At the conclusion of the school year in May, students and teachers alike sigh with relief as their packed schedules slowly dissipate. However, the hours of homework, extracurriculars, and sports are paused, students are still left with the remnants of the year with their assigned summer course load—specifically, in this case, the books assigned for their English classes. Although many classes at LM are optional after three years, English is taken throughout four years of a student’s high school career, meaning, whether students are going into English 1 or Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition (AP Lit), they will have something assigned to read within their three months on vacation. “Reading volume is the secret to reading comprehension,” remarks Aimee Ferguson, who teaches English 2 and Advanced Placement English Language and Composition (AP Lang), “and anything we do to increase reading volume is a great help to students. I know many students like to read, and would read more of what they want if they were not saddled by us, but they are not the majority, so instead, making sure reading infiltrates not just school life, but all of life, is our emphasis.” By encouraging, even forcing students to engage with texts over the summer, teachers aim to combat the decline in academics over vacation months and continue building the muscle of comprehension.
These skills take form in a variety of books. Take, for instance, Alexa Saler ’25, who was tasked with reading Song of Solomon, The Dead, and Atonement for her AP Lit class, and Gone Girl for her Film and Literature course. “I loved Gone Girl, of course. But Atonement was my favorite,” Saler said, “because I felt that a lot of the characters had very relatable arcs and a lot of the topics that people are afraid to speak about—like bad characteristics—were emphasized in the book.” Correspondingly, Medha Steingard ’27, began her English 2 honors course at the beginning of September, but had been preparing since July. Describing her assignments, she commented, “I had to read Becoming by Michelle Obama and I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou,” which were two of the four books listed by LM teachers. The books, it seemed, were valuable, specifically I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which offered Steingard a perspective in growing up in the US South as an African American girl in the 1930’s. Not only are students willing to read their course material, they gain new viewpoints from the assigned texts.
Often, the profitability of several hours of reading can seem limited, but for Saler and Steingard, their courses utilized the stories read to create discussions and dialogue. Saler describes the relevance of the narratives, not only in the context of content, but also in course load, expressing, “My summer reading represents the AP Lit syllabus and sets the year’s expectations. It’s important to experience a wide variety of books and different writing styles in order to prepare.”
Students often know the expectations set upon them, but not necessarily how they are selected. Carrie Hemler, an English 2 teacher, describes the collaboration with Harriton on many of the reading choices throughout the summer and school year. “I can see why Lower Merion wants consistency,” both she and Ferguson express. “It would be great if Harriton and Lower Merion were always on the same page. Unfortunately, it can be hard to match with Harriton, as separate buildings cause difficulty in working together the same way that our department can do easily.” Still, the books reached through the teachers’ consensus, which provides the list of books given to students, are each completely valuable for their classes. For example, the books Just Mercy by Brian Stevenson and Caste by Isabelle Wilkerson emphasize comprehension of political nonfiction, a key point in AP Lang Comparatively, the assigned book for LM’s Heroes and Monsters course, Grendel, or Fledgling, one of the assigned texts for Modern and Contemporary Literature, accentuates a syllabus filled with mythology and fictional narrative.
At LM, there are more than eight available English classes for students to pick from. The power of choice is offered in order to give high school students what they need to engage within reading comprehension. These ideas of engagement and empowerment are clear within the selections for the summer, turning a mere assignment into a significant experience for the entire student population. At its core, summer reading acts as more than a checklist; it is a vital part of a student’s educational development, laying groundwork for academic success, encouraging empathy for critical dialogue, and creating methods for literary connection. As educators continue to champion this practice, they empower students to become thoughtful, engaged individuals ready to make meaningful contributions to society.
