8th Grade Summer Reading Assignment
❏ Step 1: Find two great books and read them!
-Read the book list for suggestions.
-Talk to your friends to find great titles.
-Read at least 30 pages--if you still don’t like it, find another book to read.
-Remember: the goal is to find books you would like to share with others.
❏ Step 2: Fill out your book talk organizers.
-Write neatly and in complete sentences.
-Do not choose a book you do not like.
❏ Step 3: Create a collage for one of your books.
-Make a collage (no larger than 8.5” x 11”) that represents the setting and conflict of one of your
books. DO NOT SPOIL THE ENDING OR THE BEST PARTS! (See enclosed handout).
-Include the title and author in the collage.
-Use color and images creatively.
-These will be hung up in the hall at our new school, so make them beautiful!
❏ Step 4: Complete the McAuliffe book survey.
-The link is located on our website. http://mcauliffe.dpsk12.org/
-Complete the form for 7th grade only.
-Read responses for book suggestions throughout the year!
❏ Step 5: Keep Reading!
-Don’t stop at one book; keep reading new ones!
-Optional: Meet classmates and MIS staff at the Denver Public Library on Mondays and Fridays
from 10a-12p (Mondays are at Park Hill, Fridays are at Sam Gary.)
❏ Step 6: Bring your completed book talk organizers and collage to school.
-Turn in your book talk organizers and collage to your Language and Literature teacher on the
first day of school: August 13th, 2014.
-You will be called upon to present one of your books to the class, so be ready!
Looking for a challenge this summer? Try a few of these:
-Make an iMovie trailer for your book.
-Write a poem about a conflict a character from your book faces and/or include colorful illustrations.
-Write a “ghost chapter” that serves as either a prequel or sequel to your book.
Name________________________________________________________
8th Grade Book Talk Organizer #1
Title:__________________________________________________________Author____________
____________________.
The Hook: What makes this book unique? Share a juicy detail from the story to hook your audience.
The Book: Summarize what the book is about without giving away the best part or ending.
The Quick Look: Find a particularly interesting passage to read aloud. Briefly summarize what is
happening in the passage and why you chose it.
Page(s): __________
Name________________________________________________________
8th Grade Book Talk Organizer #2
Title:__________________________________________________________Author____________
____________________.
The Hook: What makes this book unique? Share a juicy detail from the story to hook your audience.
The Book: Summarize what the book is about without giving away the best part or ending.
The Quick Look: Find a particularly interesting passage to read aloud. Briefly summarize what is
happening in the passage and why you chose it.
Page(s): ___________
Sample 8th Grade Book Talk Organizer
Title:Rissa Bartholomew’s Declaration of Independence Author: Lynda B. Comerford
The Hook: What makes this book unique? Share a juicy detail from the story to hook your audience.
At the very beginning of the story, Rissa Bartholomew gets fed up at her birthday party. Never
mind that she has to share her party with her best friend (Bethany, who has developed a mean
streak), but it’s at a pizza parlor. And Rissa is allergic to cheese! Something happens and Rissa
decides to declare herself “independent” of the mean girls. This leads to her escape to the bathroom
in the middle of her own party. What a way to start off sixth grade!
The Book: Summarize what the book is about without giving away the best part or ending.
This book is about what happens to friends when they start middle school. It’s also about how to
handle complicated moments with your friends. What do you do when your best friend says
something mean? Do you say something or hold your tongue? This is Rissa’s story about what
happens when she says what she really thinks. It’s a realistic story about a friendship between
girls who have known each other since the day they were born. Their mothers are best friends and
they even share the same birthday., which makes this a very interesting and complicated story.
The Quick Look: Find a particularly interesting passage to read aloud. Briefly summarize what is
happening in the passage and why you chose it.
On page 6, Rissa describes a moment when Beth (or Bethany, as she now wants to be called)
started acting weird. I chose this passage because it shows how the best friends are growing apart.
“But things started to be different at the end of fifth grade, and I got the feeling that sometimes
Beth’s mind was on other things besides what we were doing when we were together. For example,
during a really exciting part of a Creature Feature, Beth might say something like, ‘Do you think I
should get my hair highlighted?’ and I’d miss an important scene. Or during a game of Monopoly,
she’d want to discuss which boy on the school soccer team was cutest, instead of making up her
mind about whether she wanted to trade Park Place for all my railroads.”
Page(s): 6
8th Grade Book Collage
It’s time to get creative! Your special assignment is to create a collage for one of the
books you’ll be reading this summer. Make sure that the title and author are easy to
read on the collage. The rest is up to you!
As an IB communicator, think about the best way to communicate the setting and the
conflict of your chosen book in an eye-catching collage. Don’t give away the best
parts or the ending, though. 8th grade collages will be displayed on the walls at Smiley,
so make sure that yours is beautiful!
Your job is to creatively express the setting and conflict of a great book in a unique
way. It will also help your fellow students find new books to read as well as decorate
our new school.
Requirements for 8th Grade Book Collage:
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Use 8.5”x 11” paper.
Include a variety of color avoiding excessive white space.
Add computer images, original art, or a combination of both.
Include the title and author in the collage.
Do not spoil the book by including the best parts or the ending in your collage.
Favorite Books from McAuliffe Readers:
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant by Veronica Roth
The Selection by Kiera Cass
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Magyk Series by Angie Sage
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Ungifted by Gordon Korman
Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Suggested Titles for Reluctant Readers:
I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis
Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Smile by Raina Telgemeier
Love that Dog and Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech
What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones