Curriculum: Social Studies Summer Reading List
Dear Students,
As we explore History and the other Social Sciences, we are really studying the "stories" of our human family. In this spirit, we encourage you to read stories as they are presented in novels, biographies, memoirs, and other written accounts. We have chosen the following books for the 2008-09 Social Studies courses. Over the summer, choose one of the books listed for each of the courses in which you are registered and complete the assignment below. If you are registered for the course during the first semester, you assignment is due on the first full day of class, August 21. If you are registered for a course during the second semester, you assignment is due on January 5. Please check your schedule.
The Social Studies policy for assignments is as follows: Assignments and homework are due at the time of class unless otherwise directed. An assignment turned in after the class period and/or one day late will lose 25% of its value. An assignment turned in two or more days late will receive an F. An assignment will not be accepted after 1 week from the date it was due.
Assignment:
Part I: Select one of the following questions to answer.
• Choose an incident from the book and describe how you would have reacted and why.
• Which character do you feel is most like yourself, which is most different from you? Explain.
• Which character changed the most from the beginning of the book to the end?
Part II: Would you recommend this book to other readers? Why or why not?
Your assignment should be typed and approximately 500 words. This assignment is worth 25 points.
Choose one of the books listed for each of the courses in which you are registered.
Freshman World History
Ties that Bind, Ties that Break, Lensey Namioka
A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah
Freshman World History-Honors
The Bookseller of Kabul, Anse Seirsted
Falling Leaves, Adeline Yen Mah
Sophomore World History
Five Quarters of an Orange, Joanna Harris
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See
Sophomore World History-Honors
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini
An Ordinary Man, Paul Rusesabagina
American History
Autobiography of Ben Franklin, Benjamin Franklin
March, Geraldine Brooks
Cane River, Lalita Tademy
The Life of Johnny Reb, Bell Irvin Wiley
The Life of Billy Yank, Bell Irvin Wiley
American History-Honors
History of Money, Jack Weatherford
Founding Brothers, Joseph Ellis
20th Century History
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfe
Senator Joe McCarthy, Richard H. Rovere
The Way We Never Were, Stephanie Coontz
The Crucial Decade, Eric Goldman
Geography and Culture
The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
Politics
Hard Ball, Chris Mathews
European History
A World Lit Only by Fire, William Manchester
Empire of Blue Water, Stephan Talty
Current Events
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini
Psychology
Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls
Black and Blue, Anna Quindlen
Born on a Blue Day, Daniel Tammet
Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
