Due: The first week of school

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1 7 th Grade Summer Reading Assignment 2017 Part 1 Core Novel (required reading for all incoming 7 th grade students) Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt This book is set in Turner Buckminster, the son of Reverend Buckminster (Preacher in Phippsburg, Maine), has just moved from Boston, Massachusetts to Phippsburg, Maine and is constantly being teased for simple misunderstandings, not to mention being automatically disliked by the boys of Phippsburg for playing baseball differently. Turner meets a black girl, Lizzie Bright Griffin, befriends her, despite his difficulty with social situations. Turner has to save Lizzie's family and friends before they all must leave Malaga Island. But that means standing up to the authorities, including Turner's father. Assignment: You will also keep a dialectical journal of your response to Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy as you read. Detailed instructions for this assignment are included. Due: The first week of school Part II: Choice Novels Assignment: Choose TWO novels from the following list and be prepared to give Book Talks to your class the first week of school. Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan El Deafo by Cece Bell Sasquatch in the Paint by Kareem Abdul Jabar Chasing Lincoln s Killer by James L. Swanson One Came Home by Amy Timberlake Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson Your Book Talk assignment involves delivering a 2-minute book talk to the class about the novel you have read for independent reading. The object of a book talk is to convince the listener to read the book you are recommending. This book talk is essentially a persuasive speech to convince the listener that they should read a specific book. A book talk is very similar to a trailer for a film, which shows you just enough information to convince you that you should watch the movie

2 You may use note cards to make your presentation. The book talk will cover the some elements of the novel, but you should focus much of your time on the plot and conflict of the novel. Introduction: Find an interesting, exciting, or mysterious quote to start off your presentation. This quote will get the reader s attention. Don t just pick any old quote choose carefully and deliberately to try to capture the attention of the audience Also explain why you chose the quote.. Clearly introduce your book by giving the name and author of the book. Middle: The middle of the presentation will cover the setting, characters, and plot of the book without giving too much away of the story. Tell a little where the book is set, what kind of action or conflict is involved in the book, and what it is about in general. Mention the theme of the novel. Under no circumstances should you give away the ending of the novel. Do not just list the characters and the setting and don t give a drawn out summary of the book.. Resolution: Without giving away the ending, convince the reader that you loved this book and that this is the book they want to read next. Highlight why you enjoyed the book and why others would as well. Dialectical journal directions for core novel: Simply put, a dialectical journal is merely a double entry journal. The purpose of such a journal is to identify and consider important passages of text. It should be used to think about, digest, summarize, question, clarify, critique, and remember what is read. It is a way to take notes on what is read using the actual text. In effect, you will be holding a discussion with yourself on key points, asking questions, and reacting to particular phrases that drew your attention. Divide your paper into two columns: Title the left-hand column quotes Title the right-hand column commentary As you read your book, selectively highlight passages of interest to you. Margin notes will also help you when you choose your passages. This step is part of your grade! From these passages, choose one to five sentences that seem significant or meaningful to quote in the left column. Write the page number in parentheses after each quoted passage you select.

3 As soon as you take a note, move to the right-hand column and write freely what your mind says about that quote. Listen to your own thoughts. Write a quote; write a note. Continue as you read. After three or four entries, stop and reflect on what you have discovered. Your dialectical journal for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy must contain at least 24 entries (two for every chapter. The types of entries may include reactions to events, characterization, relationships, or setting, or any questions that come to your mind. You may also include personal reflections on the text or connections that you have been able to make between what is happening in the work and your own experiences. Further, you may want to comment on the author s use of imagery, figurative language, plot development, characterization or predictability. Finally, you may wish to interpret what the author is trying to say in a particular passage. *********************************************************************** ENGLISH 7: SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT Please read a few entries from the model student example on the following page to make sure you understand the expected form and content of your journal for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy Typed journals are preferred (Arial font, 11 pt.; two column table) TITLE YOUR JOURNAL AS FOLLOWS AT THE TOP OF YOUR FIRST PAGE: Name English 7 Date Dialectical journal: Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt STUDENT EXAMPLE: Student X September 1, 2015 DIALECTICAL JOURNAL: Uglies by Scott Westerfied

4 Tally looked up at Dr. Cable s cruel beauty,.... She remembered all the tricks Special Circumstances had played on her today how they d kept her waiting for an hour in the hospital, waiting and thinking she would soon be pretty, the brutal flight here, and all the cruel faces in the halls---and she decided (p.109). I think that the cruel beauty of the Special Circumstances people fits them well. Tally can t help but notice their beauty, but the perfect faces cannot hide their coldness and inhumanity. Tally wants to resist their questions about Shay, but will she pay a price for her decision? A shudder of relief and exhaustion went through her. She had it now, an excuse to break her vow. She d made that promise to Peris, just as real, before she d ever met Shay. She had known him for years, and Shay for only a few months (p.126). Tally is trying to justify why she should give in. She isn t being that great of a friend to Shay. Peris was kind to her when she had the operation cancelled, and that was nice as a friend who s a pretty, but she is betraying Shay with a huge secret. What for, anyways? Just so she can be pretty? I think that s really selfish. As the tributary climbed its way into the mountains, the fields around her filled with flowers. Soon the brilliant white bonnets were as thick as grass, driving every other color from the landscape (p.168). I think the white tiger orchids are a metaphor. They look beautiful, but are actually bad, messing up the whole ecosystem and destroying other plants. I think the orchids represent the city Tally lives in; the life there seems wonderful because you get a makeover that transforms you and makes you extremely beautiful, while a cold government lies behind the glamour. Halfway around she reached a blackened patch where the fire had already passed. The brittle stems of flowers crunched under her shoes, and the heat coming off the scorched earth stung her eyes (p.173). The Boss was an old ugly. Tally had spotted a few (uglies) from a distance The author uses vivid sensory imagery to paint a contrast between the thick as grass landscape of white flowers, and then a few pages later, the blackened scorched earth that is left behind after the orchids are burned to control their rapid growth. It was funny to see Tally s horrified

5 on the way in, but had managed to turn her eyes away. But here was the wrinkled, veined, discolored, shuffling, horrific truth, right before her eyes. His milky eyes glared at then as he berated whoever was on the phone, in a rattling voice and waving at them to go away.... Pretty wild, huh? He s like, forty! Wait until you talk to him. Tally swallowed, trying to erase the image of his sagging features from her mind. These people were insane to tolerate that, to want it (p.197). REMINDER! Put the line from the text in quotes (page). reaction to a normal forty -year old man, thinking he was completely ugly. Later when she and Shay look through old magazines and see what people used to look like, she wonders how they could smile and laugh and not be ashamed of their deformities. She is glad that anorexia as a disease doesn t exist because no one has to worry about getting fat. What problems would be solved if everyone was beautiful and no one was overweight? What new problems would be created? Your comment should be your reaction, question, challenge to the thought, or advance the thought of the author. It should NOT REPEAT or just RESTATE what the author said. Don t forget to insert page numbers into your document! Entries must be in chronological order. DUE on the second full day of class (Monday), August 21, 2017 This journal will be the basis of our class discussion of the book, and will count as a test grade. ALL ENTRIES MUST BE YOUR OWN ORIGINAL THOUGHTS, WORK AND WRITING. ANY EVIDENCE OF PLAGIARISM OR LACK OF AUTHENTICITY WILL RESULT IN a 0 ON THE ASSIGNMENT! Your journal will be graded according to the following rubric.

6 Rubric for Dialectical Journals: GRADE POINTS QUOTATIONS INTERPRETATION AND PLOT DETAILS AND RESPONSE Level 4 ( points) Student copy of book reveals evidence of effective selective highlighting. (Step 1) Thoughtful, fresh and insightful comments; avoids clichés Well-chosen passages that are specific and meaningful Correctly formatted with proper punctuation. Page number cited for each quotation Intelligent questions or predictions Various literary elements are discussed throughout journal: theme, point of view, setting, figurative language, imagery, author s style, plot, characterization, conflict, etc. (Each response does NOT have to include all)! Journal contains at least 20 entries with at least 18 entries of excellent quality Clear syntax and correct grammar Precise wording; rich and fluent use of vocabulary 3 Level (80 89 points) 2 Level (70 79 Some especially wellchosen passages Few, if any, punctuation errors Correctly formatted; Page number cited for each quote Journal contains 20 entries with at least 15 strong entries Some selected passages carelessly chosen or taken out of context Writer s voice is compelling and authentic Opinions are supported by close examination of the text Many interesting or insightful comments, questions, or predictions Some discussion of various literary elements. Sentence structure is clear with precise wording. Writer s voice is fresh and original Opinions are relevant and clearly based on a close reading of the text Comments lack depth; too general or simplistic

7 points) Level 1 (60 69 points) Not enough quoted detail Minor punctuation errors Page citations incomplete Incomplete/vague quotes Poorly selected quoted passages Errors in transcribing; incorrect format Several punctuation errors Page citations missing or incomplete Little discussion of literary elements Awkward sentence structure; grammatical errors that interrupt flow Vague or confusing wording in places Attempts to support opinions with textual evidence Comments too vague, brief, general, or random Little to no discussion of literary elements Meaning unclear due to poor word choice; punctuation and grammatical errors; run-ons, fragments, misspelled words, etc. Surface only or trite response/ Opinions lack support or relevance