Entering 7Th Grade Summer Reading

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ELASummer Reading

Entering 7th Grade Summer Reading

During the summer all students are expected to read 3 books. We have selected 6 titles for students to choose from. Students will be required to place a refundable deposit in order to borrow these books for the summer vacation. Books that are returned in useable condition will receive a full refund.

Summer reading constitutes a significant portion of each student’s first quarter English Grade and no excuses for failure to complete this assignment will be accepted.

Directions:

1) Check-off the three books that you have selected to read over the summer.

☐Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead / ☐Ungifted by Gordon Korman
☐March: Book One by John Lewis / ☐House Arrest by K.A. Holt
☐He said, She Said by Kwame Alexander / ☐Listen Slowly by Thanhha Lai

2) You will read three books therefore you will complete three writing assignments. You must submit one narrative and one essay and one book report. You may pick which type of writing to complete for which book.

3) Each writing assignment is required to be between 1-2 pages in length.

4) You may handwrite, or more preferably, type your responses to the writing prompts. You will also be sent the assignments via your NHCS Tech Google Drive account.

5) Upon returning to the school you will take a book quiz on all three of the selected books. To receive credit you must pass each quiz with a 70% or higher.

Happy reading and writing!

Ms. Wurster

☐March: Book One Choose one prompt to respond to:
☐Narrative
John Lewis wanted desperately to attend Troy State, but was unable to due to their segregationist laws. Write a narrative that describes Lewis’ first week at Troy State if he had been able to attend. What sort of challenges might he have faced? What obstacles would he have to overcome?
☐Essay
March chronicles many turning points in Lewis’ life. Identify at least two turning points in Lewis’ life and explain how they influenced his life path. How might things have turned out differently if those things did not happen?
☐Book Report
1. What was this book’s greatest strength and what was its most serious flaw?
2. Analyze one choice the character made in the story that impacted the plot. What choice did the character make? Why did he/she make it? What was the result of that choice?
3. What is one question that you would ask the author about this book? Why would you ask it?
☐Liar and Spy Choose one prompt to respond to:
☐Narrative
At the end of the novel, Georges and Bob English Who Draws are assigned an essay on the meaning of the word “bittersweet.” Write the essay as though you are Georges. Be sure to include details about his understanding of the word.
☐Essay
How might Georges define friendship? Does his idea of friendship change by the end of the novel? If so, how?
☐Book Report
1. What was this book’s greatest strength and what was its most serious flaw?
2. Analyze one choice the character made in the story that impacted the plot. What choice did the character make? Why did he/she make it? What was the result of that choice?
3. What is one question that you would ask the author about this book? Why would you ask it?
☐House Arrest Choose one prompt to respond to:
☐Narrative
Using pages 271-272 as a starting point, write Timothy’s speech at the Carnival of Giving as though you were Timothy. Be sure to use first person!
☐Essay
Given the incidents at the end of the book, do you think Timothy changed or developed throughout the course of the book? Give evidence to support your answer.
☐Book Report
1. What was this book’s greatest strength and what was its most serious flaw?
2. Analyze one choice the character made in the story that impacted the plot. What choice did the character make? Why did he/she make it? What was the result of that choice?
3. What is one question that you would ask the author about this book? Why would you ask it?
☐He Said, She Said Choose one prompt to respond to:
☐Narrative
He Said, She Said ends just before Claudia and T-Diddy head off to college. Write the next chapter of this book as though it was their first week of college. Will they stay together or part their separate ways?
☐Essay
How do both Claudia and T-Diddy change over the course of the novel? What most influences this change?
☐Book Report
1. What was this book’s greatest strength and what was its most serious flaw?
2. Analyze one choice the character made in the story that impacted the plot. What choice did the character make? Why did he/she make it? What was the result of that choice?
3. What is one question that you would ask the author about this book? Why would you ask it?
☐Listen, Slowly Choose one prompt to respond to:
☐Narrative
Mai’s feelings towards spending time with Ba in Vietnam change throughout the story. At times, Mai uses the computer to read emails from her best friend, Montana. Write three separate emails from Mai to Montana that depict how Mai felt about her time in Vietnam, meeting Anh Minh and Ut, and how she felt at the end of the story. What would she say to Montana? Make sure to write from Mai’s perspective, and include her tone and “way” of speaking.
☐Essay
Mai refers to herself on page 123 as “the new me.” What does she mean? Compare what she is like at the beginning of the book and the end. What causes her to change? Use dialogue, thoughts, and actions from the book as evidence to reveal the transformation.
☐Book Report
1. What was this book’s greatest strength and what was its most serious flaw?
2. Analyze one choice the character made in the story that impacted the plot. What choice did the character make? Why did he/she make it? What was the result of that choice?
3. What is one question that you would ask the author about this book? Why would you ask it?
☐Ungifted Choose one prompt to respond to:
☐Narrative
When Donovan whacks a statue outside of his school with an old tree branch, causing part of the statue to fall off and crash through the gymnasium and disrupt a major sporting event, he does not get punishment for his actions. By accident, he ends up at the Academy for Scholastic Distinction. Re-write the chain of events so that Donovan faces a different consequence. What consequence might he receive? How does he respond?
☐Essay
When Donovan first arrives at the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, he quickly feels that he doesn’t belong because he isn’t talented or gifted. Write an essay in which you agree or disagree with Donovan. Do you think he is truly ungifted, or is he actually “gifted” in some ways? Defend your claim with evidence from the text.
☐Book Report
1. What was this book’s greatest strength and what was its most serious flaw?
2. Analyze one choice the character made in the story that impacted the plot. What choice did the character make? Why did he/she make it? What was the result of that choice?
3. What is one question that you would ask the author about this book? Why would you ask it?