colgate summer reading assignment

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First-Year Summer Reading Tells Powerful Story

Zoe Elcock | August 20, 2022

Colgate University

The Community Reads Selection  Committee announced their decision to select “How Beautiful We Were” by Imbolo Mbue as the required reading assignment for Colgate University’s Class of 2026 in early 2022.

Mbue’s novel, published in March 2021, portrays the modern-day battle between a large oil corporation corrupted by the haze of capitalism and the small African village of Kosawa, which is left to deal with the aftermath of environmental damages. 

The New York Times bestselling author tells Kosawa’s story through voices of the past, present and future, showing how far a corporation will go in the name of wealth and, when pushed, how far a community will go in order to protect the land that they love and the place they call home.

To summarize: Pexton, an American oil company, began drilling for oil in the land near Kosawa. Unbeknownst to the village’s residents, Pexton’s close proximity will forever alter their lives for the worse. The effects of the corporation’s greed not only destroys the surrounding ecosystems, but also the moral compass of the residents. As Pexton continues to expand, the people of Kosawa are forced to take matters into their own hands before the damaging effects become irreversible. As time progresses, the children who grew up in the village evolve into the leaders of a decade-long revolution sparked by their desire to reclaim their land from Pexton’s grasp.

The novel is an emotional rollercoaster. From witnessing life’s delicate moments that come with growing up, to watching the children flourish into leaders, Mbue’s book exhibits all of life’s core memories. The author conveys a decades-long battle through the children of the future. Although they did not experience the founding of their village, many of the characters are present until the last moments of the war — fighting hard until their final breaths.

Mbue’s use of perspectives is admirable, and one of the most impressive features of the novel. She is able to tell the life of Kosawa through generations before Kosawa underwent a revolution, the children who led the revolution and those who fell victim to catastrophe. Through a non-traditional approach, the story flows seamlessly and will have readers on the edge of their seats the entire time. 

Another impressive and entertaining feature of the novel is the story’s arc, which captured the character development of “The Five,” the original children of Kosawa. The pure innocence that comes with childhood transforms into a fiery rage as their home deteriorates before their eyes, adding a new dimension to the plot. The progression of the characters comes as a shock which leaves readers with mixed emotions. Nonetheless, Mbue makes readers fall in love with every character, each for different reasons.

For more information about the author, or if you want a chance to ask her questions directly, the University’s own Living Writers will be hosting a book discussion with Mbue on September 22 at 4:30 p.m. in the Colgate Memorial Chapel and online. All students and members of the Colgate community are welcome to attend, and the session is free of charge.

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Much Ado About Teaching

Summer reading in ap lit..

A few years ago I revamped my summer reading assignment.

It marked an important departure for me. It was a significant step in my growth as a teacher. I’ll explain why, but first I want to share what I have done in years past.

THE OLD SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT

My summer assignment has gone through different iterations over the years, but the gist of it has always been that the students had to read two books — How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines and 1984 — and develop an outline for each. There are many versions of this assignment online. Its probably where I first developed the idea. I must have Googled “ How to Read Literature Like a Professor summer assignment.” A bunch of results came up, and seeing that a lot of other teachers paired Thomas C. Foster’s work with another novel probably validated its worth in my mind.

I liked that both books were accessible and my students could find help online if they needed it.

I liked that I was introducing my students to good literature without ruining their summer with dense texts and mountains of work.

I liked that when students returned from school I could assess them by asking them to apply a chapter from How to Read Literature Like a Professor to 1984 .

I liked that I was doing something to prevent the summer slide.

THE PROBLEM WITH THE OLD ASSIGNMENT

There was nothing pedagogically wrong with my old summer reading assignment. But there were certain things about it that had bothered me over the years:

• Students can easily find summaries of How to Read Literature Like a Professor online ( like this link) .
• Many of my students are not readers of classic literature on their own. In spite of its cheeky humor and tone, they did not have the awareness of texts mentioned in How to Read Literature to fully appreciate the references.
• Students felt that How to Read Literature Like a Professor simplified the process of reading, reducing everything to either a symbol or an allusion.
• The assignment was not thoroughly thought through. It was too simplistic. Basically I was asking students to read and outline. I felt like I was simply following what others were doing without making this assignment a true reflection of my teaching and my goals.
• There wasn’t much feedback I could provide on an outline and consequently little room for growth.

THE GOALS OF SUMMER ASSIGNMENTS

I believe that when students are faced with low-rigor tasks, they create low achievement even when students do well on these tasks. In addition, such tasks contribute to the boredom students so often complain about when they spend too many hours on work that is routine and bland, often centered on discrete skills.

Outlining a text is a low-rigor task. It requires little skill beside extrapolation and summarization.

I want my summer assignments to have what I believe are the three principles of an effective assignment:

1. Effective assignments provide clear expectations about what should be completed, how it should be completed, and why the assignment is important.

I needed to rethink the final part of that criteria. While the original assignment provided clear expectations and walked students through the steps to be completed, it never explained why the assignment was important. When there is no value attached to an assignment, the work can feel like busy work.

Assignment-making requires teachers to clarify what learning is demonstrated and how it can be demonstrated. I needed to answer questions about purpose and relevance: “Why are my students doing this? What greater good will result from this work? As well as, are there significant concepts connected to the curriculum?”

2. Effective assignments are formative, providing feedback that allows teachers to adjust their instruction and scaffold learning.

I also needed to understand how my teaching can be informed by what the students completed. This is where the outlines of the prior assignment failed to be valuable. I was learning nothing about my students nor anything about their thinking.

With the new summer assignment adjustments would I make based on the work that students produced? What was I learning about their reading skills or their writing skills?

Good assignments, whether in the summer or during the school year, should inform instruction, giving teachers a chance to assess skills and modify instruction accordingly.

3. Effective assignments set high expectations and provide pathways to achieve those expectations.

I want the new assignment to communicate high expectations for critical thinking and levels of analysis. I want my students to be challenged no matter what skill sets or content background they bring into the course.

WHAT MY STUDENTS ARE DOING INSTEAD

• I want my students to have a summer experience that is not punitive but is preparatory. I don’t want to punish them with mountains of work or use a summer assignment as a gatekeeper for the class. I want to set a foundation for the enjoyment that comes from reading, thinking, and writing creatively and analytically.
• I want my students to see that great ideas can be expressed in a variety of formats. Therefore, they will read blog articles, watch YouTube videos, and read poems as well as a novel.
• I want them to learn from readers, writers, and thinkers that I admire. I’m not just handing them books and asking them to read them, I want them to observe how others analyze and how others approach the act of writing.  These pieces have the levels of analysis that will promote high expectations for my students.
• I want them to choose the novel they read, not have one assigned to them.
• I want them to have a space of their own creation (their StudyTee Notes) where they will respond to each text that they encounter in thoughtful and diverse ways.

THE SUMMER READING TEXTS

• StudyTee’s Note-Taking Method
• The NerdWriter Analyzes Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks”
• Leo Babauta’s Why I Read (+ a Dozen Book Recommendations)
• Any novel on this list or this one
• Poetry Foundation’s Poem of the Day

Download the Summer Reading Assignments for Susan Barber and Brian Sztabnik

Concluding thoughts.

I know that I am asking my students to complete somewhat unorthodox summer assignments. They are not being handed a textbook or a stack of novels and asked to complete a series of study guide questions or outlines. There comes a point in a teacher’s career when he or she stops doing things just because everyone else is doing them and strikes out on his or her own path.

And this has been that moment for me.

Instead, I am giving them models of critical thinkers. I am exposing them to a variety of texts across a span of genres. I am giving them the power to choose the novel and poems that they want to read. And it will have clear expectations, an understanding of why each component of the assignment is important, a chance for me to gain formative feedback, and high expectations for success.

Brian Sztabnik is just a man trying to do good in and out of the classroom. He was a 2018 finalist for NY Teacher of the Year, a former College Board advisor for AP Lit, and an award-winning basketball coach.

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Work & Play

Peaceful sit-in concludes with road map to improve inclusion and diversity.

“Can you hear us now?” gave way to “We love Colgate — go, ’Gate, no hate!” as about 400 students, professors, and staff members marched together from the Hurwitz Admission Center at J.B. Colgate Hall to Memorial Chapel.

The euphoric and historic ceremony marked the end of a peaceful, 100-hour-long sit-in that was initiated by students on Monday, Sept. 22, in order to create a culture of greater inclusivity on campus. The student group Colgate University Association of Critical Collegians (ACC) presented a petition calling for “decisive and deliberate action.” The document’s 21 points addressed building greater understanding of how “systemic structures shape power and privilege” and “assimilate, subordinate, and exclude,” and encouraging resistance to mindsets and behavior that perpetuate “microaggressions against minority groups on a daily basis.”

As recently as that previous weekend, a community member had witnessed Colgate students yelling racial and homophobic slurs, but at the demonstration many students began sharing their stories of having endured incidents of racism, classism, homophobia, and sexism on campus.

President Jeffrey Herbst — along with Suzy Nelson , dean of the college, and Douglas Hicks , provost and dean of the faculty — joined the sit-in for several hours that Monday to listen.

“We are outraged that not all students feel fully included or welcomed on our campus,” they wrote in a message to the campus community later that day. “Acts of racism and homophobia have no place at Colgate and will not be tolerated. Prejudice can devastate our community: it chills the campus climate, making members of our community feel unwelcome, shackles the mind with stereotypical thinking and bigotry, and keeps us from reaching our true potential as caring, intelligent people who are prepared to live in an increasingly global and diverse society…. Together as a community, we can and must hold ourselves and each other to a higher standard.”

The student movement offered important educational moments. For example, peace and conflict studies professor Susan Thomson ’s International Human Rights and Advocacy class met on the patio of J.B. Colgate Hall during the demonstration. Their discussion covered formal (governmental) and informal (societal) policies and practices of exclusion in Rwanda, as well as issues of racism and privilege on campus. She said the conversation opened many students’ eyes to the extent to which some members of the Colgate community are being shunned or excluded. “Now that they know,” said Thomson, “some said they will stand up and speak out when they see injustice on campus.”

Throughout the week, Herbst, Nelson, and Hicks spent many hours with ACC representatives, working together to create a plan for change. By noontime Friday, the plan was revealed on Colgate For All , a new website outlining a 21-point road map that will be updated and followed closely for months and years to come.

“We all have learned and grown over the past week,” said Herbst, “and we are committed to working on all of the issues and action items that have been raised, as well as others that were not formally articulated.”

As the march up to the chapel began, ACC representative Kori Strother ’15 spoke on the steps of J.B. Colgate Hall: “I am so proud of everyone. We walk up the hill with our heads held high. I will never forget this.”

“Today is an important day,” said Nelson. “I’m grateful to our students for raising up their voices and challenging us in all the right ways.”

Amidst the chanting came a fitting sound: the chapel bell tolled a traditional 13 times. “We ring the bells to mark a passage, a victory, or a celebratory moment,” said University Chaplain Mark Shiner, who invited Cyierra Roldan ’16 to do the honors. “Hopefully today is all three.”

“Our students have been remarkable in their thoughtfulness and organization,” said Hicks. “It was clear they were putting into practice lessons learned from course work. Colgate will be stronger for it.”

Photo at top by Andrew Daddio. See more photos and follow updates .

Tour guide Katie Williams ’15 used geographic information systems to determine the best route for campus tours.  (Photo by Andrew Daddio)

Taking a tour is one of the best ways for prospective students to get a feel for the campus and the Colgate experience . It’s also a bit of a hike.

As an admission tour guide and summer intern, Katie Williams ’15, a geography and history double major, decided there had to be a better way for tour groups to tackle the legendary hillside. So, she turned her question into a research project for her Geographic Information Systems (GIS) course with Professor Peter Scull .

Williams married existing campus slope data with the campus map and the old tour route. She then mapped the routes with GIS software and analyzed the data. Unlike most GIS data crunching, Williams also had to factor in qualitative items, such as required tour stops, and make sure visitors have a chance to take in some of the best views of the Chenango Valley.

She found that the existing tour hit two areas of steep incline that could be avoided — so she developed a new route that ignores a traditional turn at the chapel and marches directly toward Frank Dining Hall . Following the stop at Frank, her groups visit a first-year residence hall and then move onward to the Coop, followed by the Ho Science Center . Almost all of the climb is tackled gradually at the start, and then it’s a gentle downhill journey.

“The new route is easier, it goes faster, and it’s not really as noticeable of an incline,” Williams said. “It’s a lot more fluid.” Michael Mansuy, who oversees the tour guides, said Williams’s method is being adopted by other tour guides. And, he added, “families are still seeing all that the campus has to offer in a way that does not leave them so out of breath.”

The ’Gate Way

Some students adjust to college easily, while others struggle and even falter. A new online non-credit “course” — 13 short videos made by Colgate professors — is designed to minimize the mystery about what it takes to succeed. The series also includes student-produced video responses featuring current students and alumni.

“We believe that the students who succeed academically and socially right away are the ones who take their college experience into their own hands,” said Spencer Kelly , a psychology professor, “so our goal is to teach students how to do that from the start.” Kelly appears in The ’Gate Way series with Douglas Johnson , who also teaches psychology , and Yukari Hirata , who teaches Japanese . All three study the science of knowledge acquisition, which is what drew them to this digital collaboration.

The videos cover keys to student success such as sleep and time-management strategies, keeping an open mind, getting to know professors, and knowing when to ask for help.

“Colgate typically teaches many of these lessons to students throughout their first year and beyond, and this new course is meant to complement, not replace, that,” Kelly said. “Introducing these lessons on video, and over the summer before students even arrive, will help make their learning really stick when they get here.”

Alexandra Caudill ’13 worked on The ’Gate Way series for nearly a year as a Living the Liberal Arts Fellow. In addition to helping with scripting and scheduling, she organized dozens of students to record their responses to the various lessons, and produced a teaser video designed to attract first-year viewers to the series.

“One innovation of The ’Gate Way is how it facilitates student-to-student mentoring,” she said. “College is so different from high school, and every college is different from the next, so the perspectives of our own students and alumni can go a long way in preparing first-years to be successful at Colgate.”

EV station charges up campus

Electric vehicle drivers can now power up on Lally Lane.

In 2011, Chris Paine ’83 directed the film Revenge of the Electric Car , chronicling the resurgence of electric vehicles (EVs) following their failure to go mainstream early in the century. In recognition of the EV’s “revenge,” Colgate unveiled its first on-campus charging station, instantly making environmentally sustainable transportation a more viable option on campus.

Located on Lally Lane near Donovan’s Pub, the station will allow EV owners to “refuel” at a reasonable rate of $1.50 per hour, with a full charge taking between three to six hours.

A Level 2 ChargePoint station, it’s compatible with any EV make and model, although Teslas will require an adapter. The university’s vehicle fleet already includes two fully electric vehicles, and the charging station opens the possibility that more could be added.

Given that greater than 10 percent of the university’s carbon footprint results from vehicle emissions, expanding options for electric vehicle usage is a significant step in Colgate’s quest for carbon neutrality by 2019.

Incorporating more EVs into the Colgate fleet will also reduce operating costs, because the local cost of electricity is significantly lower than that of gasoline.

Summer Institute

As a residential academic coach, Manny Heredia-Santoyo ’14 (second from right) has been a role model for first-years in the Summer Institute.

Staying at Colgate for one last summer after he graduated, Manuel Heredia-Santoyo ’14 wanted to bring to the Summer Institute what he learned through his own experience. For five weeks, he lived, ate, took classes, and shared stories with 13 incoming students. As a residential academic coach (RAC), he was a role model in every sense of the word.

Run by the Office of Undergraduate Studies (OUS) , the Summer Institute is designed to ease the transition into college and enhance academic preparedness for first-year students. Heredia-Santoyo was joined by five other RACs; each led a group of newcomers.

The RACs “are superstar students who use different approaches to be leaders and be involved in the community,” said OUS director Frank Frey. “They show incoming students that there isn’t a singular type to do well in school.” Frey, who’s also a professor of biology and environmental studies, facilitated the Summer Institute with Frank Kuan, senior associate director, and coordinator Fareeza Islam ’14.

This year, the institute accepted 39 participants who had taken rigorous courses at their high schools, excelled academically, and demonstrated creativity and intellect. They’ve also shown determination in spite of personal, economic, and social challenges.

“With the obstacles that they’ve had to face and the experiences they’ve gone through, a lot of these students have already lived a lifetime,” said Heredia-Santoyo. His group took two demanding classes, Literatures of Oppression with Professor Jeffrey Spires and Biology and Human Development with Professor Jason Meyers. The five-week, 200-level classes demand more of the students than courses taken during the school year. The Summer Institute also introduces students early to campus resources including the libraries and career services.

“The OUS program provides everything they need to be successful here and have the best experience they possibly can, and the resources that allow them to take advantage of everything Colgate has to offer,” said Heredia-Santoyo.

“Our RACs have been helpful in showing us the ropes and teaching us things — like how to deal with stress, to surround yourself with people who care about you, and to do things you enjoy,” said Anika Rutah ’18.

— Hannah O’Malley ’17

“Atheism and Other Theisms”

Professor Patrick Riley leads an arts and humanities workshop for local high school teachers. (Photo by Andrew Daddio)

Fill a room with teachers, hand them philosophical texts and pose centuries-old questions about the nature of spirituality and religion, and the conversation is bound to get interesting. In July, four Colgate professors led a free arts and humanities workshop called “Atheism and Other Theisms” for 13 area high school teachers.

“There’s an artificial barrier that comes up between secondary education and higher education,” said Patrick Riley , a French professor. “K-12 is kind of in its own little box and higher education is in its own. The mission of this enterprise is to open up a broader intellectual community.”

The seminar sought to frame the broader concept of atheism and provide a historical context and alternative theistic schemes. Although “atheism is a bit of a taboo subject and really not something you’re going to teach in public school,” he explained, “it has become a hot topic in the last ten years, and there’s this century-long debate about the nature of deity.”

In addition to Riley, Naomi Rood ( classics ), Benjamin Stahlberg ( religion ), and Edward Witherspoon ( philosophy ) taught the seminar, which has become more interdisciplinary since John Jacobs (philosophy) first taught it 10 years ago.

One session, devoted solely to pedagogy, tried to make the link between the seminar itself and the potential application of the information in classes.

“The challenging texts and rich conversations are a great experience to get outside of my comfort zone so that I can grow as a reader, a thinker, and an educator,” said Jarrod Williams, who teaches 10th-grade English in New Hartford. “I really appreciated the experience of personally going through what I try to do for my students.”

Civil rights a yearlong theme

Hundreds of first-year students gathered on the Academic Quad on a Friday night in mid-September to watch a screening of Freedom on My Mind , a 1994 Academy Award–nominated documentary. The film, introduced by its director, Connie Field, was presented as part of a campuswide initiative called “ Civil Rights: Then and Now .”

The initiative builds on the themes of civil rights, justice, and social activism that were prevalent in the first-year summer reading assignment, Freedom Summer by Bruce Watson. The 2010 historical nonfiction novel was chosen to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the summer in Mississippi when college students from across the United States helped Americans to recognize the civil rights offenses occurring in their own country.

The film, which chronicles the student effort to register black voters in Mississippi during the summer of 1964, tells the story from the perspective of the people in Mississippi. It begins before the volunteers came to the state to register voters and ends with the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

“We used Freedom Summer as a springboard into a yearlong discussion on civil rights,” said Doug Hicks, provost and dean of the faculty. Professors and students representing different academic areas teamed up to organize events, including a brown bag with two professors who themselves participated in the Freedom Summer movement, Jay Mandle ( economics ) and Joan Mandle ( sociology and anthropology , emerita).

— Natalie Sportelli ’15

Village Green

Saxby’s at the Barge. (Photo by Andrew Daddio)

Many fun, intellectual, and family friendly happenings took place in downtown Hamilton over the summer. Here’s just a sampling:

Upstate New Yorkers flocked to Hamilton to celebrate the Fourth of July . As live music filled the air, people sipped cold lemonade and children donned as much red, white, and blue as they could manage for the parade along Route 12B. The festivities concluded with a skit called “Betsy Ross and the Flag” and a service honoring veterans.

Another change to the eatery scene is No. 10 Tavern at the main downtown intersection. The restaurant kicked off its first summer with a Sunday evening live-music series. Folks chowed down on the specialty double decker burgers to the sounds of a washboard, acoustic guitars, a mandolin, and other instruments played by local artists.

— Hannah O’Malley ’17

Back on campus: Thought Into Action mentors

From caffeinated juice to handmade greeting cards, bright ideas were the focus as alumni shared their proven entrepreneurial expertise with students at the Thought Into Action (TIA) Entrepreneurship Institute ’s opening weekend in early September. An incubator for students’ ventures, from businesses and nonprofits to campus initiatives, TIA provides resources and support to help them “go live.”

“We had a record student turnout,” said Wills Hapworth ’07, who co-founded TIA with Andy Greenfield ’74. “This is the most prepared and passionate group of student entrepreneurs we’ve seen to date.”

On campus to mentor those students were Tim O’Neill ’78, managing partner of Golden Seeds Fund 2 LP; John Nozell ’81, the head of school of the Cheshire Academy; Per Sekse ’78, managing partner of alTreo LLC; Andres Echenique ’83, senior partner, digital and media solutions at Eric Mower and Associates; Lynn Plant ’77, principal owner and CEO of BrandCentric LLC; Evan Berman ’10, founder and CEO of Frava; Oak Atkinson ’87, founder and owner of Tumbalina; Patricia Nozell ’81, the executive director for Susan G. Komen for the Cure Twin Tiers Region; Ram Parimi ’05, vice president of sales at Social Tables; Greg Dahlberg ’98, director of marketing at GT Nexus; Scott Annan ’05, president of AIMbitious; and Bruce Rutter ’73, strategist and writer for Foster Design Group.

Entrepreneurship is the third-highest industry/occupation listed by alumni on Colgate’s Linkedin group. Further, as Thomas Friedman noted in a recent New York Times column , graduates with “a mentor who encouraged their goals and dreams and/or had an internship where they applied what they were learning were twice as likely to be engaged with their work and thriving in their overall well-being.”

Greenfield said TIA “offers students the opportunity to apply critical-thinking skills to real-world problems and opportunities as they launch and grow their ventures.”

With 10 student teams returning, this year the participants were split into two levels. While the 100-level students brainstormed how to get their ventures off the ground, the 200-level group focused on what they accomplished over the summer and consulted about moving their ventures forward, from establishing goals to planning and development to determining marketing strategies.

Margaret Moskowitz ’16 returned this year with The Clothes Line, a consignment store for college campuses. “The one-hundred level is great in that it introduces you to entrepreneurship through lessons and the wide range of the mentors’ careers,” she said. “The two-hundred level allows people who already have business plans to go further in depth with mentors relating to their field. Overall, the TIA experience is helpful and eye-opening.”

— Jessica Rice ’16

Go figure — welcoming the Class of 2018

39 countries represented

120 student movers helped unload suitcases, boxes, and dorm supplies

45 Links — student mentors taking first-years under their wings

778 Class of 2018 shirts handed out

10 hours of music and interviews on WRCU’s arrival day broadcast

2 bagpipers conveyed the Class of 2018 to convocation

150+ water balloons tossed during Konosioni Field Day

44 question balls tossed to new students and their families as an ice breaker

1 rainbow over the Quad on the last night of orientation

Countless new friendships

The thing is…

Down to a science

Why Has My First-Year College Student Been Assigned Summer Reading?

Your soon-to-be college student may have received her first homework assignment well before she showed up on campus.  For many incoming freshman, their first assignment is a bit of summer reading. Your student may be asked to read an assigned book prior to Orientation , or she may be given the assignment at a Summer Orientation and asked to read the book before school begins in September.  At some schools students are given a copy of the book, while at other schools students are asked to purchase their own copy.

If your student was not expecting a summer assignment, he may be surprised — and even annoyed at having to do work over the summer.  As a parent, you may also be wondering why your student needs to get this ”head start” before the first semester even begins.  Colleges have many different reasons for assigning summer reading and different approaches for dealing with the book once the students arrive on campus.

Many summer reading programs for incoming freshmen have come about as an outgrowth of the One Book One Community program which was first piloted in Seattle in 1998.  One Book One Community programs suggest that an entire town or community read a particular book and then schedule events around the book and/or the theme.  Often the author of the book will make an appearance and speak or read.  The idea behind the One Book One Community programs is to foster a love of reading, but also to foster a greater sense of community through the shared experiences surrounding the book.

Many colleges adopt summer reading programs for the same two reasons that made One Book One Community programs popular.  By assigning a shared reading experience for all incoming students, the college may hope to foster a greater sense of community as well as to set an appropriate ”academic” tone for the beginning of the school year.  When students arrive on campus — either for Orientation or for September classes — students will have a common experience around which they might begin conversations.  Students may even find that there are on-line discussions over the summer.

Different schools may choose the summer reading book in different ways.  Sometimes the choice may be made by the librarians, by faculty members, by first-year committees, by student activities personnel, or even by a committee of students.  Most often the choice of book will be something topical and current, rather than a classic.  However, there are no true rules or generalizations.

Colleges differ in how they handle the common reading once students arrive on campus.  At some schools the book may be the basis of discussion in one course or several courses.  The author may be invited to campus.  There may be related events or book club type gatherings.  Students may discuss shared ideas or values presented in the book.  Students may learn critical reading skills by hearing what others have to say about the same book.  Faculty and students may find common topics to discuss because they have read the same book.

Assigned summer reading for incoming students is increasing in popularity.  One source of national educational statistics has suggested that over 200 colleges may now require summer reading.  The program may not always be popular with students.  Some students have suggested that it may create a sense of community because students have something in common to complain about!

As a parent, you can encourage your student to do his summer reading assignment.  Try to help him understand the possible benefits of a shared reading experience.  Remind him that he will want to start his college career off on a good foot by arriving with his homework done.  There may be specific assignments based on the book, but even if there aren’t, he will not want to feel left out of some of the first discussions and/or events that may be based around the book.

As a parent, you may want to borrow your student’s copy of her summer reading and read it yourself.  It may give you both something to talk about, and you’ll have a better sense of your student’s first experiences on campus.  You and your student can enjoy some beach reading — and some good conversation — as you both prepare for the college experience.

Related Posts:

Why Summer Orientation Is Important for Your College Freshman

Summer Preparations for Your College Student’s Transition to Freshman Year

Should My College Student Consider a Learning Community

First Year Seminar: Your College Student’s First Step Into College

Why College Parents Might Be Interested in Student Engagement

College Parents Can Help Freshmen Understand the Differences Between High School and College

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Tips for Creating Summer Reading Assessment Ideas (Plus 3 Fun Ideas!)

Many teachers assign summer reading. However, summer reading can be difficult for students who lack time management skills, motivation, or even the literacy skills necessary to complete the work. 

For this reason, summer reading assessment can also be challenging, as students can disengage from the material and Google answers to questions or read summaries instead of reading the book.

Despite its challenges, summer reading assignments can still have value in the English Language Arts classroom. We need to look at how we assess summer reading -- making reading enjoyable rather than a drag for everyone. 

Here's how to get the most out of your summer reading assignments:

What is a summer reading assessment?

I like to look at assessments as three prongs of the same concept: Accountability Assessments, Critical Thinking Assessments, and Creative Assessments. Each one is slightly different from the other, but all equally valuable assessment tools. The three prongs overlap more often than not. 

Each one has value, and they work better when you vary the types of assessments you use, and you do not rely on just one type too much. Each type of assessment requires students to think on different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. 

What are the three types of Reading Assessments?

Accountability Assessments

These are traditional tests and assignments that aim to keep students accountable to complete the reading. Think: study guides, reading guides, and end-of-the-novel tests and quizzes. These are not to be confused with state or district-level standardized testing. 

Critical Thinking Assessments

These are higher-level critical thinking assignments that encourage students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the summer reading. There are a variety of ways to format this type of assessment. Think: small group discussions such as a Socratic Seminar, or a literary analysis paragraph writing where students identify and analyze the purpose and effectiveness of an author’s use of figurative language and other literary elements. 

Creative Assessments

These are projects and other assignments that require accountability and critical thinking, but also include creativity and fun. Think of posters, interpretive projects, video creation, podcast creation, etc. 

Creative Reading Assessments

Creative Assessments are by far the most engaging and valuable to address the unique challenges of summer reading. Innovative summer reading assessments can make all the difference for kids who may not have otherwise completed the task. Having relevant, engaging, and interesting assessments will not only increase the chances that students will do the summer reading, but it will also be a great introduction to your class in the fall!

Below are some ideas for creative reading assessments for your summer reading assignments. 

Snap Chat Conversation

Snapchat has been around for a while, and the way teens use it, it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Why not capitalize on that? (Kids can still keep their streaks going, too!) For this project, have students create a series of snaps that show characters interacting with each other. They can save these snaps as images, upload them to Google Slides or PowerPoint and either just turn them in, or present them. Better yet, have that student select a partner to read out loud the snaps! 

Character Awards

To freshen up your summer reading assignment, try having students create unique and interesting awards for the characters. This is a good way for students to recall information and analyze character development at the same time. Ask students to come up with the award and the reason why that character earned it. For example, Boo Radley could receive the award for “Hero Least Likely to Need Sunscreen” for his valiant rescue of the Finch children after years of reclusive behavior that goes back to his childhood. To make it more fun and engaging, another student could come up to receive the award, in character, and give an acceptance speech with references from the text. 

Character Letters of Recommendation

Students, especially juniors and seniors, are familiar with the art of asking and receiving a letter of recommendation. But they haven’t had the experience of writing one! With this type of assessment, students can get into the counselor/teacher character and write a letter praising, thinly sugarcoating, or even criticizing a character from the reading. Clear references to the text should be used to support your reasoning for recommending, or even not recommending, a character. 

These are just three different ideas to assess your summer reading assignments for middle or high school in a creative way. What creative ways do you use to assess summer reading? We'd love to hear!

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Welcome to your first edition of Colgate’s Parent & Family Newsletter. This quarterly email will provide you with information and resources relevant to you as you support your student in their Colgate journey.

We are so excited for your students to arrive! I hope to meet many of you in the coming weeks and years.

Best wishes,

Rebecca Downing

Senior Director, Communications and Parent Initiatives

Preparing for Fall 2023 Arrival

Family Preparation Guide

Your student’s The Road to Colgate brochure and their online New Student Checklist outline all the things they need to do to prepare for Colgate. As your student gets ready, be sure to refer to our Family Preparation Guide to help support them.

You can also refer to the New Students’ Parents and Families page and the Parent & Family Resource Guide . If you don’t find what you are looking for there, feel free to email [email protected] .

Preparing for More Independence

What can parents, family members, or guardians do to help their student prepare for the independent environment they will experience at college?

This Colgate Family Talk video features Dr. Melissa Sporn, a clinical psychologist with a speciality in developmental adjustments in adolescents and emerging adults (and mom of Samantha, Class of 2022!) and Dawn LaFrance, assistant vice president of counseling and psychological services.

Teaching Independent Life Skills

The summer before college is a perfect time for families to help their students gain valuable practical knowledge and prepare for a productive semester. For example, “adulting” involves mundane activities like grocery shopping, cooking, money management, even making one’s own appointments. Kimberly Yavorski’s Collegiate Parent article “ Teach Your College Student Independent Life Skills ” provides tips on inviting them to help or look on ­— it doesn’t have to be obvious you’re trying to teach a lesson!

Getting Ready for the Residence Hall

We recommend that family members encourage their students to take ownership of their preparations, such as shopping for room supplies. These are ideal moments for students to build the independence that will help them succeed in college. Our move-in guide offers helpful information and tips; be sure to have them check out the Dos and Don’ts in particular.

As you support your student in their preparations, take note of the following:

• Room layouts vary widely, so we recommend they wait to purchase any items that would be room layout–specific (such as storage items) until after arrival. It is often beneficial for them to have a few days in the room to determine any additional needs. They will be able to find items locally or have them shipped.
• We suggest that roommates connect prior to arrival to coordinate shared items such as microfridges, fans, etc., to avoid duplication.
• There are a number of prohibited items that students must not bring, including candles, halogen lamps, appliances with open heat sources like hot plates, air conditioners, space heaters, and other items.
• Live Far Away? Your student is welcome to send packages, catalog, or online orders to campus. They can find their CU box number in their student portal. Mail Services is extremely busy at the beginning of the semester; therefore, we recommend all essential items (bedding, towels, toiletries, medicine) be brought with your student.
• Learn more on the Residential Life Policy page.

Discuss The Red Zone

In the welcome packet sent to your student, we included for parents a letter sharing the University’s efforts to educate students about alcohol and other drug use and to prevent sexual violence. As a follow-up, we share this article from Psychology Today , “ Talking to College Students About ‘The Red Zone ’. (The “Red Zone” refers to the first six weeks of the semester, when there is a statistically heightened chance of sexual assault occurring (national statistics), which we hope will assist your family in having important conversations before your student begins college.

Summer Reading

Have you noticed your student reading How to Stand Up to a Dictator by 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Maria Ressa? That’s because over the summer, all incoming students have a shared reading assignment . The Summer Reading gives them their first experience with the liberal arts, in dialogue with faculty and staff members on questions that transcend disciplinary interests and that require independent analysis. As part of the assignment, your student will introduce themself to their faculty adviser (who is their First-Year Seminar (FSEM) instructor) and administrative dean so that they can get to know them better; they will also write an essay that responds to a prompt. The reading (due on August 7) also provides a foundation for a variety of related events throughout their first year at Colgate. The cost of the book is included with tuition.

Supporting First-Generation Students

Every year, there are more than 300 first-generation students pursuing their degrees at Colgate — the first in their families to attend college. Recognizing that the experiences of first-generation students can present unique challenges, Colgate’s First@Colgate program offers them support and guidance.

In this video , RaJhai Spencer, director of the First@Colgate program, and Tabisha Raymond, assistant director of First@Colgate — both first-generation themselves — discuss the resources that Colgate has in place with First@Colgate. They also share thoughts on the things that parents, family members, guardians, and other caregivers can do to partner with Colgate in supporting their students.

Success On Campus

New Student Orientation — What to Expect

New Student Orientation (August 20–23) prepares students to begin their college experience. During orientation, students will:

• Get acquainted with their roommates, classmates, and staff of their Residential Commons
• Develop a sense of home in their residence halls
• Become familiar with the campus
• Meet their academic advisers
• Learn about Colgate’s community expectations
• Be welcomed into Colgate’s community of scholars at Founders’ Day Convocation

The program is designed and led by professionals in the Dean of the College division and trained student Orientation Links.

Family members sometimes ask if they will have time to visit with their students during orientation, and if they should stick around to help their student to get settled into their rooms. Setting up their own space is an important step in gaining new independence.  As well, your student will be busy from early morning through late in the evening — so family goodbyes should take place before orientation begins.

Housing and the Residential Commons Assignment

Living on campus provides opportunities to develop skills for living and learning, relationship and community building. Living in residence is integral to the Colgate education your students will receive.

Students are assigned to their Residential Commons according to the First-Year Seminar (FSEM) they are taking. This helps to bridge the living and learning parts of the experience. They will be notified of their room assignment and roommates in late July. Students are encouraged to communicate with their roommates to get to know them before arriving on campus.

The Office of Residential Life’s professional staff members are trained in student development, mentoring students, conflict mediation and resolution, and providing a safe and inclusive living environment for all students.

Colgate provides layers of support for students and a variety of people to help them achieve their goals. Two of their primary contacts will be their academic (faculty) adviser and their administrative dean .

Incoming students are notified of their academic advisers when they receive their fall course schedule. They will also receive an introductory letter from their specific dean over the summer. Encourage your student to build relationships with their administrative dean and faculty adviser early on by contacting them with any questions or concerns.

Important To-Dos and Dates

It’s important that students check their Colgate email frequently; all summer, they are receiving regular emails with action items and deadlines on their New Student Checklist. Here are some of the most important:

August 1, 2023

• Deadline to set up InfoShare to share select records online with parents or guardians
• Deadline to enroll or waive Student Health Insurance  
• Deadline to submit Financial Responsibility Form
• Fall Term Student Account payment deadline

August 7, 2023

• Complete Summer Reading Assignment

Remind your student they can designate a parent, guardian, or other Authorized User on their student account (TouchNet). Authorized users can receive e-billing notifications; view student account information; and make payments on the student’s behalf. (Please be aware that the Office of Student Accounts can only share and discuss details of a student’s account with individuals they have named on the Student Account Information Release Form or established as an Authorized User.

Academic Calendar

The academic calendar is the official listing, organized by semester, of important dates and academic-year milestones. The schedule is established and approved four years in advance.

Parent & Family Orientation

Family members are warmly welcomed but not required to attend Parent & Family Orientation. This program will explain Colgate’s student development philosophy and introduce family members to experiences their students will likely encounter in the first weeks of college. We’ll also provide tips for supporting your student, and explain the resources Colgate has to support you. Available sessions:

• Tuesday, August 15, 2:30–3:30 p.m. (Wilderness Adventure II arrival)
• Wednesday, August 16, 4:30–5:30 p.m. (other pre-orientations arrival)
• Sunday, August 20, 1–2 p.m. (Arrival Day)

Families who will not be coming to campus may request a recording of the program, which will be emailed shortly after Arrival Day.

As your student prepares to come to campus, what is your number one question or concern? Share it here and we will do our best to address it at Parent & Family Orientation or in upcoming communications. (If you have a specific question about your individual student, please email [email protected] .)

Family Weekend 2023, October 27–29

Save the Date! We look forward to welcoming families to campus October 27–29, 2023, for Family Weekend . Details will be released early in the fall semester. Meanwhile, hotels and other lodging establishments fill up quickly, so we recommend making reservations as soon as possible; you can research options on the Hotels & Accommodations page.

Resources for Incoming Families

Glossary of Colgate Terms

Sometimes words used in a college setting can be confusing. This glossary outlines common terms that would be helpful to know.

Advice from Family Members

We asked current parents, “What is one piece of advice you would share with a parent/guardian of an incoming first-year or transfer student?” Their helpful responses ranged from practical to metaphorical.

Books for College-Bound Families

This list of books was recommended by the parent program professionals of AHEPPP: Family Engagement in Higher Education.

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