All incoming fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students are to read the required books, listed by grade level. Follow the grade level requirements for reporting on the book. Please word process your essay or composition. The 8^th grade reading journal may be hand written but must be double spaced. For the essays, staple the title page to your essay. Be prepared to discuss the books you read the first week of school. These essays and presentations are your first grades for the school year. Do your best and have a great summer.

Use the following outline to write your essay. This form is an outline only. It is not your composition. Feel free to make notes on this form, but your final draft needs to be word-processed, double spaced in size 12 Times New Roman font. No other font is acceptable. Please proofread your paper for spelling, capitalization and grammatical errors before you submit it to your teacher.

Paragraph One:
This paragraph begins with an opening sentence that works as an "attention getter" for the reader. This attention getter needs to be related to the book in some way. For example, if read The Adventure of Tom Sawyer, I might begin with something like:

One of the most beloved characters of all literature is a young boy
whom many adults might think needs some lessons in proper behavior .

In addition to your "attention getter", you will need to state the title and author of the book you read, the setting and a sentence that states what the book is about. For example: The novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, is about the many mischievous events of a young boy and his friends as they learn some very important life lessons. These events occur in the late nineteen hundreds in the southern part of the United States. Finally, you will need a sentence that works to transition to the paragraph that follows this one.

Paragraph Two:
This paragraph introduces and explains the relationships of the main characters in the book you read. Try to describe each main character completely, as if they were someone I might meet. A good way to organize this paragraph is to introduce the characters in order of importance.

Paragraph Three:
This paragraph explains the conflict(s) of the story. This is the problem and how the problem is solved or dealt with. The events or plot of the book are also referred to in this paragraph since that is where the conflict(s) occurs. Often you can find the conflict by asking the following questions:

Do not merely state the conflict. Prove, through referring to events in the book, that this conflict really exists. It is not enough to say, the conflict is man versus society. Your claim must be proven through examples.

Paragraph Four:
This paragraph explains the theme of the book. The theme is different from what the book is about. To find it, you need to ask yourself, what did the main character(s) learn? This is the key to figuring out the theme. Theme is not stated directly, but must be inferred by the reader. For example, a possible theme for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer might be: The laws of society don't often seem fair or even logical. If this is a valid theme, then the events of the story will reinforce it as will the lesson(s) the main character learns.

Paragraph Five:

It is this final paragraph that you will also give your opinion of this theme and the book itself.

Turn in your journal and your essay on the first day of school. Essays should be double spaced and either typed Times New Roman font size 12 or written neatly in ink. Journals should be neatly written in ink and double spaced. These will be your first grades for the quarter.  In August there will also be a discussion and test on the required books.

8th Graders may choose additional books to read as well.  Students will receive extra credit for these additional readings if they complete note cards on each additional book chosen.  Each completed note card should be in the following format:

Arthur Dent escapes the planet Earth a few seconds before it is demolished to make way for an intergalactic freeway. With his friend, Ford Prefect, he hitches rides to different parts of the galaxy and takes part in several humorous adventures.

The adventures of a group of rabbits, who search for a place where they can live in peace. An allegory of human society.

An autobiography of a boy growing up on an Indian reservation and facing life outside of his comfort zone.

A Catholic American girl falls in love with a young Holocaust survivor, against her parents’ wishes. Based on a little-known camp in Oswego, NY, where Jewish refugees were held during World War II.

When Thomas opens a secret file on his father’s computer, he discovers that in his "perfect" futuristic world , nothing is what it seems.

A classic coming of age story, which takes place in the West during World War II.

A Victorian love story, involving a strong-willed governess and her brooding employer.

A black boy and an emotionally troubled white boy form a friendship based on their common interest in basketball.

A science fiction classic involving a race of aliens who bring peace and prosperity to the Earth, but who take away the freedom of mankind.

A high school student becomes first a hero and then a victim through intimidation and the misuse of power.

Three teenagers from a rough part of Newark, NJ make a promise to help each other get to college.

The death of a high school basketball star in an auto accident profoundly affects the life of his best friend, who was driving the car.

A coming of age story about an Indian/black girl searching for connections with family and her own identity.

Eleven-year-old Ruben narrates the story of his family’s journey throughout the West, searching for his older brother Davy, who has been accused of murder.

In the futuristic country of Opium, Matt, a clone of the powerful drug lord, El Patron, discovers the evils of his society. An imaginative science fiction story that looks at the social implications of technology. (National Book Award)

The fictional account of a black woman who was born into slavery and lived to witness the racial turmoil of the 1960s.

On the day she is to be married, a pueblo Indian girl is captured by Spanish conquistadors and sold into slavery in a Mexican silver mine.

The hilarious story of a family of twelve children growing up in the 1920s.

Looking at the Harlem Renaissance through poems.

Describes the three year battle of a mentally ill teenage girl and her relationship with her doctor.

Grimes, Nikki    Bronx Masquerade: While studying the Harlem Renaissance, students at a Bronx high school read aloud poems they've written, revealing their innermost thoughts and fears. (Coretta Scott King award)

Haley, Alex     Roots: The chronicle of a black family, which begins in Africa in 1750 and ends in Arkansas seven generations later.

Hart, Elva Trevino     Barefoot Heart: Stories of a Migrant Child: An autobiographical account of the life of a Mexican American child, who moved back and forth between Texas and Minnesota. She eventually went to college and received a master’s degree in computer science/engineering.

The story of a small town in the 1920s and its involvement with the Ku Klux clan.

A young Jewish girl writes letters to her cousin, describing her family's escape from Russia in 1919 and their jouney to America.

A family is shattered when their eleven-year-old daughter is diagnosed with AIDS.

A girl living in a small Louisiana town in the 1950s must choose whether to care for her mentally handicapped parents or move in with her glamorous aunt in Baton Rouge.

The story of a young black girl growing up on Antigua and her relationship with her mother.

A personal account of the Mt. Everest disaster.

Jonas, a young boy from a seemingly utopian, futuristic world, is chosen to receive special training from The Giver, who holds the memories of joy and pain. The theme of balancing the values of freedom and security is skillfully presented. (Newbery Medal)

In a barbaric society of the future, a crippled orphan girl with a talent for weaving  is given the responsibility of preserving the memory of the culture. A companion volume to The Giver – read The Giver first.

An unusual teenaged girl who embarks on a wild expedition to Antarctica with her lunatic Uncle Victor.

The story of a young man’s tour of duty in Vietnam.

Follows five generations of an African-American family from slavery to the present.

Miracle McCloy struggles to become a prodigy like her writer father and a psychic like her grandmother.  In the process she has to discover who she really is and has to find truth in the midst of lies told by her family. (National Book Award)

Eleven-year old Angel Morgan is in charge of her dysfunctional family. A mysterious stranger befriends Angel and teaches her about the stars and planets.

China Redd, great-granddaughter of a slave named Cally, has cooked and cleaned for the white branch of the Redd family for nearly 50 years.  This is the story of her family.

Pullman, Philip   The Golden Compass (and series)

A fantasy story in which a girl tries to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming subjects of gruesome science experiments in the far north.

David Balfour’s evil uncle has him kidnapped and sold into slavery.

A story of the early years of Merlin.

In 1935 the Logan family watches as their black friend is charged with murder and tried by a hostile all-white jury.

A prominent black physician writes about her amazing father, who insisted that his five children receive an education.

A car accident causes 15-year old Izzy to lose one leg. She has to make major adjustments at school and in her personal life.