Hull Middle School 8th Grade PROBE Summer Reading Requirements
Hull Middle School’s gifted department is committed to providing students with the best education possible and believes
that learning is a lifelong process that does not stop when the academic year ends. The school has developed a summer
reading program to further enhance students learning and to better prepare students for the future.
Our Summer Reading Program is designed to address four primary goals:
1. Enhance our students’ vocabulary.
2. Develop our students’ critical thinking ability.
3. Broaden our students’ literary base.
4. Generate and promote a love for learning.
All rising 8th grade PROBE Language Arts students are required to read TWO books from the list below; at least
one book has to be from the “Classics” column.
For the first book, students are required to complete the general 8th grade summer reading assignment (attached).
Students will read a second book from the list and complete a movie poster project (see attached directions).
Both summer assignments are due the first week of school.
Novel Selections (Parents should preview and approve student choices):
Classics
More Current
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Land by Mildred D. Taylor
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
Louis Stevenson
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
White Fang by Jack London
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck
1984 by George Orwell
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O’Brien
Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson
Does My Head Look Big in This? By Randa Abdel-Fattah
Day of Tears by Julius Lester
Epic by Connor Kostick
Good Enough by Paula Yoo
Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Code Orange by Caroline B. Cooney
The Tomorrow Code by Brian Falkner
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (or any book in the series)
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Bruiser by Neal Shusterman
Summer Reading Assignment #1- Summer Reading Log
Please complete the attached summer reading log using one of the books that you have chosen from the list on page one.
Summer Reading Assignment #2 - Movie Poster
The assignment must include the following visual and written elements:
Visual Element: Create a movie poster for the second novel you chose using half of a poster board. All
information on the poster should be aesthetically pleasing and easily readable.
 Title and author – Both should be clearly visible on the top of the poster.
 Picture – Draw a picture that represents the novel as a whole. The picture cannot be the same as any
book cover or previous movie poster (if the book is already a movie).
 Tagline/Slogan – There should be a movie tagline somewhere on the poster. The tagline should reflect
the overall premise of the movie/novel. It should be creative. For example, the tagline for the movie
The Green Mile is: “Paul Edgecomb didn’t believe in miracles, until the day he met one.”
 Actors- Decide which major actors will play the main characters of the novel, and list them on the
poster.
 Movie Rating- Base your decision on the events in the book and make sure the movie rating is visible at
the bottom of the poster.
 Producer – you – make sure your name is included
Written Element: This should be typed using a readable 12-point font (NO cursive or specialty fonts please)
ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER. Please do not attach this to the poster. Single space each line of the
paragraphs, but double-space between each paragraph. Each paragraph should be clearly labeled.
 Picture – Write a one paragraph explanation of the picture drawn on the poster to represent the book.
Use text evidence to support your explanation.
 Tagline – Write a one paragraph explanation of how the tagline written on the poster reflects the overall
premise of the movie/novel. Use text evidence to support your explanation.
 Actors- Write at least a one paragraph explanation of why you matched each actor with his/her novel
character. Use text evidence to support your choice.
 Movie Rating- Write a one paragraph explanation of why you chose the rating. Use text evidence to
support your choice.
 Song- Choose one song that you feel expresses one major theme of the novel. Write a one paragraph
explanation of how the song and theme relate using text evidence from the novel and the song lyrics.
8th Grade PROBE Language Arts
Summer Reading Log
Name___________________________________
Book Title: _________________________________________ Author: ______________________
DETAILS
ANALYSIS
Who is the protagonist (main character) of the novel?
Describe him or her:
What are the protagonist’s strengths? What are his/her
weaknesses?
Describe at least three minor characters.
Which was the most important minor character? Explain why.
Name three most important events that occur in the book:
Explain why each event listed on the left is important:
1.
2.
3.
Describe the main setting:
Explain why the main setting was a significant part of the book.
How did it affect the plot?
What did the main character learn about life?
What did you learn about life from the novel?