Rising 7 th Grade Summer Reading 2015

Transcription

1 Rising 7 th Grade Summer Reading 2015 Welcome to Summer, dear readers! For your assigned Summer Reading: o ALL incoming 7 th graders will read the same Core Novel, which will form the basis of the first unit of study for Trimester 1 in August. In addition to reading this Core Novel, all students must complete the Annotation Assignment (see pages 4 and 5) for the Core Novel. PLUS o All students will read one book from the Choice List. o All students will read one book from the Gordon Korman List, as he will be our visiting author in September! **Note: each middle schooler will read a total of at least three (3) books this summer. Successfully reading (and ENJOYING) these books will translate into starting the year strong. Please return to school in August ready to discuss all aspects of the core novel, as well as your chosen book(s). Most books are available in several formats, including paperback, audio (Overdrive, CD, Audible.com, itunes) and ebook (Overdrive, Kindle, itunes). Our NBPS Overdrive Collection can be accessed at Sign in with your student id to check out and download ebooks and audiobooks. No matter which versions you read or listen to, you must also own a print or digital copy of your core novel to bring to class in August. Core Novel Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt Seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood, stuck in Mrs. Baker's classroom during the 1967 school year while his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, learns much of value about the world in which he lives from the study of the plays of William Shakespeare. Lexile: 990

2 Gordon Korman List Ungifted by Gordon Korman Due to an administrative mix-up, troublemaker Donovan Curtis is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction. But as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science, he shows that his gifts may be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed. Lexile: 730 Schooled by Gordon Korman Capricorn Cap Anderson has been homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Rain. When Rain is injured in a fall, Cap is forced to attend the local middle school. Although he knows a lot about Zen Buddhism, nothing has prepared him for the politics of public school. Lexile: 740 Masterminds (The Masterminds Trilogy bk. 1) by Gordon Korman Eli lives in the most perfect town in the world: Serenity, New Mexico, until one day, when all the kids learn they were cloned from the DNA of some of the greatest criminal masterminds in history for an experiment. Lexile: 730 Choice List Tesla s Attic (The Accelerati Trilogy bk. 1) by Neal Shusterman Fourteen-year-old Nick and his family move into a ramshackle Victorian house they've inherited. When Nick opens the door to his attic room, he's hit in the head by a toaster. That's just the beginning of his weird experiences with the old junk stored up there. Nick and friends figure out that the attic is a strange magnetic vortex, which attracts all sorts of interesting trouble. Lexile: 870 The False Prince (Ascendance Trilogy bk. 1) by Jennifer Nielsen In the country of Carthya, a devious nobleman engages four orphans in a brutal competition to be selected to impersonate the king's long-missing son in an effort to avoid a civil war. Lexile: 710

3 Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl. Lexile: 690 The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti In 1942, seventeen-year-old Helmuth Hübener, imprisoned for distributing anti-nazi leaflets, recalls his past life and how he came to dedicate himself to bring the truth about Hitler to the German people. Lexile: 760 Rules by Cynthia Lord Frustrated at life with an autistic brother, twelve-year-old Catherine longs for a normal existence but her world is further complicated by a friendship with a young paraplegic. Lexile: 780 Among the Hidden (Shadow Children series, bk. 1) by Margaret Peterson Haddix In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear until another "third" convinces him that the government is wrong. Lexile: 800 Define Normal by Julie Anne Peters Two girls--a "punk" and a "priss"--who find themselves facing each other in a peer-counseling program, discover that they have some surprising things in common. Lexile: 350 I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition) by Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai describes her fight for education for girls under Taliban rule, the support she received from her parents to pursue an education, and how the Taliban retaliated against her by trying to kill her. Lexile: 830

4 Middle School English Annotation Assignment: Core Novel for Summer Reading Due: the first day of class in August As part of your summer reading assignment, you will annotate your CORE (required) text as you read. Below are strategies and examples of annotations. Though encouraged, annotations are NOT required for your choice books. Annotating keeps the reader engaged with the text. While you are reading, use one or more of the strategies to mark your book and to include your thoughts, questions, and reactions. If you prefer, use post-it notes OR if you have an e-copy, use the highlight/ note function. Requirements for annotations of your core novel: 1. Write at least 2 annotations per chapter 2. Circle or highlight at least 10 words from throughout the novel that are new/unfamiliar to you. Make a list of these words at the end of the novel, and then define them. Suggested strategies for annotation: star any passages that you find important for the plot/ story underline any sentence that made you think and then jot a note in the margin to describe your thinking Circle or highlight words that are new/unfamiliar to you. Add them to your list at the end of the book (see above). Put a question mark by passages that you were confused about. In the margin, note why it was confusing to you. Bracket any sentences that exemplify the author s style, word choice, or interesting graphic elements. Write your thoughts about the language. Suggested sentence starters for annotation: Why did.? This part about makes me wonder. What would happen if. This section about means. The way the author says makes me think What does the author mean by? After reading this paragraph, I can now predict. After reading this paragraph, I can now understand why

5 The author included this graphic element in order to This character reminds me of The setting reminds me of This confuses me because Now I understand. This character did because The conflict in this scene is.. The author develops this character by The author s use of description The author organizes this text by...