Gifted / Advanced 7th Grade Summer Reading 2015Assignment 2016
You will be reading, “The Wednesday Wars” by Gary Schmidt and answering the 2 EBR’s below.
(We apologize if your student has read this novel already; this title is listed as a 7 th grade novel
per Forsyth County). Your EBR’s written response should be 250-500 words and completely
error free. The first day of school you bring:
a.) 2 completed EBR’s
b.) “The Wednesday Wars” novel
EBR #1: Define the term mood. Choose your favorite paragraph from the book that reveals a lot
of information about a setting or a character with the use of imagery. What is the mood of this
passage? Use a thesaurus to find three synonymous terms to identify the mood of the passage.
EBR #2: Explain what point of view the author is using throughout the narration of the text. Be
sure to include a description of point of view in terms of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person AND whether it is
Limited or Omniscient. If the perspective changes throughout the text, this is also something you
should discuss. Cite a passage in MLA that shows the narrative perspective/point of view.
Contact info for Advanced / Gifted ELA teachers:
Mrs. Courtney Doman [email protected] and Mrs. Ali Parker [email protected]
Need an EBR refresher? See below:
Gifted / Advanced 7th Grade Summer Reading 2015Assignment 2016
Process for an Evidence-Based Response to Literature
Step 1: Address the prompt: it is crucial that your answer is a clear attempt to answer the
question that is being asked. To do this, you may use the language from the
prompt/question in the topic sentence. For example, if you were answering question #3,
you may begin: The mood of a passage in literature is the general feeling that the reader
has while reading it. The reader may relate to or identify with the characters, action, conflict
or setting in order to derive the mood of the piece.
Step 2: Lead in to your evidence. Instead of simply adding a quote into your paragraph,
weave the evidence into your discussion by building a sentence that uses the quote. For
example: In this passage from the novel, the narrator states,
Step 3: Include a piece of evidence to use in your response; in the world of English
Language Arts, this simply means utilizing a quote from the text and citing it in MLA
format. Example: “One by one they straggled in at last and took shelter under the tent, cold,
scared, and streaming with water; but to have company in misery seemed something to be
grateful for” (Twain 118).
Step 4: Provide a logical explanation which addresses the question and references the
evidence that you have included: explain the evidence; explain how your understanding of
the quote may contribute towards answering the prompt; provide personal insight or
reference to personal experience; elaborate; answer the question using the quote as your
evidence. Example: In this part of the novel, Tom Sawyer and his friends find themselves in a
cold and dreary scene after running away from home for an adventure. The narration
reveals that Tom and his friends are still immature. Their petulance over their discomfort in
being away from home during the storm allows the reader to infer that they still crave the
Gifted / Advanced 7th Grade Summer Reading 2015Assignment 2016
security of adults—even though they ran away initially to be independent. Although they
were glad to have one another close by underneath the tent, the dominant mood of the
scene is morose as the children are brooding due to the dark and gloomy environment.
Three other terms that may be used to identify the mood of this part of the novel are:
melancholic, sullen and sulky.
*Hint: The bottom line is that you cannot be wrong if your response is relevant (addresses
the prompt), discusses all elements of the prompt (responds to all parts of the question),
and is based upon evidence and sound logic (quote from the text AND your understanding
of how it helps to prove your point).
Full Example Response for Question #3:
The mood of a passage in literature is the general feeling that the reader has while
reading it. The reader may relate to or identify with the characters, action, conflict or
setting in order to derive the mood of the piece. In this passage from the novel, the
narrator states that “one by one they straggled in at last and took shelter under the tent,
cold, scared, and streaming with water; but to have company in misery seemed
something to be grateful for” (Twain 118). This scene reveals that Tom and his friends are
still immature. Their petulance over their discomfort in being away from home during the
storm allows the reader to infer that they still crave the security of adults—even though
they ran away initially to be independent. In this part of the novel, Tom Sawyer and his
friends find themselves in a chilly and dreary scene after running away from home on an
adventure. Although they were somewhat relieved to have one another close by
underneath the tent, the dominant mood of the scene is morose as the children are
brooding due to the dark and gloomy environment. Three other terms that may be used
to identify the mood of this part of the novel are: melancholic, sullen and sulky.
Gifted / Advanced 7th Grade Summer Reading 2015Assignment 2016
Framework for an Evidence-Based Response to Literature
Step 1: Address the prompt with your thesis statement (use the language from the prompt/question in
order to clearly introduce the topic being discussed in the first sentence):
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Step 2: Lead in to your evidence. Instead of simply adding a quote into your paragraph, weave it into
your discussion by building a sentence that uses the quote. For example: In this
passage/excerpt/part/scene from the novel, the narrator states/claims/explains/describes/portrays/etc.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Step 3: Include a piece of evidence to use in your response; in the world of English Language Arts, this
simply means utilizing a quote from the text and citing it in MLA format—Example: “company in misery
seemed something to be grateful for” (Twain 118).
“____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________”(Author’s last name page number).
Step 4: Provide a logical explanation which addresses all parts of the question and references the
evidence that you have included: explain the evidence; explain how your understanding of the quote
may contribute towards answering the prompt; provide personal insight or reference to personal
experience; elaborate; answer the question using the quote as your evidence.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Gifted / Advanced 7th Grade Summer Reading 2015Assignment 2016
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
*Hint: The bottom line is that you cannot be wrong if your response is relevant (addresses the prompt),
discusses all elements of the prompt (responds to all parts of the question), and is based upon evidence
and sound logic (quote from the text AND your understanding of how it helps to prove your point).
***Each EBR should be submitted on lined paper or typed on a word
document. Each writing piece should be color coded. ***