Welcome to seventh grade! We ask that you read two books this summer: choose one book from the Theme Choice Books and one Series Book of your choice. For the Theme Choice Book, please complete five thought-provoking questions for our Socratic Seminar.
Seventh Grade Theme Choice Books:
How does adversity shape one's identity?
How does adversity shape one's identity?
|
Counting by 7s, Holly Goldberg SloanWillow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life . . . until now.
Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. The triumph of this book is that it is not a tragedy. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read. Read a Sample |
|
The Outsiders, S.E. HintonNo one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he's got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends—true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit. And when it comes to the Socs—a vicious gang of rich kids who enjoy beating up on "greasers" like him and his friends—he knows that he can count on them for trouble. But one night someone takes things too far, and Ponyboy's world is turned upside down...
Written over forty-five years ago, The Outsiders is a dramatic and enduring work of fiction. S. E. Hinton's classic story of a boy who finds himself on the outskirts of regular society remains as powerful today as it was the day it was first published. Read a sample |
|
Seedfolks, Paul FleischmanA vacant lot, rat-infested and filled with garbage, looked like no place for a garden. Especially to a neighborhood of strangers where no one seems to care. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise: To Curtis, who believes he can win back Lateesha's heart with a harvest of tomatoes; to Virgil's dad, who sees a fortune to be made from growing lettuce; and even to Maricela, sixteen and pregnant, wishing she were dead.
Thirteen very different voices and perspectives—old, young, Haitian, Hispanic, tough, haunted, and hopeful—tell one amazing story about a garden that transforms a neighborhood. Read a sample |
|
Lord of the Flies, William GoldingWilliam Golding's compelling story about a group of very ordinary small boys marooned on a coral island has become a modern classic. At first it seems as though it is all going to be great fun; but the fun before long becomes furious and life on the island turns into a nightmare of panic and death. As ordinary standards of behaviour collapse, the whole world the boys know collapses with them—the world of cricket and homework and adventure stories—and another world is revealed beneath, primitive and terrible.Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies has established itself as a true classic.
"Lord of the Flies is one of my favorite books. That was a big influence on me as a teenager, I still read it every couple of years." —Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games "As exciting, relevant, and thought-provoking now as it was when Golding published it in 1954." —Stephen King |
|
Out of My Mind, Sharon M. DraperFrom award-winning author Sharon Draper comes Out of My Mind, the story of a brilliant girl who cannot speak or write.
“If there is one book teens and parents (and everyone else) should read this year, Out of My Mind should be it” (Denver Post). Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom—the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow. |
Theme Choice Book Assignment
Printable Copy of Theme Choice Book Assignment
| theme_choice_book_socratic_seminar_questions.pdf |
Seventh Grade Independent Choice Book:
For your second summer reading book, you can choose any work with your parent's permission as long as it is part of a series.
1) Series books tend to be more non-realistic in nature, but any book with a sequel, including non-fiction, is fair game.
2) Not all titles are appropriate for all readers. Parents should help students pick books that fall in their range of interests and are developmentally appropriate (these lists are suggestions for multiple grade levels).
Middle School Series Book Suggestions:
Percy Jackson books
Harry Potter books
The Hunger Games
Divergent
The Selection
Matched
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Chronicles of Narnia
The Maze Runner
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Cinder
Series of Unfortunate Events
Stargirl
Maximum Ride
1) Series books tend to be more non-realistic in nature, but any book with a sequel, including non-fiction, is fair game.
2) Not all titles are appropriate for all readers. Parents should help students pick books that fall in their range of interests and are developmentally appropriate (these lists are suggestions for multiple grade levels).
Middle School Series Book Suggestions:
Percy Jackson books
Harry Potter books
The Hunger Games
Divergent
The Selection
Matched
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Chronicles of Narnia
The Maze Runner
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Cinder
Series of Unfortunate Events
Stargirl
Maximum Ride
Harry Potter Series
|
Hunger Games Series
|
Divergent Series
|
Percy Jackson Series
|
The Matched Series
|
The Maze Runner Series
|
Narnia Series
|
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Series
|