| News & Events 2010-2011 Summer Assignments Draw Near
Vocabulary List New This Year
 “Reading broadly and intelligently are essential components of a good education, and the Blair faculty encourage reading throughout the year,” said Dean of Academics Sam Bacon. “The summer is no exception—there are exciting and informative titles here!” He added this thought in a recent note to parents: “The vocabulary list remains a new and exciting part of the upcoming school year; I hope you will try to integrate vocabulary learning into your family’s daily activities across the year.”
Expectation for all Blair students: All students are to read a minimum of four books (fiction/non-fiction) over the summer, and we hope that they will read five. In any event, they must read all summer reading books required for their courses, to be included in that total. Others, as needed to make up the total of five, are to be of one's own choosing. Notably longer books may count as two titles. Depending on the courses, students may be examined on one or all of their choices.
Requirements for Selected Courses for 2011/2012:
English 1: All 9th grade students must
do two things. (1) Read Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the
Greek Myths (Evslin), and (2) include at least one of the following
three books among their remaining choices. They may read more
if they choose.
Balzac and the Little Chinese
Seamstress (Sijie)
The Catcher in the Rye (Salinger)
The Curious Incident of the
Dog in the Night-time (Haddon)
English 2: Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury)
English 2 Honors: The Kite Runner (Hosseini)
English 3: The Accidental Tourist (Tyler)
English 3 Honors: King Lear (Shakespeare) and The Road (McCarthy)
English 4 – (all seniors not taking English AP): Slaughterhouse-5 (Vonnegut)
English 4 AP – Literature: Atonement (McEwan); Book of Job (Bible,
any edition)
English 4 AP – Language: Assassination Vacation (Vowell)
World History; Western Civilization;
US History: In lieu of summer reading, these courses
are allowed
to assign a book over either the winter or spring break.
US History AP: An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power (Gordon)
and The Thirteen American Arguments: Enduring Debates… (Fineman); in addition,
sometime in June students will receive a newspaper assignment from the teacher.
Roman History: Are We Rome? (Murphy)
European History AP: Darkness at Noon (Koestler); email Dr. Miller (millem@blair.edu)
for an assignment associated with the novel.
Microeconomics AP: The Undercover Economist (Harford)
World History AP: Guns, Germs, and Steel… (Diamond)
Comparative Government AP: Email Mrs. Spring (sprins@blair.edu) for your assignment.
Chemistry Advanced Placement: The Disappearing Spoon (Kean)
Biology Advanced Placement: Endless Forms Most Beautiful (Carroll)
Physics Advanced Placement (C): The Dancing Wu Li Masters (Zukav)
Epidemiology: Flu (Kolata)
Music Theory AP: The Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios and Cadences…
(Palmer, Manus, Lethco)
Summer Work for Languages
Required of new and returning students
Essential Vocabulary
Beginning with this year, Blair students are directed to the first set of words of what will become in the coming years a standard Blair Vocabulary List of nearly 1,000 words; the first year’s list will start with 180 words and be increased over the summer, up to 250 words, total. Click here for the list. While words will be covered in the classroom, the wise student and family will begin to master words throughout the year, beginning with the summer.
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Updated 8/23/11 |
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