Summer Reading Program 2014 Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s), Literacy is a curriculum focus of Bok Academy. All Bok Academy students are encouraged to read over the summer. Research has shown that students who read during the summer maintain the gains that they have made during the school year. Middle school students should read about 20-30 daily to increase comprehension and stamina. With that in mind all Bok Academy students are expected to read throughout the summer. Your child will read one fiction novel and one non-fiction novel from the assigned grade level list over the summer. Attached, you will find the list for each grade level. Once they have read the required novels, they will complete the response questions for the nonfiction book. They will also complete one project for the fiction book. Students are strongly encouraged to read additional books and record those titles on the 2014 Summer Reading Log. Extra copies of the response questions and rubric for the project will be available on our website for download, in the front office of Bok Academy, and at the Lake Wales Public Library. Upon returning to school, your child will be expected to turn in this completed response questions and project to his/her Critical Thinking and Research or Intensive Reading teacher. We hope that reading this summer will be a wonderful adventure for you and your child. The books are available for check-out At Bok Academy or your public library. The public libraries have been made aware of our summer reading program. Parents can download the book on a Nook, Kindle, or idevice. You may also check the books out on our Overdrive Online Library. If you are checking out a book from the school or public library, please keep in mind we will have approximately 120 students checking out the same books. Please only keep your books no more than 2 weeks. These assignments will be the first graded assignments of the new school year. Due: August 18 th -22 nd 2014 The Reading Department
Bok Summer Reading List All incoming 6 th, 7 th, and 8 th graders will read a fiction and a nonfiction novel. Students will be asked to complete one project for the fiction novel. They will also complete the response questions for the nonfiction book. Attached is a list of projects to choose from. 8 th Grade Fiction Red Badge of Courage by Stephan Crane 920L ** Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 940L * Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle 1080L ** Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott 1300L ** Non-fiction Breaking Night by Liz Murray no Lexile available * Out of my Mind by Sharon Dryer 700L Within Reach, My Everest Story by Mark Pfetzer and Jack Galvin 970L Americanization of Edward Bok by Edward Bok no Lexile available * Indicate the book is available at Bok to checkout for free. ** Indicates the books can be downloaded for free on any electronic device. If you have any questions, please contact one of the teachers representing your child s grade level. 6 th Grade- Pamela.Smith@lwcharterschools.com; Chandra.Johnson@lwcharterschools.com; 7 th Grade- Jennifer.Lambeth@lwcharterschools.com; Kari.Richards@lwcharterschools.com 8 th Grade- Kari.Richards@lwcharterschools.com; Lubertha.Deprimo@lwcharterschools.com
Non- Fiction Response Form One Sentence Summary: New Facts/Information Learned: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Text Features Used in the Book: Table of Contents Charts Introduction Bold Print Photos Italics Captions Index Graphs Glossary Maps Diagrams Special Text- related Vocabulary:
Project Ideas Choose ONE project listed below to complete for your fiction book. Project 1: Write a letter to the author of your book. Write a letter of 250-500 words telling the author how reading his or her book (name the title) somehow changed your way of thinking about yourself and the world around you. Make a connection between yourself and a character or an event in the story. Did the book mirror your life in some way? What questions did the author force you to ask yourself or others? You do not need to summarize the plot of your book. You are writing about how the book affected YOU! Remember to include a return address. Print your name and complete address in the upper right corner of the first page of the letter. Your letter may be typed or handwritten. Project 2: Awards Create an award for each of the main characters based of their actions in the novel. Write at least a paragraph detailing why the character deserved the award. One might be awarded most courageous for fighting peer pressure for the guidance he/she gave to other characters. Project 3: Heroes and Superheroes Select two or three people your character would think of as a hero or superhero. Describe the characteristics of the hero and why those characteristics would be important to your character. Also describe which characteristics your character would most want for himself/herself that that hero or superhero possesses. Project 4: Book Critique- Using the following questioning guide, take notes as you read in preparation for your book critique. Main Character- Who is the main character? What does the character do? What have you learned about the character from what he or she has done? Goal: What does the main character want? What do you know about the main character after discovering his or her goal? What does the main character do to reach his or her goal? What do you learn about the main character from what he or she does to reach his or her goal? Problem- What is the first problem that the main character has? What does the main character do about it? How does the main character change as a result of the problem? What does that tell you about the main character? Resolution- Does the main character get what he or she wants? What has helped the character most? (forces within the character s control? Or forces beyond that character s control?) Name the forces to support your opinion. Theme- What does the story basically tell about? A- a struggle with self; B- a struggle with nature; C- a struggle with others Using the questions to guide your thinking about the book, write a critique of the book, which includes a discussion of: the main character, goal, problem, resolution, and theme.
Project 5: Word Collage Write the title of the book in the center of a poster board. Then, look through magazines for words, phrases, and sentences that illustrate or tell something about your book. As you look, think in terms of the theme, setting, plot, and characters. Work to get at least fifty words, phrases, or sentences so that the entire poster board is covered. The visual impact of the collage should be telling potential readers all about the book. Project 6: Character Alphabet Choose a character you liked from your reading selections. Create sentences based on the alphabet scheme that demonstrates your knowledge of the character. Your project should include the title of the book and the characters name. The following example illustrates a character alphabet of the character Zeke on the book Spite Fences. A- is the Abuse Zeke took at the hands of the racist mob. B- is for the Bending over Backwards to make sure the visiting civil rights activist could work in obscurity. C- is for the Camera that he have Maggie so she could begin to look at the world in new ways. Project 7: Poster Design Your book as been chosen by Hollywood to be made into a feature protection. Design the poster that will be placed in movie theatres across the country advertising the coming attraction. Project 8- Social Worker s Report If the events of the story merit it, write a report as a social worker would on the conditions in the home and whether or not it is a good environment for a child. For example, if a social worker went to the McNab s house in Manic Magee by Jerry Spinelli, how would she describe the home and parenting style of Mr. McNab? What would her recommendations be? Project 9- Make up a word test for the novel. Think of fifteen words that are essential to the understating of the book. Explain why you picked the words you did and how you would define them in terms of story. Project 10- Current Events Select five current news or feature stores from television or new magazines that you think your character would be interested in. Then explain how your character would respond to each of the stories and the opinions your character would have about what was happening in the story.
2014 Summer Reading Log Name: Incoming Grade: Date Book Title Pages Read Time Read Parent Initials