To: Rising Seventh Grade Advanced Language Arts Students

From: Seventh Grade Language Arts Teachers

2014 Crofton Middle SchoolSummer Reading Assignment

This summer you will be expected to read three books in preparation for your first assignments in seventh grade. Selections can be made from our media center’s 2014 Middle School Reading List, the books listed below ora book of 150 pages or more by your favorite author that you have not read previously.

Broken Bladeby William Durbin
Bone: Out of Boneville by Jeff Smith
Closed for the Seasonby Mary Dowling Hahn
The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danzinger
Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
Crispin: The Cross of Leadby Avi
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
Do You Know the Monkey Man? by Dori Hillestad Butler
Eggs by Jerry Spinelli
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen / Heir Apparent by Vivian VanVelde
A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
The Man Who Was Poe by Avi
Shakespeare Bats Cleanupby Ronald Koertge
Snow Falling in Spring: Coming of Age in China During the Cultural Revolution by Moying Li
Squashedby Joan Bauer
The Trouble With Lemons by Daniel Hayes
When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park
Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick

For each of the three books, you will complete the following information:

First name, last name

Book TitleUNDERLINED, author, and page numbers

Well-developed answer using text support

Prompts for Fiction:

Choose one question for each book. Use textual evidence from the book to support your answer. You may use the same question for all fiction books or a different question for each.

  • Explain how a character changes throughout the story, usingtextual evidence from the book.
  • Explain how a character’s traits cause events to occur, using textual evidence from the book.

Would a typical eighth grader want the main character as a friend? Explain, using textual evidence from the book.

  • Explain why an eighth grader is interested in the plot, using textual evidence from the book.

Prompts for Non-fiction:

  • What impressed you most about your character? Explain, using textual evidence from the book. (Use for biography or autobiography)
  • Would this book be interesting to other students? Explain, using textual evidence from the book.

Rubric = 25 Total Points

5 pts. Follows directions

5 pts. Answers the question

8 pts. Includes much text support with explanation

2 pts. Demonstrates understanding of the complexities of the text

5 pts. Writes with correct capitalization, grammar usage, punctuation, and spelling

Teachers will expect your completed assignment during the first week of school. Happy Reading!!