Mr. Shewey`s Eighth Grade Summer Reading List You will read

Mr. Shewey’s
Eighth Grade Summer Reading List
You will read three books this summer for my class.
Required Read: Number The Stars: Lois Lowery
Second required read: A non-fiction of your choice that meets the following requirements:
This book must be an AR approved book with a Book level (BL) score of 7.0 or above.
Third required read: A free read selection of your choice that meets the following requirements: This book must be an AR approved book with a book level (BL) of 7.0 or above*. *AR approved books: http://www.arbookfind.com/ Use this link to verify if a book is AR approved. Type in the Author or book title, the book and its information will be on the screen with a quiz number and Book Level (BL) Score if it is an AR book. Assignments: Book one: Complete the attached Picture book or newspaper project. Books two and three: You will take the AR quizzes on these books when you return to school. A note to students and parents: Many current studies show that when young people are not engaged in educational activities
during the summer, they experience learning loss. These studies also suggest that reading just
five books over the summer can help prevent this summer learning loss.
Students, I have only assigned three books for you to read over the course of the summer; it is
my hope that you will challenge yourself to read five books this summer.
Parents, studies also show that students read more when they can choose materials based on
their own interests. Self-selection, access to books, and sharing books are essential factors in
reading motivation. I have provided your children with the opportunity to choose two books that
they must read over the summer please guide your children and help them choose appropriate
books that meet the AR book requirements. The summer is a great time to introduce your
children to the books you loved as a child! I will try to check my e-mail each Wednesday this
summer to answer any questions you may have.
God Bless,
Steven Shewey
Choose one and only one of the following assignments:
Due the first day of school.
Choice 1.
Make a Picture Book.
Create a picture book version of Number the Stars that will appeal to young readers. You will
need to decide what to incorporate and what to change about the novel. Your picture version
should demonstrate your understanding of this book. Use any young reader books as an
exemplar. Your audience will be 1st and 2nd graders.
Please use Word, Publisher, or PowerPoint and bring it in saved to a flash drive.
Choice 2.
In the News
Create the front page of a newspaper that tells about events and characters in the book you just
read. The newspaper page might include weather reports, an editorial or editorial cartoon, ads,
etc. The title of the newspaper should be something appropriate to the book. Model your project
upon a real newspaper’s front page. Your Audience will be your classmates.
You can use a poster or create a computerized version of this project.
Parents and Students: Following are some strategies to follow before, during, and after reading your book. These strategies will help you become a stronger active reader. Before reading your book, ask yourself: • What can I predict about the book from the front and back cover? • What questions do I have about the book? While reading, ask yourself: • Can I relate any part of this book to an event in my life? • What do I notice about the author’s style of writing? • What is a question that one of the characters seems to be struggling with in the story? How does this character seek answers or advice to resolve the question? • How would the book be different if told from a different point of view? • How does the setting of the book influence the characters’ actions and decisions? After reading: • Identify a decision or choice made by a character. Do you agree with this decision? Why or why not? • In what ways can I relate the choices the characters made to choice I have made in my own life? • What questions do I have about an event or character in the book? • Describe a point in the story at which you did not want to put the book down or could not wait to find out what happened next. What made that moment in the plot so compelling? Possible books selections: Classic Literature recommended for 8th graders.
Oliver Twist, or A Christmas Carol
The Count of Monte Cristo
Any of the Chronicles of Narnia
Animal Farm
Lord of the Flies
Julius Caesar, or Romeo and Juliet
Charles Dickens
Alexandre Dumas
C.S. Lewis
George Orwell
William Golding
William Shakespeare
Diary of a Young Girl
Little Women
Fahrenheit 451
Anne Frank
Louisa May Alcott
Ray Bradbury
The following books are closely related
to the themes of the text in our
Literature Book.
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton
Peck
Missing May
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
•
Robert Newton Peck
The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber
Call of the Wild
James Thurber
Jack London
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
Things not Seen
Irene Hunt
Andrew Clements
Cynthia Rylant
Sharon Creech
The following are high interest series
for reluctant readers:
Ranger’s Apprentice or any books from this
series.
The Lightning Thief or any of the books from
this series. Or his second series The Heroes of
Olympus
John Flanagan
Rick Riordan