Dear Middle School Students,

Attached are your assignments for summer homework. This summer, you will

have a project (the S.V.P.) and a book to read. The project and book are both for your

English class. The goal of the S.V.P. is to keep up your writing skills during the

summer, and allow your teachers to see these skills when you return to school. The

goal of the summer reading is a) to give us a literature unit to begin together when we

return, and b) to keep your own reading skills from getting rusty over the summer. All

assignments are due on the SECOND day of school, August 30th. Pace yourself, so that

you can enjoy the assignments. Do not leave them to the last minute, because then it

will be stressful and you will not be able to show your best work. These are meant to

be a FUN way for you to keep learning this summer!

Sincerely,

Your Teachers

Summer Reading:

In bold at the top of each list is the book that you are required to read

for your grade level. You ONLY need to read this book; there will be no

assignments for it until school resumes.

The other books listed are optional; they are recommendations if you are

looking for a book to read in order to occupy yourself this summer.

You can find these books at a bookstore or at a LIBRARY.

ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!

Eighth Grade

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (estimated reading time: 2 weeks)

Animal Farm by George Orwell

White Fang by Jack London

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

Night Hoops by Carl Deuker

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar

A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

Emma by Jane Austen

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

The House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Death Cloud by Andrew Lane

Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James Swanson

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkln

The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson

Seventh Grade

Call of the Wild by Jack London (estimated reading time: 3 weeks)

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

Midnight Magic by Avi

Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin

The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake

Heat by Mike Lupica

SLAM! by Walter Dean Myers

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Facts of Life by Gary Soto

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman

Charles and Emma: the Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman

Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift’s “Chocolate Pilot” by Michael O. Tunnel

The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine

Flygirl by Sherri Smith

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen

The River by Gary Paulsen

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

Road Trip by Gary Paulsen and Jim Paulsen

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

Sixth Grade

No required book

The Dolphins of Shark Bay by Pamela S. Turner

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Buddy by M.H. Herlong

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Crash by Jerry Spinelli

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini by Sid Fleischman

Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielson

Airborn Kenneth Oppel

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

H.I.V.E.: The Higher Institute of Villainous Education by Mark Walden

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Apothecary by Maile Meloy

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelson

Peak by Roland Smith

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

The Black Pearl by Scott O’Dell

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Tesla’s Attic by Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman

Hook’s Revenge by Heidi Shulz

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle

Additional Reading Suggestions (6-8)

Squids Will Be Squids: Fresh Morals,

Beastly Fables by Jon Scieszka

Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen

by Lloyd Alexander

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

The Marvelous Misadventures of

Sebastian by Lloyd Alexander

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by

Dorothy Hoobler

The Schernoff Discoveries by Gary

Paulsen

A Murder for Her Majesty by Beth

Hilgartner

Who Was That Masked Man,

Anywway? By Avi

Castaways of the Flying Dutchman by

Brian Jacques

The Wednesday Wars by Gary

Schmidt

Jesse by Gary Soto

The Fire Pony by Rodman Philbrick

The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox

Scrib by Davis Ives

River Rats by Caroline Stevermer

Victory by Susan Cooper

Flunked by Jen Calonita

It’s Like This, Cat by Emily Cheney

Neville

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey

Count Karlstein by Philip Pullman

Space Station Seventh Grade by Jerry

Spinelli

The King’s Shadow by Elizabeth Alder

Misty’s Twilight by Marguerite Henry

The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer

Mistress Pat by Lucy Maud

Montgomery

Half Magic by Edward Edgar

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Five Little Peppers and How they Grew

by Margaret Sidney

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria

Forester

My Side of the Mountain by Jean

Craighead George

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

The Andromeda Strain by Michael

Crichton

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline

Woodson

Dogs of War by Sheila Keenan

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

The Iron Trial by Holly Black

Masterminds by Gordon Korman

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L.

Holm

(Summer Vacation Project)

Dear Saint Monica’s student,

This summer, your main project will be the summer vacation project. For this project, you will take photos and write a paragraph to accompany each picture. You have the freedom to take pictures of anything you want! This project will serve as your way to introduce yourself to new classmates and share some fun things that you did over vacation.

Each picture must be described in at least one paragraph (5 or more sentences). I am looking for pictures of vacation trips, family get-togethers, daily life, hanging with friends, anything cool and interesting that makes your summer awesome!

Your finished S.V.P. is due to your English teacher on the second day of school. For 7th and 8th graders, your S.V.P. must include at least 15 pictures and paragraphs. For 6th graders, you must include at least 8 pictures and paragraphs. For all grades, each of your paragraphs must be on the same page as the picture it is describing. I suggest using a notebook in which to write your paragraphs; then, simply glue your pictures in once they are developed or printed.

This project requires you to work throughout the summer. You have ALL summer to complete this project, so start taking pictures now! This is supposed to be fun, and a great way to capture your summer memories. Once you return to school you will be expected to share your S.V.P. with the rest of your class.

Have a fun summer!

Sincerely, Your Teachers

Summer Vacation Project Rubric (6th)

Total Points: /30

Category 10 7 4 1Pictures 8 different and

visually interesting pictures that capture your summer are glued securely to the descriptive paragraph.

6-7 different and visually interesting pictures that capture your summer are attached to the descriptive paragraph.

4-5 different pictures that capture your summer are poorly attached to the descriptive paragraph.

Less than 4 pictures are included.

Paragraphs

8 thoughtful, well-written paragraphs (of at least 5 sentences each) that describe their corresponding picture are included.

6-7 well-written paragraphs (of at least 5 sentences each) that describe their corresponding picture are included.

4-5 well-written paragraphs (of at least 5 sentences each) that describe their corresponding picture are included.

Less than 4 paragraphs (of at least 5 sentences each) that describe their corresponding picture are included.

Presentation

Makes excellent use of handwriting, colors, stickers, etc. to enhance the SVP.

Makes good use of handwriting, colors, stickers, etc. to enhance the SVP.

Makes use of handwriting, colors, stickers, etc. but occasionally these detract from the SVP.

Use of handwriting, color, stickers, etc. is either not present or distracts significantly from the SVP.

Summer Vacation Project Rubric (7th & 8th)

Category 8 5 3 1Pictures 15 different and

visually interesting pictures that capture your summer are glued securely to the descriptive paragraph.

12-14 different and visually interesting pictures that capture your summer are attached to the descriptive paragraph.

8-11 different pictures that capture your summer are poorly attached to the descriptive paragraph.

Less than 8 pictures are included.

Paragraphs

15 thoughtful, well-written paragraphs (of at least 5 sentences each) that describe their corresponding picture are included.

12-14 well-written paragraphs (of at least 5 sentences each) that describe their corresponding picture are included.

8-11 well-written paragraphs (of at least 5 sentences each) that describe their corresponding picture are included.

Less than 8 paragraphs (of at least 5 sentences each) that describe their corresponding picture are included.

Mechanics 5 or fewer misspellings or grammatical errors.

6-9 misspellings and/or mechanical errors.

10-13 misspellings and/or grammatical errors.

14 or more errors in spelling and/or grammar.

Presentation

Makes excellent use of handwriting, colors, stickers, etc. to enhance the SVP.

Makes good use of handwriting, colors, stickers, etc. to enhance the SVP.

Makes use of handwriting, colors, stickers, etc. but occasionally these detract from the SVP.

Use of handwriting, color, stickers, etc. is either not present or distracts significantly from the SVP.

Oral Presentation

Delivery is interesting, well rehearsed and holds audience attention.

Delivery is rehearsed and mostly holds audience attention.

Delivery is not smooth, but able to hold audience attention some of the time.

Delivery is not smooth and audience attention is lost.

Total Points: /40