Trinity Valley School
7th Grade Summer Reading 2014
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
ISBN-13: 978-1416905868
This specific edition is required, since we will be using the books in class! Please
make sure you match the ISBN when you purchase your book.
Over the summer, read Chains and two short pieces of writing: “Your Brain on Fiction” by Annie
Paul Murphy and “Why Study History” by Peter Stearns. Links to both articles will be posted on
Schoology, where the online discussion will take place. Students will receive instructions in class for
accessing Schoology over the summer. New students will receive article links and full instructions
for Schoology in their new student packets.
For Chains, you will answer 2 of the 4 questions below using the online discussion. You may choose the two questions
you wish to answer. Make sure you bring in a copy of all of the assigned summer reading texts on the first day of school
and be prepared to discuss/write about these texts.
Chains: participate in an online discussion at least 4 times over the summer (2 posts answering the questions; 2 posts
where you respond to the post of another student):
You will receive an invitation to join the 7th Grade Online Discussion by May 15rd. Complete instructions are posted on
the online discussion site. Ms. Harper will be available via email and on Schoology throughout the summer in case you
have questions or need help accessing the online discussion site: harpert@trinityvalleyschool.org . Make sure that by
the first day of school have written 2 answers to the questions of your choice and responded to the answers of a
classmate twice.
1. Discuss what freedom looks like from ONE of the following characters in Chains: a loyalist, a patriot, or
Isabel (a slave).
2. Colonel Regan gives Isabel the code word “ad astra” (this should be a familiar to you! ) to use when
entering the rebel camp. Why is this an appropriate code word for the rebels? How does this
foreshadow Isabel and Curzon’s ultimate escape at the end of the novel?
3. The bookseller gives Isabel a copy of Common Sense by Thomas Paine. He advises her that the words
are dangerous, and that she should commit them to memory. At what point does she understand
Paine’s words? How does the book give her courage?
4. What does Isabel mean when she says, “I was chained between two nations”? What do chains
symbolize throughout this novel?
“Why Study History” by Peter Stearns: Come to class having read this article and with a copy on the first day
of school. Accessed at: http://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-andarchives/archives/why-study-history-(1998)
“Your Brain on Fiction” by Annie Paul Murphy: Come to class having read this article and with a copy on the
first day of school. Accessed at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-ofyour-brain-on-fiction.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0