SUMMER 2010
DUBLIN CITY SCHOOLS SUMMER READING
FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS IN
GRADE 7
SUMMER READING PURPOSE STATEMENT:
Literacy involves reading, writing, speaking, listening and thinking. As
we prepare our students for the skills needed to be successful in the
21st Century, it is important that we provide opportunities for our
students to engage in the activities that will help to build this
literacy skill set. It is also our goal to establish a summer reading
program that encourages our students to discover the joy of reading,
increasing the likelihood that they will become life-long readers.
7
Grade
Books
MIDDLE SCHOOL
SUMMER READING REQUIREMENTS
Each student will be required to read 1 book from the attached list over
the summer from the appropriate grade level selection. By asking
students to engage in reading a text of their choice from the attached
list, we believe that we can help to develop a habit of reading for our
students. Each selection is conducive to making connections with the
curriculum and provides depth and understanding for a variety of class
discussions throughout the year.
We understand that many students join our district over the summer so all organized
response to the summer reading will take place in school after the second week of school.
This time frame is important in order to recognize all students for their efforts over the
summer.
ASSIGNMENT SPECIFICS:
1.
Review the book summaries for each title.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Select at least one title from your 2010-11 grade level list..
Consider the guiding questions while reading.
Jot down notes in relation to the questions.
Be prepared to write and discuss your book in the fall.
ASSESSMENT: Assessment guidelines will be shared the first week of
school. Formal assessment will not be administered before the second
week of school. Assessment will be no more than 10% of student’s first
quarter grade
Please consider donating back the following 2009
Summer Reading titles to your child’s school:
Flush
Jeremy Fink
Schooled
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town
Grade 7
Elephant Run by Roland
Smith - See page 2.
Sea of Monsters by Rick
Riordan - See page 2.
Cracker by Cynthia
Kadohata - See page 3.
When Zachary Beaver
Came to Town by
Kimberly Willis Holt See page 3.
Your teacher may provide
additional information
regarding book sales prior to
leaving for summer break.
Look for the information
regarding these
opportunities.
Summer Reading Grade 7
2
Elephant Run by Roland Smith
Summary (Adapted)
At the height of the London blitz in 1941, bombs are being dropped from the night sky,
blanketing the city of London. When fourteen-year-old Nick Freestone’s home is demolished,
his mother decides the situation in England has grown too unstable. Nick will be safer, his
mother hopes, living with his father in Burma on the family’s teak plantation.
Nick arrives at the plantation eager to learn about the timber elephants raised and trained
there, and to spend time with his father. But before he can settle in, trouble erupts in the
remote Burmese village. Japanese soldiers invade, and Nick’s father is taken prisoner. Nick is
stranded, forced to work as a servant for the new rulers. As life in the village grows more
dangerous for Nick and his young friend Mya, they plan a daring escape through the jungles
of Burma, determined to rescue their families. But to succeed, they will have not only the
threat of enemy soldiers, but also the dangers of their journey through the wilderness.
Guiding Questions:
1. If you were in a situation like Nick, how would you react to the Japanese soldiers invading the plantation and taking
your father prisoner? What would be your reaction to working as a servant for the new rulers and the things they
expected you to do? Explain.
2.
How would you describe Nick’s relationship with Mya? How does their relationship change throughout the book?
3. What would be the hardest part for you if you were living through this situation? What were Nick’s days like as a
captive of the Japanese?
4. What major role did the elephants play in the story?
Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
Summary (Excerpts from Booklist, Diana Herald)
In this fresh, funny, and action-packed follow-up to The Lightning Thief, Percy and his
friends must journey into the Sea of Monsters to save their camp. But first, Percy will
discover a stunning new secret about his family- one that makes him wonder whether
being claimed as Poseidon’s son is an honor or a curse. Percy Jackson’s seventh-grade year
has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has set food on his New York prep-school
campus. But when an innocent game of dodgeball among Percy and his classmates turns
into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get … well, ugly. And
the unexpected arrival of Percy’s friend Annabeth brings more bad news: the magical
borders that protect Camp Half-Blood have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and
unless a cure is found, the only safe haven for demigods will be destroyed.
Guiding Questions:
1. Would you be willing to risk everything for a friend, the way Percy does for Grover? What does this tell us
about Percy’s character?
2.
What is Chiron’s prophecy? Why don’t the gods want Percy to know? How can knowing the prophecy affect his
choices? Would you want to know?
3.
Think about the scene where Annabeth and Percy encounter the Sirens. What is revealed to Annabeth? What
do you think would be revealed to Percy? What would be revealed to you? What is hubris?
Summer Reading Grade 7
3
Cracker by Cynthia Kadohata
Summary (Adapted from review in simonandshcuster.com)
Cracker, a prize German shepherd, once belonged to a boy named Willie, but now belongs to
the U.S. military, which has trained her to sniff out bombs, traps, and the enemy. She never
believes that she will find a master as loving as Willie until she meets seventeen-year-old
Rick Hanski, an army private in basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Rick enlisted in the
military knowing that he would go to Vietnam, but he never intended to go as a dog
handler. To U-Haul, Rick's sergeant, Cracker and Rick are an unlikely pair, but when they get
to Vietnam, they become a team and are sent on dangerous search-and-rescue missions,
often in the "point" position. In one deadly battle, Rick and Cracker are separated, and Rick
receives a serious wound and a ticket home. When he arrives at his parents' house in
Wisconsin, he finds that he is a changed man, and the only way that he can ever be at
peace with himself is to be reunited with his best friend -- Cracker.
Guiding Questions:
1. Rick arrives at Fort Benning, Georgia, for basic training with an attitude -- he wants to
"whip the world." What is the toughest lesson Rick learns in basic training?
2. While at basic training Rick is written up for "lack of tact and diplomacy.” What does Cracker teach Rick about
diplomacy?
3. In the beginning, it is doubtful that Cracker is going to make it through training. Why is Rick upset with the army
for assigning him to Cracker? At what point does Rick realize that Cracker is indeed going to become "the best
dog in Vietnam"?
4. Rick sees courage, but he also feels it. What might he say is the most courageous act that he witnessed? Discuss
whether these acts of courage change his desire to "whip the world."
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
Summary (Excerpt From Amazon.com Review)
Summer in the tiny Texas town of Antler is traditionally a time for enjoying Wylie Womack's Bahama
Mama snow cones and racking up the pins at Kelly's Bowl-a-Rama, but this year it's not going well
for Toby Wilson. His 13-year-old heart has been broken twice: once by his mother, who left him and
his father to become a country singer in Nashville, and then again by his crush Scarlett Stalling, the
town beauty who barely acknowledges Toby's existence. But when Zachary Beaver, "The World's
Fattest Boy," comes to Antler as part of a traveling sideshow, Toby begins to realize that there might
just be people who have it worse than him. By reaching out to Zachary in small ways--such as
helping him realize his lifelong dream of being baptized--Toby is better able to put his own problems
into perspective. At the baptism, Toby finally feels at peace: "Zachary smiles and I wonder if he's
feeling different. Because standing here waist deep in Gossimer's Lake... I'm feeling different--light
and good and maybe even holy." By summer's end, Toby's friendship with Zachary has provided him
with the emotional stamina to begin dealing with his mother's decision and to gracefully accept the
fact that Scarlett will forever be just beyond his reach.
Guiding Questions:
1. How is Toby’s family different from Cal’s family? How are Toby’s parents different from each other?
2. Why does Toby think that standing up for Zachary Beaver is different from fighting for himself?
3. What has Toby learned from the summer he met Zachary Beaver?
4. What elements do you feel are important in a friend?