Smithson Valley Middle School
Summer Reading Assignment
For ALL Students Entering the 8th Grade
ALL 8th grade students are required to read The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, and complete the
assignments described below. ONLY Pre-AP students are to complete all three assignments.
What are the assignments?
1. Thoroughly familiarize yourself with the Anti-Defamation League’s Pyramid of Hate that is attached. While
reading the Outsiders, underline incidents of hate from the foundational level of bias all the way through the
bias-motivated violence level. You must find and underline at least one of each of the following behaviors
between or among the key characters in the novel: stereotyping, insensitive remarks, belittling jokes, accepting
negative information others say (not seeking the truth to verify), bullying, name-calling, social avoidance,
economical ($$) discrimination, employment/job discrimination, educational discrimination, housing
discrimination, verbal or physical threats, vandalism, assault, and murder. Each time you find and underline
these behaviors in your novel, record them in MLA citation format (described below) in the appropriate space on
your handout. NO SPACE MAY BE LEFT BLANK. NO INCOMPLETE HANDOUTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. If you are not
sure of the meaning of one of the words on the handout, look up the definition in a dictionary or on
dictionary.com.
MLA Quotation Citation Format (Courtesy of http://english .perdue.ed) MLA format follows the author-page method of
citation. This means that the author’s last name and page number(s) from which the quotation is taken must appear in the text.
The author’s name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page
number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence. For example: Wordsworth stated that
Romantic poetry was marked by a “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”(263). Romantic poetry is characterized by the
“spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (Wordsworth 263). Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth
263), tell readers that the information in the sentences can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named Wordsworth. *
All of your MLA citations should have Hinton and a page # in the parentheses since this book is by S. E. Hinton. Also, be
sure to place the period OUTSIDE the parentheses. Look at the example. No period is inside the quotation mark.*
2. PLOT-You need to create a diorama of a pivotal scene in The Outsiders. Explain why you choose this scene as pivotal to
the plot and attach it to the diorama. You must use evidence from the novel to justify points.
PRE-AP ONLY for number 3
3. BOOK OF POETRY: There will be many themes that are examined throughout the novel. Create at least SIX
original poems that are titled with a theme from the novel. For example: Verbal Abuse, Bullying, Death, etc.…
When are the assignments due?
ALL assignments are due on the first day of school, August 25, 2015.
Will I have to do anything else with this book?
Yes, there will be many assignments based on this book during the first six weeks of the school year, including a
major test in the first few weeks. You must bring it with you to class the first day and everyday thereafter until your
teacher tells you can leave it at home.
Why do I have to read during the summer?
Research consistently shows that students who actively read during the summer do not experience the same level of
learning loss as those who do not read during the summer and constantly score higher on reading comprehension
tests. P.S. It’s fun!
Who can I contact if I have questions?
Contact Mrs. Leihsing at Kristin.leihsing@comalisd.org, Mrs. Holstein at Jennifer.brown@comalisd.org
Mrs. Clark at Wendy.clark@comalisd.org