LJH Summer Reading Project Requirements
and Choices for 2015-2016 School Year
Students must create a project on one of the novels you read from the summer reading list for your grade. (Gifted and
Honors students must complete two different projects using two novels from the summer reading list.) This project
will be due within a week of the 1st day of school, and the student will receive a 100 point grade for it in English and
reading.
Project Details:
 You must choose one choice from the list of project ideas listed below to show what you learned from your summer
reading selection.
o You will be graded using the attached rubric. Each project must include the information listed below either
within the project or separately:
o Title and author
o Main character information - A brief description of character such as looks and character traits/personality
o Setting
o Plot/Resolution (What was the main problem/plan/story line/scheme of the story and how it was resolved?)
 GIFTED and HONORS must provide a personal review of the book. (Include likes and dislikes with reasons for both,
what you learned from the book, how you connected to the characters (s), would you recommend this book (why or
why not)?) This should be a minimum of 3 paragraphs. MAKE SURE YOU USE TEXT EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT YOUR
THOUGHTS IN THE REVIEW.
WRITE THE STORY FROM A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW
Take the entire story (or part of it) and write a version, as
someone else would tell it. This must be at least 2 ½ pages
if it is not typed, and if it is typed, it needs to be a 1 ½
pages in 12 point Times New roman font.
WRITE THE DIARY A MAIN CHARACTER MIGHT HAVE
WRITTEN. Imagine you are the person in your book. Write
a two week diary as if you were the main character of the
book. In your daily entries include at least one illustration
as well as your feelings about what is happening to you (as
the main character). You may use the cover of your diary
for an illustration, or you may decorate it as if it were a
real diary. Your diary can have pictures you draw or
images from the internet that you add to the diary. You
should have a page for each diary entry, and each entry
should be at least 5 sentences long.
PUT TOGETHER A CAST FOR THE FILM VERSION OF THE
BOOK. Decide which current actors and actresses would
best play the roles. Include brief descriptions of the stars
and tell why each is “perfect” for the part. You need to
have at least 5 sentences for each character explain why
they are a good fit for the role based on things other than
APPEARANCE. As yourself, what other roles have they
played that would help prepare them for this role? Life
experiences they might have?
CREATE A COMIC BOOK. Create a comic book based on
your book. Each page should be set up in a comic book
format with illustrations and captions. Your comic book
should retell the main ideas of the story including all
required information. Your comic book should be at least
10 pages long. You can use plain white paper folded in half
for your book and each half can count as a page.
CREATE A VIDEO WHERE YOU ARE A TELEVISION
REPORTER. You will be reporting the main story elements
as if they were appearing on the local news as a real event.
You must report on all the required story elements. You
must create a script with the story elements to follow.
Dress up to look like a reporter. Your video should be at
least three minutes long.
TURN YOUR CHAPTER BOOK INTO AN ILLUSTRATED
CHILDREN’S BOOK. Create a book for 1st-3rd graders. You
must have a cover and illustrated pages with sentences to
retell the main idea of the story. You may use the inside
cover or back cover to include any other required story
elements. Your book must be at least 12 pages long.
TREASURE CHEST: Create a treasure chest with items that
were mentioned in the book. Pick items that were
important or significant for some reason. Your treasure
chest should include at least 10 items, and a written
description of each item. You need to have at least 5
quality sentences for each item along with text evidence to
support why it was important or significant.
CORRESPOND WITH ANOTHER CHARACTER. Pretend that
you are 1 character from the book. Write a letter to
another character in the book. Write a letter (minimum of
1 ½ pages typed or 2 ½ pages handwritten) to another
character to express your appreciation, respect or
disappointment in the other character.
GRADE YOUR CHARACTER. Evaluate your character’s skills
at reflection, risk taking and communicating. Assign
him/her a letter grade for each of those categories, and
then create at least two additional categories to grade
them on as well. Use specific text examples to justify why
you assigned the character an A, B, C, D or F in each
category. There should be a minimum of 5 categories, and
you should have 5-6 sentences explaining why you
assigned them that letter grade.
A BRUSH WITH HOLLYWOOD: Design an interesting movie
poster that includes at least 5 facts (Hint: The five
elements of fiction) you have learned from the book.
Include information about the setting, characters, and
problems faced in the book. Be sure to list the title, author,
and any actors/actresses that you would cast in the major
roles; add colorful illustrations and pictures to help you get
your point across. If your book has already been made into
a movie, do your best to be creative and see if you can do
a better job than Hollywood!
SCRAPBOOK: Create a unique scrapbook that represents
events or characters that are in your book. Use pictures
that would represent ten occurrences in your book. For
each occurrence, be sure to add a brief description, but
don’t give the story away. You should have at least ten
scrapbook pages, and you can draw the pictures or use
images for the internet to complete your scrapbook.
3-D MODEL: Create a 3-dimensional model of major
scenes in your novel (at least 4) be sure to include an
explanation of each scene and some quotes from that
scene. Your explanations should be at least five sentences
in length for each one. You may also choose to create a 3D model of a major setting.
PRETEND YOU ARE A REPORTER FOR A NEWSPAPER. You
will create a one page, 4-5 story newspaper. All the stories
in your newspaper will be directly related to your outside
reading book. Decide what articles to include in the
newspaper. Ideas for articles include: Crime: Write about a
plot complication as if was a crime or news event. Include
interviews with eyewitnesses, police reports, and so on.
Personal Interest: Interview a character in the story about
his or her life, hopes, dreams, concerns, and so on.
Sports/Weather/International Events: Write about other
newsworthy people and/or events in the story. The title of
the newspaper should be something appropriate to the
book. Your newspaper must be at least 2 pages in length.
You can use your personal review as an editorial in your
paper. In the rest of the paper, include your required story
elements along with events from the book. The design
should look like a newspaper.
NOTE: ALL PROJECTS MUST HAVE THE
REQUIREMENTS SET BY THE PROJECT
CHOICE ALONG WITH THE
INFORMATION LISTED ON THE TOP
PAGE OF THIS DOCUMENT.
Also, it is important to note that
GIFTED and HONORS students must
have two projects completed, not just
one, and they cannot do the same
project type for both books.
Any questions regarding the projects or
the books can be sent to Mrs. Nguyen
at christina.nguyen@mcschools.net.
NAME: _______________________________ CLASS PERIOD: _________ DATE: ______________________
BOOK TITLE:
BOOK REPORT
RUBRIC
Information
Work
quality/effort
Deadline
AR Quiz
Conventions
10 points
8 to 9 points
6 to 7 points
5 points or less
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
The book project
includes all
information
relevant to the
menu task in an
organized fashion.
Book project
includes all
relevant
information
about a menu
task; however, it
is not wellorganized.
Good
Does not have all of
the relevant
information of the
book project. There is
not enough
information
presented.
The book project is
lacking information.
There are many
gaps in information
presented.
Fair
Poor
Points
The work exceeds
all expectations and
shows that the
learner is proud of
his/her work. The
effort put into this
task is the best it
can be by this
learner.
Excellent
The work shows a
good amount of
effort the
learner is
capable of. It is
evident that time
was put into the
presentation.
Work is done with fair
effort, but the quality
is still not displaying
the learner’s best
capability. It is
evident that the work
was rushed.
Good
Fair
The quality is not
what the learner is
capable of. It is
evident that the
work was rushed
and little time was
spent on the final
product. Work is
incomplete.
Poor
Points
The student turned
the project in
before or on the day
it was due.
The student
turned the
project in one
day after it was
due.
The student turned
the project in two to
three days after it
was due.
* The student
turned the project
in more than four
days after it was
due.
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
The student
received a 100% on
the AR book quiz
when taken 1st 9
weeks.
The student
scored a 95-85%
on the AR quiz
when taken 1st 9
weeks.
The student scored an
80-70% on the AR quiz
when taken the 1st 9
weeks.
The student scored
below a 70% on the
AR quiz when taken
1st 9 weeks.
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
The book project
contains NO
grammatical and/or
spelling errors.
The book project
contains just a
few grammatical
and/or spelling
errors.
The book project
contains several
grammatical and/or
spelling errors.
The book project
contains many
grammatical and/or
spelling errors.
Excellent
Points
Points
Points
TOTAL POINTS
X2
This grade will count for English and reading, and some teachers may use the AR test as a major test grade in reading as
well.
* Any project turned in more than ten school days after the set deadline will result in a zero for both class grades.
8th GRADE SUMMER READING LIST
HONORS AND GIFTED – Read TWO of the books from the list below
TITLE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
AUTHOR
A Long Way Home
Nancy Price Graff
The Boy on the Wooden Box
Leon Leyson
After the Train
Gloria Whelan
A Long Walk to Water
Linda Sue Park
Brian’s Winter
Gary Paulson
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Panic
Lauren Oliver
Unwind
Neal Shusterman
Copper Sun
Sharon Draper
Jamestown: The Perilous Adventure
Olga Hall-Quest
Wuthering Heights
Emily Bronte
Woodsong
Gary Paulsen
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Mark Haddon
Stargirl
Jerry Spinelli
The Ancient One
T.A. Brown
*Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion Loreer Griffin Burns
Hoot
Carl Hiassen
White Fang
Jack London
Into the Wild
Jon Krakauer
Matched (any book in the series)
Ally Condie
REGULAR – Read ONE of the books from the list below
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Brian’s Winter
Guts
Somewhere in the Darkness
Star Girl
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Face on the Milk Carton
Million Dollar Throw
The Man Who Thought Differently
The Old Man and the Sea
Speak
Panic
Lincoln’s Grave Robbers
Song of Fire and Ice
Matched
Maximum Ride (series)
Hatchet
Forever Princess
Insatiable
All American Girl
The Princess Diaries
Ransom
They Never Came Home
Gallows Hill
Hoops
Surviving the Applewhites
The Greatest: Muhammad Ali
Of Mice and Men
Dogsong
Betty Smith
Gary Paulson
Gary Paulson
Walter Dean Myers
Jerry Spinelli
Betty Smith
Caroline Cooney
Mike Lupica
Karen Blumenthal
Ernest Hemingway
Laurie Halse Anderson
Lauren Oliver
Steve Sheinkin
George R.R. Martin
Ally Condie
James Patterson
Gary Paulson
Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot
Lois Duncan
Lois Duncan
Lois Duncan
Walter Dean Myers
Stephanie Tolan
Walter Dean Meyers
John Steinbeck
Gary Paulsen
7th GRADE SUMMER READING LIST
HONORS AND GIFTED – Read TWO of the books from the list below
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
TITLE
Little Women
One Crazy Summer
Legend (any in the series)
A Long Walk to Water
The Maze Runner (or any book in the series)
Fever Crumb
Finding Fish
The Boy on the Wooden Box
After the Train
The Outsiders
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
The Land
Code Orange
We Beat the Streets
Jamestown: The Perilous Adventure
True North: A Novel of the Underground Railroad
Copper Sun
The Selection (any book in the series)
Shatter Me
I Am Number Four (any book in the series)
AUTHOR
Louisa May Alcott
Williams-Garcia
Marie Lu
Park
Dashner
Reeve
Fisher
Leyson
Whelan
Hinton
Beah
Taylor
Caroline B. Cooney
Sampson, Davis
Olga Hall-Quest
Kathryn Lasky
Sharon Draper
Kierra Cass
Tahereh Mafi
Pittacus Lore
REGULAR – Read ONE of the books from the list below
1. Hothead
Cal Ripken, Jr.
2. Chasing Lincoln’s Killer
Swanson
3. Million Dollar Throw
Lupica
4. Warriors Don’t Cry
Beals
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Long Haul
Jeff Kinney
6. Dork Diaries 6: Tales from a Not-So-Happy Heartbreaker
Rachel Renee’ Russell
7. The Princess Diaries
Meg Cabo
8. My Life in Dog Years
Gary Paulsen
9. Loser
Jerry Spinnelli
10. The Loser List
H.N Kowitt
11. The Poison Apple Series
Ruth Ames
12. Heat
Mike Lupica
13. Middle School: The worst years of my life (any in the series)
James Patterson
14. Notes from a Totally Lame Vampire
Tim Collins
15. Utterly Lame Vampire
Tim Collins
16. No More Dead Dogs
Gordon Korman
17. Master of Disaster
Gary Paulsen
18. NERDS: National Espionage Rescue
Michael Buckley
19. The Westing Game
Ellen Raskin
20. Six Months Later
Natalie Richards
21. Escape from Slavery: Five Journeys to Freedom
Doreen Rappaport
22. Caleb’s Choice
Clifton G. Wisler
23. The Bone Detectives: How Forensic Anthropologists Solve Crimes and Uncover Mysteries of the Dead – Jackson
24. The Corn Raid: A Story of the Jamestown Settlement
James Collier
25. The Program
Suzanne Young
26. I Funny series
James Patterson
27. Wonder
R.J. Palacio
28. The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable (any from the series)
Dan Gutman
29. The Quest for the Diamond Sword: A Minecraft Gamer’s Adventure
Winter Morgan
30. The Endermen Invasion: A Minecraft Invasion: A Minecraft Gamer’s Adventure
Winter Morgan