Summer Reading for 2010

The All-Samo book for this summer is A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. What does the world look like through the eyes of a child soldier? Find out in this incredible memoir. Students are also asked to read a second book that they choose themselves - the “free-choice” book. Students who will be in an Honors or AP English class are assigned a third book, different for each grade level. For complete 2010 Summer Reading information, all required titles, and free-choice recommendations, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

Copies of the specific summer titles are heavily stocked at Santa Monica libraries, and we usually offer them for sale on campus at certain spring events and at August registration. Students in most summer school English classes read the summer books as part of their course curriculum, with the texts supplied by the school.

Here are all of our All-Samo summer reading selections to date:

2009 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
2008 Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario
2007 Fast Food Nation/Chew On This by Eric Schlosser
2006 Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas
2005 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
2004 A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris

English Department PowerPoint Presentation
Originally presented at the Samohi PTSA meeting on Tuesday March 10, 2009

Writing and Reading

Freshman Seminar
Sample Common Assessment, Grade 9 (Persuasive Writing)
Reading/Writing Expectations, 9P & HP; 10P & HP; 11P & AP
Minimum Writing Assignments, Grades 9-12
Grade Level Minimum Requirements
Department Writing Scoring Guide
The Sweet 16: Features of Good Writing

College Essay Help

Attributes of Good Expository Writing
University of California Application Essay
"But Nothing Has Ever Happened to Me!": College Essay Tips
"Avoiding the College Frenzy: Some Advice"
Guide to Grammar and Style - A well-used website
"Writing on Demand: Best Practices and Strategies for Success" -- A Heinemann publication with sample rubrics, lesson ideas, student papers, and advice for writing introductions and conclusions.

Course Codes:

P = College Preparatory - Courses meet University of California/California State University requirements.
AP = Advanced Placement
HP = Honors