Summer Reading Guide

2019-2020 UPPER SCHOOL SUMMER READING & OTHER ASSIGNMENTS
Updated May 30, 2019

The goal of summer reading at Roland Park Country School is consistent with the School’s philosophy in that it “strives to instill in its students a lifelong love of learning as well as the motivation to look within and beyond themselves” while also promoting the importance of reading a variety of works.

  • The Upper School Summer Reading program for 2019-2020 consists of three required summer reading assignments, which are detailed in the sections further below:
    1.  All Upper School Reading Assignment
    2.  Grade Level Reading Assignment
    3.  English Reading Assignment
       
  • Certain other RPCS courses have additional required summer work.  These are listed in a separate section below.
     
  • Coordinated junior English and U.S. History, some world language, and senior elective courses may have their unique additional reading requirements. Please check with your teacher at Bryn Mawr, Gilman, or RPCS for further details.  The information listed on our webpage is for the courses held on the RPCS campus.  You may find information for coordinated schools at the following links:
  • Students should expect assessments on their summer work when they return to school in the fall.
     
  •  We encourage as much reading as possible, so for additional optional reading material, please see the links to the departmental Suggested Reading Lists, which include faculty and staff recommended texts.



ALL UPPER SCHOOL READING ASSIGNMENT

Selected by vote of the Upper School student body, the required All Upper School summer reading book for 2019-2020 is: Animal Farm, by George Orwell
(A paper copy of the book or an e-book may be used for the All Upper School Reading Assignment.)


GRADE LEVEL READING ASSIGNMENT

Required summer reading for each grade level: 
(A paper copy of the book or an e-book may be used for the Grade Level Reading Assignment.)

9th Grade: Piecing Me Together, by Renée Watson
10th Grade: not applicable for 2019
11th Grade: not applicable for 2019
12th Grade: Piecing Me Together, by Renée Watson


ENGLISH READING ASSIGNMENT

Required summer reading for the following English courses:
(A paper copy of the book must be used for the English Reading Assignment.)

English 9:
Escape from Aleppo, by N.H. Senzai

English 9 Honors:
Escape from Aleppo, by N.H. Senzai
The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo

English 10:
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer

English 10 Honors: 
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
Into the Wild Reading Guide
Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Purple Hibiscus Reading Guide

English 11: A Place for Us, by Fatima Farheen Mirza

Note: Students taking English 11 at Gilman have a different assignment. Please see the Gilman Summer Reading Program link at the top of the page for details.

AP English 12:
Tess of the D’Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy 
An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones

Representations of Madness in Literature and Film:
The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath 

Note: Students taking English 12 electives at Gilman or Bryn Mawr should see the Summer Reading Program links for those schools at the top of the page for details.

OTHER COURSES WITH REQUIRED SUMMER WORK

HISTORY 

AP World History 10: 
Click here for specific information from the instructor AP 

AP United States History 11:
Click here for specific information from the instructor
Reading Supplement #1:  Effects of the Columbian Exchange
Reading Supplement #2:  Comparing Settlement Patterns

European History:
Girl at War, by Sara Novic
Girl at War Discussion Questions

MATHEMATICS

AP Statistics: 
Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from Data, Charles Wheelan

SCIENCE

AP Chemistry:
Click here for specific information for the instructor

AP Psychology:
NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children, by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

VISUAL ARTS

AP Photography: Click here for specific information from the instructor
AP Studio Art (Drawing): Click here for specific information from the instructor

WORLD LANGUAGES

Arabic IV Honors: Students may choose to read one of these two books:
I Want To Get Married, by Ghada Abdel Aal 
Taxi, by Khaled Alkhamissi 

AP Chinese: 
China in Ten Words, by Yu Hua

AP French Language & Culture:
Click here for specific information from the instructor
Trois contes, by Guy de Maupassant (La Parure, La Dot, Le Vengeur)
Reading Handout
Vocabulary

Russian IV H: 
Click here for specific information from the instructor
Click here for the summer reading

AP Spanish Language: 
Click here for specific information from the instructor
Summer Work Part II
Summer Work Part III

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER OPTIONAL READING

Below are department suggestions for additional reading material:

English ~ Suggested Reading List
History ~ Suggested Reading List
Mathematics ~ Suggested Reading List
Performing Arts ~ Suggested Reading List
Physical Education & Athletics ~ Suggested Reading List
Science ~ Suggested Reading List
Visual Arts ~ Suggested Reading List
World Languages ~ Suggested Reading List