Independent Reading Assignment for AP Human Geography
Ms. Valenteen DUE ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2019
Please email me with any questions: patricia.valenteen@oxnardunion.org
I will be traveling throughout the summer, so it may take up to a week for me to reply
DIRECTIONS:
A. Look over the list of books below and select one to read. You may want to read the descriptions of each book on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.
Since I am a fan of bookstores and libraries, I encourage you to either borrow the book from the public library OR from our amazing school library OR purchase it from a local bookstore.
Mrs. Figs Bookworm (93 E. Daily Drive) offers a 10% discount to students for required reading and she will be setting aside a section for this reading list in the store.
Please note: some of the books have mature themes and/or language, so PLEASE consult with your parent/guardian when making your choice.
We will have Silent Sustained Reading twice a week for 15 minutes, but you’ll also want to set aside some time for reading at home.
Books:
-
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
-
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
-
Amazon Extreme by Colin Angus and Ian Mulgrew,
-
An Unexpected Light by Jason Elliot
-
Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez
-
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
-
Beyond the Sky and the Earth by Jamie Zeppa
-
Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon,
-
Bones of the Master by George Crane
-
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
-
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown
-
City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre
-
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky
-
Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches by Marvin Harris
-
Dear Zari: The Secret Lives of the Women of Afghanistan by Zarghuna Kargar
-
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
-
Facing the Congo by Jeffrey Taylor
-
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling
-
Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China by Leslie T. Chang
-
Germania: In Wayward Pursuit of the Germans and Their History by Simon Winder
-
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond
-
Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn
-
How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization by Franklin Foer
-
How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe by Thomas Cahill
-
How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein
-
I Dreamed of Africa by Kuki Gallmann
-
Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson
-
Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States by Bill Bryson
-
On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks by Simon Garfield
-
Opium Nation by Fariba Nawa
-
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler
-
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
-
Songs to an African Sunset by Sekai Nzenza-Shand
-
States of Mind by Brad Herzog
-
The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky
-
The End of Plenty: The Race to Feed a Crowded World by Joel K. Bourne Jr
-
The Far Away Brothers by Lauren Markham
-
The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape by James Howard Kunstler
-
The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson
-
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
-
The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson
-
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
-
The Road to El Cielo: Mexico's Forest in the Clouds by Fred Webster and Marie S. Webster
-
The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan
-
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
-
They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan by Benjamin Ajak
-
This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland by Gretel Ehrlich
-
Where am I Eating?: An Adventure Through the Global Food Economy with Discussion Questions and a Guide to Going "Glocal" by Kelsey Timmerman
-
Where am I Wearing?: A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People That Make Our Clothes by Kelsey Timmerman
-
Why Geography Matters More Than Ever by H.J. de Blij
B. When you’re done reading the book, do a book analysis, using the following format:
1. Bibliographic Details
Title, Author, Publication Date
2. Background:
What do you know about this book/topic before getting started on this book? Why did you choose this book?
​
3. Content Summary and Writer’s Purpose
Summarize in about 100 words what the book is about and explain what you think the author’s purpose was in writing this book.
​
4. Vocabulary
List and define at least ten words OR terms from your book that were interesting or previously unknown to you.
​
5. Supporting Research Material:
List three outside sources (books, websites, magazines, etc.) that you could consult to get more information about topics in your book. For each source, provide the title, author, type of source, publication date, and topic you would research.
​
6. People
a. Who is/are the most important person/people in the book? Why is/are this/these person/people of interest?
b. Describe what one of them is like in about 100 words and explain why the person is of interest to you.
c. If this book does not focus on other people, answer these questions about the author. If necessary, do some research from another resource to answer b.
​
7. Quotations
Find three quotes from the book that you found to be significant or particularly interesting.
a. Write the quote (word-for-word) and the page number.
b. Explain the context (the events that have occurred in that section of the novel)
c. Commentary - Why does this quote interest you or why do you think it’s important? What predictions can you make or what insight can the reader gain from this quote?
​
8. Evaluation
Was this or was this not an interesting book to read? Why?
​
​
Use MLA format (12-font, Times Roman, double-space, etc.) Your answers must be in complete sentences, with correct spelling and grammar.
​
Adapted from Mrs. Portmore-Davies at Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​