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Pittsfield High School
St Joseph High School
Taconic High School
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Pittsfield High School
Regular English requires ONE book choice with a response journal. Intensive requires TWO book choices and journals. Honors requires THREE book choices and journals. Honors has a specific assignment listed below.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Night Hoops by Carl Deuker
Far North by Will Hobbs
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
April Morning by Howard Fast
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Light on Snow by Anita Shreve
Honors will read two books from the list and complete journal entries.
*For the third book, read Part 1 of Silas Marner by George Eliot, and complete a time line of events, instead of journal entries. The class will work with this book for the first few weeks of school. There will be a limited number of copies of Silas Marner available in the PHS office (open 7-3) during the summer, for students to borrow and return.
Regular English requires ONE book choice with a response journal. Intensive requires TWO book choices and journals. Honors requires THREE book choices and journals.
Silver Fin by Charlie Higson
Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman
Stotan by Chris Crutcher
Marie Dancing by Carolyn Myer
Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez
Handbook For Boys by Walter Dean Myers
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
The Eldest by Christopher Paolini
The Messenger by Lois Lowry
Romeo’s Ex: Rosalind’s Story by Lisa Fiedler
Regular English requires ONE book choice with a response journal. Intensive requires TWO book choices and journals. Honors requires THREE book choices and journals.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Heart of the Sea by Nat Philbrick
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Into the Wild by John Krakauer
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Night Country by Stewart O’Nan
The Odd Sea by Fredrick Reiken
Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen
Rite of Passage by Richard Wright
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Honors 11 students should read ONE of the following titles and complete an excerpt journal. Each is a companion novel to a work read during the year.
Grendel by John Gardner
Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton
Dating Hamlet by Lisa Fiedler
Ill-Met by Moonlight by Sarah Hoyt
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Why Mermaids Sing: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery by C.S. Harris
Burning Brightly by Tracy Chevalier
In addition, Honors 11 students must read ONE of the following British novels and complete an excerpt journal, which will be incorporated into a culminating project in the spring. Students may plan to coordinate their choice of title with friends, as the culminating project is a group effort.
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Finally, the Honors 11 student should read ONE book of his/her own choosing and complete an excerpt journal.
Complete one excerpt journal for each book.
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Read all essays from The Best American Essays 2008
The excerpt journal for The Best American Essays 2008 should include an excerpt from five different essays.
Regular English requires ONE book choice with a response journal. Intensive requires TWO book choices and journals. Honors requires THREE book choices and journals. Honors has a specific assignment listed below.
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Foul Ball by Jim Bouton
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger
What is the What by Dave Eggers
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Good Earth Pearl S. Buck
An excerpt journal is required for each novel.
Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
How To Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
The Gift of Fear by Gavin deBecker
Please see the website if you did not receive the assignments for Mrs. Duffy’s course. An excerpt journal is required for each novel. The AP Literature assignment is DUE ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2010. Please drop the assignment off in the Main Office at PHS.
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Bird Artist by Howard Norman
St Joseph High School
English I: An Introduction to Literature
Overarching Theme: Fate & Free WillAll sections required book: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Honors section: A Separate Peace by John KnowlesSuggested Reading (Classics):
Good-bye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Madame Curie by Eve Curie
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
Tom Sawyer by Mark TwainSuggested Reading (Contemporary Young Adult):
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Dragonwings by Lawrence Yep
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D SchmidtEnglish II: American Literature
Overarching Theme: The American Dream: Reality and IllusionAll sections required book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Honors section: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Suggested Reading (Classics):A Death in the Family by James Agee
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy
Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher StoweEnglish III: British Literature
Overarching Theme: The Individual and Society
All sections required book: Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Honors section: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark HaddonSuggested Reading (Classics):
A Passage to India by E M Forster
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Silas Marner by George Eliot
Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas HardySuggested Reading (Contemporary Young Adult):
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
English IV: World Literature
Overarching Theme: Life’s JourneyAll sections required book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Honors section: The Kite Runner by Khaled HosseiniSuggested Reading (Classics):
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Time Machine by H G Wells
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
Seabiscuit by Laura HillenbrandSuggested Reading (Contemporary Young Adult):
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
A Whole New Mind by Daniel PinkEnglish IV: Advanced Placement Literature and Composition
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Heroes, Gods and Monsters by Bernard Evslin
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Taconic High School
The Car by Gary Paulson
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair
Mercy by Jodi Picoult
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Donald Duk by Frank Chin
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Eragon by Christopher Paolin
Shooter Walter Dean MyersHONORS: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky + one from above
Lucky: Alice Sebold
Eat, Pray, Love: Elizabeth Gilbert
On Hitler’s Mountain: Irmgard Hunt
The Guiness Book of Me:A Memoir of Record: Steven Church
First They Killed My Father: Loung Ung
The Autobiography of a Face: Lucy Grealy
Wasted: Marya Hornbacher
Go Ask Ogre: Jolene Siana
Prozac Nation: Elizabeth Wurtzel
In a Sunburned Country: Bill Bryson
Winterdance: Gary Paulsen
A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey for the Inner City to the Ivy League: Ron SuskinHONORS: (choose one of the following) The Devil in White City- Erik Larson OR When You are Engulfed in Flames- David Sedaris+ one from above (for a total of two)
The Shipping News: by Annie Proulx
Wicked: by Gregory Maguire
A Walk in the Woods: by Bill Bryson
House of Spirits: by Isabelle Allende
The Natural: by Bernard Malamud
River Cross My Heart: by Breena Clark
The Illustrated Man: by Ray Bradbury
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (Book 1):byAlexander McCall Smith
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: by Stieg Larsson
Every Second Counts: by Lance Armstrong
Nickel and Dimed: by Barbara EhreneichAP English Language has a separate assignment
The Bean Trees: by Barbara Kingsolver
Snow Falling on Cedars: by David Gutterson
House of Mirth: by Edith Wharton
Peace Like a River: by Leif Enger
High Fidelity: by Nick Hornby
Catch 22: by Joseph Heller
Neverwhere: by Neil Gaiman
Kite Runner: by Khaled Hosseini
Angela’s Ashes: by Frank McCourt
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime: by Mark HaddonAP English Literature has a separate assignment
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Updated June 24, 2010.