Summer Reading 2026

[SFUSD sch815]

Click HERE for more information.
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oZOnI9_Rikfu71OVjQLxMyb9DrdhMJ3l4c5gDvHBr2g/edit?tab=t.0>


Asawa SOTA Summer Reading (2026)

Dear Asawa SOTA Community:

We are pleased to continue summer reading, having brought it back last
summer for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Students have
been assigned a text based on the grade level in which they will be
enrolled in the fall as follows:

   -

   Grade 9 will read Amy Tan’s novel The Joy Luck Club
   -

   Grade 10 will read Marjane Satrapi’s novel Persepolis (both parts)
   -

   Grade 11 will read George Orwell’s novel 1984

For 12th grade, the reading is based on the English course they were
assigned to. Students should check StudentVUE for their schedule. They
should be visible this summer in time to complete the reading.

   -

   Grade 12 - Film as Literature will read David Talbot’s creative
   nonfiction text Season of the Witch
   -

   Grade 12 - Advanced Composition/Euro Lit will read Rebecca Solnit’s A
   Paradise Built in Hell
   -

   Grade 12 - AP English Literature will read Jane Austen’s Emma

There is no written assignment attached to the summer reading. All work
will start on the first day of school on August 18th in our English
courses. All students will be expected to do the summer reading. We hope
that we can bolster a sense of schoolwide community as a result of many
students reading and discussing the same text and encourage students to
read with texts that are both relevant and approachable.

Current Asawa SOTA students will sign up for the summer reading Google
Classroom through their current English classes. The Google Classroom has
links to a free copy of the novel, a short introductory video or author
bio, and a free audiobook if available. Students can also access all texts
for free through the SF Public Library and its book app.

*Google Classroom code (all grades):* dvg4r32w

Each of these texts is considered age-appropriate for students in grades
9-12 and has been taught in high school classrooms around the world since
they were published. Each text has content that might be challenging or
even unsettling. But we do not believe it presents a barrier to any student
interacting with them. However, parents and students are encouraged to
preview the texts beforehand. Here is a brief guide to potentially
triggering content. This list makes such content seem far more pervasive
than it actually is, but I did want to give a heads-up:

   -

   The Joy Luck Club: depictions of suicide, domestic abuse, sexual violence
   -

   Persepolis: mention of suicide, sexual violence, political violence and
   torture
   -

   1984: political violence and torture
   -

   Season of the Witch: political violence, mass death (i.e. cults), frank
   depictions of sexuality

Please reach out to me if you have concerns.

All of us in the English Department are excited to discuss these texts with
students and facilitate discussions among students. Thank you for
supporting your student in their summer reading. It will be a great way to
begin the year and a great way for students to come to the first day of
school already prepared to learn and demonstrate their skills.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I will respond to
emails through July 15th.

Matthew Travisano
Chairperson | English Department
Ruth Asawa School of the Arts
Email: travisanom at sfusd.edu
--9

Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts
555 Portola Drive, San Francisco, CA  94131
(415) 695-5700     Fax: (415) 695-5326

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