BRICK TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS
101 HENDRICKSON AVENUE
BRICK, NEW JERSEY 08724
(732) 785-3000 x3042
OFFICE OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
Jayne VanNosdall, English
Re: Grade 8 Summer Reading
Dear 2016-17 8th Grade Parents,
May, 2016
Reading is an essential component of excellence in education. The latest research clearly shows that students who
read frequently on their own have better literacy skills, higher standardized test scores, a richer command of
language, and higher overall performance in school as compared to those who do not read independently. That
being said, please join us in supporting Summer Reading 2016.
Summer Reading Assignment (due on the first day of school):
 Choose ONE book from the following list to read:
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Complete the attached 3-page “Summer Reading Graphic Organizer” that focuses on the development of
the protagonist in your book. Students will be able to use this graphic organizer on an in-class essay
exploring the development of the protagonist during the first week of school.

Summer is a time for exploration and fun, and it is also a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the
foundation for a lifelong love of reading. We are attaching a list of the reading strategies. These strategies
will help to strengthen your child’s ability to read and comprehend. We urge you to take some time to
review this list with your child. Use it to assist your child when he/she reads. These seven comprehension
strategies will help to create lifelong readers.
The summer reading novels will be available at Barnes and Noble bookstore and the Ocean County Library. Both
locations have stocked their shelves just for you!
We look forward to meeting and working with your child this fall.
Sincerely,
Eighth Grade Language Arts Teachers
Seven Keys to Reading Comprehension
1. Activating background knowledge to make connections between new and known information. In many
classrooms, this instruction is divided into three categories of connection as defined by Colleen Buddy text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world (Buddy quoted in Keene and Zimmerman, 2007). Making
connections help students identify with text, relate to text and, in turn, understand text better.
2. Questioning the text. Proficient readers are always asking questions while they read. Sticky notes (postits) have become ubiquitous in classrooms in part because they are such a useful tool for teaching
students to stop, mark text, and note questions as they read.
3. Drawing inferences. Proficient readers use their prior knowledge about a topic and the information they
have gleaned in the text thus far to make predictions about what might happen next. When teachers
demonstrate or model their reading processes for students through think-alouds, they often stop and
predict what will happen next to show how inferring is essential for comprehending text.
4. Determining importance. In the sea of words that is any text, readers must continually sort through and
prioritize information. Teachers often assist readers in analyzing everything from text features in
nonfiction text like bullets and headings, to verbal cues in novels like strong verbs. Looking for these clues
can help readers sift through the relative value of different bits of information in texts.
5. Creating mental images. Readers are constantly creating mind pictures as they read, visualizing action,
characters, or themes. Teachers are using picture books with students of all ages, not necessarily because
they are easy to read, but because the lush and sophisticated art in these books can be a great bridge for
helping students see how words and images connect in meaning-making.
6. Repairing understanding when meaning breaks down. Proficient readers don't just plow ahead through
text when it doesn't make sense - they stop and use "fix-up" strategies to restore their understanding.
One of the most important fix-up tools is rereading, with teachers demonstrating to students a variety of
ways to reread text in order to repair meaning.
7. Synthesizing information. Synthesis is the most sophisticated of the comprehension strategies,
combining elements of connecting, questioning, and inferring. With this strategy, students move from
making meaning of the text, to integrating their new understanding into their lives and world view.
Helping your child understand and utilize these reading comprehension strategies will help him/her
become a better reader and, hopefully, a lover of reading.
(The following pages are due on the first day of school)
Name: ________________________________________________________________
Date: ____________________
Characterization Profile Analysis
Directions: Begin at the star and complete each box as indicated. Use specific quotations from the book and include the page
numbers. IMPORTANT: Make the black star area the last thing you complete.
What the character says
Important Information about the character
What the character does
EXAMPLES FROM THE TEXT WITH PAGE #
Title: ______________________________________
Author: ____________________________________
Main Character (Protagonist):___________________
EXAMPLES FROM THE TEXT WITH PAGE #
What the character thinks
How others interact with the character
Inferences you can make about
this character
Name: ________________________________________________________________
Date: _____________________
Character Trait Analysis Map
Directions: Fill in the starred information, then, write four traits most exhibited by the protagonist (your character) of your book.
Follow the arrows as indicated. IMPORTANT: Include specific textual evidence, quotes, and page numbers.
Examples from the text with page #’s
Sample Character Traits
Optimistic
Ambitious
Patient
Bossy
Persistent
Caustic
Pessimistic
Cold-hearted
Picky
Cheerful
Playful
Conceited
Quarrelsome
Cruel
Religious
Determined
Rough
Devoted
Rude
Dishonest
Satisfied
Disloyal
Selfcentered
Disparaging
Disrespectful
Educated
Faithful
Fidgety
Funny
Greedy
Grumpy
Stubborn
Talkative
Trait:
Tough
Talkative
Tough
Unforgiving
Unmerciful
Wicked
Wild
Zany
Title:
Author:
Character:
Trait:
Affectionate
Smart
Examples from the text with page #’s
Adventurous
Obnoxious
Selfish
Shy
Trait:
Silly
Examples from the text with page #’s
Sincere
Sly
Examples from the text with page #’s
Mean
Trait:
Active
Name: __________________________________________________ Date: ______________ Protagonist’s Name: ___________________
Character Development Analysis
Title: ________________________________________________________________________Author:______________________________
________________________________________________
Directions:
Use examples, specific details, and quotes, from the novel, to explain how strongly, or not so strongly, your main character
(protagonist) developed throughout the novel. IMPORTANT: You must include page numbers with your text evidence/quotes.
Character (protagonist) at the beginning.
What problem/conflict must your protagonist
solve? How does he/she solve the
problem/conflict?
Character (protagonist) at the end.
Does
Does
Says
Says
What character traits help your
protagonist solve the problem/conflict?
How are they helpful?
Thinks
Thinks