Goals of the Summer Reading Program

Dear Parents:

The administration and the faculty of Bishop Shanahan High School require all of our students to read during the summer because we recognize the importance of well-developed reading skills. Reading is a life proficiency that must be fostered and encouraged during the high school years when skills are still taught and monitored. Our Summer Reading Program is one strategy we use to enhance reading ability. We believe that the program will:

• help our students maintain the skills they acquired over the school year
• encourage them to read for pleasure
• expose students to titles and authors they might not have ordinarily chosen for themselves
• broaden their knowledge of various cultures represented in the books read
• allow them to analyze works independently.

Studies show that the number of books read during the summer is consistently related to academic gains. Simply stated, people who read more begin to read better, write better and have better vocabulary and spelling skills. Most importantly, competent readers improve their comprehension skills. As citizens of the Information Age, our students must be able to understand and interpret what they read in order to utilize and evaluate the information set before them.

We hope that you will encourage this summer activity. We know that your children will benefit from it.
 

Locating the Books

There will be a “Shanahan Book Fair” taking place at Barnes and Noble on Saturday, May 31^st , and Sunday, June 1^st at their store in Main Street, Exton. All of the Summer Reading titles will be on display so that the students can make an informed decision on which books they want to read. Please note that the Shanahan table will remain in the store throughout the summer.

We also provide a list of our Summer Reading Books to the Chester County Book Company and to the public libraries in the area.

Please note that the members of the English Department and the Library Staff have reviewed every book on the 2008 Summer Reading List, and they have found all of the titles to be age-appropriate. However, we encourage parents to be part of the book selection process in order to be sure that the books chosen by their children meet their personal standards.

The Summer Reading Assignment

Every student will read a total of three books for their summer assignment.

• Each grade will have one required book. Students will take a Reading Counts test on the required reading book this year. The test can be taken during the summer or when classes resume in the fall. The required book will also be analyzed and discussed in their English classes in the fall, so it will be to the students’ advantage to take notes on this work as they read it.
• Each grade will have a list of optional books. The student is to choose two books from this list, read the books, and be prepared to take a Reading Counts test on them during the summer on the days listed below, or in the fall with their English class. The average of the three tests will count as a major test grade for the first quarter.

The tests will be offered several times during the summer.

• The tests will be administered four times during the summer for those students who choose to take them ahead of time. The dates will be: June 26, July 9, July 30, and August 20.
• Students may take the summer tests from 9AM to 1PM, in the library. Test takers should use the library door, and drivers are encouraged to wait since each test should take only 15 minutes.

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