Honors English 9 AHS Independent Reading Assignment

• This assignment requires students to read three selected chapters from: How to Read Literature Like a Professor for Kids by Robert Foster AS WELL AS  the novel, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, independently and complete a written application assignment (150 points)
• An open-book test over the required selections  will be given the third week of the course (150 points).
• An plagiarism or AI use on this project is strictly prohibited and will result in a zero.

Written Task (150 points on 2nd 9-week average):

• Students need to read Foster’s chapters BEFORE the novel
• Written prompt for each assigned chapter TYPED, DOUBLE-SPACED, and follow MLA format. You will have three paragraphs total. (minimum of 300 words EACH)
• Use and correctly document any quoted material from Foster’s and/or Collins’s novel, following MLA citation guidelines.  
• For help with MLA citation and formatting guidelines, be sure to consult the Online Writing Lab from Purdue University, often referred to as Purdue OWL: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_style_introduction.html 

Writing Prompts:

1. A quester
2. A destination
3. A stated reason to go
4. Challenges and trials
5. A real reason to go (which is often self-discovery)

• This assignment requires you to choose one novel from the list below, read it independently, and complete the assignments listed. 
• Be aware that you will also take an assessment on the novel at the beginning of the course within the first two weeks. The grade for this assignment will be recorded during the 1st 9-weeks grading period. 
• The due date for the assignment is the date of the first progress report of the 1st 9-weeks grading period when students have English whether during first semester or second semester. The independent reading assignment will be recorded on the 1st progress report for the 2nd 9-weeks grading period.
• NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. ANY PLAGIARISM WILL RESULT IN A GRADE OF ZERO. 
• ALL SOURCES MUST BE FROM GOOGLE SCHOLAR OR THE AVL.

Honors 10th Grade Fiction Novel Choices

• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Christina Lamb and Malala Yousafzai

Assignment: Create an annotated bibliography for your selected novel.

• Find one critical review of your novel from Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) or Google Scholar.
• Also, find three sources about the author and/or the historical context of the novel from Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) or Google Scholar.
• You will have 4 sources total. (1 critical review - 3 author/historical context)
• Provide the MLA citations for EACH source, then discuss what you learned from your research from each source. 
  • EACH source citation’s discussion should be at least one paragraph (between 100 and 200 words in length).
• Discuss your experience throughout the research process in at least one paragraph (between 100 and 200 words in length).
• Use and correctly document any quoted material from the critical article and/or the novel, following MLA citation guidelines.  
• This assignment should be typed, double-spaced, and follow all MLA formatting guidelines. You will have five paragraphs total - 1 critical review with citation, 3 author and/or historical context with citations, 1 personal experience.

Honors 11th Grade Novel

AP 11 Language & Composition Independent Reading 

Overview

• Students taking honors, AP, or dual enrollment English courses are required to complete the appropriate independent reading assignment.
• This assignment requires you to read the novel below, read it independently, and complete the assignment listed. (200 point assignment)
• Be aware that you will also take an assessment on the novel at the beginning of the course within the first two weeks.
• The grade for this assignment will be recorded during the 1st 9-weeks grading period. (200 point assessment)
• The due date for the assignment is the date of the first progress report of the 1st 9-weeks grading period when students have English whether during first semester or second semester.
• NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
• The independent reading assignment will be recorded on the 1st progress report for the 2nd 9-weeks grading period. New enrollments will be given one month from their first day to complete all independent reading assignments.

Assignment: 

• Reading Record Card 
• Literary Précis 
• Thematic analysis CDW

AP 12 Literature and Composition Independent Reading Assignment

Novels

Overview

• Due to the necessity of group discussion and analysis in this course, students will begin reading the novel, The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver AFTER we meet in late September/early October of fall semester 2025 for an overview of this, different, assignment.
• This class is heavily dependent on class discussion/participation, which can take time to cultivate; therefore, we will begin having “virtual” discussions during the second half of the fall semester using a Google Classroom discussion forum.
• Reading assignments will be short (no more than thirty pages per week,  usually less) and you will be required to post one comment/question/observation and respond to two classmates’ posts.
• We will NOT be even halfway through the novel by the time we meet for our first class in January; however, we WILL already be having class discussion/dialogue which will make the first few weeks of class much smoother and productive for all of us:).
• I have several copies of the novel if you would like to borrow one, or feel free to order your own (annotating/using post-its is HIGHLY recommended:).
• Below is a link for the paperback edition on Amazon, but you might want to check Thriftbooks online or try Second and Charles. https://www.amazon.com/Poisonwood-Bible-Novel-Barbara-Kingsolver/dp/0060786507
• If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to come by my classroom or email me at jordan.matthews@acs-k12.org.

Download AP 12 Literature and Composition Independent Reading Assignment

Honors/Dual English  Independent Reading Assignment

• This assignment requires the student to read the following novel and complete the assignment below. (200 point assignment)
• Students should be aware there will also be a written assessment on the novel at the beginning of the course. (200 point assessment) 
• The due date for the assignment is the date of the first progress report of the 1st 9-weeks grading period when students have English whether during first semester or second semester. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. The independent reading assignment will be recorded on the 1st progress report for the 2nd 9-weeks grading period. New enrollments will be given one month from their first day to complete all independent reading assignments.

• Students in honors English 12 courses will be required to complete a 4-7 page research paper in MLA format based on one of the following prompts. 
• Students are required to find and use 3 peer reviewed articles as secondary sources and include a Works Cited page in proper MLA format.

9th grade

• Dr. Angela Wagner, Angela.Wagner@acs-k12.org
• Mrs. Keziah McCarley, Keziah.McCarley@acs-k12.org

10th grade

• Dr. Sloan Acker, Sloan.Acker@acs-k12.org
• Mrs. Haley Reyer, Haley.Reyer@acs-k12.org
• Ms. Allie Taylor, Alexandra.Taylor@acs-k12.org

11th grade

• Mr. Austen Dorning, Austen.Dorning@acs-k12.org

12th grade

• Mrs. Dorothy Hamlett, Dorothy.Hamlett@acs-k12.org 

AP Language

• Ms. Lesley Carter, Lesley.Carter@acs-k12.org

AP Literature & Dual English

• Ms. Jordan Matthews, Jordan.Matthews@acs-k12.org