All Students:
Recommended Summer Reading: For all students, it is recommended that they choose at least one book from the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominees list.
Recommended Summer Reading: For all students, it is recommended that they choose at least one book from the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominees list.
- If students read at least three books from the list by February 1, 2018, they will be invited to the library for a nomination pizza party to vote for their favorite book to be chosen as the 2017-2018 South Carolina Young Adult Book of the year!
- If students read at least ten of the books from the list by February 1, 2018, they will be invited to the library for a “read-in” on the Friday before Spring Break. Activities, lunch and snacks for the read-in will be provided.
Additional Reading Lists
You may choose a book from one of the lists below or make other choices on your own.
Other reading lists are available on the Books, eBooks & More tab listed in the page menu above.
You may choose a book from one of the lists below or make other choices on your own.
Other reading lists are available on the Books, eBooks & More tab listed in the page menu above.
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Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifelong Learners
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Best Fiction for Young Adults
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HONORS AND AP REQUIRED READING
Students enrolled in Honors and AP courses are required to read the following books. Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors should be prepared for graded assessments within the first days of class. These titles are prerequisites for the courses. Rising freshmen will be allowed to check out assigned titles at registration and will be given until September 12 to complete the reading. Students who register over the summer, or have a course change to an honors course are responsible for the same deadlines. Students who register in August will be given until September 12 to complete the books.
The Blythewood High School Cyber Center has all of the titles below available for checkout over the summer. Print copies can be checked out in the Library Cyber Center until June 1 and will be due back the first day of school, August 22. eBooks and audiobooks are available for students via Overdrive. The Richland County Public Library has also been given this list in preparation of book demands. For those who choose to buy the books, this information has been shared with local bookstores. Titles selected coincide with course curriculum and may be referred to and used during the school year for various activities. These titles have been used for years in the district without objections; however, should any parent find a title objectionable, an alternate title will be provided. Please email the course contact person listed next to the course name for this information.
English I Honors: Erin Zehner: [email protected];
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Students will read Lord of the Flies over the summer to prepare for an intensive study and analysis on the novel upon the start of school. We will examine the psychology of the novel, coupling it with short stories, poems, articles, videos, and discussion in class. Students should have the novel read prior to start of class so that these supplemental texts may be properly paired.
AP Human Geography: Marc Dyer: [email protected]
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond and Lord of the Flies by William Golding
READ: The Prologue and chapters 3 & 4 of Guns, Germs, and Steel (I encourage you to read chapters 1-2, but it is not required). We will read the rest of the book throughout the course of the school year while we consider the academic debate between environmental determinists and possibilists.
ASSIGNMENT: Answer the Guns, Germs, and Steel review questions found here: GGS Review Questions.
Complete the Lord of the Flies project found here: LotF Geography Project.
Geography I Honors: Marc Dyer: [email protected]
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
This is the same book you will be reading for Honors English I.
ASSIGNMENT: Complete the geography project found here: LotF Geography project.
English II Honors: Claire Robinson: [email protected]
The Count of Monte Cristo (abridged Bantam Classic publication) by Alexander Dumas
If you like, you may complete a Major Works Data Sheet as a non-required organizer for the novel. Feel free to consult Mrs. Robinson’s Google folder ( http://tinyurl.com/SRSecrets ) regarding the nature of close reading and passage analysis to help you complete the packet. This book gives a common reading that all students share so that it serves as a reference point throughout the semester when skills and standards are reviewed. If presenting a concept, the story and its characters are used as examples to practice with before applying to new texts. Students are assessed through multiple choice questions that check to make sure the students read (basic plot, character, major literary elements used) and through a short writing prompt that serves to assess analysis skills and ability to support one’s opinion. This writing assessment also serves as baseline data to set writing goals for the class as a whole.
Read the following questions based on the novel. Be prepared to discuss and support it on the first day of class.
The central issue in The Count of Monte Cristo is the question of revenge. In the case of this book, is Dantes' quest for vengeance morally just? Can vengeance ever stand in for justice? How does Dantes' perspective change by the end of the book? What does he learn is the most important key to happiness? Another issue is the nature of ambition. What does Dumas reveal about the dangers and rewards of ambition? Be aware of characters' names and character traits. Does Dumas use them to represent concepts and ideas? If so, what? Look at what each character learns. Are these lessons used to make a bigger point about life and the way people should or should not live?
AP Language and Composition: Jacquelyn Marsha: [email protected]
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
Students should annotate each book. As you read and annotate each of these books, consider them in their historical and biographical context. These books will serve as texts to introduce important skills necessary for AP Language and Composition. More specifically, To Kill a Mockingbird will be used to introduce rhetoric and rhetorical analysis. Seabiscuit: An American Legend will be used to introduce synthesis. Students who enroll on or after August 1 should email Mrs. Marsha to discuss modified due dates.
English III Honors: Susanne Liggett: [email protected] or Sue Weems: [email protected]
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide by Sean Covey will be used as a jumping off point for the year-long research project that will be based on student interests and passions. Students will also read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which will be used for early class discussions and as the subject for a baseline in-class writing assessment.
English IV Honors: Dennis Ballentine: [email protected]
A Brave New World by A. Huxley
As you read this novel please consider its historical and biographical context. BNW is satiric, ironic, and some would say, to an extent very applicable to our society today. Though BNW was written in 1932, it still provides insight to our human passions and failures. BNW also gives a warning to how we prepare for our future and, at the same time, advocates change. Upon arrival to school you will need to collaborate intelligently about the novel with not only me, yet more importantly, your peers as the novel is the basis for a Project Based Learning (PBL) experience. Failure to prepare will place you in an awkward position as we begin the project.
AP Literature and Composition: Allison Bird: [email protected]
A Brave New World by A. Huxley and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
As you read both of these novels, consider them in their historical and biographical context. BNW is both satiric and ironic; Frankenstein is a horror story, but its horror is more social and political than “things that go bump in the night.” Both novels give a warning and advocate change. Be able to talk intelligently about both novels when we begin school in the fall. We will use A Brave New World as our first text to lay the groundwork for written literary analysis. While reading Frankenstein, collect specific examples of Shelley’s use of gothicism as a lens for her purpose in writing. We will use Frankenstein as a principle text to write a comparative analysis. Both text are often referenced on the College Board AP exam. Successful completion of this exam rests on a broad knowledge of canonized texts.
AP Biology: Lisa McAlpine: [email protected]
The following assignments will be due on the first day of class (students who enroll after July 7th, should contact Ms. McAlpine to discuss due dates for work). This assignment is a review of concepts that should have been learned in chemistry prior to enrolling in this class. A good foundation knowledge of this material is crucial to understanding material as we move forward in the class, but is not part of the material covered on the AP exam, so we need to move through this material as quickly as possible. Based on the self-quizzes completed by the students prior to the first day of class, the review of this material at the beginning of the year is revised to hit the points that students are having problems with and to gloss over the material that students already have a firm handle on. Study guides are reviewed as a formative evaluation and self-quizzes are used as daily grades since they can be retaken once reviewed. No late assignments or extra credit will be accepted. Please complete:
3. Complete the self-quizzes for chapters 2-5 online at the class site schoology.com site.
AP Chemistry: Robin Henderson: [email protected]
Do the AP Chemistry Summer Assignment.
Students who enroll on or after August 1, should contact Ms. Henderson to discuss due dates for work.
All Students:
Recommended Summer Reading: For all students, it is recommended that they choose at least one book from the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominees list.
The Blythewood High School Cyber Center has all of the titles below available for checkout over the summer. Print copies can be checked out in the Library Cyber Center until June 1 and will be due back the first day of school, August 22. eBooks and audiobooks are available for students via Overdrive. The Richland County Public Library has also been given this list in preparation of book demands. For those who choose to buy the books, this information has been shared with local bookstores. Titles selected coincide with course curriculum and may be referred to and used during the school year for various activities. These titles have been used for years in the district without objections; however, should any parent find a title objectionable, an alternate title will be provided. Please email the course contact person listed next to the course name for this information.
English I Honors: Erin Zehner: [email protected];
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Students will read Lord of the Flies over the summer to prepare for an intensive study and analysis on the novel upon the start of school. We will examine the psychology of the novel, coupling it with short stories, poems, articles, videos, and discussion in class. Students should have the novel read prior to start of class so that these supplemental texts may be properly paired.
AP Human Geography: Marc Dyer: [email protected]
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond and Lord of the Flies by William Golding
READ: The Prologue and chapters 3 & 4 of Guns, Germs, and Steel (I encourage you to read chapters 1-2, but it is not required). We will read the rest of the book throughout the course of the school year while we consider the academic debate between environmental determinists and possibilists.
ASSIGNMENT: Answer the Guns, Germs, and Steel review questions found here: GGS Review Questions.
Complete the Lord of the Flies project found here: LotF Geography Project.
Geography I Honors: Marc Dyer: [email protected]
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
This is the same book you will be reading for Honors English I.
ASSIGNMENT: Complete the geography project found here: LotF Geography project.
English II Honors: Claire Robinson: [email protected]
The Count of Monte Cristo (abridged Bantam Classic publication) by Alexander Dumas
If you like, you may complete a Major Works Data Sheet as a non-required organizer for the novel. Feel free to consult Mrs. Robinson’s Google folder ( http://tinyurl.com/SRSecrets ) regarding the nature of close reading and passage analysis to help you complete the packet. This book gives a common reading that all students share so that it serves as a reference point throughout the semester when skills and standards are reviewed. If presenting a concept, the story and its characters are used as examples to practice with before applying to new texts. Students are assessed through multiple choice questions that check to make sure the students read (basic plot, character, major literary elements used) and through a short writing prompt that serves to assess analysis skills and ability to support one’s opinion. This writing assessment also serves as baseline data to set writing goals for the class as a whole.
Read the following questions based on the novel. Be prepared to discuss and support it on the first day of class.
The central issue in The Count of Monte Cristo is the question of revenge. In the case of this book, is Dantes' quest for vengeance morally just? Can vengeance ever stand in for justice? How does Dantes' perspective change by the end of the book? What does he learn is the most important key to happiness? Another issue is the nature of ambition. What does Dumas reveal about the dangers and rewards of ambition? Be aware of characters' names and character traits. Does Dumas use them to represent concepts and ideas? If so, what? Look at what each character learns. Are these lessons used to make a bigger point about life and the way people should or should not live?
AP Language and Composition: Jacquelyn Marsha: [email protected]
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
Students should annotate each book. As you read and annotate each of these books, consider them in their historical and biographical context. These books will serve as texts to introduce important skills necessary for AP Language and Composition. More specifically, To Kill a Mockingbird will be used to introduce rhetoric and rhetorical analysis. Seabiscuit: An American Legend will be used to introduce synthesis. Students who enroll on or after August 1 should email Mrs. Marsha to discuss modified due dates.
English III Honors: Susanne Liggett: [email protected] or Sue Weems: [email protected]
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide by Sean Covey will be used as a jumping off point for the year-long research project that will be based on student interests and passions. Students will also read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which will be used for early class discussions and as the subject for a baseline in-class writing assessment.
English IV Honors: Dennis Ballentine: [email protected]
A Brave New World by A. Huxley
As you read this novel please consider its historical and biographical context. BNW is satiric, ironic, and some would say, to an extent very applicable to our society today. Though BNW was written in 1932, it still provides insight to our human passions and failures. BNW also gives a warning to how we prepare for our future and, at the same time, advocates change. Upon arrival to school you will need to collaborate intelligently about the novel with not only me, yet more importantly, your peers as the novel is the basis for a Project Based Learning (PBL) experience. Failure to prepare will place you in an awkward position as we begin the project.
AP Literature and Composition: Allison Bird: [email protected]
A Brave New World by A. Huxley and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
As you read both of these novels, consider them in their historical and biographical context. BNW is both satiric and ironic; Frankenstein is a horror story, but its horror is more social and political than “things that go bump in the night.” Both novels give a warning and advocate change. Be able to talk intelligently about both novels when we begin school in the fall. We will use A Brave New World as our first text to lay the groundwork for written literary analysis. While reading Frankenstein, collect specific examples of Shelley’s use of gothicism as a lens for her purpose in writing. We will use Frankenstein as a principle text to write a comparative analysis. Both text are often referenced on the College Board AP exam. Successful completion of this exam rests on a broad knowledge of canonized texts.
AP Biology: Lisa McAlpine: [email protected]
The following assignments will be due on the first day of class (students who enroll after July 7th, should contact Ms. McAlpine to discuss due dates for work). This assignment is a review of concepts that should have been learned in chemistry prior to enrolling in this class. A good foundation knowledge of this material is crucial to understanding material as we move forward in the class, but is not part of the material covered on the AP exam, so we need to move through this material as quickly as possible. Based on the self-quizzes completed by the students prior to the first day of class, the review of this material at the beginning of the year is revised to hit the points that students are having problems with and to gloss over the material that students already have a firm handle on. Study guides are reviewed as a formative evaluation and self-quizzes are used as daily grades since they can be retaken once reviewed. No late assignments or extra credit will be accepted. Please complete:
- Read chapters 2-5 in Campbell Biology (10th edition) by Jane Reece, et al (book is online). This is a general review of chemistry that you will need to understand as we move through the year.
3. Complete the self-quizzes for chapters 2-5 online at the class site schoology.com site.
AP Chemistry: Robin Henderson: [email protected]
Do the AP Chemistry Summer Assignment.
Students who enroll on or after August 1, should contact Ms. Henderson to discuss due dates for work.
All Students:
Recommended Summer Reading: For all students, it is recommended that they choose at least one book from the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominees list.
- If students read at least three books from the list by February 1, 2018, they will be invited to the library for a nomination pizza party to vote for their favorite book to be chosen as the 2017-2018 South Carolina Young Adult Book of the year!
- If students read at least ten of the books from the list by February 1, 2018, they will be invited to the library for a “read-in” on the Friday before Spring Break. Activities, lunch and snacks for the read-in will be provided.
For information on books available in the Library Cyber Center, eBooks, audio books, and other reading lists click the Books, eBooks & More tab at the top of the page.
