Summer Reading for 2010 Students entering 8 th Grade

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1 Summer Reading for 2010 Students entering 8 th Grade Don't even think about: - procrastinating! Commit yourself to reading a pre-determined amount of chapters per day so that you're not overloaded with work the last few weeks of the summer. Also, set aside a specific time during the day for reading and make sure your friends and family know that you are not to be disturbed during this time. Don't expect to get much reading done late at night while lying in bed; choose a time early in the day. Complete the written portion of the assignment while you re reading each book. -not reading! If you need to order the book online, order early. You have plenty of internet book stores*** from which to choose AND all the books are quite popular; so don't even think about claiming that no books were available to purchase. It's also important to read what you like; choose your book according to your interests. If you start reading early enough, you'll have more than enough time to change a book if you find the book doesn't interest you. -cheating! If any part of the written assignment is plagiarized to any extent, the entire assignment will be given a zero grade. The assignment questions are geared so that YOU have to answer them; the answers cannot be found on any internet website. ***Half.com is the best place to buy books. The shipping fee is usually $3.50, but most books are less than $1.00. Use the ISBN number to make sure you get the exact, required texts. If you have an Ebay.com account, you have a Half.com account. ***Half Priced Books on NW 63 rd and May Ave is another great source for cheap books! Use the ISBN number to make sure you get the exact, required texts. Assignment -All incoming 8 th Graders MUST read The Giver AND one choose one book from the accompanying list. -Read both and annotate them. You must make annotations and complete the additional assignments detailed here. Annotation Tips -Write questions or comments in the margin or on sticky notes -Make brief notes in the margin or on sticky notes to identify important events, character changes, or personal connections you make -Use (!) to mark important passages -Use (+) or (-) for positive and negative reactions -Circle AND look up unfamiliar words -Indicate literary devices and figurative language -Underline important ideas and memorable images -Use (?) to mark confusing parts.

2 Assignment: -Complete the Skeleton Body Biography for a major character for EACH book you choose -Complete the following questions for each book. -Handwrite your responses using blue or black in OR pencil and compile in a single notebook or folder. 1. What were your feelings after finishing the book? Why? 2. Did the book make you laugh? cry? Explain your reaction. 3. What connections are there between the book and your own life? Explain. 4. What parts in the book seem most believable? What parts seem unbelievable? Why? 5. Do you like the way the book ended? Why or why not? Do you think there is more to tell? What do you think might happen next? 6. Finish the sentence: "I love (hate) the way the author (or a character)..." 7. List five conflicts (both internal and external) in the book. 8. Explain the changes that have taken place in the main character s life. Describe the character's quest or journey. Consider what goals and dreams drive the character's actions, what obstacles the character faces in seeking his/her goal, and the outcomes of the quest or journey. Describe their characterization (appearance, motivations, and important actions). Explain how these dynamic characters change as the story progresses. 9. What questions (more than one) would you ask the characters about themselves or their actions? Which character(s) could you relate to the most and why? 10. Describe the diction and syntax of the protagonist (i.e., the way he or she talks). How do his/her speech patterns affect his characterization or the way he or she "seems" to the reader? 11. What is the setting of the story: When and where? How does the setting influence the characters and reveal the main ideas of the book? 12. What point of view is used to tell the story? If it is first person, name the narrator or narrators. How does this influence the impact of the story? 13. Titles always add meaning to writing. What is the significance of the title of this selection? What is the main idea, or theme, the author wants you to "get" from reading this book? 14. Explain and give specific examples of the literary devices the author uses to tell his story. Include irony, foreshadowing, imagery, symbolism, satire, and allusions, if present in the story. 15. Compose a minimum of 2 paragraphs to describe something that you learned from the book. In other words, how did the author make you think; what ideas, themes issues did you consider? Did the novel teach you anything? Would you recommend the book to a friend? Why? Completely explain your answers. Both novels must be finished with annotations and notebook complete by 3 September The journal is NOT to be typed. The journal must be legible and neat. You may only use pencil or blue or black ink in your notebook! You HAVE to bring YOUR book WITH ANNOTATIONS to class by the due date for all the HW. If you have any questions or problems during the summer, me at dallas.fields22@yahoo.com OR fields@dsaokc.org

3 The Giver* By Lois Lowry *THIS IS REQUIRED READING FOR ALL INCOMING 8 TH GRADERS!!!!!!! AR Quiz No EN BL: 5.7 AR Points: 7 Reading level: Young Adult Paperback: 208 pages Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (January 24, 2006) ISBN-10: ISBN-13: In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12- year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price. Choose ONE of the following titles: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne AR Quiz No EN BL: 5.8 AR POINTS: 7 Paperback (@204 pages) Publisher: David Fickling (2006) ISBN: Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence. The Book Thief By Markus Zusak AR Quiz No BL: 5.1 AR POINTS: 18 Reading level: Young Adult Paperback: 576 pages Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf (September 11, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: ISBN-13: Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel, a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry AR Quiz No: 379 BL: 4.5 AR POINTS: 4 Mass Market Paperback: 136 pages Publisher: Laurel Leaf (February 9, 1998) ISBN-10: ISBN-13: The evacuation of Jews from Nazi-held Denmark is one of the great untold stories of World War II. On September 29, 1943, word got out in Denmark that Jews were to be detained and then sent to the death camps. Within hours the Danish resistance, population and police arranged a small flotilla to herd 7,000 Jews to Sweden. Lois Lowry fictionalizes a true-story account to bring this courageous tale to life. She brings the experience to life through the eyes of 10-year-old Annemarie Johannesen, whose family harbors her best friend, Ellen Rosen, on the eve of the round-up and helps smuggles Ellen's family out of the country.

4 Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank AR Quiz No. 530 BL: 6.5 AR POINTS: 14 Mass Market Paperback: 258 pages Publisher: Pocket Books; 1st THUS edition (January 1, 1953) ISBN-10: X ISBN-13: This diary account of the Holocaust tells the story of a Jewish family hiding with others during the Nazi occupation of Holland during World War II. Told from the point-of-view of Anne, a thirteen year-old German girl, it offers an inside glimpse of what an actual victim of the Holocaust felt about her situation and about life, in general. Milkweed By Jerry Spinelli AR Quiz No BL: 3.6 AR POINTS: 7 Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (March 23, 2010) ISBN-10: ISBN-13: A vivid picture of the streets of the Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II, as seen through the eyes of a curious, kind, heartbreakingly naïve orphan with many names. His name is Stopthief when people shout "Stop! Thief!" as he flees with stolen bread. Or it's Jew, "filthy son of Abraham," depending on who's talking to him. Or, maybe he's a Gypsy, because his eyes are black, his skin is dark, and he wears a mysterious yellow stone around his neck. His new friend and protector Uri forces him to take the name Misha Pilsudski and to memorize a made-up story about his Gypsy background so that no one will mistake him for a Jew and kill him. Misha, a very young boy, is slow to understand what's happening around him. When he sees people running, he thinks it's a race. Nazis (Jackboots, as the children call them) marching through the streets appear to him as a delightful parade of magnificent boots. He wants to be a Jackboot! (Uri smacks him for saying this.) He compares bombs to sauerkraut kettles, machine guns to praying mantises, and tanks to "colossal gray long-snouted beetles." The story of Misha and his band of orphans trying to survive on their own would have a deliciously Dickensian quality, if it weren't for the devastation around them--people hurrying to dig trenches to stop Nazi tanks, shops exploding in flames, the wailing of sirens, buzzing airplanes, bombs, and human torture. Spinelli has written a powerfully moving story of survival--readers will love Misha the dreamer and his wonderfully poetic observations of the world around him, his instinct to befriend a Jewish girl and her family, his impulse to steal food for a local orphanage and his friends in the ghetto, and his ability to delight in small things even surrounded by the horror of the Holocaust.

5 Instructions for Fleshing Out a Character Skeleton Biography: 1. Choose a major character for EACH of your novels (must be either the PROTAGONIST or ANTAGONIST) this means that you will need to make TWO Skeleton Body Biographies ONE FOR EACH NOVEL!!! 2. Keep the Skeleton Categories in mind as you read your chosen novels and list them in your reading journal AS YOU READ each day (a great way to do this is to start from the back page of your notebook and work in reverse for ONLY this portion of the summer reading assignment have a page devoted to each of the categories. 3. When you are finished with the novel, look through your lists and choose THREE major events, actions, thoughts, characteristics, or qualities with which to label the skeleton. 4. Make certain you keep your categories organized (be sure to differentiate between things a character SAYS, things a character DOES, and things a character THINKS, for instance. Similarly, be certain to separate a character s STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES, as well as what the character TRIES TO DO versus what the character actually DOES. Be sure that you separate THOUGHTS from FEELINGS Feelings are emotions, so look for words related to emotions. 5. Label the skeleton with the BEST three examples from each of those categories. Keep in mind that these qualities, actions, events, thoughts, etc., should exemplify this character they should show someone unfamiliar with the novel what this character you have chosen is like. EXAMPLE: Kino, from John Steinbeck s The Pearl

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