encouraged to annotate, but this will not be assessed. For our purposes, to annotate simply means to make occasional notes in the margins, leaving bread crumbs behind so you can find your way back to parts that were important or interesting to you. (You know, like Hansel and Gretel did in the forest.)
• Print books, rather than digital ones, are required. Remember, used print books are a good way to cut down on cost and environmental impact. Note: It can be beneficial to ALSO listen to a text on audio, but only print books can be used for in-class writing.
• Come ready to write journal reflections in your first, full English class. The essay prompts will be provided at that time. No journal writing is expected or required ahead of time.
• For the in-class writing, there will be several different prompts to choose from, as we want to encourage students to share their understanding of the book they chose. They will also need to incorporate textual evidence into their responses (in the form of direct quotes), to support their answers. This is why it is highly recommended that the student bring the annotated book to class!
• These entries are not reading comprehension tests, but they will provide a graded writing sample for English teachers to assess where students are with their literacy skills. However, by annotating the text, no matter how early in the summer a student has read, he/she will be able to recall and provide details from the book without memorizing its plot or minute details.

Some topics you may want to consider as you do your summer reading:

1.     How does this text reflect the Holy Cross core value of family?

2.     Who are the main and supporting characters, and how do they add to the text’s meaning?

3.     What are the pivotal events of the story that are most memorable or impactful?

4.     What did you learn from your reading of this book?  How did this book change or affect your thinking on the topic it addresses?

5.     Every work—fiction or nonfiction—has a turning point.  What do you think is the turning point or climax of this work?

6.     Highlight, underline, or star passages that seem especially beautiful, significant or reveal the author’s underlying theme.

7.     Everything ends—fiction or nonfiction.  Did you find the conclusion satisfying?  Would you change anything?