Independent Reading Contract
First Semester 8th Grade ELA
Students are required to read one book independently each semester. Each student must choose a book from the attached list that he or she has not previously read and complete the reading by Wednesday, September 13th. Credit for the assignment will be earned by answering questions based on the literary elements and choosing a final project to complete on or before the due date, Monday, October 10th. Because each student will choose a book, choose the final project to be completed, and have ample time to finish both, I expect to see exceptional projects in October.Please return the completed contract to Ms. Galletta by Monday, August 14th.
By signing this contract, I understand the following:
- I will complete my independent reading honestly.
- I will choose a book that I have not read previously and will preview the book to ensure that it is appropriate for my reading and interest levels.
- I have not viewed the movie version of the book, nor will I watch the movie before the due dates.
- I will have the book completely read by September 13th, and will be prepared to answer questions regarding the literary elements of the story.
- My final project will be completed and turned in on or before October 10th.
Student Signature ______
My book choice is ______
(Title and Author)
As a parent, by signing this contract, I agree to:
- Preview the book and approve the content for my child.
- Check on the progress of my child’s reading at appropriate intervals.
- Ensure that the reading of thebook is completed by September 13th.
Parent Signature ______
I’ll Give You the Sun by JandyNelson Contemporary Fiction
At first, Jude and her twin brother are NoahandJude; inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them.
Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways . . . but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor.
The early years are Noah’s to tell; the later years are Jude’s. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they’ll have a chance to remake their world.400 pages
The Knife of Never LettingGo by Patrick Ness Science Fiction
Prentisstownisn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives. But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought? 512 pages
Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick Contemporary Fiction
Steven has a totally normal life (well, almost).He plays drums in the All-City Jazz Band (whose members call him the Peasant), has a crush on the hottest girl in school (who doesn't even know he's alive), and is constantly annoyed by his younger brother, Jeffrey (who is cuter than cute - which is also pretty annoying). But when Jeffrey gets sick, Steven's world is turned upside down, and he is forced to deal with his brother's illness, his parents' attempts to keep the family in one piece, his homework, the band, girls, and Dangerous Pie (yes, you'll have to read the book to find out what that is!). 304 pages
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor Historical Drama
Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice. And it is also Cassie's story—Cassie Logan, an independent girl who discovers over the course of an important year why having land of their own is so crucial to the Logan family, even as she learns to draw strength from her own sense of dignity and self-respect.Why is the land so important to Cassie's family? It takes the events of one turbulent year—the year of the night riders and the burnings, the year a white girl humiliates Cassie in public simply because she's black—to show Cassie that having a place of their own is the Logan family's lifeblood. It is the land that gives the Logans their courage and pride—no matter how others may degrade them, the Logans possess something no one can take away. 288 pages
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline Science Fiction
In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as theOASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape. 400 pages
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon Contemporary Fiction
Over the course of a single day in New York City, two teenagers who have nothing in common randomly meet and fall in love. Now I know that sounds absurdly cliché, but somehow in Nicola Yoon’s hands, it doesn’t read that way. Natasha is a practical young woman trying to keep her family from being deported in a matter of hours. Daniel is a poet at heart, but on this day he is dutifully making good on his familial commitment to a college interview. The two are inexplicably drawn to each other and somehow their paths keep converging.The Sun is Also a Staris a thought-provoking story of possibility, fate, and the illogical beauty of love. 384 pages
Between Shades of Gray by RutaSepetys Historical Drama
Fifteen-year-old Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life--until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina, her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she imbeds clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping her drawings will make their way to her father's prison camp. But will strength, love, and hope be enough for Lina and her family to survive? 384 pages
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr Historical Drama
For Marie-Laure, blind since the age of six, the world is full of mazes: The miniature of a Paris neighborhood, made by her father to teach her the way home, the microscopic layers within the invaluable diamond that her father guards in the Museum of Natural History, and the walled city by the sea, where father and daughter take refuge when the Nazis invade Paris.And a future which draws her ever closer to Werner, a German orphan, destined to labor in the mines until a broken radio fills his life with possibility and brings him to the notice of the Hitler Youth. 531 pages