2014 Summer Reading Project
Seventh Grade
Dear (Soon-to-be!) Seventh Grade Students and Parents:
We would like to welcome you to the next stage in the development of life-long reading! Each quarter, students will be involved in an independent reading adventure. We will begin this odyssey with our summer reading project! In this packet, you will find an approved book list, suggestions for selecting a “just-right” book, and the assigned activities for your selected summer reading book. For future projects, beyond summer reading, students will select their own titles in an assigned genre; then, each quarter, teachers will approve book choices, and assign the genre specific project at the beginning of each nine weeks.
These 5 projects, throughout the year, are not optional; students are expected to turn each project in, on its assigned due date. If students do not turn in a quality project by the established deadline, they will be required to serve academic after school detentions, until the project is complete.
The Summer Reading Project Due Date is Friday, August 29th!
For the summer reading project, students are to read one book – from the enclosed list – and complete the three attached activities. For your reference, we have provided an example for each of the activities. Please use this as a guide to your own responses! Throughout the summer, we will periodically check our email, so please do not hesitate to contact any of us with questions that you may have. If you need another copy of this project, feel free to download and print it from our teacher pages which are available through the Licking Heights website:
When choosing a book, we recommend that our students do the following:
1. Read the summaries below, and mark which books initially peak your interest.
2. Go to the library or book store to see if these books are a “comfortable fit” for your particular reading level. One of the simplest ways to assess whether a book is too easy or too difficult is called the “5 Finger Rule.” Students should flip to a random page near the middle of the book and begin reading from the top of the page. Each time they come to an unknown word they should hold up one finger. At the bottom of the page, if they have no fingers up this book may be too easy. If they have 5 or more fingers up, this book may be too difficult. This process should be repeated on 2-3 other random pages.
Otherwise, below is our contact information. We look forward to working with you in the coming year! Until then, happy reading .
Mrs. Lampl Mrs. Locker-
Ms. Moore- Mrs. Noble-
Mrs. Wakefield –
Sincerely,
The Seventh Grade ELA Department
Summer Reading Book Choices and Summaries
1. Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom—the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow. In this breakthrough story—reminiscent of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly—from multiple Coretta Scott King Award-winner Sharon Draper, readers will come to know a brilliant mind and a brave spirit who will change forever how they look at anyone with a disability.
2. Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
This is the story of two handicapped and troubled young men, one smaller than a yardstick and the other outgrowing size thirteen shoes, is about the strength of friendship, family, intelligence, and life. The poignant story is told from the perspective of Max, who, through the life and death of his friend Kevin, learns to respect his own intelligence and endure his own frightening heritage.
3. Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhaa Li
As Hà and her family flee Vietnam, after the Fall of Saigon, they immigrate to Alabama.
Hà has only ever known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope—toward America.
4. Seeing Redby Kathryn Erskine
Life will never be the same for Red Porter. He's a kid growing up around black car grease, white fence paint, and the backward attitudes of the folks who live in his hometown, Rocky Gap, Virginia.
Red's daddy, his idol, has just died, leaving Red and Mama with some hard decisions and a whole lot of doubt. Should they sell the Porter family business, a gas station, repair shop, and convenience store rolled into one, where the slogan -- "Porter's: We Fix it Right!" -- has been shouting the family's pride for as long as anyone can remember?
With Daddy gone, everything's different. Through his friendship with Thomas, Beau, and Miss Georgia, Red starts to see there's a lot more than car motors and rusty fenders that need fixing in his world.
When Red discovers the injustices that have been happening in Rocky Gap since before he was born, he's faced with unsettling questions about his family's legacy.
5. Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.
6. Somebody Please Tell Me Who I Am by Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis
Ben has always had it pretty easy--with no acting experience, he landed the lead in his high school musical, and he's dating the prettiest girl in school. Haunted by memories of 9/11, he makes the decision to enlist in the army--with devastating consequences. Somehow nobody ever thought Ben would be one of the soldiers affected, but after his convoy gets caught in an explosion, Ben is in a coma for two months. When he wakes up, he doesn't know where he is, and he doesn't remember anything about his old life. His family and friends mourn what they see as a loss, but Ben perseveres. Although he will never be the person he once was, this is the story of his struggle and transformation.
7. Remember Dippy by Robyn Schneider
Johnny's plans fly out the window when he finds out his single mother is leaving town for the summer. She has a breakthrough job in upstate New York. He can live with his Aunt Collette but only on the condition that he "help out with" his autistic older cousin, Remember. Yup, you heard it right: Remember Dippy. That's his cousin's name—and Remember is a gawky awkward kid with some pretty strange habits, like repeating back almost everything Johnny says and spending hours glued to the weather channel. Johnny's premonitions of disaster appear at first to come to cringe-worthy fruition, but when the two boys save a bully from drowning, salvage the pizzeria guy's romance, and share girl troubles, Johnny ends up having the summer of his life.
8. Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt
Doug struggles to be more than the "skinny thug" thatsome people think him to be.He finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer, who gives him the strength to endure an abusive father, the suspicions of a town, and the return of his oldest brother, forever scarred, from Vietnam. Schmidt expertly weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love, creativity, and survival.
9. Unwind by Neil Shusterman
In America after the Second Civil War, the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life armies came to an agreement: The Bill of Life states that human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, a parent may choose to retroactively get rid of a child through a process called "unwinding." Unwinding ensures that the child's life doesn’t “technically” end by transplanting all the organs in the child's body to various recipients. Now a common and accepted practice in society, troublesome or unwanted teens are able to easily be unwound.
With breathtaking suspense, this book follows three teens who all become runaway Unwinds: Connor, a rebel whose parents have ordered his unwinding; Risa, a ward of the state who is to be unwound due to cost-cutting; and Lev, his parents' tenth child whose unwinding has been planned since birth as a religious tithing. As their paths intersect and lives hang in the balance, Shusterman examines serious moral issues in a way that will keep readers turning the pages to see if Connor, Risa, and Lev avoid meeting their untimely ends.
10. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first.
Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love.
Summer Reading Rubric
Students are expected to read their book and provide information in the areas of vocabulary, characterization, and text connections. Their expertise will also be evaluated through class discussion and an in class assignment. Projects will be graded on the following:
Vocabulary:
Vocabulary Term (1 pt per term) x 5 terms_____/5pts
Vocabulary Sentence/Page # (2 pts per term) x 5 terms_____/10 pts
Vocabulary Definition (1 pt per term) x 5 terms_____/5 pts
Part of Speech (1 pt per term) x 5 terms _____/5 pts
Personal Example (1pt per term) x 5 terms_____/5 pts
Spelling/Grammar_____/4 pts
Vocabulary Total_____/34 pts
Characterization
Character’s Name (1 pt per character) x 4 characters_____/4 pts
Physical Description (2 pts per character) x 4 characters_____/8 pts
Personality Description (2 pts per character) x 4 characters_____/8 pts
Supporting Evidence (4 pts per character) x 4 characters_____16/pts
Spelling/Grammar_____/4 pts
Characterization Total_____/40 pts
Text Connections
Text to Self (4 pts per explanation) x 1 explanation_____/4 pts
Text to Text (4 pts per explanation) x 1 explanation_____/4 pts
Text to World (4 pts per explanation) x 1 explanation_____/4 pts
Spelling/Grammar_____/4 pts
Text Connections Total_____/16 pts
Summer Reading Project Grand Total _____/90 points
Name: ______Book title:______All 3 activities are due on Aug. 29th!
Valuable Vocabulary
Directions: As you read your book, record 5 words that were unfamiliar to you or you feel are higher level words. It will make your life easier if you have this sheet next to you as you are reading! Complete the information in the chart below for each of your 5 words. Use the example below to assist you.
Word / Sentence & Page # or % on e-reader / Dictionary Definition / Part of Speech / My own sentenceRuminating / “While I’ve been ruminating on the availability of trees, Peeta has been struggling with how to maintain his identity.” (Page 142)
/ To meditate on, to ponder / Verb / I really ruminated on which book to read for my summer reading project!
Charismatic Characterization
Directions: Characterization is used by authors as a way to give readers insight into the personalities of their characters and the roles each may play in the story. Authors may use “direct” or “indirect” characterization to reveal these personalities. Choose 4 main characters from your book and fill out the information in the chart below. Use the example to assist you.
Character’s Name / Character’s Physical Description / Character’s Personality Description / Supporting Evidence & Page # or %Gale / Gale has straight black hair, olive skin, and gray eyes. / Gale is a caring and supportive person. / I know this because he trades to get a rare loaf of bread and he shares it with Katniss. (Page 8) He also promises to not let her family starve while she is away at the Hunger Games. (Page 40)
Culminating Connections
Directions: Having read your book, in its entirety, you should be able to make text connections. There are three types of text connections, and you will need to make all three using your summer reading book! Once again use the provided example.
- Text-to-Self- when we connect what we have read in a book to our own lives
- Text-to-Text- taking what we have read and connecting it with another book that we have read
- Text-to-World- using the events in a story to connect with an event that has happened in the world around us
Text-to-Self / Text-to-Text / Text-to-World
Hunger Games reminds meof the sacrifices that I make for my family. Katniss must sacrifice her own safety in order to protect her younger sister Prim. I do many things in my family to help my younger sister. For example, I help her with homework and play with her when I’d much rather being doing something else! / Hunger Games reminds me of the book Matched because they both take place in the future. Both societies in these books control their people. In Hunger Games people are forced to partake or watch the violent games. In Matched people are assigned jobs and told who they are allowed to marry. Both stories have a strong female main character who decides these societies have gone too far. / Hunger Games reminds me of some of the countries in our world in which the government controls its citizens. In Hunger Games people were not given a choice in participating in the games. Their citizens were forced to watch the games. In some countries in the world people are not allowed to vote or speak out against the government. People can be killed or severely punished for speaking out against their governing bodies.
Text-to-Self / Text-to-Text / Text-to-World