Grade 8

2008-2009

Choose one book from the list. Read the book and keep a journal. Get a sewn copybook. After each chapter, write a brief summary of that chapter. You only need about four or five sentences so you get the main idea of the chapter. Label each paragraph. Your paragraph should include the major events of the story. You will be asked to write a summary of the book in September. Create a list of the major characters in the story. Find at least twenty new words from the book. Write the definition of each word and also write an original sentence. You only need to keep a journal for the book you choose from the reading list. I recommend that you write a short summary of The Outsiders so you can refresh your memory in September.

You are assigned two books. The first is The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Everyone must read this book. There will be a test in September.

You may choose one of the following books:

The Contender by Robert Lipsyte

I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier

True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

The Land by Mildred Taylor

Maizon at Blue Hill by Jacqueline Woodson

Students working with Mrs. O'Brien may read

145th Street Short Stories by Walter Dean Myers

All these books can be found at The Free Library of Philadelphia.

Enjoy your summer reading