8th Grade Pre-AP
Summer Reading Project
Summer is the perfect time to get ready for the year ahead while doing something you like
anyway- reading! Your projects this summer will help you prepare for what is sure to be an
exciting and brain-stretching year of Pre-AP. All Pre-AP projects will be due on the first day of
school, August 19, 2015. No late projects will be accepted.
For your summer reading, you will need to read two books. One is a classic, while the other is a
“contemporary classic.” You do not need to purchase these novels, only read them. Should you
choose to purchase these books, retailers such as Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Half Price
Books, etc. should have them.
Classic: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Contemporary Classic: Sword of the Rightful King by Jane Yolen
After reading the books, you will complete the following projects:
To Kill a Mockingbird
Quotations: Analyze a minimum of one of the following quotations and explain its significance in the
story and its relationship to the themes in the novel. Use a well developed, multiple-paragraph response
to explain the scene and analyze the quote. Extra quotes do not mean extra credit.
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I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks. ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 23,
spoken by the character Scout 227
It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any
wars, was the bravest man who ever lived. ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11
I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a
gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and
you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. ~Harper Lee, To Kill a
Mockingbird, Chapter 11, spoken by the character Atticus
Your father’s right. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t
eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out
for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 10,
spoken by Miss Maudie
Secretly, Miss Finch, I’m not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand
that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live. ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird,
Chapter 20, spoken by Mr. Dolphus Raymond 201
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Sword of the Rightful King
First, complete research on the following characters as they appear in Arthurian Legend, most specifically
L’Morte de Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory.
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Arthur Pendragon
Gawain
Merlin
THEN complete a research paper answering the following questions:
1. Why are the above characters important in Arthurian Legend? What role do they play and how
important are they?
2. What was the purpose of Arthurian legend? Do you believe this legend is still important today?
Why or why not?
3. What role does magic play in Arthurian legend and the book, Sword of the Rightful King?
4. Do you agree with Merlinus’ decision to create the legend of the Sword in the Stone? Why or why
not?
Paper should be TYPED, double-spaced, with 12 point Times New Roman font. Please be sure to bring a
HARD COPY with you to class.