1
EIGHTHGRADE
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TheMiddleSchoolatLipscombAcademySummerReadingPhilosophy
Continuedpracticeofreadingskillsisacornerstoneofasolid,wellrounded
education.Adolescentcognitivedevelopmentrequirescontinualstimulationinorderto
maintaintheprogressmadeduringthepreviousschoolyear.Confidentreaders
becomeconfidentcommunicatorswhoarewellpreparedforthe21stcentury.
Youwillsoonbereceivinginformationabouthowtoaccessthenewallschoolread,The
BoysintheBoatbyDanielJamesBrown(YoungReaders’Edition).Thetwoother
bookswhichneedtobefinishedbyourreturntoschoolareThePigmanbyPaulZindel,
andTomSawyerbyMarkTwain.TomSawyerisnolongercopyrighted,sothereare
freeonlineeditions.(BesuretoreadThePigmanratherthanoneofitssequelsThe
PigmanandMeorThePigman’sLegacy,althoughtheyareavailabletoyoulater.)
Ihaveattachedawrittenassignmentrelatedtoeachoneofthesebooksthatneedstobe
completedandturnedintomewhenschoolbegins.Sincesummerreadingisrequired
ratherthanoptional,eachbookassignmentwillreceiveagradeforEnglishclass.A
parentmustinitialeachoneofthethreebooksontheformonthenextpagetoverifythat
yousawyourchildreadingthebooksselectedandthat,tothebestofyourknowledge,
s/hecompletedthem.
Hopefully,summerreadingwillnotstopatthreebooks.IfyouhaveneverreadThe
LightningThiefbyRickRiordan,youreallyshouldreadittoobecauseitwillbegreat
preparationforourstudyofGreekmythology.BelowisalistofothersIstrongly
recommend.Letmeknowanyadditionalbooksyouread,whetherfromthislistornot!
Ilookforwardtodiscussingallthreebooks(andmanyothers)withyouinthefall!
Mrs.Piper
8THGRADEAdditionalSUMMERREADINGLISTsuggestions:
1.TheGiverLowry
2.AnyoneofRedwallseriesJacques

3.ArtemisFowlCoifer
4.Brian’sWinter–Paulsen (boys)

2
5.ChasingRedbird–Creech(girls)
6.ColdSassyTreeOliveBurns
7.Dicey’sSong–Voigt(girls)
8.EragonPaolini
9.InkheartFunke
10.MatchedCondie(girls)
11.AndThenThereWereNone–Christie
12.RiflesforWatie–Keith(boys)
13.RollofThunder,HearMyCry–Taylor
14.RosesforMama–Oke(girls)
15.StormbreakerHorowitz
16.TheMysteriousBenedictSocietyStewart
17.TheOutsiders–Hinton
18.ThatWasThen;ThisIsNow(sequel)–Hinton

19.TheShakespeareStealerBlackwood

20.TheHobbit–Tolkien
21.UgliesWesterfield(girls)

22.TheWitchofBlackbirdPondSpeare
23.TheYearling–Rawlings
24.WildernessPeril–Dygard(boys)
25.UpaRoadSlowly–Hunt(girls)
26.AirbornOppel
27.DivergentRoth
28.TheSelectionCass(girls)
29.UnwindShustermann
30.CoverUp:MysteryattheSuperBowl–Feinstein
Pleasereturnthispagesigned.Theassignmentsareonthenextpage.Noassignmentis
requiredforany“bonus”book.
TitleofBookDateCompletedStudentSignatureParentInitials
1. TheBoysintheBoat
2. ThePigman
3. TomSawyer
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
3
Assignment1:
Onaseparatepieceofnotebookpaper,makeafivequestionmultiplechoicetestforThe
BoysintheBoat.WritefouransweroptionsforeachquestionandlabelthemA,B,C,
and D.  Make two of your questions about plot, two about characters, and one about
setting.Besuretheansweroptionscoverawiderangeofthebook’spages.Below#5,
writethewordKEYandlistthefivecorrectanswers.
Assignment#2:ThePigman
Onnotebookpaper,answeranythreeofthefollowingfourtopics:
1. IfJohnandLorrainewereputontrialforkillingMr.Pignati,whatdoyouthink
theverdictwouldbeandwhy?Writeatleastfivesentences.
2. Thisbookwaspublishedin1968,yetitseemsverymodern.Whatareatleasttwo
orthree“clues”youspottedasyoureadthebookthatshowitsage?
3. Why do this book’s chapters alternate being “written” by the two main
characters?
4. Whodoyoufeelthemostsympathyfor:John,Lorraine,orMr.Pignati?Discuss
atleastthreeofthatcharacter’s“issues.”
Assignment#3:TomSawyer
Onnotebookpaper,answeranythreeofthefollowingfourtopicswithseveralsentences
each:
1. DiscussatleastthreeoftheconflictsTomhas.
2. Whodoyouthinkisthestrongestfemalecharacterinthisstoryandwhy?
3. IsTwain’sportrayerof“Injun”Joeracist?Whyorwhynot?
4. Whataresomethemesinthisstory,andaretheyoutdatednow,ordoesthestory
stillhaverelevance?
Listanyotherbooksyoureadthissummeronthechartonpage2.Happyreading!
Mrs.BetsyPiper
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