New Leadership Charter School Summer Reading List: 2010 Incoming 8th Grade Students

Mandatory Requirements:

•  Read at least two of the books from the summer reading list.

•  For each book , complete part 1 and part 2.

• Assignments are due on the first day of school. This will be your first test grade for your ELA class.

This assignment is due on the first day of school. It will be the first graded assignment for your 7 th Grade English Language Arts class.

Part I

Writing Assignment (50 pts per essay)

Write an essay about each book.

• Each essay must be at least five paragraphs long: neatly written or typed.
• Each paragraph should be at least five sentences long.
• Your writing must identify and discuss characters, theme, plot, conflict, and resolution of the novel.
• You must express one of the following: your personal opinion of the novel, connections you made to the novel or a lesson you learned.

Your work should:

1. Be neat/organized
2. Be original
3. Be accurately related to book events, characterization, theme etc.
4. Have an Introduction with a thesis statement, 3 body paragraphs with topic sentences and 2-3 supporting details each, and a conclusion.

Part 1I: Summer Reading 2010 Book Graphic Organizer (50 pts.)

Write in COMPLETE sentences.

Extra Credit (50 pts)

There are two ways you may earn extra credit (to be applied to your ELA class):

1. Read more than one book from the summer reading list and complete parts 1 and 2 of the reading assignment.
2. Complete one of the projects listed below.

Choose from one of the projects below. Don't forget to have fun!

• Create a Book Jacket: Accurately recreate a book jacket but use your own original artwork and written ideas. Include a description, of the setting, name of the main character(s) and introduce the problem of the story (no ending, please!). On the "spine" put the book title and the author's name.

• Script It: Lights, camera, action! Write a movie script for a favorite scene in your book. At the top of the script you can assign real-life TV or movie stars to play each role. Double bonus (yes, that's 100 points): Video record your script. Create backdrops and costumes for a full effect.

• In the News! Create the front page of a newspaper that tells about events and characters in your book. Include weather reports, an editorial or editorial cartoon, ads, etc. which relate to the book. The title of the newspaper and headlines should be appropriately related to topics/themes from the book.

• Create a comic book! Turn a scene from your book into a comic book, complete with comic-style illustrations and dialogue bubbles.

• Characters Come to Life! Create life-size "portraits" of one of the characters from your book. The portrait should include a written piece that tells about the character including information about events, traits, or conflicts in the book that involve your character. Try adding and labeling objects from sections of the story.

• Picture Books: Create a picture book version of your book that would appeal to younger students.

• "Dear Diary" Create a diary or journal and write at least five entries that might have been written by a character in your book; The entries should share important details and events from the story.

• Jackdaw. A jackdaw is a crow-like bird known for picking up various brightly colored objects to add to its nest. Create a jackdaw by choosing important aspects of your novel and placing them in a container representative of your character and the times. Example: Based on the book Holes, you might choose a suitcase to hold your items. Include in your container such things as letters, maps, diary entries, drawings, newspaper articles, pictures and any other item significant to the main character. Attach a note to each item describing the significance of each item.

2010 Summer Reading List: Incoming Grade 8

America by E.R. Frank

Nearly lost within the foster-care system, America is a 15-year-old boy who attempts suicide, then begins the long road to safety and recovery with the help of a therapist. His story is a harrowing one you won't forget.

Buried Onions by Gary Soto

With several members of his family dead from gang violence, Mexican-American Eddie has dropped out of community college. Still he wants more than revenge, he wants a better life, and you'll be rooting for him to find it under the layers of "buried onions."

Dead Girls Don't Write Letters by Gail Giles

If you like a good creepy story with plenty of plot twists, try this one. Letters arrive from Sonny's older sister Jazz, thought to be dead in an out-of-town fire. Then Jazz herself appears; or is this an imposter? Till the very last page, you may not be sure.

Chasing the Bear by Robert B. Parker

As a teenager growing up in Laramie, Wyoming, Spenser is raised by his father Sam, and his two uncles, Patrick and Cash. An all-male household means a lot of testosterone-influenced activities, including boxing and hunting. But the three men also try to expose their young kin to the classics (like Shakespeare and Milton) and encourage him to do what's right. These lessons come into play when Jeannie, a friend from school, is taken upriver against her will by her abusive, alcoholic father, and Spenser has no choice but to follow them in a small, rickety skiff. The choices he makes in trying to rescue Jeannie will have repercussions both in the short term and for the rest of his life.

A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer

This autobiographical account charts the abuse of a young boy as his alcoholic mother first isolates him from the rest of the family; then torments him; and finally nearly kills him.

The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer

This sequel to A Child Called It continues the story of Dave Pelzer as he escapes from the horror of life with his mother and ends up in foster care.

Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer by John Grisham

In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he's only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he's one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk—and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom.

Fire from the Rock by Sharon M. Draper

An honor student, Sylvia Patterson is thrilled when she is chosen as one of the first black students to integrate all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. But the racism in her town is terrifying, and she is not sure she can go through with it. Unlike her older brother, she does not want to be a hero and change the world. Besides, many in her black community are against integration; why not stay with her friends, concentrate on academics, and get to college?

Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper

This action-packed, multifaceted, character-rich story describes the shocking realities of the slave trade and plantation life while portraying the perseverance, resourcefulness, and triumph of the human spirit. Amari is a 15-year-old Ashanti girl who is happily anticipating her marriage to Besa. Then, slavers arrive in her village, slaughter her family, and shatter her world. Shackled, frightened, and despondent, she is led to the Cape Coast where she is branded and forced onto a boat of death for the infamous Middle Passage to the Carolinas.

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Esperanza Ortega possesses all the treasures a young girl could want: fancy dresses; a beautiful home filled with servants in the bountiful region of Aguascalientes, Mexico; and the promise of one day rising to Mama's position and presiding over all of Rancho de las Rosas. But a sudden tragedy shatters that dream, forcing Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. 

Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Houston

During World War II a community called Manzanar was hastily created in the high mountain desert country of California, east of the Sierras. Its purpose was to house thousands of Japanese American internees. One of the first families to arrive was the Wakatsukis, who were ordered to leave their fishing business in Long Beach and take with them only the belongings they could carry.

Finding Fish: A Memoir by Antwone Fisher

A New York Times bestseller, Finding Fish is the remarkable story of an African American boy abandoned in an abusive foster home in Cleveland who rises to liberation, manhood, and extraordinary success.

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

Bobby's not just another teenage guy anymore -- he must care for his baby daughter, whom he adores. This winner of multiple awards has all the rhythms and emotions of teen life in the city -- and characters you won't soon forget.

Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian

Setting up his own website as a place to express his opinions, 17-year-old Josh takes on the identity of Larry. When “Larry” becomes a media sensation, Josh may be in over his head. This is a fast moving tale that takes on questions about identity, power, and individuality in a multi-media age.

Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan

Homeless Bird is the story of Koly, a young Indian girl forced into a tragic marriage with a terminally ill boy. Through the experiences of widowhood, she discovers the truth about who she is and what love really means. Gloria Whelan, winner of the Great Lakes Book Award in 1996, once again offers a story of tragedy and redemption not only to entertain, but to teach young adult readers everywhere.

Make Lemonade Virginia Euwer Wolff

This book is absolutely unforgettable. It's just a story about 14-year-old La Vaughn who takes on a babysitting job. She needs to work her way through school to save enough money to get through college. That's how it is in America. She means to study, to get a better job, and to escape the poverty that she is growing up in.

My Brother Sam is Dead by James and Chris Collier

This is a story about the hardships of war and how a young boy deals with a very difficult situation.

The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger

The book is about the Halloween Nor'easter that hit North America in October 1991, and features the crew of the fishing boat Andrea Gail, based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, who were lost 575 miles (925 km) at sea during the severe conditions while fishing for swordfish. Also in the book is the story about the rescue of the crew of the sailboat Satori in the Atlantic waters during the storm, by the US Coast Guard Cutter Tamaroa (WMEC-166).

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Lily Owens is a young girl who lives on a peach farm that her abusive father owns. Rosaleen is a black woman hired by Lily's father to be a stand-in mother for Lily (her real mother died in a horrendous accident that happened when she was a toddler). When Rosaleen insults some of the biggest racists in their town, Lily is forced to take Rosaleen and run away to a town Lily believes her mother once lived in. They go to live with three estranged sisters on a honey farm, and Lily soon learns what it is like to have a real family.

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen

Cole Matthews is angry, defiant, and smug -- in short, a bully. His anger has taken him too far this time, though. After beating up a ninth-grade classmate to the point of brain damage, Cole is facing a prison sentence. But then a Tlingit Indian parole officer named Garvey enters his life, offering an alternative called Circle Justice, based on Native American traditions, in which victim, offender, and community all work together to find a healing solution.

Upon the Head of the Goat: A Childhood in Hungary 1939 -1944 by Aranka Siegel

A Holocaust survivor tells of her family's grueling experiences in the Jewish ghetto during the Nazi occupation of Hungary, prior to the deportation to the concentration camps.

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher

TJ is an intellectually and athletically gifted, adopted teenager who shuns organized sports and the gung-ho athletes at his high school until he agrees to form a swimming team and recruits some of the school's less popular students.

6/10

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