Dodgen Middle School 8th grade Accelerated Content Summer Reading
Requirements:
All students will be required to read AND complete activities over the summer for three-3- books:
 Positivity by Barbara L. Fredrickson
 Phineas Gage : A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman
 one self-selected fiction book that is on or close to the student’s reading level
Directions for Positivity:
Fill in the attached chart or create format you desire, typed or neatly handwritten in ink
 a 3 sentence summary for each chapter
 a favorite quote from each chapter; explain its relevance to you
 at least 5 examples of figurative language from any chapters in the book; describe how the figurative language
impacts understanding/interest, etc. Include this in the appropriate section of your chart.
Directions for Phineas Gage
 create a timeline of Phineas Gage’s life
 write a well written paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting sentences, specific evidence, and a closing
sentence that explains the scientific significance of Gage’s injury and recovery,
Directions for the fiction novel:
1. On note cards, neatly record the following in ink for each book.
 Title of the book with author’s name
 Main characters with a quoted passage that describes his or her character traits (include in-text citation (MLA
formatting)*see example
 Plot
 Theme
 Setting
 Examples of figurative language, name them, give meaning in the passage, and why author used them.
Sample Note Cards below: space the information accordingly; you may need several note cards to hold the
information. Remember, this is NOT a book report!
Student Name
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Scout (Jean Louise Finch)-Narrator/Protagonist: "As Atticus once advised me to do, I tried to
climb into Jem's skin and walk around in it: if I had gone alone to the Radley Place at two in the
morning, my funeral would have been held the next afternoon. So I left Jem alone and tried not to
bother him”(Lee 134).
This is one example of many where Scout uses Atticus' advice to resolve conflict in her life.
Clearly, Scout has great respect for both her father and brother, and demonstrates a high level of
maturity for her young age.
Atticus Finch-Scout’s dad/advocate for the underdog/ lawyer: “If you can learn a simple trick,
Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person
until you consider things from his point of view. . .until you climb into his skin and walk around in
it” (30).
This passage exemplifies the special bond between Atticus and his daughter, Scout. Atticus teaches
Scout important things about life and the world that she does acquire from school. Scout listens to
Atticus very carefully, has great respect for him, and deeply values his advice. Atticus is a person
who is fair and considers others’ feelings and view-points.
Jem Finch-Scout’s older brother and protector:…..
Student Name
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Theme: The most important theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is the book’s exploration of the
moral nature of human beings—that is, whether people are essentially good or essentially evil. The
novel approaches this question by dramatizing Scout and Jem’s transition from a perspective of
childhood innocence, in which they assume that people are good because they have never seen
evil, to a more adult perspective, in which they have confronted evil and must incorporate it into
their understanding of the world.
Students are also to log-in to their Scholastic account to keep track of their reading minutes. This is
accessible on the Dodgen website homepage as a Dodgen Link entitled “Read for the World Record.”
You can see the Suggested Summer Reading list under “All Grades” by clicking the Dodgen Link to
“Summer Reading” on the Dodgen homepage as well.