Grade 9

Anchor Texts: 

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, by Wes Moore

&

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines, Revised Edition, by Thomas C Foster

It is expected that every student will come to class on the first day of school, August 24, 2026, having completed the summer assignment.

There are three parts:

Part 1: Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature like a Professor 

HERE is a PDF copy of How to Read Literature like a Professor 

This book will help you better analyze literature and read into the text like your English teachers do when they read. This is a book about how to read books and is not a story. It will help better prepare you for the rigor of this class, as well as to prepare for Advanced Placement courses.

For the summer assignment, you only need to read the chapters listed below. Make a copy of these Cornell notes to fill out one of these (for each chapter) as you read and turn in on the first day of school. You are also encouraged to annotate while you read; this is a habit of strong readers!

You are responsible for reading the following chapters:

• Chapter 11: More than it's Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence

• Chapter 12: Is that a Symbol?

• Chapter 13: It's All Political

• Chapter 24: Don't Read With Your Eyes

• Chapter 26: Is He Serious? And Other Ironies