Bethel School District 2015 Summer Reading Assignment: Grade SEVEN

Dear students and parents, Summer reading is an important part of the Bethel School District culture. It is a vital experience that keeps kids learning even when the school year is over. In addition to fostering a joy of reading, current research indicates that increased summer reading helps students maintain skills and avoid learning loss. However, summer reading does more than preserve the skills of the previous school year; by exploring a shared text, students have a common experience with their classmates to begin the school year in September. Finally, when students complete an assignment accompanying the text, teachers can provide valuable feedback to students to set them up for success throughout the coming year.

Bethel’s goals for assigning summer reading are: 1. To ask students to demonstrate their knowledge of and interaction with an extended text 2. To allow students to practice skills that will be reinforced or built upon during the next year of instruction 3. To foster the habits of mind demonstrated by successful readers

Students entering seventh grade will have the opportunity to study the concept of choices. Students will examine characters and people who, for personal or cultural reasons, have made choices about the way they live their lives. For summer reading, students must select a book related to the concept of choices.

Some titles that address the concept of CHOICES include:  Red Kayak* by Priscilla Cummings  Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers  The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton  Gym Candy by Carl Dueker  Touching the Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen In order to document your thinking and interaction with the text, please complete the following assignment:

 Part I: Before Reading - Respond to an anticipation guide: See page two for the guide and directions.  Part II: During Reading - As you read the novel, you must document your thoughts and reactions by keeping a double-entry journal. Effective readers respond to text in a variety of ways; therefore, you are expected to respond using each option given at least once. Please see the attached template for more details and support.

This assignment is due on September 11 th , 2015 (the first Friday of the school year) and will be collected in your English Language Arts class.

If a student fails to complete the assignment by the specified due date, (s)he will  Miss out on valuable feedback from the teacher  Be unable to participate in and benefit from collaborative discussion with peers

Grade Seven Summer Reading 2015: Bethel School District (DUE 9/11/2015)  Not earn credit for the work

First and Last Name 6th Grade Humanities Teacher

7th Grade Summer Reading Packet – DUE September 11 th , 2015

Choices Anticipation Guide PART I – BEFORE READING: This anticipation guide will give you the opportunity to explore YOUR thinking about choices, one of the major ideas in your summer reading book. For each of the following quotations, circle the number that matches your opinion about each quote:

1 = Strongly Agree 2 = Agree 3 = Disagree 4 = Strongly Disagree

Before Reading 1 2 3 4 “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” -JK Rowling 1 2 3 4 “We are our choices.” -Jean-Paul Sartre 1 2 3 4 “We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are.” -JK Rowling 1 2 3 4 “I find the best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.” -Steve Mariboli 1 2 3 4 “The choices you make now, the people you surround yourself with, they all have the potential to affect your life, even who you are, forever.” -Sarah Dessen 1 2 3 4 “It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” -Roy Disney 1 2 3 4 “Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with.” -Brodi Ashton 1 2 3 4 “The hardest choices in life aren't between what's right and what's wrong but between what's right and what's best.” -Jamie Ford

Which statement do you feel the most strongly about? In complete sentences, explain your answer. Be VERY specific and use examples from your life to support your response. If you need more space, answer on a separate sheet of paper.

Grade Seven Summer Reading 2015: Bethel School District (DUE 9/11/2015)

PART II – DURING READING: DOUBLE-ENTRY JOURNAL

1. While you read you will record your thinking about and interactions with the text using the double-entry journal format. Your double-entry journal must contain at least 10 entries. 2. The left column is used to record significant quotations from the text. The quotations you choose do not have to be character dialogue. A quotation can range from a single sentence to a short paragraph, as long as it is important or meaningful to your understanding of the book. Place this text excerpt in quotation marks and include the page number. 3. The right column is used for commenting on the quotations; your commenting options are listed below. Effective readers respond to text in a variety of ways; therefore, YOU MUST USE EACH OF THE OPTIONS BELOW AT LEAST ONCE.

Your comments on the right must include:  Analysis of the quote’s connection to plot, character development, conflict, or theme  Connections / Associations (to similar themes or topics in other books, authors, historical events)  Questions about the book (meaning, character motivations, plot, etc.)  Analysis of diction or syntax  Predictions or inferences

Template: Quotations from Text My notes (reactions/questions/analysis) “Quotation from the text” (page #). Connections  To the plot  To a character  To a conflict  To a theme “Quotation from the text” (page #). Questions  Why did the author/character do…?  I wonder why… “Quotation from the text” (page #). Predictions/Inferences  Based on what happened here, I can infer…  Last time this happened, the character…so I can predict… “Quotation from the text” (page #). Diction/Syntax  The character’s use of complex words makes him sound…  This author uses short, choppy sentences in dialogue, which makes the characters seem angry with each other. EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE RESPONSE (prediction): “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to In this quote, Dumbledore has noticed Neville's your enemies, but even more to stand up to your bravery. Neville is brave, just as brave as anyone friends” (142). else in Gryffindor. Dumbledore reminds us that "all

Grade Seven Summer Reading 2015: Bethel School District (DUE 9/11/2015) kinds of courage" exist in the world and Neville's been participating in an important one: standing up to his friends. He's faced enemies, too, but sometimes it's just as difficult to face down your companions. Sometimes small acts of bravery are the most important, and I predict that later in the book, one of the main characters will have to stand up to his or her friends in a difficult situation that might even destroy a friendship.

In order to earn FULL CREDIT for your double-entry journal, you must fulfill the following criteria:  10 or more entries for the book  Quotations from text must be one or more sentence in length  Entries span the entire book (beginning, middle, end) and are indicated by page numbers  Work is proofread and contains no spelling errors  Student responses contain two or more complete sentences and demonstrate fully developed reactions to or thinking about the text.

Your response will earn PARTIAL OR NO CREDIT if:  There are fewer than 10 quotations and responses to the text  Quotations or analysis contain many misspelled words  Quotations from text indicate the entire book may not have been read (as indicated by page numbers)  Student responses demonstrate incomplete thoughts or connections and seem hastily written. Entries lack elaboration.

Grade Seven Summer Reading 2015: Bethel School District (DUE 9/11/2015) Common Core Connections - by completing this work, students will practice the following skills: R.7.1: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. R.7.2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of a text; provide an objective summary of the text. W.7.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. W.7.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. W.7.9: Draw evidence from literary texts to support analysis, reflection, and research

Grade Seven Summer Reading 2015: Bethel School District (DUE 9/11/2015)