We believe that learning is a year-round endeavor.  Consequently, summer vacation is a wonderful time for children to enjoy reading while simultaneously reinforcing skills and strategies learned throughout the academic year.  In addition to setting high standards for our students, the purpose of this reading assignment is to encourage incoming seventh graders to enjoy reading and to view it as a means to gain valuable knowledge.

Rising 7th Grade Students

Over the summer, each student entering seventh grade is required to read ONE book of the three listed below:   

• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is a realistic fiction novel about fourteen-year-old Ponyboy, his brothers, and his friends as poor outcasts--"greasers." They have little but always stick together. After they're victims of the town's "socs (socials)--kids with lots of money, tough cars, and chips on their shoulders--everyone comes to realize how deep and serious their divide is.
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• The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake is a novel about seventh-grader Maleeka Madison, a miserable kid when new teacher, Miss Saunders, comes to her depressed inner-city school. Miss Saunders is self-assured in spite of the white birthmark across her black skin and prone to getting into kids' faces about both their behavior and their academic potential. Their conflict influences Maleeka on her journey through acceptance and self-confidence.
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• Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson is a realistic fiction novel about Louise and her selfish, twin sister Caroline. Louise knew that Caroline was the one that everyone loved, but she finally begins to find her own identity and overcome her jealousy.
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Rising 8th Grade Students

Over the summer, each student entering eighth grade is required to read ONE book of the two listed below:

• The Maze Runner  by James Dashner – Thomas wakes up in an elevator, remembering nothing but his own name. He emerges into a world of about 60 teenagers living in their environment within a huge maze, completely cut off from anyone who will help them. Then a stranger is found within the maze, and everything they believed about making it out of the maze changes.
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• Ender’s Game  by Orson Scott Card – A young boy is taken to a training camp where he is forced to play games of strategy. What he doesn’t know is that there is a larger role for him in these games, and that he will ultimately have to make a decision that will affect all of humankind. 
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To validate that the students have read the books, each student will take an AR test on the novel he or she selected within the first quarter of school.  Furthermore, students are required to keep an informal STUDY GUIDE NOTEBOOK while reading.  They should keep notes about the PLOT, CHARACTERS, and CONFLICTS in the story.

All books are available at the local libraries, Barnes & Noble and Ed McKay bookstores and online at www.amazon.com, www.bn.com and available for download on Nooks, Kindles and other eReading devices.  We look forward to meeting or seeing you again.  Have an enjoyable and relaxing summer.  Happy Reading!