8th Grade Summer Reading Project 2016
Over the summer, you are expected to complete your first English-Language Arts assignment for the 2016-2017 school year, the
Summer Reading Project. Reading is a great “every day” activity, so work on your project a little each day. The information you
need to complete is listed below. Read all the details carefully. These books are available at any branch of the public library, or you
may purchase them at most book stores or Amazon.com for under $10.00. If you lose your assignment, details can be found on the
school website: http://schools.cms.k12.nc.us/mcclintockMS/Pages/Default.aspx. Happy reading!
*Please come by McClintock MS for a different title if you are unable to secure a copy of the recommended books.
Eva by Peter Dickinson (L = 1010)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot (L = 1140)
Thirteen year old Eva wakes up in the hospital unable to
remember anything since the picnic on the beach. Her
mother leans over the bed and begins to explain. A traffic
accident, a long coma . . . But there is something, Eva
senses, that she’s not being told. There is a price she must
pay to be alive at all. What have they done, with their amazing
medical techniques, to save her?
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as
HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—
taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the
most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio
vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more.
The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
(L = 990)
The Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang (L = 780)
Two kids named Wes Moore were born blocks apart
within a year of each other. Both grew up fatherless in
similar Baltimore neighborhoods and had difficult
childhoods; both hung out on street corners with their crews; both ran
into trouble with the police. How, then, did one grow up to be a
Rhodes Scholar, decorated veteran, White House Fellow, and business
leader, while the other ended up a convicted murderer serving a life
sentence?
It's 1966, and twelve-year-old Ji-li Jiang has everything a
girl could want: brains, friends, and a bright future in
Communist China. But it's also the year that China's
leader, Mao Ze-dong, launches the Cultural Revolution—
and Ji-li's world begins to fall apart. Over the next few
years, people who were once her friends and neighbors turn on her
and her family, forcing them to live in constant terror of arrest. When
Ji-li's father is finally imprisoned, she faces the most difficult dilemma
of her life.
The Assignment
1. Choose one of the four novels listed above, and read it over the summer.
2. Complete the attached Summer Project Pack.
3. Your completed Summer Project Pack is due to your 8th grade English teacher by Monday 12 September 2016.
8th Grade Summer Reading Pack Rubric
Criteria
Introduction
Academic
Summary
Vocabulary
Points
5
20
20
Questions
20
Project Menu
30
Neatness &
Legibility
5
Exceeds
A
* Neatly completed
* Correct spelling
* Title is correctly underlined/
italicized.
* Stars are neatly colored
* Neatly completed
* No errors in spelling
* Appropriate verb choice
* More than 2 key details to
support main idea
* Ideas are well-developed
* Neatly completed
* No errors in spelling
* Appropriate word choice
* Neatly completed
* No errors in spelling
* All responses are complete
sentences
* Ideas are well-developed
* Neatly completed
* No errors in spelling
* Ideas are well-developed
* Assignment is completed with
particular attention to detail
* Everything is neatly written &
easy to read
Meets
B
Nearly Meets
C
Does Not Meet
F
* Neatly completed
* Correct spelling of both title and
author
* Stars are neatly colored
* Completed
* Stars are colored
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* Stars are not colored
* Neatly completed
* Few errors in spelling
* Appropriate verb choice
* Provides 2 key details to support
main idea
* Ideas are appropriately
development
* Neatly completed
* Few errors in spelling
* Appropriate word choice
* Completed
* Some errors in spelling
* Inappropriate verb choice
* Provides 1 key details to
support main idea
* Ideas are under-developed
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* Inappropriate verb choice.
* No development of ideas
* Completed
* Some errors in spelling
* Some chosen words are not
appropriate
* Completed
* Some errors in spelling
* Some responses are not
complete sentences
* Ideas are under-developed
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* Chosen words are not
appropriate
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* Responses are not
complete sentences
* No development of ideas
* Completed
* Some errors in spelling
* Ideas are under-developed
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* No development of ideas
* Assignment are difficult to read
* Assignment is illegible.
* Neatly completed
* Few errors in spelling
* All responses are complete
sentences
* Ideas are appropriately
developed
* Neatly completed
* Few errors in spelling
* Ideas are appropriately
developed
* Assignment is neatly written &
easy to read
7th Grade Summer Reading Project 2016
Over the summer, you are expected to complete your first English-Language Arts assignment for the 2016-2017 school year, the
Summer Reading Project. Reading is a great “every day” activity, so work on your project a little each day. The information you need
to complete is listed below. Read all the details carefully. These books are available at any branch of the public library, or you may
purchase them at most book stores or Amazon.com for under $10.00. If you lose your assignment, details can be found on the
school website: http://schools.cms.k12.nc.us/mcclintockMS/Pages/Default.aspx. Happy reading!
*Please come by McClintock MS for a different title if you are unable to secure a copy of the recommended books.
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkein (L = 1000)
October Sky by Homer Hickman (L = 900)
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious
life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his
contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a
company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk
him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid
the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large
and very dangerous dragon.
In a 1950's mining town called Coalwood, Homer Hickam is
a kid with only one future in sight, to work in the local coal
mine like his father. However in October 1957, everything
changes when the first artificial satellite, Sputnik goes into
orbit. With that event, Homer becomes inspired to learn how to build
rockets. With his friends and the local nerd, Homer sets to do just that
by trial and a lot of error.
Probably the World’s Best Story about a Dog and the
Girl Who Loved Me by James D. Smith (L = 950)
Paolo's plan for August is to hire out his little brother to
the neighbors. But then the family dog, Rufus, is stolen.
Overnight, Paolo trying to manage not just Georgie, but
their deaf cousin, Billy, who speaks only with his hands; Henry, a
strange vacation visitor whom the boys discover living locked in his
aunt's attic; and Butter Schwartz, a lonely, half-wild schemer with a
paper route. To top it all, a girl with a big-time crush on Paolo won't
let him be.
Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt (L = 850)
In this companion novel to The Wednesday Wars, Doug
struggles to be more than the "skinny thug" that some
people think him to be. He finds an unlikely ally in Lil
Spicer, who gives him the strength to endure an abusive
father, the suspicions of a town, and the return of his
oldest brother, forever scarred, from Vietnam. Schmidt expertly
weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with
distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love,
creativity, and survival.
The Assignment
1. Choose one of the four novels listed above, and read it over the summer.
2. Complete the attached Summer Project Pack.
3. Your completed Summer Project Pack is due to your 7th grade English teacher by Monday 12 September 2016.
8th Grade Summer Reading Pack Rubric
Criteria
Introduction
Academic
Summary
Vocabulary
Questions
Project Menu
Neatness &
Legibility
Points
5
20
20
20
30
5
Exceeds
A
* Neatly completed
* Correct spelling
* Title is correctly underlined/
italicized.
* Stars are neatly colored
* Neatly completed
* No errors in spelling
* Appropriate verb choice
* More than 2 key details to
support main idea
* Ideas are well-developed
* Neatly completed
* No errors in spelling
* Appropriate word choice
Meets
B
Does Not Meet
F
* Neatly completed
* Correct spelling of both title and
author
* Stars are neatly colored
* Completed
* Stars are colored
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* Stars are not colored
* Neatly completed
* Few errors in spelling
* Appropriate verb choice
* Provides 2 key details to support
main idea
* Ideas are appropriately
development
* Neatly completed
* Few errors in spelling
* Appropriate word choice
* Completed
* Some errors in spelling
* Inappropriate verb choice
* Provides 1 key details to
support main idea
* Ideas are under-developed
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* Inappropriate verb choice.
* No development of ideas
* Completed
* Some errors in spelling
* Some chosen words are not
appropriate
* Completed
* Some errors in spelling
* Some responses are not
complete sentences
* Ideas are under-developed
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* Chosen words are not
appropriate
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* Responses are not
complete sentences
* No development of ideas
* Completed
* Some errors in spelling
* Ideas are under-developed
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* No development of ideas
* Assignment are difficult to read
* Assignment is illegible.
* Neatly completed
* No errors in spelling
* All responses are complete
sentences
* Ideas are well-developed
* Neatly completed
* Few errors in spelling
* All responses are complete
sentences
* Ideas are appropriately
developed
* Neatly completed
* No errors in spelling
* Ideas are well-developed
* Neatly completed
* Few errors in spelling
* Ideas are appropriately
developed
* Assignment is neatly written &
easy to read
* Assignment is completed with
particular attention to detail
* Everything is neatly written &
easy to read
Nearly Meets
C
6th Grade Summer Reading Project 2016
Over the summer, you are expected to complete your first English-Language Arts assignment for the 2016-2017 school year, the
Summer Reading Project. Reading is a great “every day” activity, so work on your project a little each day. The information you need
to complete is listed below. Read all the details carefully. These books are available at any branch of the public library, or you may
purchase them at most book stores or Amazon.com for under $10.00. If you lose your assignment, details can be found on the
school website: http://schools.cms.k12.nc.us/mcclintockMS/Pages/Default.aspx. Happy reading!
*Please come by McClintock MS for a different title if you are unable to secure a copy of the recommended books.
Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O’Brien (L = 820)
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (L = 990)
Ann Burden is sixteen years old and completely alone. The world
as she once knew it is gone, ravaged by a nuclear war that has
taken everyone from her. For the past year, she has lived in a
remote valley with no evidence of any other survivors. But the
smoke from a distant campfire shatters Ann's solitude. Someone
else is still alive and making his way toward the valley. Who is this man? What
does he want? Can he be trusted?
Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt
halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it
was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and
1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing
awareness of the Civil Rights movement.
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
(L = 600)
Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea (L = 560)
Today I moved to a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped
with bird turds and surrounded by water. I'm not the only kid who
lives here. There's my sister, Natalie, except she doesn't count.
And there are twenty-three other kids who live on the island
because their dads work as guards or cooks or doctors or
electricians for the prison, like my dad does. Plus, there are a ton of murderers,
rapists, hit men, con men, stickup men, embezzlers, connivers, burglars,
kidnappers and maybe even an innocent man or two, though I doubt it. You get
to Alcatraz by being the worst of the worst. Unless you're me. I came here
because my mother said I had to.
It’s the start of fifth grade for seven kids at Snow Hill School.
There’s . . . Jessica, the new girl, smart and perceptive, who’s
having a hard time fitting in; Alexia, a bully, your friend one
second, your enemy the next; Peter, class prankster and
troublemaker; Luke, the brain; Danielle, who never stands up for
herself; shy Anna, whose home situation makes her an outcast;
and Jeffrey, who hates school. Only Mr. Terupt, their new and energetic
teacher, seems to know how to deal with them all. He makes the classroom a
fun place, even if he doesn’t let them get away with much . . . until the snowy
winter day when an accident changes everything—and everyone.
The Assignment
1. Choose one of the four novels listed above, and read it over the summer.
2. Complete the attached Summer Project Pack.
3. Your completed Summer Project Pack is due to your 6th grade English teacher by Monday 12 September 2016.
8th Grade Summer Reading Pack Rubric
Criteria
Introduction
Academic
Summary
Vocabulary
Questions
Points
5
20
20
20
Project Menu
30
Neatness &
Legibility
5
Exceeds
A
* Neatly completed
* Correct spelling
* Title is correctly underlined/
italicized.
* Stars are neatly colored
* Neatly completed
* No errors in spelling
* Appropriate verb choice
* More than 2 key details to
support main idea
* Ideas are well-developed
* Neatly completed
* No errors in spelling
* Appropriate word choice
* Neatly completed
* No errors in spelling
* All responses are complete
sentences
* Ideas are well-developed
* Neatly completed
* No errors in spelling
* Ideas are well-developed
* Assignment is completed with
particular attention to detail
* Everything is neatly written &
easy to read
Meets
B
Nearly Meets
C
Does Not Meet
F
* Neatly completed
* Correct spelling of both title and
author
* Stars are neatly colored
* Completed
* Stars are colored
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* Stars are not colored
* Neatly completed
* Few errors in spelling
* Appropriate verb choice
* Provides 2 key details to support
main idea
* Ideas are appropriately
development
* Neatly completed
* Few errors in spelling
* Appropriate word choice
* Completed
* Some errors in spelling
* Inappropriate verb choice
* Provides 1 key details to
support main idea
* Ideas are under-developed
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* Inappropriate verb choice.
* No development of ideas
* Completed
* Some errors in spelling
* Some chosen words are not
appropriate
* Completed
* Some errors in spelling
* Some responses are not
complete sentences
* Ideas are under-developed
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* Chosen words are not
appropriate
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* Responses are not
complete sentences
* No development of ideas
* Completed
* Some errors in spelling
* Ideas are under-developed
* Not completed
* Errors in spelling
* No development of ideas
* Assignment are difficult to read
* Assignment is illegible.
* Neatly completed
* Few errors in spelling
* All responses are complete
sentences
* Ideas are appropriately
developed
* Neatly completed
* Few errors in spelling
* Ideas are appropriately
developed
* Assignment is neatly written &
easy to read
Summer Reading Pack
Complete the following based on the book you chose.
Your writing must be neat and legible, and all questions must be answered in complete sentences.
I. Introduction
The book I read over the summer was ___________________________________________________________________________
by __________________________________________________________________. I would give this book _____ out of five stars.

Color in your rating.
II. Academic Summary (45 points) Complete the academic summary by filling in the blanks.
In the ______________, _______________________________________________________________________________________,
type of text
title of text
____________________________________________________ ______________ the topic of _______________________________
topic/issue of text
precise verb A
full name of author (first & last)
____________________________________________________. _______ ______________ that ____________________________
She/He/They
precise verb B
main idea/point of text
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Continue with at least 2 key details that support the main idea.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Ultimately, what _______________________ ______________ is ______________________________________________________
conveys/argues/explains/examines
author’s last name
restate main idea/purpose
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Precise Verbs
Precise Verbs A
addresses discusses examines
explores
considers questions
scrutinizes contests criticizes
elaborates on
reflects on
analyzes
debates
opposes
disputes
comments on
argues for
focuses on
Precise Verbs B
asserts
claims
believes
argues
posits
notes
proposes
suggests implies
maintains
declares
infers
states
concedes
intimates
III. Vocabulary (50 points) Complete the grid with 15 unfamiliar words from your chosen book.
WORD
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
PART
OF
SPEECH
DEFINITION
SENTENCE
IV. Questions (50 points) Your responses must be in complete sentences.
1. Why did you choose the book you selected?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Make connections with your selected book.
Text-to-Text
Connect something in the story to
another story you have read.
Text-to-World
Connect something in the story to past or
current world events.
Text-to-Self
Connect something in the story to your
own life.
3. Make a list of three questions you have after reading your selected book.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Which event in the story impacted/touched you the most? Why?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What did you learn from reading your selected book?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
V. Creative Project Menu (50 points) Choose one of the following projects to complete.
1. ILLUSTRATED QUOTE Choose a quotation from the book you selected that is interesting or meaningful to you. On a sheet of
paper, write the quote artistically and draw related pictures. Then explain the quotes meaning and significance.
2. CHILDREN’S ABC BOOK Create an alphabet book that focuses on key events, characters, ideas, and plot information from the
book you selected. Include an illustration on each page as well as three to five sentences explaining each letter of the alphabet.
Make sure your creation looks like a children’s book, complete with an appealing book cover with the title and author, and colorful
illustrations on each page. Do NOT use lined paper, and make sure all writing is either typed or written in black ink.
3. SKETCHES Choose three scenes from the book you selected and sketch them out. Next, do a write up explaining why you chose
each scene and its significance to the book.
4. SOUNDTRACK Create a soundtrack for the book you selected. Your list must have at least ten songs. You must also write an
explanation of how each song relates to the book and why you chose it. You should also create cover art work.