Dodgen Middle School On-level 8th grade Summer Reading Requirements:
All upcoming 8th graders will be required to read three-3- books; One non-fiction which will be a memoir of your
choice. Parental involvement suggested:The following link will give you some selections.
http://www.carnegielibrary.org/teens/books/showbooklist.cfm?catid=6&list=memoirs
We will be using the memoir for our first unit.
Please choose 2 fictional books that are on or close to your reading level.
Directions for your fictional books only:
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 on sample note card
 Plot
 Theme
 Setting
 Examples of figurative language and what it means in the passage
Sample Note Card: 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 lessons 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:…..etc.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Student Name
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.
Student Sample:
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.