You are on page 1of 7

2012 Grade 8 Summer Reading Program Framingham Middle Schools

Instructions
The Summer Reading Program is designed to foster enjoyment of reading, to expose students to a variety of genres, and to encourage independent reading. It is intended to help students maintain the reading proficiencies acquired during the school year. Students entering grades 6, 7, & 8 are required to read at least two books. One selection must come from the grade-level list. The titles have been selected to appeal to a wide variety of student interests and reading levels. Students then must select a second book. This book does not have to appear on the Summer Reading List and it should be a book of their choice. Books can be found at the Framingham Public Libraries, at the Framingham middle school libraries, and at area book stores. BOOK ONE From the Summer Reading List BOOK TWO Free Choice or From the Summer Reading List The book should be at an appropriate reading level (See A Checklist for Choosing A Just Right Book for Independent Reading included in this packet) Reading the sequel (or prequel) to a book on the list is acceptable.

Expectations: Complete a graphic organizer for each book read. A single copy of each is attached. - Use the STORY MAP for a fiction choice - Use the BOOK RESPONSE for a nonfiction selection The story map(s) and/or book response sheet(s) will serve as the summer reading assessment. It will be due during the first full week of school.

STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE 8 Summer Reading List


2012
Author
Alvarez, Julia

Title
Return to Sender (fiction) After his family hires migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure, eleven-year-old Tyler befriends the oldest daughter. When he discovers they may not be in the country legally, he realizes that real friendship knows no borders. Hope was Here (fiction) 16-year-old Hope and her aunt unexpectedly become involved in a campaign to oust their new towns corrupt mayor. Shift (fiction) When best friends Chris and Win go on a cross-country bicycle trek the summer after graduating from high school and only one returns, the FBI wants to know what happened. Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (fiction) Genius Cammie Morgan begins the spring semester of her sophomore year with many questions about her ex-boyfriend, mother, and the last term, and intends to use her spying abilities to have them answered. The Supernaturalist (fiction) In futuristic Satellite City, fourteen-year-old Cosmo Hill escapes from an abusive orphanage and teams up with three other people who share his unusual ability to see supernatural creatures, and together they determine the nature and purpose of the swarming blue Parasites that are invisible to most humans. The Hunger Games (fiction) Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen accidentally becomes a contender in the annual Hunger Games, a grave competition hosted by the Capitol where young boys and girls are pitted against one another in a televised fight to the death. King of Shadows (fiction) While in London as part of an all-boy acting company preparing to perform in a replica of the famous Globe Theatre, Nat Field suddenly finds himself transported back to 1599 and performing in the original theater under the tutelage of Shakespeare himself. Romiette and Julio (fiction) Romiette, an African-American girl, and Julio, a Hispanic boy, discover that they attend the same high school after becoming friends on the Internet, but are harassed by a gang whose members object to their interracial dating. No More Dead Dogs (fiction) Eighth-grade football hero Wallace Wallace is sentenced to detention attending rehearsals of the school play where, in spite of himself, he becomes wrapped up in the production and begins to suggest changes that improve not only the play but his life as well.

Bauer, Joan

Bradbury, Jennifer

Carter, Ally

Colfer, Eoin

Collins, Suzanne

Cooper, Susan

Draper, Sharon

Korman, Gordon

STUDENTS ENTERING GRADE 8 Summer Reading List


2012
Lupica, Mike Batboy (fiction) Even though his mother feels baseball ruined her marriage to his father, she allows fourteen-yearold Brian to become a bat boy for the Detroit Tigers, who have just drafted his favorite player back onto the team. Monster (fiction) The Murder Trial, starring 16-year-old Steven Harmon as an accessory to the crime, is taking place in Steves head and in real life. The Crossing (fiction) Fourteen year-old Manny, a street kid fighting for survival in a Mexican border town, develops a strange friendship with an emotionally disturbed American soldier who decides to help him get across the border. Bystander(fiction) Eric is the new kid in seventh grade. Griffin wants to be his friend, but something doesnt seem right about him. As Eric gets drawn deeper into Griffins dark world, he begins to see the truth about Griffin. Eric wants to break away and do the right thing, but in one shocking moment, he goes from being a bystanderto the bullys next victim. Jackies Nine: Jackie Robinsons Values to Live By (nonfiction) This inspiring collection pays tribute to baseball legend and civil rights hero Jackie Robinson. Jackies daughter, Sharon Robinson, acts as a personal tour guide through the nine heartfelt, hard-won values that helped her father achieve his goals. The Wednesday Wars (fiction) On Wednesday afternoons, Holling Hoodhood stays after school with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, who Holling is convinced hates his guts. Each month in Holling's tumultuous seventh-grade year is a chapter in this quietly powerful coming-of-age novel set in suburban Long Island during the late '60s. Chasing Lincolns Killer (nonfiction) Recounts the twelve-day pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth, covering the chase through Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, with a discussion of Abraham Lincoln as a father, husband, and friend that examines the impact of his death on those close to him. Uglies (fiction) Tally is faced with a difficult choice when her new friend Shay decides to risk life on the outside rather than submit to the forced operation that turns sixteen year old girls into gorgeous beauties, and realizes that there is a whole new side to the pretty world that she doesn't like.

Myers, Walter

Paulsen, Gary

Preller, James

Robinson, Sharon

Schmidt, Gary D.

Swanson, James

Westerfield, Scott

Some annotations taken from Titlewave.com.

Name ________________________________ Date ___________________ Block __________ Book Title __________________________ Author_______________ Genre_______________

STORY MAP Grade 8


Write answers in complete sentences. Use the back of these sheets if necessary.

CHARACTERS
Name the protagonist and give a brief description.

Name three character traits or personal qualities with examples from the text. 1.

2.

3.

Identify and briefly describe another character and tell why s/he is important to the story.

SETTING
Describe the setting and tell why it is important to the story.

THEME
Explain the theme (message or main idea) of the story.

PLOT/SUMMARY
1. Describe the beginning events in the story (rising action).

2. Explain the conflict. Is it internal (man vs. self) or external (man vs. man, nature, society)?

3. List the major events including the climax of the story.

4. Explain how the main problem/conflict is solved (resolution).

Name:__________________________ Date:___________________ Block:_________ Book Title:___________________________ Author: ________________ Genre:_____

Book Response - Nonfiction Grades 6, 7 and 8 About the Book


Who: Where: When: What: How/Why:

5 Interesting Details
1. 1.

Your Thinking
(Connections, Questions, Reflections)

2.

2.

3.

3.

4.

4.

5.

5.

Book Advertisement
On the back of this sheet, write an advertisement about your book. Include a brief summary, why you recommend the book, and your favorite part. No visual is required. (8-10 sentences) 6

A Checklist for Choosing A Just Right Book for Independent Reading


First, preview the book & ask yourself: ___1.Does the book cover look interesting? ___2.Read the blurb on the back cover or any material on the book jacket. Are you interested? ___3.Does the book have illustrations or photos? Do they interest you? If yes, now use the "Four Finger Rule" ___1) Flip open to any part of the book randomly. ___2) Read the page you flipped to (you should read about 100 words). ___3) Count the number of unknown words or mistakes you make on your fingers. If you make: 0-2 mistakes = your independent (just right) level for reading on your own 3-4 mistakes = your instructional level (read with your teacher in class or parent at home) More than 4 mistakes = frustration level (too hard) avoid/abandon reading these books or listen to the book on c.d. and follow along---if you have to read it. *Teachers/Parents: If a student is unsure about a book, have him/her read the book aloud to you, and use the "Four Finger Rule" together! Works great, and later on in the year, the students have really got the hang of it on their own!

Lastly, if you are reading the text and you. ___Understand and enjoy the topic (can tell a friend whats happening from each chapter) ___Can read the sentences aloud smoothly/fluently (as fast as you speak in a conversation) ___Find just a few places (less than 4 words per page) where you have to think about what the meaning of a word might be, Then, you are reading a just right book.

Reading just right books helps you become a better reader!


-Debbie Phillips Cameron Middle School Reading Teacher

You might also like