Strayer Middle School
Summer Reading 2014
The goals:
1. To grow as learners. The more you read, the more interesting life becomes!
2. To create a community of readers.
3. To share good books and encourage others to read them.
4. To generate discussions with your peers and teachers.
The assignment:
1. Select at least 1 book from the Summer Reading List below.
2. Read the book(s)! Choose the one you will share in the fall.
3. Use the character examination chart or sticky notes so that you are able to respond to a prompt during class discussion.
4. When you return to school, on a designated day early in September, students will meet in discussion groups with classmates who have read the same book.
5. This assignment will be evidence for Standard: Comprehension and Collaboration.
Be sure to show your parents this list, including the letter on the backside of this page.
*Many of the books are available (as hard copy or for e-readers) at the Michener Branch of the Bucks County Public Libraries on West Mill Street, Quakertown.
Grade 8 Summer Reading List 2014
Strayer Middle School
I am Malala by Malala Yousfzai
When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.
On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.
Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson
Leon Leyson was only ten years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family was forced to relocate to the Krakow ghetto. With incredible luck, perseverance, and grit, Leyson was able to survive the sadism of the Nazis, including that of the demonic Amon Goeth, commandant of Plaszow, the concentration camp outside Krakow. Ultimately, it was the generosity and cunning of one man, a man named Oskar Schindler, who saved Leon Leyson’s life, and the lives of his mother, his father, and two of his four siblings, by adding their names to his list of workers in his factory—a list that became world renowned: Schindler’s List.
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Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
Having escaped Miss Peregrine’sisland by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world.Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises.
Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly mesmerizing) vintage photographs, this new adventurewill delight readers of all ages.
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out.
Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Imagine waking up one day in total darkness, unsure of where you are and unable to remember anything about yourself except your first name. You're in a bizarre place devoid of adults called the Glade. The Glade is an enclosed structure with a jail, a graveyard, a slaughterhouse, living quarters, and gardens. And no way out. Outside the Glade is the Maze, and every day some of the kids -- the Runners -- venture into the labyrinth, trying to map the ever-changing pattern of walls in an attempt to find an exit from this hellish place. So far, no one has figured it out. And not all of the Runners return from their daily exertions, victims of the maniacal Grievers, part animal, part mechanical killing machines.
Strayer Middle School
Reading-RELA Department
Dear Parents,
This summer, QCSD and Strayer Middle School renews the commitment for our students to avoid “summer regression” by implementing a required summer reading program. Each student will need to read at least one book from the Summer Reading List on the reverse side. Of course, the more books each student reads, the better prepared he or she will be for the complex literacy skills required for middle and high school classes, as well as future college and career!
We encourage you to get involved in your child’s book selection. As an added family bonus, you may choose to read and discuss the book with your child.
Why are we doing this?
Educational research for the past several decades indicates:
• Students are more motivated to read when given a choice of titles that may interest them.
• If students enjoy what they read, their skills and confidence for reading will improve, thus making them more
likely to challenge themselves with more difficult text.
• Students improve their reading skills when they interact with what they read and make connections. Making
connections helps readers comprehend and remember a book.
Our goal is to create a culture of readers at Strayer Middle School. We will meet in discussion groups early in September to do what readers naturally like to do after reading – talk about it! All students will be expected to have read one of the books and to participate in the group discussion monitored by a member of our sixth, seventh and eighth grade staff.[i]. This assignment will be evidence for the Standard: Comprehension and Collaboration.
We appreciate your help as we all encourage our students to read. The more they read, the better they will succeed!
Sincerely,
The Strayer Middle School Staff
[i]