April 2014

Summer Reading Assignment

DearCulver CityMiddle School students,

We are eager to meet you next year in your English Language Arts classes at Culver CityMiddle School. Before you join us in the fall, you will need to complete the summer reading requirement for your upcoming grade level.

Future 8th Graders

  • Please read one of the three novels listed belowif you plan on taking a regular Language Arts class or twoof the novels listed below if you plan on taking a scholars Language Arts class.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

We Beat the Streets: How a Friendship Pact Led to Success by Davis et al.

  • As you read, annotate the novels using the 8th grade Annotation Guide attached. You will need to bring your completed T-Chart/Dialectical Journal AND your annotated novel(s) on the first day of class. These will be the first graded assignments in the first quarter.
  • Students will also be given a test during the first weeks of school to assess the summer reading. Local and school libraries have copies of the required books; however, your annotations would need to be done on a separate sheet of paper, or on Post-it notes.

Future 7th Graders

Please choose ONE book that has received either the Newberry Medal Award or the California Young Reader Medal Award. Your task is to complete the attached 7th grade Summer Reading T-Chart/Dialectical Journal, and turn it in on or before Monday, September 29, 2014. If you plan to be in a Scholars Language Arts class, please choose TWO books, one from each of the below linked lists.

Future 6th Graders

Incoming 6th grade students please choose ONE book that has received either the Newberry Medal Award or the California Young Reader Medal Award. Your task is to complete the attached 7th grade Summer Reading T-Chart/Dialectical Journal, and turn it in on or before Monday, September 29, 2014. If you plan to be in a Scholars Language Arts class, please choose TWO books, one from each of the below linked lists.

Links to Newbery Medal Awards and California Young Reader Medal Awards

Enjoy your summer and your reading!

Sincerely,

CCMS English Language Arts Teachers

FURTHER INFORMATION:

SomeCalifornia Young Reader Medal titles available at the CCMS Library are:

Tuesdays at the Castle. Jessica Day George. (NY: Random House, 2010)
Wild Wings. Gill Lewis and Yuta Onada, illus.(NY: Antheneum, 2011)
Wonder. R.J. Palacio. (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012)

Bluefish. Pat Schmatz. (Sommerville, MA: Candlewick, 2011)
Chained. Lynne Kelly(NY: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2012)
The False Prince. Jennifer A. Nielsen. (NY: Scholastic, 2012)

Please find the 6th, 7th and 8th grade Assignment Worksheets that you need to complete your assignment attached on the next three pages.

Attachment One:

Summer Reading T-Chart/Dialectical Journal for 6th & 8th grade students

Directions: While reading the novel, find at least five passages from the text that you can connect with something in real life. On the left hand side of the T-Chart, copy the passage including the page number. On the right hand side of the T-Chart, explain the real-life connection. Possible connections include personal experiences, events you have witnessed or read about in the news, and events that you have learned about in school.

Passage from the Book / My Connection
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Attachment Two:

Summer Reading T-Chart/Dialectical Journal for 7th grade students

Directions: While reading yourchosen novel, find at least ten passages from the text that connect with something in your life. On the left hand side of the T-Chart, copy the passage including the page number. On the right hand side of the T-Chart, explain the real-life connection. Possible connections include personal experiences, events you have witnessed or read about in the news, and events that you have learned about in school.

Passage from the Book / My Connection
l.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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10.

Attachment Three:

Annotation Guide for 8th grade students

An important first step in analyzing literature is annotating the text. Basically, annotation is taking notes in your text as you read to help you keep track of your thinking. If you borrow a book from the library, you will need to take your notes on a separate paper, Post-Its or the like. If you purchase your own copy of the book, you can take your notes directly in the margin of the book. Not only will these annotations be collected and graded, but they will also help you get more out of your reading of the novels and participate in class discussions about them.

Please annotate your books using the following method.

At the end of each chapter or section, write a brief summary.

Highlight key words, phrases, or sentences. Write what you find significant about this part of the text in the margin. Anything you highlight with a highlighter marker is not considered annotation unless you also write out in the margin why you highlighted that part of the text.

Write questions, comments and connections (within the text and with other texts you’ve read) in the margins.

Highlight the actions and reactions of characters that seem especially revealing. Write out to the side what character traits are being revealed.

Draw a square around words for which you don’t yet know the definition.

Circle words you find especially powerful. These words should bring to mind an image or emotion.

Annotation is a skill that will be reinforced each year in your English classes at Culver CityMiddle School. Learning to annotate effectively will serve you well in the future as you read and analyze challenging works of literature.