English I AH summer reading requirements - Maryville City Schools

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Bass and Jefferson: Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Lab The Body. Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales. OR. • Skloot: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Required Summer Reading --English I Advanced Honors Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 (all AH students read) -- and one of these works of nonfiction: • Bass and Jefferson: Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Lab The Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales

OR • Skloot: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Welcome to Advanced Honors English I. We have selected two books for our students to read this summer. All English I AH students will read Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451. Students may choose between these two titles for their second book: Death's Acre, a memoir by William Bass and Jon Jefferson or The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Both nonfiction titles relate to biology. Their inclusion on the AH English I summer reading list reflects the belief that reading and writing in the 21st century classroom is an interdisciplinary effort -- and that good science writing has the power to move beyond "just the facts" to tell stories with the power to thrill, challenge, and enlighten.

Fahrenheit 451-- Here Bradbury depicts a future where censorship has gone wild.

Firemen don't put out fires--they start them in order to burn books. Bradbury's society holds up the appearance of happiness as the highest goal--a place where trivial information is good, and knowledge and ideas are dangerous. As you read, consider these essential questions: In what ways is the world of Fahrenheit 451 like ours? How does it differ? What does it mean to be a thinking person? Furthermore, what makes you think, and what gets in the way of your thinking?

Death's Acre-- About this memoir, a reviewer in Publisher's Weekly writes:

"... a premier forensic anthropologist, recounts how a life spent studying dead bodies led to the creation of "The Anthropology Research Facility" (aka the Body Farm), a plot of land near the University of Tennessee Medical Center where Bass and his colleagues monitor the decomposition of human corpses in various environments. The book is structured around the 1981 creation of the Body Farm, and the early chapters focus on some of Bass's trickier cases to demonstrate his need for more information about the science of forensics. The later chapters take a closer look at how the scientific analysis of Body Farm corpses has helped Bass and other anthropologists solve some of the toughest and most bizarre cases. Though professional and conscientious when describing the medical facts of each case, Bass, writing with journalist Jefferson, proves to be a witty storyteller with a welcome sense of humor." A reviewer for the School Library Journal writes, " Young adults will gain insight into the forensic process and appreciate Bass's dedication to the truth and his work."

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks -- Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance…. Winner of several awards, including the 2010 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Nonfiction, the 2010 Wellcome Trust Book Prize, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Award for Excellence in Science Writing, this book was also featured in over 60 critics' best of the year lists for 2010. In the New York Times, critic Dwight Garner calls it "One of the most graceful and moving nonfiction books I've read in a very long time...A thorny and provocative book about cancer, racism, scientific ethics, and crippling poverty....It has brains and pacing and nerve and heart, and it is uncommonly endearing. You might put it down only to wipe off the sweat."

Where to obtain copies of summer reading books: You will need to purchase your own novels so that you can highlight or bookmark the books. Used copies may be ordered on Amazon.com for a minimal price. You may also want to check the local used bookstores: Southland, The Book Rack, Cover to Cover, or Edward McKay's. Please bring the book with you to English when school begins.

During the first few days of school, you will be asked to share your knowledge of these works through discussion, writing, and objective testing. Please do not accept a study guide such as Cliff's Notes as a substitute. In preparation for writing/discussion, we recommend that you take notes for yourself this summer so that you will have some intelligent questions/comments to offer about the book in class. Jot down important details such as characters' names and relationships, major events in the protagonists' lives, especially descriptive passages, and significant ideas (for example, the theme of the Fahrenheit 451 and the central idea of the nonfiction your read). You may prefer to highlight or take notes in your book. The objective is to stretch your mind and to bring knowledge to share in class. Happy reading!