Back to School: Summer Reading Assignments

Summer break is often considered time away from teachers and books, but older students need to crack open a book.

Smithtown Central School District gives out summer reading assignments to its high school and middle school students to help sustain their interest in learning. Finish reading these books on time can help your child start the year off on the right foot, and ahead of the class. 

All of Smithtown's summer reading assignments can be found on the district's website along with detailed step-by-step instructions and questions.

Here's a break down of the summer reading assignments by school: 

Smithtown High School - West

AP Language and Composition

• "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
• "Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business" by Neil Postman 
  and 
• read and respond to three editorial groupings on The New York Times “Room for Debate” site.

English 9 Honors

• "How to Mark a Book” by Mortimer J. Adler
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain

Smithtown High School - East

AP English and Literature

• "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" by Thomas Foster
• "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
• the first two books of the Bible—Genesis and Exodus—as well as the Gospel of Matthew.  

AP Language and Composition

• "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
• "Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business" by Neil Postman 
  and 
• read and respond to three editorial groupings on The New York Times“Room for Debate” site.

English 10 Honors

• "A Doll’s House" by Henrik Ibsen
• "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque.  

English 9 Honors

• "How to Mark a Book” by Mortimer J. Adler
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain

AP Economics
Select one of the following:

• "Naked Economics" by Charles Wheelan 
• "Freakonomics" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner 
• "SuperFreakonomics" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner 
•  "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman 
•  "Economics Explained" by Robert L. Heilbroner and Lester Thurow  

Other high school and middle classes in Smithtown school district have summer assignments that may involve research papers or laboratory experiments. Full details on those summer homework assignments can downloaded from the individual school's website where they are explained at length.