Samohi English Department


SAMOHI HOME I DEPARTMENTS

				Summer Reading - 2008 The English Department has chosen Enrique’s Journey (see below for description) by Sonia Nazario as the All-Samo Summer Reading Selection* for 2008. All incoming 9th through 12th graders are assigned to read the All-Samo book, as well as another book (of their own choosing), before school begins next September. Click here for the reading list.
	ENGLISH FACULTY Rob Thais, Department Chair Terry Anderson Pete Barraza Amy Beeman-Solano Berkeley Blatz Amy Chapman Gilda De La Cruz Randy Denis Stephanie Dew Kathleen Faas Lauren Fairchild Helen Fernandez Nathan Fulcher Jenna Gasparino John Harris Alison Kennedy Meredith Louria Joseph Lutz Ruth Magnuson Christina Nation Jennifer Pust Tisha Reichle LaSonja Roberts Russell Rowton Maria Stevens Megan Walker			All honors English students are assigned a third book, a specific title for each grade level. Copies of the specific summer titles, including Enrique's Journey, 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 summer school English classes read the summer books as part of their course curriculum. * Enrique's Journey is non-fiction, based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles in the L.A. Times. Enrique is a Honduran teenager whose mother left for the U.S. when he was five years old to work and send money to her family back in Honduras. Enrique hasn't seen her since. At sixteen he decides to go to her, but the only way possible is by clinging to the tops of trains speeding north through Mexico. The book has adventure, drama, poignancy, and sociological insight. Here are our previous All-Samo titles: 2004 A Yellow Raft on Blue Water 2005 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 2006 Funny in Farsi 2007 Fast Food Nation/Chew On This 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 State of California English Language Arts Standards 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.
				Textbooks by Grade Level Ninth Grade Tenth Grade Eleventh Grade Twelfth Grade Course Codes: P = College Preparatory - Courses meet University of California/California State University requirements. AP = Advanced Placement HP = Honors