Summer Reading Grade 7

Directions: Select two books from the Grade 7 Summer Reading List and complete entries for each of the two books. See below for the entry requirements. Format: Pen or typed & Correct template (10 points) Using pen, write your entries on the attached forms. You may also type your entries using the attached form as your template if you prefer.

Entry 1
After reading the first few chapters, answer the following questions: Where and when does the book take place? Use detail from the text. Who are the main characters? Describe them carefully include personality traits as well as relevant physical details. What conflicts do the main characters seem to be facing?

Entry 2
After reading half of the book, answer the following questions: What conflicts and complications are the characters now facing? What is happening in the story that makes you want to continue reading? Make a prediction about what you think will happen next in the book. Use detail from the book to support your reasoning.

Entry 3
After you have finished reading the book, answer the following questions: Describe the ending of the book. How are the conflicts you mentioned in Entry 2 resolved? Describe the climax of the book. What was your favorite part of the book? Why?

Entry 4 -Extra Credit

Book Title #1: __________________________________________________

Entry # 1

After reading the first few chapters, answer the following questions: Where and when does the book take place? Use detail from the text. Who are the main characters? Describe them carefully include personality traits as well as relevant physical details. What conflicts do the main characters seem to be facing?

Book Title #1: ____________________________________________

Entry # 2

Entry 2 After reading half of the book, answer the following questions: What conflicts and complications are the characters now facing? What is happening in the story that makes you want to continue reading? Make a prediction about what you think will happen next in the book. Use detail from the book to support your reasoning.

Entry Purpose: circle one

Plot (2)

Plot Diagram

Book Title #1: ________________________________________________

Entry # 3

Entry 3 After you have finished reading the book, answer the following questions: Describe the ending of the book. How are the conflicts you mentioned in Entry 2 resolved? Describe the climax of the book. What was your favorite part of the book? Why?

Book Title #1: _______________________________

Entry # 4

Entry 4 -Extra Credit After you have finished the book, answer the following: What is the theme of this book? In other words, what is the lesson or moral of this book? When answering this, reflect on the changes that have occurred within the main characters and challenges they have overcome. Be sure to use specific examples from the story to support this theme.

Book Title #2: _______________________________

Entry # 1

Entry 1 After reading the first few chapters, answer the following questions: Where and when does the book take place? Use detail from the text. Who are the main characters? Describe them carefully include personality traits as well as relevant physical details. What conflicts do the main characters seem to be facing?

Book Title #2: _______________________________

Entry # 2

Entry 2 After reading half of the book, answer the following questions: What conflicts and complications are the characters now facing? What is happening in the story that makes you want to continue reading? Make a prediction about what you think will happen next in the book. Use detail from the book to support your reasoning.

Book Title #2: _______________________________

Entry #3

Entry 3 After you have finished reading the book, answer the following questions: Describe the ending of the book. How are the conflicts you mentioned in Entry 2 resolved? Describe the climax of the book. What was your favorite part of the book? Why?

Book Title #2: _______________________________

Entry # 4

Entry 4 -Extra Credit After you have finished the book, answer the following: What is the theme of this book? In other words, what is the lesson or moral of this book? When answering this, reflect on the changes that have occurred within the main characters and challenges they have overcome. Be sure to use specific examples from the story to support this theme.

GRADE 7 SUMMER READING LIST Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech Always the quiet (and often forgotten) middle child in a bustling family, Zinnia's life begins to change when she stumbles upon a hidden, overgrown pathway that stretches from the edge of her family's farm into the great unknown. Determined to find where the path leads, Zinnia begins the daunting task of uncovering brambles and weeds along every inch of its length. In powerful, honest, down-home prose, Newbery-winner Sharon Creech delivers a dazzling portrait of a girl who is not afraid to journey into her family's mysterious past in order to find her own way into adulthood. Watching Zinnia bloom will warm your heart. Reading Level: Average Heat by Mike Lupica Michael Arroyo grows up in the shadows of hallowed Yankee Stadium, a boy forever on the outside looking in. His only chance to see his field of dreams? Pitch his Bronx all-star team to the district finals and a shot at the Little League World Series. However, there is a problem. Michael is goodtoo good. Rival coaches and players cant believe a boy could be this good and be only twelve years old. And Michael has no way to prove itno mother, no father, and a birth certificate that is stuck home in his native Cuba. If the people from social services find out his secret, he will have an even worse problem: being separated from the only family he knows, his older brother Carlos. Baseball can be a game of heroes, of champions who refuse to lose. Or it can be a field of crushed dreams. For one boy, the game is about to turn serious. Reading Level: Average The Egypt Game by Zilpha Synder In The Egypt Game, April Hall, an insecure and lonely 11-year-old, comes to live with her grandmother and surprises herself when she forms an immediate friendship with her neighbor Melanie Ross. April and Melanie, who share an unusual interest in ancient Egypt, use their intellect and vivid imaginations to develop an elaborate game of "Egypt." Gradually, the game becomes more and more real, and frightening things begin to happen in the neighborhood. The children are faced with a soul-searching question: Has the game gone too far? Newbery Honor Book. Reading Level: Average Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements Bobby Phillips is an average fifteen-year-old boy. Until the morning he wakes up and cant see himself in the mirror. Not blind, not dreamingBobby is just plain invisible. There doesnt seem to be any rhyme or reason to Bobbys new condition; even his dad the physicist cant figure it out. For Bobby that means no school, no friends, no life. Hes a missing person. Then he meets Alicia. Shes blind, and Bobby cant resist talking to her, trusting her. But people are starting to wonder where Bobby is. Bobby knows that his invisibility could have dangerous consequences for his family and that time is running out. He has to find out how to be seen againbefore its too late. Reading Level: Average Watson Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis

A wonderful middle-grade novel narrated by Kenny, 9, about his middle-class black family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. When Kenny's 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. Reading Level: Above Average The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke Two orphaned brothers, Prosper and Bo, have run away to Venice, where crumbling canals and misty alleyways shelter a secret community of street urchins. Leader of this motley crew of lost children is a clever, charming boy with a dark history of his own: He calls himself the Thief Lord. Prosper and Bo relish their new "family" and life of petty crime. But their cruel aunt and a bumbling detective are on their trail. And posing an even greater threat to the boys' freedom is something from a forgotten past: a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself. Winner of the prestigious Batchelder Award, New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book, USA Today Bestseller, and Child Magazine Best Book of the Year. Reading Level: Above Average Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry Kira, an orphan with a twisted leg, lives in a world where the weak are cast aside. She fears for her future until she is spared by the all-powerful Council of Guardians. Kira is a gifted weaver and is given a task that no other community member can do. While her talent keeps her alive and brings certain privileges, Kira soon realizes she is surrounded by many mysteries and secrets. No one must know of her plans to uncover the truth about her world and see what places exist beyond. Reading Level: Challenging Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen (Students need permission to read this book from their previous ELA teacher or Special Education Teacher) One day I was twelve years old and broke. I set out to mow some lawns with Grandpas old riding mower. One client was Arnold the stockbroker, who offered to teach me about: the beauty of capitalism. Supply and demand. Diversifying labor. Distributing the wealth. Its groovy, man, Arnold said. The grass grew, and so did business. Arnold invested my money in many things. One of them was a prizefighter. All of a sudden I was the sponsor of my very own fighter, Joey Pow. Thats when my twelfth summer got really interesting. Gary Paulsens comic story about a summer job becomes a slapstick lesson in business as one boy turns a mountain of grass into a mountain of cash. Song of the Trees by Mildred Taylor (Students need permission to read this book from their previous ELA teacher or Special Education Teacher) With the depression bearing down on her family and food in short supply, Cassie Logan isn't sure where her next meal will come from. But there is one thing that she knows will always be there-the whispering trees outside her window. Cassie's trees are a steady source of comfort to her, but they also happen to be worth a lot of money. When Mr. Andersen tries to force Big Ma to sell their valuable trees, Cassie can't just sit by and let it happen. She knows that her family needs the money, but something tells her that they need the trees just as much. The beloved heroine of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry enchants us again in this story of strength and pride.

Name:_________________________________________

Date:____________________________

Summer Reading Assignments

Book Titles: ________________and ___________________

91-100

81-90

71-80

Work is impressive Conventions full control of sentence structure, grammar and usage Content Exemplary work/effort all entries are present and are work/effort; fully answered with strong details Presentation Much time and effort have been put into assignment. Work is excellent Conventions Control of sentence structure, grammar and usage Content Excellent work/effort all entries are present and are work/effort; fully answered with solid details Presentation Time and effort have clearly been put into assignment. Work is Good Conventions Limited control of sentence structure, grammar and usage Content Good effort all entries are present and contain basic effort; responses to the questions Presentation Time and effort have been put into assignment. Work is fair Conventions Sentence structure, grammar and usage need work Content more effort needed most entries are present and needed; contain minimally answered questions Presentation More Time and effort should have been put into assignment.

61-70

50-60 0-49

Work is unacceptable Work is incomplete