Northside Middle School
Required Summer Reading 2013-14
Summer reading for all incoming seventh graders:
Surviving the Applewhites
by Stephanie S. Tolan
For all students meeting the qualifications for participation in Honors English
courses, they would need to also read:
The Wednesday Wars
by Gary D. Schmidt
If you did not purchase the book from the school library, you have the option of checking it out
at the Tuscaloosa Public Library, purchasing the book from Barnes and Noble, or ordering online
at Amazon.com.
All students should complete their note cards for the required reading. These will be due
the second Friday after the beginning of the school term. Each student will also take an AR
test for the assigned books and complete a written test. These will take place during the
first two weeks of the semester.
Northside Middle School
Seventh Grade
2013-2014 Summer Reading Note Card Instructions
Use 4x6 index cards to complete the information about your summer reading novel(s). You will
need multiple cards to complete the information. Be sure to number and label the cards.
 The note cards will be due the second Friday after the beginning of the school year.
They will be due to your English teacher. There will be tests and an essay on the novel(s)
during the first two weeks of the school year.
 If you will be in Honor’s English, remember to complete TWO sets of note cards.
 Please make sure this work is done independently. All work should be in the student’s own
words and handwriting.
 If you do not understand particular words or directions after referring to the Literary
Terms Sheet (located on the back of this instruction sheet), please use the Internet, a
dictionary, or an English handbook to help. Show independence and initiative to
complete each part thoroughly and accurately.
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Student’s Full Name, Title of Novel, Author, and Original Publication Date
Narrator: Point of View from which this story is told
Setting: Where (specific location) and when (date, season, or time period) does
the story take place? How is the setting important to the plot of this story?
Plot summary: Exposition
Plot summary: Rising Action (conflicts and struggles)
Plot summary: Climax
Plot summary: Falling Action ((results of the climax)
Plot summary: Resolution
Main Character: List his/her name, role in the story, significance, and several
adjectives or character traits to describe this person. Is this character static or
dynamic? Explain.
List all remaining Major Characters and tell their significant roles in the story.
Themes: List and explain at least two main themes for possible discussion.
List and explain any major literary devices used in the novel (symbolism,
foreshadowing, figurative language, etc.) (See the back of this sheet.)
Interesting and/or unknown vocabulary words: Keep a record here of each
vocabulary word you find and the page number where the word is found.
Illustration: Draw or sketch a small picture of your favorite scene from the
story. This does NOT need to be anything elaborate, but let it be your own
drawing of something you imagine from the story as you read.
Book Recommendation: Did you enjoy this book? Would you recommend this
book to a friend? Please explain your answers to both questions in complete
sentences.
LITERARY TERMS
 antagonist - a person or force that opposes the protagonist, or central character, in a story
 characterization - the method(s) a writer uses to develop the personality of the character
 climax - the point of greatest emotional intensity, interest, or suspense in a story
 conflict - the central struggle between opposing forces in a story (external/internal)
 dynamic character - changes throughout the story (dynamic=different)
 exposition - the part of the plot of a story in which the characters, setting, and situation(s)
are introduced in the beginning
 external conflict - exists when a character struggles against some outside force, such as
nature
 falling action - in a story, the action that follows the climax (usually the result of the
climax)
 foreshadow - the use of clues by an author to prepare readers for events that will happen in
a story
 internal conflict – exists within the mind of a character who is torn between opposing
feelings or goals
 irony- a form of expression in which the intended meaning of the words used is the
opposite of their literal meaning (verbal/situational)
 mood - the emotional quality or atmosphere of a story or poem (the feeling the reader gets
from the story)
 plot - the series of events in a story. (exposition (beginning or introduction), rising action
(conflicts and struggles), climax, falling action (result of the climax) and resolution
(how things are solved in the end)
 point of view - the relationship of the narrator, or storyteller, to the story. The position from
which the story is told by the narrator will be first person point of view (using pronouns
such as I, me, my, we, us) or third person point of view (using pronouns such as he, she,
they, them).
 protagonist - the central character in a story that moves the action of the plot along
(sometimes HERO)
 resolution - the part of a plot that concludes the falling action by revealing or suggesting
the outcome of the conflict
 rising action - the part of a plot that adds complications to the problems in the story and
increases reader interest
 setting - the time and place in which the events of a story occur
 static character - remains primarily the same throughout the story (static=stays the same)
 symbol - any object, person, place, or experience that means more than what it is (Symbols
stand for, or represent, something deeper.)
 suspense - a feeling of curiosity, uncertainty, or even dread about what is going to happen
next
 theme - the central or main idea of a story where the author attempts to teach a message or
lesson about life to the reader. It is usually expressed as a general statement, as in a fable,
but mostly one that the reader must infer (read between the lines) from the overall plot.
 tone - the attitude of the narrator toward the subject, ideas, theme, or characters