Summer ELA Assignment

Dear Students,

This summer, you are going to have the opportunity to select from a variety of activities that correlate with articles and narratives published by Scholastic, Inc. as well as on skills we will be focusing on in English Language Arts next year. I am requiring each student entering the 7th and 8th grades to complete any five of the fifteen activities described on the attached sheet by Friday, September 8th, 2017.

You will have access to 3 Scholastic publications. Go to scholastic.com and login using the following classroom passwords: Scope Magazine -----> steakcalm691 Junior Scholastic ----> hopeschool2017 Choices -----> teaplum464

Responses can be either handwritten/typed and submitted to me when we return to school in September or completed online and shared with me using Google Docs.

I encourage you to flex your creative muscles.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me over the summer via email at [email protected].

Respectfully, Ms. Encin Keep a Reading Log! What is the Text’s Meaning? Lazy Editor

Keep a reading log of titles of the An objective summary is writing that Print out THREE Lazy Editor articles and books you read over one can verify through evidence and articles from Scope magazine the summer. Don’t limit your list facts. You should remain as neutral and complete the Find It/Fix It just to your summer reading as possible through the use of facts, activity for each. assignment - I’d love to see what statistics, and research. types of reading you gravitate towards and enjoy. Read a nonfiction article and compose an objective summary. Use the attached handout to guide you.

You Write It! What Do You Think? Text Features

They did the research now you Read a debate and respond to the Print out a nonfiction article write the story! following questions for each side of from Scope and label both the the debate. print and visual features that Many issues of Scope magazine 1. What is the author’s claim? were used. include an infographic. Write an 2. What type(s) of evidence article using the data presented by does the author use to make the editors of the magazine. (Keep his or her point? (personal in mind that the purpose of your experiences, data, expert writing should match the purpose advice, etc) of the infographic.) 3. Is their evidence sufficient to support their argument? 4. Whose argument, in your opinion, is stronger?

Grammar! Comprehension Quiz Understanding Fiction

This is a popular Scope feature that Read an article and create a 10 Read a short fictional piece reviews commonly confused words. question quiz including one writing published by Scope authors Print out and complete FIVE prompt and an answer key! and respond to the close-read Grammar! activities. questions found in the margins Please keep in mind that when of the text. composing your questions that you want to make people think. On-the- line questions are not thinking questions. You Gotta Be In It to Win It! Connotative vs. Denotative You’re the Author! Meanings Each month, Scholastic offers students to an opportunity to Read an informational article of your Select a topic that you feel participate in a writing contest. choice. Make a list of words that passionate about. Then, write Read the associated piece and stood out to you, as the reader. your own OBJECTIVE, compose a response that follows Then explain WHY the word had an informational piece using the guidelines located at the end of impact within the piece as opposed statistics, scholarly research, the article. to another word. Then give an pictures, graphs and other example of a word that would be pieces of research. less impactful. Create a list of at least 10 words. (Read 2-3 articles if you need to in order to collect the 10 terms..)

Analyzing Cartoons! #ChoicesChallenge Play That Song!

Print out and analyze 3 political Each month the editors of the Read a minimum of three cartoons from Junior Scholastic by Choices magazine dare their readers articles on the same topic such responding to the following to plan and execute one LITTLE as overcoming obstacles, fake questions for each piece. thing to better yourself, your school, news, bullying, friendship, or or your community - in a BIG way! Immigration. 1. What is the title of the cartoon? Complete one challenge following Create a playlist of 5 songs that 2. Describe what is taking the guidelines laid out in the you think relate to this topic. place in the illustration.. magazine. 3. What objects do you think  Who performs each are symbols? What do they song? represent? 4. Are there any words in the  Explain in detail how cartoon? How do they help each of the songs to clarify the cartoon and relates to the topic of its meaning? the articles. 5. What point is the political cartoonist trying to make? 6. Do you think this is an effective political cartoon? Why? Or why not?