Lawndale Elementary School District
Summer Reading Assignment
Incoming 8th Graders
The Summer Reading Program at LESD is designed to stimulate the imagination and to guide students towards
literature that will serve as a basis for classroom discussion and activity. The listed books, recommended by the
Young Adult Library Services Association, were selected because of their alignment to grade appropriate curriculum.
Please read a novel of your choice from the provided grade level list and complete the writing assignment. Your
teacher will collect your assignment during the first week of school. Expect a quiz, or other work, for the book
that you read.
Reading List:
Fiction Choices
1. Slam by Walter Dean Myers
2. Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper
3. Small Steps by Louis Sachar
4. Accidental Love by Gary Soto
5. Max the Mighty- Rodman Philbrick
6. The Secret Garden- Frances Hodgson Burnett
7. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
8. Funny in Farsi*- Firoozeh Dumas
(*Attn. Parents: This book has been selected expressly for Honors students for its depth and difficulty)
Nonfiction Choices
9. They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by
Susan Campbell Bartoletti
10. Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s
Central High by Melba Beals
11. Surviving Hitler by Andrea Warren
12. Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah
YOUR SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT:
1. Write a one-paragraph summary of the book or novel you read. Be sure to include the
main problem (beginning), steps the characters take towards solving the problem
(middle), and how the problem gets resolved (ending).
2. Write one paragraph describing the main character of the book. Explain how the
character was at the beginning of the book and how they have changed (or what they
have learned) by the end. Be sure to include evidence from the book.
3. Write one paragraph evaluating the book.
● What was the author’s message?
○ Use evidence from the novel to support your thinking.
** Note: It is very important that you write neatly or type your report so your teacher can read and give
you credit for your work! **
** Want Extra Credit??? **
Read an additional book from the summer reading list and complete a second writing assignment for that
book.
**Parents: The following websites contain useful information about the importance of summer reading
http://www.scholastic.com/summerreading/index.htm
http://www.rif.org/educators/articles/summerslide.mspx
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=1575
Notes
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________