Name: ___________________________
8th Grade Summer Reading – City of Orphans by Avi
Please complete this packet to help you keep track of the main ideas, characters and the influence
of setting on character motivations in this book as you read. You may use this packet on the quiz
that will be given during the first week of school.
This website http://www.avi-writer.com/books/books/cityoforphans.html has great links that
support the different topics in the novel. It is a helpful resource for you.
Essential Question –
How does an individual keep his/her identity in an
environment of uncertainty and lawlessness?
Character’s Name
In the exposition of the novel – Describe the character’s
traits, appearance, and behaviors.
Character description-
Maks Geless
Cite a passage from the novel to support your character description:
Character descriptionWilla
Cite a passage from the novel to support your character description:
Character descriptionBartleby Donck
Cite a passage from the novel to support your character description:
Character descriptionBruno
Cite a passage from the novel to support your character description:
Emma Geless
Character descriptionCite a passage from the novel to support your character description:
Character’s Name
Maks Geless
In the rising action of the novel – Describe any new
behaviors and conflicts that each character faces.
Character description or conflict -
Cite a passage from the novel to support your description/conflict:
Willa
Character description or conflict -
Cite a passage from the novel to support your description/ conflict :
Character description or conflictBartleby Donck
Cite a passage from the novel to support your description/conflict:
Bruno
Character description or conflict -
Cite a passage from the novel to support your description/conflict:
Emma Geless
Character description or conflict -
Cite a passage from the novel to support your description/conflict:
****ANOTHER CHART FOLLOWS THIS PAGE SINCE SOME CHARACTERS HAVE
MULTIPLE STRUGGLES.
Character’s Name
Maks Geless
In the rising action of the novel – Describe any new
behaviors and conflicts that each character faces.
Character description or conflict -
Cite a passage from the novel to support your description/conflict:
Willa
Character description or conflict -
Cite a passage from the novel to support your description/conflict:
Character description or conflict Bartleby Donck
Cite a passage from the novel to support your description/conflict:
Bruno
Character description or conflict -
Cite a passage from the novel to support your description/conflict:
Emma Geless
Character description or conflict -
Cite a passage from the novel to support your description/conflict:
Character’s Name
Maks Geless
Describe the manner in which the setting of the novel
creates conflicts, or barriers for each character.
Setting description creating conflict -
Cite a passage from the novel to support your setting description:
Willa
Setting description creating conflict -
Cite a passage from the novel to support your setting description:
Setting description creating conflict Bartleby Donck
Cite a passage from the novel to support your setting description:
Bruno
Setting description creating conflict-
Cite a passage from the novel to support your setting description:
Emma Geless
Setting description creating conflict -
Cite a passage from the novel to support your setting description:
Character’s Name
Maks Geless
Climax -Describe the manner in which each character meets
his/her conflicts and challenges.
Character meets challenges-
Cite a passage from the novel to support your position:
Willa
Character meets challenges-
Cite a passage from the novel to support your position:
Character meets challengesBartleby Donck
Cite a passage from the novel to support your position:
Bruno
Character meets challenges -
Cite a passage from the novel to support your position:
Emma Geless
Character meets challenges-
Cite a passage from the novel to support your position:
Character’s Name
Resolution -Describe the manner in which each character
has resolved his/her conflicts.
Maks Geless
Character overcomes/resolves challenges-
Cite a passage from the novel to support your position:
Willa
Character overcomes/resolves challenges-
Cite a passage from the novel to support your position:
Character overcomes/resolves challengesBartleby Donck
Cite a passage from the novel to support your position:
Bruno
Character overcomes/resolves challenges-
Cite a passage from the novel to support your position:
Emma Geless
Character overcomes/resolves challenges-
Cite a passage from the novel to support your position:
Character’s Name
Maks Geless
Characterization – Which characters changed over the
course of this novel? Explain how the change occurred. Or
Not 
Character Change -
Cite a passage from the novel to support your characterization:
Willa
Character change-
Cite a passage from the novel to support your characterization:
Character changeBartleby Donck
Cite a passage from the novel to support your characterization:
Bruno
Character change-
Cite a passage from the novel to support your characterization:
Emma Geless
Character change-
Cite a passage from the novel to support your characterization:
Setting Definition
Setting is an environment or surrounding in which an event or story takes place. It may provide
particular information about placement and timing, such as New York, America, in the year
1820. Setting could be simply descriptive like a lonely cottage on a mountain. Social conditions,
historical time, geographical locations, weather, immediate surroundings, and timing are all
different aspects of setting. It has its three major components; social environment, place and
time. Moreover, setting could be an actual region, or a city made larger than life, as James Joyce
characterizes Dublin in Ulysses, or it could be a work of imagination of the author as James
Dashner created the Glade and the Maze in Maze Runner.
Types of Setting
It has two main types:
Backdrop Setting – Backdrop setting emerges when it is not important for a story, and it could
happen in any setting such as A. A. Milne’s story Winnie-the-Pooh could take place in any type
of setting.
Integral Setting – It is when the place and time influences theme, character and action of a
story. In this type, setting controls the characters and by controlling setting, writers could control
their characters. If they confine a certain character to a particular setting, it will define the
character. Beatrix Potter’s short story, The Tail of Peter Rabbit, is an example of integral setting
in which the behavior of Peter becomes an integral part of the setting. Another good example of
this type of setting can be seen in E. B. White’s novel, Charlotte’s Web.
NOW CONNECT THE TWO…. NOVEL WITH HISTORIC SETTING.
 AFTER HAVING READ AND MARKED THE TEXT OF THE
INFORMATIONAL TEXT ARTICLES RELATED TO THE NOVEL CITY OF
ORPHANS - write connections between the main characters found in the
charts and a setting from each of the articles.
Example – Maks Geless – earns money for his immigrant family by selling
newspapers – young boys such as this were known as Newsies in New York City
during the 1890’s.
o You may write your observations and connections on separate paper and
attach the papers to this packet.
Name
______________________
DATE
9-1-16
Informational Text Marking Packet
Marking the Title of the Article and cited quote or
Text
paraphrases
With Symbols
and
Comments
C
My thoughts
about this
passage -
I see that
“Tuberculosis is most prevalent in areas of
Tuberculosis
overcrowding and poverty.”
CONNECTS with City
(“Tuberculosis”.discoveryeducation.com,9.01.16) of Orphans b/c the
Geless family lives
in poverty and
Agnes has TB.
City of Orphans
Informational Text Vocabulary
Directions: In a separate notebook, one that you will use for 8th ELA, write COMPLETE
definitions (complete means at least 2 different definitions) for the 21 vocabulary words
listed below. An example of a complete definition is given:
Definition of "prominent" – (American English Dictionary)
prominent - /ˈprɑm·ə·nənt/ - adjective 1.) very noticeable, important, or famous:
She plays a prominent role in the organization. 2.) If something is prominent, it sticks out from a
surface or can be seen easily: She has a prominent chin/nose.
reform
exploitation
hapless
venal
vapid
derogatory
depraved
indignation
offal
incisive
civic
depravation
conscience
zeal
pathetic
sear
precarious
dilapidated
wretched
tenement
abolish
Please Note: The above vocabulary words will help you read with comprehension the
following articles. HOWEVER, there are many other words that you may not know which
should be circled -
o
- Circle new vocabulary or unfamiliar words – for your own benefit.