Summer Reading: Rising Grade 6
“Wonder” by RJ Palacio
“Wonder” assignment:
Part 1:
Before you read “Wonder”​, answer each of the following questions on a piece of notebook paper. Your
answers need to be in complete sentences with appropriate punctuation.
1. What do you think of the line, “Don’t judge a boy by his face”?
2. Does this statement make you want to read this novel? Why or why not?
Part 2:
After you have finished reading “Wonder”, answer each of the following questions in three to four ​complete
sentences. Be prepared to discuss the questions/answers during the first week of classes.
1. Throughout “Wonder”, Auggie describes the way that many people react to seeing his face for the first
time. Have you ever been in a situation where you have responded like this to seeing someone different?
Having read “Wonder”, how do you feel about this now?
2. Auggie’s face is not fully described until later on in the story, in Via’s chapter ‘August: Through the
Peephole’. How close was this description to your own mental picture of Auggie? Did you have a picture of
his face in your mind while reading the book? Did this description alter that picture? Using I Samuel 16:7,
how does God see his creation?
Part 3:
Think about a message that you would choose to act on as your own ​personal precept​. You must create
your own personal precept, borrow a quotation, song lyric, poem verse, etc. from someone else as long as
you give the author credit for their work (Although you may borrow an idea or quotation from another
source, you may not use one of the precepts included in the novel.
Once you have created your own precept, ​design a postcard​ that incorporates:
1. An illustration (hand-drawn, collaged, computer-generated etc.)
2. Your personal precept, and
3. Your name on the bottom right hand corner of the post card.
Be prepared to discuss the novel and complete additional tasks upon returning to class.
**​Additional 6th Grade novel to purchase and bring to class ​(will be read in class):
● “I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World” by Christina Lamb,
Malala Yousafzai, and Patricia McCormick
Please feel free to email me with any questions/concerns ​[email protected]
Happy Reading!
Summer Reading: Rising Grade 7
“The Giver” by Lois Lowry
After reading the novel:
Complete the Character Analysis
Type the answer to each of the following questions in complete sentences.
I.
Paragraph One​ (minimum of five complete sentences)
A. Who is your favorite character in the book and why? Give details from the book to explain
why this character is your favorite.
B. In what ways are you similar to this character?
C. In what ways are you different from this character?
II.
Paragraph Two ​(minimum of five complete sentences)
A. The main character in a story always faces some kind of conflict or problem. What is the
main character’s conflict or problem? How is it resolved; in other words, how does it turn out
in the end?
B. Have you ever faced a similar problem or do you know someone who faced a similar
problem? Describe the situation. How was it resolved?
III.
Paragraph Three​ (minimum of five complete sentences)
A. Does the main character change during the course of the story? Does he/she learn a lesson
or grow emotionally in some way? Explain using details from the story.
B. Looking back at your life, how have you changed the most in the last few years? What
important lessons have you learned?
Be prepared to discuss the novel and complete additional tasks upon returning to class.
**​Additional 7th Grade novel to purchase and bring to class​ (will be read in class):
● “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak
Please feel free to email me with any questions/concerns ​[email protected]
Happy Reading!
Summer Reading: Rising Grade 8
“A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith
After reading the novel, you will write six (6) different journal entries based on the assigned journal topics
below. These journal topics will draw from your life experience as well as the events from the novel, so you
must read in order to complete your responses correctly. Your journal entries should be ​no fewer than​ two
(2) complete paragraphs, and no more than four (4) complete paragraphs. When you finish your six journal
entries, you will bind them in some form and ​create a cover​ that reflects one of the messages that you think
the author of “A Tree Grows In Brooklyn”, Betty Smith, communicates through the novel.
❖ Journaling Topics Journal Entry #1
➢ Chapters 1-10: Poverty- Poverty is an everyday fact for many millions of Americans today. What does
it mean to be poor? What experiences have you had with poverty in your life? How do the main
characters of “A Tree Grows In Brooklyn” respond to the poverty they experience? Why?
❖ Journal Entry #2
➢ Chapters 11-20: Education -Education can be formal, as in school, or informal, as in learning important
things from friends and family members. How do you define education? What does it mean to you?
How have you experienced education in your own life? How do the main characters of “A Tree Grows
in Brooklyn” experience education? Why?
❖ Journal Entry #3
➢ Chapters 21-30: Gender -What differences do you notice between men and women? How do you think
gender affects one's experiences in life? How do the genders of the main characters in “A Tree Grows
in Brooklyn” affect their life experiences? Why?
❖ Journal Entry #4
➢ Chapters 31-40: Perseverance -Perseverance means doing and working to accomplish something
despite difficulties. Is perseverance an important quality in your life? Why or why not? Do you consider
yourself a perseverant person? Why or why not? What examples of perseverance have you found in
the novel “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”?
❖ Journal Entry #5
➢ Chapters 41-50: The American Dream - What does the American Dream mean to you? What do you
think most Americans dream about achieving in their lives? What do you dream about achieving in
your life? What is the American Dream for the main characters of “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”? Why?
❖ Journal Entry #6
➢ Chapter 51-56: Theme -The theme of a novel is the message that the author is trying to send by
writing that novel. What do you think Betty Smith is trying to say in her novel “A Tree Grows in
Brooklyn”? What does she say about poverty, education, gender, perseverance or the American
Dream? Create a cover for your journal assignment that represents that theme, and explain your cover
in this journal entry.
Be prepared to discuss the novel and complete additional tasks upon returning to class.
**Additional 8th Grade novel to purchase and bring to class ​(will be read in class):
● “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” by ​Ishmael Beah
Please feel free to email me with any questions/concerns ​[email protected]
Happy Reading!
Middle School Summer Writing Grades 6-8 Keep a summer writing journal!
Write about the places you visit, the things you see, the experiences you have!
Draw pictures or take pictures of things you see this summer and then create stories about them,
fictional or true.
The minimum number of entries correspond with each grade level.
❖ Grade 6​:
6 entries minimum
❖ Grade 7​:
7 entries minimum
❖ Grade 8​:
8 entries minimum
Be creative - Journal entries may include:
An original poem or song
A fictional or factual account of a summer experience
As a general guideline, journal entries should be approximately ½ of a page, handwritten or typed.
Please feel free to email me with any questions/concerns ​[email protected]