Theme Reading: School Spirit
The fall semester begins with a unit called “School Spirit.” Using this theme as a
guide, select one novel that has a setting in a school or a majority of the action
surrounds the school or school activity. Here are some examples:
Chasing Vermeer
The World According to Humphrey
The Last Holiday Concert
Room One: A Mystery or Two
Ninth Ward
Project Mulberry
Inside Out & Back Again
by Blue Balliet
by Betty Birney
by Andrew Clements
by Andrew Clements
by Jewell P. Rhodes
by Linda Sue Park
by Thanhha Lai
Genre Specific Reading: Historical Fiction
The genre historical fiction offers an opportunity for students to learn about a
period of time or a historic event while absorbed in the life of a character that is
fictitious. Select one novel that is historical fiction. Here are some exciting
examples:
The True Confessions of Charlotte
Doyle
Johnny Tremain
Jason’s Gold
Ben and Me
Number the Stars
Watsons Go To Birmingham—1963
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
by Avi
by Esther Forbes
by Will Hobbs
by Robert Lawson
by Lois Lowry
by Christopher Paul Curtis
by Elizabeth George Spence
Your assignment is to read one book from each category—two books total.
During the first few days of school, your teacher will ask you to complete an
activity regarding the books you read, but there is no written assignment over
the summer. You are just encouraged to enjoy your reading time!
If you have questions, contact Mr. Wagner at [email protected]
Next fall, we will study different works of literature based around a few
important questions. We want to start thinking about those questions
during the summer, so you will come to school with some great ideas!
Over the summer, we will each read one fiction and one non-fiction
book that can connect to these questions. Think about how the author
or characters in the books might answer one of these questions. Below
are some exciting examples you might want to choose. Here are the
questions:
How do we decide what is true?
Is conflict always bad?
What is important to know?
Do we need words to communicate well?
How do we decide who we are?
How much do our communities shape us?
Fiction
Non-Fiction
The Big Field
by Mike Lupica
The Great Molasses Flood
by Deborah Kops
The Birchbark House
by Louise Erdrich
Freedom Walkers
by Russell Freedman
kira-kira
by Cynthia Kadohata
The Story of My Life
by Helen Keller
My Life in Dog Years
by Gary Paulsen
The Sea of Monsters
by Rick Riordan
Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone
in the Wilderness
by Donn Fendler
The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
The Chimpanzees I Love
by Jane Goodall
The Danger Box
by Blue Balliet
Shadow Children
series
Bud, Not Buddy
by Margaret
Peterson Haddix
Christopher Paul
Curtis
Your assignment is to read one book from each category—two books total.
During the first few days of school, your teacher will ask you to complete an
activity regarding the books you read, but there is no written assignment over
the summer. You are just encouraged to enjoy your reading time!
If you have questions, contact Mr. Wagner at [email protected]
In August, we will study different works of literature based around a few
important questions regarding FRIENDSHIP. We want to start
thinking about those questions during the summer so that you will
come to school with some great ideas! Over the summer, we will
each read one fiction and one non-fiction book that can connect
to these questions. Think about how the author or characters in
the books might answer one of these questions. Here are the
questions:
Can our choice of friends change who we are?
What responsibilities do we owe our friends?
Is there a friendship that can never be broken?
In order to endure, what qualities must a friendship have?
How does one repair a broken friendship?
Why are some friendships abandoned?
As you read, make notes about how your book answers those questions. Below are
some exciting examples you might want to choose to read.
Fiction Possibilities:
The Chronicles of Narnia
Tangerine
Sweet Whispers, Brother
Rush
Boys without Names
Heist Society
by C. S. Lewis
by Edward Bloor
by Virginia Hamilton
by Kashmira Sheth
Ally Carter
Non-Fiction Picks:
For your non-fiction
selection, pick a book that
relates to an interesting
topic or concept in the
fiction choice.
Your assignment is to read one book from each category—two books total.
During the first few days of school, your teacher will ask you to complete an
activity regarding the books you read, but there is no written assignment over the
summer. You are just encouraged to enjoy your reading time!
If you have questions, contact Mr. Wagner at [email protected]
In 8th grade, we will start school studying dystopian societies. A dystopian
society is a society that is somehow broken—usually in a frightening or destructive
way.
1. Read Suzanne Collins’s book The Hunger Games. This book is conveniently
available at the Wildcat Bookstore.
2. Pick and read another fictional book about a dystopian society from the list
below:
Divergent or Insurgent
by Victoria Roth
Legend
by Marie Lu
The Lunar Chronicles
by Marissa Meyer
Animal Farm
by George Orwell
The Giver Trilogy
by Lois Lowry
The Ember Series
by Jeanne DuPrau
The Maze Runner Trilogy
by James Dashner
The Tunnels Series
by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams
Your assignment is to read the required book and a dystopian book
of your choice—two books total. During the first few days of
school, your teacher will ask you to complete an activity regarding
the books you read. Enjoy your reading time as you prepare for the
new year!
If you have questions, contact Mr. Wagner at [email protected]