LakeMeadChristianAcademy’sSummerReadingProgram
forallincoming7thgradestudents
PurposeStatement:Numerousstudieshaveshownthelossoflearningoverthe
summermonthscanbedetrimentaltostudents’education.Moststudiesmaintaina
differenceoftwoyearsbetweenstudentswhoreadoverthesummercomparedto
thosewhodonot.Providingstudentswiththeopportunitytoreadoverthesummer
allowsafunwayforstudentsofallagestocombatthislearningslide.OurSumer
ReadingProgramoffersthefollowingbenefits:
Ø Studentsdiscoverthejoyofreading
Ø Studentspracticereading,writing,speakingskills
Ø Studentsexperiencechallengingenrichmenttopreparethemforthe
upcomingschoolyear
Ø Studentschoosefromavarietyofinteractiveactivitiesrelatedtotheir
reading
Ø Studentsinteractwithtextbyconversingwithparentswhoreadalong
withtheirstudent
Wehopethatthisprogramenrichesyourreadinglifeandpreparesyourstudentfor
futuresuccessinschool.
HappyReading!
TheLMCAEnglishDepartment
Requirements:Allincoming7thgradestudentswillreadtwo(2)booksoverthe
summer.OnebookstudentswillchoosefromtheApprovedSummerReadingList
(provided)andthesecondistheteacherchosenOkayForNowbyGaryD.Schmidt.
Foreachbookcompleted,studentsmustcompleteoneoftheassignmentoptions
listed.Thiswillconstituteatotaloftwo(2)assignments.Theseassignmentswillbe
duetotheirEnglishteacheronthefirstdayofthe2016-2017schoolyear.Students
shouldbepreparedtodiscussandcompleteactivitiesfortheteacherchosenbook
onthefirstdayofclass.
7thGradeApprovedSummerReadingList
Booktitleandauthor
OkayForNowbyGaryD.Schmidt
(requiredforall7thgraders)
RollofThunder,HearMyCrybyMildred
D.Taylor
TheIslandoftheBlueDolphinsbyScott
O’Dell
Description
MidwesternerGaryD.Schmidtwon
NewberyHonorawardsforLizzieBright
andtheBuckminsterBoysandThe
WednesdayWars,twocoming-of-age
novelsaboutunlikelyfriendsfindinga
bond.OkayForNow,hislatestnovel,
exploresanotherseeminglyimprobable
alliance,thisonebetweennewoutsider
intownDougSwieteckandLilSpicer,
thesavvyspitfiredaughterofhisdeli
ownerboss.Withherchallenging
assistance,Dougdiscoversnewsidesof
himself.Alongtheway,healsoreadjusts
hisrelationshipwithhisabusivefather,
hisschoolpeers,andhisolderbrother,a
newlyreturnedwarvictimofVietnam.
WhyisthelandsoimportanttoCassie's
family?Ittakestheeventsofone
turbulentyear—theyearofthenight
ridersandtheburnings,theyearawhite
girlhumiliatesCassieinpublicsimply
becauseshe'sblack—toshowCassiethat
havingaplaceoftheirownistheLogan
family'slifeblood.Itisthelandthatgives
theLoganstheircourageandpride—no
matterhowothersmaydegradethem,
theLoganspossesssomethingnoone
cantakeaway.
In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big
fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue
dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and
sea birds abound. Once, Indians also lived on the
island. And when they left and sailed to the east,
one young girl was left behind. — This is the story
of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years
on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year,
she watched one season pass into another and
waited for a ship to take her away. But while she
waited, she kept herself alive by building shelter,
making weapons, finding food, and fighting her
enemies, the wild dogs. It is not only an unusual
adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural
beauty and personal discovery.
Brian’sWinterbyGaryPaulsen
Ender’sGamebyOrsonScottCard
InHatchet,13-year-oldBrianRobeson
learnedtosurvivealoneintheCanadian
wilderness,armedonlywithhishatchet.
Hewasrescuedattheendofthe
summer.Brian'sWinterbeginswhere
Hatchetmighthaveended:Brianisnot
rescued,butmustbuildonhissurvival
skillstofacehisdeadliestenemy:
northernwinter.
Andrew"Ender"Wigginthinksheis
playingcomputersimulatedwargames;
heis,infact,engagedinsomethingfar
moredesperate.Theresultofgenetic
experimentation,Endermaybethe
militarygeniusEarthdesperatelyneeds
inawaragainstanalienenemyseeking
todestroyallhumanlife.Theonlyway
tofindoutistothrowEnderintoever
harshertraining,tochipawayandfind
thediamondinside,ordestroyhim
utterly.EnderWigginissixyearsold
whenitbegins.Hewillgrowupfast.
AssignmentOptions
1. Drawamap:Thisassignmentrequiresstudentstodrawamapofthesetting
oftheirbookandlabel5importantplacesinthenovel.Mapsmaybeposter
sizeorsmaller,butshouldbeclearlylabeledanddetailed.
2. OneYearLater:Thisassignmentasksstudentstousetheirimaginationand
creativewritingabilitiestowriteashortstory(1-2pages)aboutacharacter
oneyearafterthenovelended.StoriesshouldbetypedandinMLAformat.
3. Interview:Thisassignmentrequiresthatstudentsknowthemaincharacter
well.Studentswillpretendtoprepareforaninterviewwiththeprotagonist
andcomeupwith5questionstheywouldliketoaskhim/her.
4. CoverDesign:Thisassignmentutilizesstudent’screativeabilities.Students
shouldredesignthecoverfortheirnovel.Keepinmindthatcoversentice
readers,butdonotgiveawaythestoryline.Coversshouldbeon8.5x11
piecesofpaperandadequatelydetailedwithtitleandauthor’sname.
5. LettertotheAuthor:Studentshavetheopportunitytoasktheauthor
whatevertheywantinthisassignment.Studentswritealettertotheauthor
oftheirnoveldiscussingthebookandaskingquestions.Lettersshouldbein
thecorrectformatandneatlytyped.
6. BookReview:Studentstakeontheroleofcriticinthisassignment.Abook
reviewprovidesashortsummary(1paragraph)WITHOUTgivingawaythe
endingaswellasacritique(2-3paragraphs).Reviewsshouldbetypedin
MLAformat.
7. PhotoCollage:Ifstudentschoosethisoption,itwillbetheonlyassignment
theyhavetodo!Studentswillcreateapostersizephotocollageoftheir
books.Collageshouldincludethefollowing:apictureofthecoversofthe
books,a2-3paragraphsummaryofeachbook,a1-2paragraphreviewof
eachbookaswellasanyotherpicturesthatstudentsfeeldisplaysthe
essenceofthenovel.Allthreebooksmaybedisplayedononeboard.