Summer 2008 Reading List for English 12

Welcome to English 12! Over the summer, you are required to read the following four books, and we will be using them in class [for grades :>)] next year.

Your familiarity with each book will be assessed through a variety of activities.

1.) Read The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart and write a paper to hand in at the first class meeting of the semester. Pretend that you have met Merlin and that he has told you some of his story. Give your assessment of him as a person; identify his weaknesses and strengths. Be sure to include examples from the story to support your conclusions. The paper should be about 500 words. Use MLA format.

• Format: Reports must be typed and double-spaced. Use font size 12 in Courier, Arial, or Times New Roman. Teachers will not read italics or any other font styles. Do not attach a cover page.
• Due date: First English class meeting in Semester I. This paper will be your first grade of the year!

2.) Read A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen. You will take a quiz given at the beginning of the semester during class. We will also use this book for some class discussions and subsequent essays.

3.) Read Hamlet by William Shakespeare. For use in class, you MUST have the Touchstone Press edition. Consulting other editions on your own is fine, but we will all use the same edition in class (it is very inexpensive and has great notes.) Pick up study questions for Hamlet in room 230 and complete them as you read during the summer. The questions will be collected for credit at the beginning of the semester. Other assignments will be determined by your teacher.

4.) Read Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier. We will study some poems of Blake and you will be responsible for some character analysis based on your reading of this book.