Middle School Summer Reading Advantage
A good education gives your student a head start in life. Likewise, we want to give our Middle
School students a “head start” with our Summer Reading Advantage.
Students entering 6th-8th grade at Lutz Preparatory Middle School will be COMPLETING the
reading and accompanying assignments listed below. These will be collected for a grade on
Tuesday, September 8, 2015. Students in each grade level will have 2-3 options of novels to read.
As students are going to be required to complete both of the assignments for one of the novels, it is
highly encouraged to read as much as possible this summer. We are offering the Summer
Reading Advantage by introducing the assignments early! All of the novels were chosen from
the 2015-2016 Battle of the Books List for middle school.
Assignment Part 1:
Read 1 of the novels from your grade level and answer the attached questions. All questions must
be TYPED (12 point font, Arial) and in complete sentences (punctuation, grammar, and spelling
counts). You must find evidence to support each of your answers.
FAQS:
1) Do I have to do the summer reading?
While the summer reading is not mandatory, it gives students the advantage of
starting the assignments early. Please note it will be collected for a grade early in
quarter 1.
2) Do I have to type my answers?
Yes! This is to help practice your keyboarding skills. All middle school students
will be required to TYPE their essay portion of the FSA this year. You should be
very comfortable typing by the time you start school this year. If you are not
confident in your typing skills there are free typing tutorials and programs you can
find on the internet.
3) Will I receive credit if I don’t answer the question in complete sentences, or find evidence
to support my answers?
No, you will not receive credit if you are unable to follow the directions. Your FSA
Essay requires you to support your writing with evidence. This is a great way of
practicing those skills.
4) What will happen if I don’t do the assignment?
You will receive a zero for the assignment. Students will have until September 8th to
complete the assignment and turn it in.
5) What happens if I have questions?
Please make a list with any questions regarding the summer reading advantage or
the assignments and bring them with you on your first day of school.
Assignment Part 2:
Students are required to create and answer 50 comprehensive questions from the novel they
choose to read. Each question must contain the following information:
A) Question
B) Answer
C) Page number where the answer is given
FAQS:
1) May I just ask 50 questions from the first chapter?
No! Your questions must be evenly divided throughout the book.
2) Do I need to type the questions?
Yes! Remember you need to be confident in your typing abilities.
3) What happens if I don’t do the questions/answers/page numbers?
Please read through all the directions carefully as this will be collected for a grade
Sept. 8th and attention to detail is expected.
6th Grade Book Choices
Twerp – by Mark Goldblatt
This Journal Belongs to Ratchett – by Nancy J. Cavanaugh
Project Jackalope – by Emily Ecton
7th Grade Book Choices
The Secret of Rover – by Rachel Wildavsky
Eye of the Storm – by Kate Messner
Jack Strong Takes a Stand – by Tommy Greenwald
8th Grade Book Choices
The Testing – by Joelle Charbonneau
Stung – by Bethany Wiggins
Literary Analysis Questions
Use your knowledge of the novel and elements of literary analysis to complete the following form.
Your answers must be typed detailed responses on a separate sheet of paper, in complete
sentences. You must support your answers with evidence from the novel.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Title of the novel
Author
City of Publishing
Name of Publisher
Date Published
Genre (what category of literature is the novel?)
Was the novel given any awards?
8. Type the bibliographical format: (Author’s last name, Author’s first name. Title. City:
Publisher, Year.)
Example: Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books, 1982.
9. Setting (Where does the story take place? When? What are the conditions under which the
characters live?)
10. Characters:
Protagonist (Who is the main character?) What is his/her age? Appearance? Habits?
Abilities? Needs? Wants? Hopes?
Characterization: Think about how the characters are developed. For each answer,
include quotes from the novel itself, and include page numbers.
A. Through the words of the character (What does he/she say? What does it tell us?)
B. Through descriptions of the character’s appearance – looks, dress, posture, how is
the character described? What does that tell us?
C. Through the descriptions of the characters thoughts and feelings, what does
he/she think or feel? What does this tell us?
D. Through comments made about the character by other characters in the story,
what do they say? What does this tell us?
E. Through the character’s behavior, what does he/she do? What does that tell us?
11. Describe the Antagonist (The person who goes against the main character)
12. Plot:
Summary of the Plot - List the major events that happen in the story.
13. Introduction: How is the story set up – characters and conflict
14. Rising Action – What steps do the characters take to resolve the conflict?
15. Climax – What is the most exciting part of the story
16. Resolution – How does the story end? How are the loose ends tied together?
17. Conflict – Are the conflicts in the novel external (character struggles with an outside
force?) Or, is the conflict internal (the character struggles with something inside of
himself?) Use this formula to help you figure out the conflict: Somebody (who?) / Wants
(what do they want?) / But (what’s in the way?) / So (what ends up happening?)
18. Theme – What lesson does the author teach us about life? (what lesson do the characters
learn?)
19. Point of View – (What is the vantage point of the narrator? Possibilities: a) first person, b)
third person limited,
c) third person omniscient. (Look them up if you don’t know what they mean!!)
20. Give an example (a quote) from the text that proves your point of view.
21. Foreshadowing: What is an early clue that the author gives the reader about future
events? (Describe how this clue hints at future events)
22. Mood – What feeling does the reader get from the story?
23. Tone – What words does the author use or choose to create the mood?
24. Dialogue: Find an interesting quote that shows an important interaction between two
characters in the story.
A. Character 1: (Name) ___________________
B. Character 2: (Name) ___________________
Dialogue:____________
Dialogue:____________
What did you learn about the story from this dialogue?
25. Irony is a contrast between what you think will happen, and what actually does happen.
Give examples of the following types of irony:
A. Dramatic Irony: What does the reader know that the character does not?
B. Verbal Irony: What does the character say when he really means something
else?
C. Situational Irony: What situation turns out to be the opposite of what we
expected?