Honors English II Reading Ideas List

 

Honors classes at Woods are independent and largely self-directed.  Students who opt to take Honors English II will be responsible for 4 independent reading selections and written responses, due throughout the year (dates TBD).  Titles must be chosen from the list provided, or approved by Ms. Berg. Please review the expected assignments and reading list, and carefully consider your commitment to this independent study.

World Literature explores a wide range of cultural voices and periods. Independent selections shall extend students’ experience; classroom offerings represent  many voices and you are encouraged to choose titles that appeal to you.

Suggested Honors titles and authors

This list is not exhaustive. Feel free to seek other works by these authors, or other works of world literature, and check for approval. Some of these books, and others not on the list, are available for loan. You may need to provide yourself with books for your Honors reading. We welcome donations to the classroom when you are done!

Classic

Things Fall Apart, Achebe

Bless Me, Ultima, Anaya

Waiting for Godot, Beckett

The Good Earth, Buck

The Stranger, Camus

Claudine at School, Colette

Heart of Darkness, Conrad

The Three Musketeers, Dumas

The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky

One Hundred Years of Solitude; Love in the Time of Cholera, Marquez

A Bend in the River, V.S. Naipaul

Cry, the Beloved Country, Paton

All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque

Anna Karenina; War and Peace, Tolstoy

Fathers and Sons, Turgenev

 

Contemporary

The House of the Spirits, Allende

Like Water for Chocolate, Esquivel

Mazel, Goldstein

July’s People, Gordimer

The Kite Runner; A Thousand Splendid       Suns, Hosseini

The Bone People, Hulme

The Autobiography of My Mother, Kincaid

The Namesake, Lahiri

Angela’s Ashes, McCourt

Jasmine, Mukherjee

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Murakami

Absurdistan, Shteyngart

The Joy Luck Club, Tan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Honors Requirements  -  for each of the four required novels, you will

 Read the entire book

·         Complete an annotations chart (to be provided)

·         Write a critical analysis of the book, including Direct Textual References (quotes) for support (600 words)


Here are the steps to take.

1.      Select a book.

2.      Read it closely.

3.      As you read, complete the annotations chart.

4.      Mark interesting quotations.

5.      Write an essay (600 words) discussing what you see as the main themes, salient features, or other important aspect of the book.

·         Use your best writing skills.

·         Use examples from the book.

·         Make a case for your opinion.

·         Follow formatting guidelines.

6.      Turn in all annotations chart and essay in proper format and a timely fashion.

 

Work will be assessed and grades given according the chart below. The annotations chart will be considered as part of the overall grade, but will be marked separately.

A

Exemplary. Exceptionally thorough, detailed, well-supported, impeccably presented, and complete. Free from errors, insightful, convincing.

B

Complete. Thorough and well-expressed, with support and analysis. May have some areas that could be improved, or errors in conventions.

C

Fair, with several areas that could be strengthened. May need work on organization, depth, or style, including sentence structure, vocabulary, grammar.

D

Minimally complete. Lacks a clear focus or explanation of main points, and/or provides little support. Contains multiple errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation.

F

Incomplete. Does not meet required elements of the assignment or is poorly done.