Summer work is due the first day of school.
This letter has also been uploaded to your Bio2H classroom page as well if you took Bio 2 H during the 2023-2024 school year.
May 27, 2025
Dear Student,
As you know, the summer work for AP Biology involves you choosing ONE BOOK to read. Please choose something that INTERESTS you AND that you HAVE NOT READ before.
Here are some of the most common:
Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem
Inheritance by Sharon Moalem
Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
The Serengeti Rules by Sean B Carroll
Endless Forms Most Beautiful by Sean B Carroll
The Making of the Fittest by Sean B Carroll
The Story of Life by Sean B Carroll
Pandora’s Lab by Paul A Offit
The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Genome by Matt Ridley
I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong
She Has Her Mother’s Laugh by Carl Zimmer
A Crack in Creation by Jennifer Doudna & Samuel Sternberg
A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived by Adam Rutherford
Improbable Destinies by Jonathan Losos
The Universe Within by Neil Shubin
Darwin’s Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated by Steve Jones
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
The Breakthrough by Charles Graeber
If you do not like any of those choices, pick a different one from the AP Biology Great Books List: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-biology/classroom-resources/great-books-list.
(There are nonfiction and fiction books to choose from--I did not make the list...it is a list made from the AP Biology Community associated with CollegeBoard).
If you have a book that isn’t on the list that you would like to read and it applies to biology, please email me at dietz@ht-sd.org for approval!
As you are reading the book, I would like you to keep a reading journal that is HANDWRITTEN. Your reading journal should include the following 4 items:
1. A creative cover that is unique/reflects what you feel is important to the book (should be made last). Final cover should be done in ink/color.
2. A statement as to WHY you picked the book.
3. A list of your TOP TEN quotes/sentences/paragraphs from the book. Be sure to include the Chapter AND page number for each. Your selections should relate to biology somehow. Include a detailed explanation as to why you chose what you did.
4. How would you rate this book on a scale of 1-5 stars and why? This is where you include your reflection/reaction to the book.
You can use card stock and lined or blank paper for this assignment. I want all of it HANDWRITTEN…you shouldn’t be in front of the computer while you are reading! You can also buy a small notebook to use for your assignment, but it is not necessary. You will be discussing your books on the first day of school, so please bring your assignment with you then!
I hope you find this summer assignment to be enjoyable--I can’t wait to hear about what you’ve been reading!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Dietz