2015–2016
SUMMER READING AND COURSE PREPARATION The following pages will provide you with the information you need to take full advantage of the learning opportunities you will be offered in the next academic year. Your grade level and specific course enrollment will determine which parts of this booklet pertain to you. It is important that you read, and follow, all the instructions carefully. We want you to perform at your best from the start of the year, and a thoughtful review of material and thorough reading of the prescribed books will help you do just that. We also have added some optional titles at the end of this booklet for your personal enjoyment, and we hope you’ll read as many as you can. Have a great summer and we look forward to seeing you in September! www.williston.com/summer-coursework
ENGLISH
Assignment The Williston English department wishes to inspire a lifelong love of reading, as well as provide the analytical tools needed to approach challenging texts with both confidence and curiosity. With these hopes in mind, we encourage you to read widely and regularly this summer, sharing your appreciation of and questions about your reading with friends and family. You may discuss possible texts with your teacher or visit the library’s suggested reading list available under “Suggested Reading” on the library’s website. In addition to the texts that you choose to read on your own, we require you to arrive in September having read the grade-specific texts from the list that follows. For your assigned texts, please annotate thoroughly as you read. Annotations are notes in the margins that ask questions, highlight recurring themes, or point to important shifts in the story. As part of your annotation you should also mark your favorite passages, ones that strike you in some way, perhaps because of their interesting use of language, intriguing ambiguity, or symbolic significance. You should bring your texts to class on the first day of school. Be prepared to use the texts for the opening weeks of the course. They have been chosen specifically for their thematic and stylistic connections to the material of the course, so they will serve as important springboards to discussion and writing—experiences for which you should be fully prepared. ELL-ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
International students’ level of English study will be determined according to a placement test administered during international student orientation in September. Based on the results of this test, students will be placed in an ELL or standard English section appropriate to their grade level. Every student should read the required texts in English for his or her incoming grade level and attempt the summer reading assignment, regardless of whether she or he expects to be placed in an ELL class. ENTERING 9TH GRADE
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd • Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand ENTERING 10TH GRADE
• The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi • Flight by Sherman Alexie ENTERING 11TH GRADE
• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer • The Roundhouse by Louise Erdrich
ENTERING AP ENGLISH 11 (LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION)
• The Awakening by Kate Chopin • The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (“The Custom House” introduction is optional) • Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer • Barron’s AP Language and Composition 1. Read chapter 1 and complete the multiple choice section of the diagnostic test. 2. Review the answer explanations and create a list of terms and concepts unfamiliar to you.
ENGLISH
Assignment ENTERING 12TH GRADE (INCLUDING PGS)
• The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien • The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls ENTERING AP ENGLISH 12 (LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION)
• The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien • The Tempest by William Shakespeare • Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
LANGUAGES Assignment
AP CHINESE
AP LATIN
AP Chinese students are encouraged to watch one or two Chinese movies and be able to describe orally the content of the movies and explain their culture significance. You’ll be asked to share with your classmates in the first week of class. Students will need to practice the computer input skills with Chinese characters. You’ll be given a summer assignment package which includes studying "HSK" vocabulary and completing the correspondent listening, reading and writing assignments. You have the option of emailing your work to instructor Hua Jones at hjones@williston.com.
Read Vergil’s Aeneid (Books 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12) and Caesar’s Gallic Wars (Books 1, 6, and 7) in any translation. Read a few pages first, and select a translation that appeals to you. For the Aeneid, translations by Mandelbaum, Knox, Fagles, or West are suggested; for the Gallic Wars, translations by Hammond or Handford are suggested. You will need copies for the entire school year. It is recommended that you study the course-specific vocabulary available from your teacher, or, for the Aeneid, purchase Vergil Vocabularly Cards for AP Selections by Dennis De Young. AP SPANISH
AP FRENCH
Incoming AP French student, you are expected to review the formation and usage of all regular and irregular verbs found in the Ensemble Grammaire textbook in the following tenses: présent, imperatif, passé composé, imparfait, conditionnel et conditionnel passé, futurs proche, simple and anterieur, subjonctif and plus-que-parfait. In addition, you should keep a journal in which you write eight times over the course of the summer, for 20 minutes each session. Sessions should be dated. You should listen to a new French song or watch a French film of your choosing over the course of the summer, and it should be the subject of at least one of the journal entries. You should choose a song or film that interests you.
Read an article from an online Spanish newspaper each month (June, July, and August) and submit a summary of the article, including the day the article was read and the name of the newspaper, to Mr. Garcia at egarcia@williston. com. In addition, email the answers to the following questions: (a) Why did you choose to read this article? (b) What did you learn from the article? (c) What did you think about the article? Online newspapers: www.elmundo.es, www.ideal.es, www.elpais.es, or any other e-publication from a Spanish-speaking country. You should read a short story of your choice in Spanish and be ready to share your thoughts about it during the first week of classes.
HISTORY & GLOBAL STUDIES Assignment
WORLD CIVILIZATIONS
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban By Yousafzai, Malala and Lamb, Christina You are expected to provide typed responses to the following questions on the first day of class.
6. Malala became an activist when she was very young. Discuss how you felt when reading about her experience and compare it to your life now. What are the similarities and differences? What lessons did you take away from Malala’s story? AP EUROPEAN HISTORY
1. Malala describes her life with her friends: watching Twilight movies, listening to Justin Bieber, and lightening their skin. Were you surprised to learn that these young Pakistani girls are so immersed in Western culture? What surprised you the most about Malala and her friends? 2. Discuss Malala’s relationship with her mother. What influence does she have on Malala? In what ways does her relationship with her mother compare with her relationship with her father? 3. Throughout the book, Malala discusses the history of the Swat Valley. Why is the telling of this history significant? How do Malala’s descriptions differ from what you already thought or knew of Pakistan? 4. Malala provides reactions to 9-11 from the views of Pakistani people. What do you make of these insights? What do you feel is the state of relationship between America and Pakistan today? Based on reading this book, what do you foresee as a possible future? 5. Malala has said, “Let us pick up our book and our pens. They are our most powerful weapon.” Do you agree? Why or why not? Explain the significance of this quote in the context of her experience as a girl in the Swat Region of Pakistan as well as a member of the global community.
The Return of Martin Guerre By Natalie Zemon-Davis You are expected to provide typed responses to the following questions on the first day of class: 1. 2.
3.
Explain both the methods and sources that Zemon-Davis used in writing this book. Explain what you learned about each of the following in 16th century France from reading this book: the justice system, gender roles, and peasant villages, traditions and lifestyles. Zemon-Davis had to make some assumptions about the feelings and motives of the main characters in the story. Choose TWO characters and explain what Zemon-Davis thought his or her feelings and motives were and why she made these assumptions? – Martin, Bertrande, Pansette, Coras.
Kagan, The Western Heritage since 1300, 11th edition (Textbook) 1. Read Chapter 1 (including all documents, charts, maps, etc) 2. You are expected to provide typed responses to the following questions on the first day of class: define all of the key terms and answer all of the Review Questions at the end of the chapter.
HISTORY & GLOBAL STUDIES Assignment
STANDARD UNITED STATES HISTORY
10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America By Steven M. Gillon You are expected to prepare a typed response to the question below which is due on the first day of class, and be ready for a quiz on the events described in the book during the first week. 1. Are social forces or individuals more responsible for history? In 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America, Steven M. Gillon explores this essential question and suggests that “individuals, sometimes by design, but often by accident, can change the course of history” (5). Using three examples from the book, explain whether you agree or disagree with his claim. Write a five paragraph response with a clear introductory paragraph, one separate paragraph for each of the three examples, and a concluding paragraph. AP UNITED STATES HISTORY
10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America By Steven M. Gillon 1. You are expected to prepare a typed response to the question for standard level United States History which is due on the first day of class. In addition, please complete the following assignment using: American History, Connecting With the Past, AP Edition, 14th Edition, Alan Brinkley, McGraw Hill Publisher (Textbook)
1. Read: Chapters 1-3 (includes everything contained in the chapters: drawings, maps, photos, cartoons, side-bar information). 2. Define all of the terms/people/places/events listed at the end of each chapter. 3. Write detailed answers to the Recall and Reflect Questions at the end of each chapter. These answers will be submitted on the first day of class. 4. Be prepared for a test covering Chapters 1-3 during first week. AP UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
The Thirteen American Arguments By Howard Fineman 1. You are expected to complete the following assignment which is due on the first day of class. Read the chapters listed below: • Introduction: “For the Sake of Argument” • The chapter that corresponds with your birth month • Chapter 13: “A Fair, ‘More Perfect’ Union” • Conclusion and Afterword 2. Prepare a typed one-page response explaining what makes the United States system of government admirable.
SCIENCE & MATHEMATICS Assignment
AP SCIENCE
MATHEMATICS
There is a significant amount of material to cover prior to the AP exams next May. Being successful is the result of thoughtful preparation and consistent effort on the part of both you and your teacher. We ask that you begin this process during the summer by reviewing topics covered in your previous courses. In addition, you should access http://www.williston.com/ summer-coursework and see detailed information pertaining to your class. You can expect to be tested on the assigned material during the first week of classes.
Next fall you will be starting a new math class. We hope that you will find the class interesting and challenging. Being successful is not an accident; it is the result of good preparation. To help you next year, please review the topics that you have studied in your previous math courses. All summer review work can be found online (see directions below). There you will find: 1. Homework problems that are due on the first day of classes. 2. More examples and practice problems, with answers relating to each topic. 3. Directions to mathematics summer review webpage: http://www.williston.com/summercoursework. Your questions and their answers are listed under “Assignments by Class.� Please print out the problems, complete them as best you can, check your answers, and bring your work on the first day of school. Please note that the problems on this webpage are intended for review purposes only and should not be used as any sort of placement guide. You will be tested on the topics related to your particular course within the first week of classes. CALCULATORS
A TI-84+ graphing calculator is required for all math courses. It is the only model for which classroom instruction is provided.
MIDDLE SCHOOL ENGLISH Assignment
7TH GRADE BOOK LIST 7TH GRADE: BOOK ONE
• Promise the Night by Michaela MacColl (Please bring a copy of this book, either purchased in print or digital form or borrowed from a library, to school with you in September.) 7TH GRADE: BOOK TWO
Choose a book from the list that you have not read before. For book two, complete the writing assignment that follows. • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott • The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie • The Good Earth by Pearl Buck • Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie • The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier • The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest Gaines • The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine • Call of the Wild by Jack London • Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery • The Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings • Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien WRITING ASSIGNMENT:
Pretend you are a character from the book. Write a paragraph from that character's perspective describing either of the following situations: 1. How "you" feel about an event in the book. 2. What "your" life is like after the story ends.
8TH GRADE BOOK LIST Choose two books from the following list and read them before school starts in September. For each book you choose, select two passages (a significant group of sentences or a paragraph) that are intriguing, complex, and worthy of further analysis. These analytical passages should differ from ones that are simply exciting moments in the plot. This type of identification in itself demonstrates analytical abilities and is a practice often used in classes during the year. The passages will be used for in-class discussions and writing assignments when you return to school. 8TH GRADE BOOK LIST
• The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom • The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury • Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin • The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd • The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver • Into Thin Air by John Krakauer • Walkabout by James Vance Marshall • Monster by Walter Myers
• My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith • Any Agatha Christie novel (except And Then There Were None) • The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH Assignment
PRE-ALGEBRA
7th graders enrolled in Pre-Algebra do not have summer math work. ALGEBRA STANDARD OR ALGEBRA HONORS
Students taking Algebra Standard or Algebra Honors are required to complete the problems on the mathematics website.
DIRECTIONS TO MATHEMATICS WEBSITE:
http://www.williston.com/summer-coursework Your questions and their answers are listed under “Assignments by Class.” Please print out the problems, complete them as best as you can, check your answers, and bring your work on the first day of school.
OPTIONAL
Departmental Recommendations More titles can be found at www.williston.com/ library. Follow the link for Suggested Reading. VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
• Frederick by Leo Lionni • The Alchemist by Paul Coelho • Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman • Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland • The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron HISTORY AND GLOBAL STUDIES
• Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America 1789-1989 by Michael Beschloss • The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson • The Garden of Martyrs by Michael C. White • A Partial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer DuBois ’02 • Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell • The Life of Pi by Yann Martel • A Border Passage by Leila Ahmed • The Autobiography of Malcolm X • Baraka (film), directed by Ron Fricke
• LANGUAGES: FILMS
•
spanish:
Entre Nos directed by Gloria La Morte and Paola Mendoza, NR • french: Les Comperes, directed by Francis Veber, PG • latin: I, Claudius, directed by Herbert Wise (television miniseries), PG • chinese: Mulan, directed by Tony Bancroft, G MATHEMATICS
• Fantasia Mathematica by Clifton Fadiman, ed. • The Mathematical Magpie by Clifton Fadiman, ed. • Proof by David Auburn SCIENCE
• Backyard Ballistics by William Gurstelle • Leonardo’s Mountain of Clams, Diet of Worms by Stephen J. Gould • The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments by George Johnson • The Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif and F. Gonzalez-Crussi • What is Life? by Lynn Margulis and Dorian Sagan
CONTACTS ACADEMIC DEAN
LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT HEAD
Greg Tuleja gtuleja@williston.com
Beatrice Cody bcody@williston.com
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT HEAD
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT HEAD
Adrienne Mantegna amantegna@williston.com
Bill Berghoff wberghoff@williston.com
MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT HEAD
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
Joshua Seamon jseamon@williston.com
DEPARTMENT HEAD
HISTORY & GLOBAL STUDIES
Natania Hume nhume@williston.com
DEPARTMENT HEAD
DIRECT OF MIDDLE SCHOOL
Sarah Klumpp sklumpp@williston.com
Jen Fulcher jfulcher@williston.com