th
Project Challenge 8 th grade, you are required to read three books this summer. You may choose any of the books on this list. You must read at least one fiction and one non-fiction book. If you find any additional books you would like to substitute please email me and I will take into consideration, hjguyton@bladen.k12.nc.us
. To evaluate your performance on your assigned reading, I require the following assessments:
1.
For one of your books, you must complete the literary element essay attached assignment. This assignment will be due the first week of school.
2.
Attached is a choice of three different reader response activities. For one of the books you read, you must select one of these activities to complete. This assignment is due the first day of school. This assignment will be a 100 point assignment grade for the first marking period.
3.
The final assessment for your summer reading will take the form an advertising poster that you create for one of the titles. This will also be a 100 point assignment and will be due on Tuesday, September 4, 2012. This poster should include a visual representation of the book (please avoid simply cutting and pasting a picture of the book’s cover from the internet) the title, the author, and a one paragraph review of the book either recommending it as a read for your peers or suggesting that they steer clear. I’m looking for creativity, neatness, presentation and qualities of effective writing. Your finished poster must be at least one-half a standard poster board in size.
Avi –
Eoin Colfer –
George Orwell –
Orson Scott Card –
EL Konigsburg –
Laurie Halse Anderson –
Robert Cormier –
Lois Lowry –
Cynthia Voigt –
Alice Sebold-
Sharon Creech –
Chris Crutcher –
Sue Monk Kidd
William Golding-
Cornelia Funke –
Jacqueline Woodson –
Jane Yolen –
Paul Zindel –
Mitch Albom –
Christopher Paolini –
Jerry Spinelli -
Walter Dean Myer –
John Green –
Khaled Hosseini –
Harper Lee-
John Stienback-
Cormac McCarthy –
Maggie Steifvater -
Fiction: Choose at least one.
Nothing But the Truth or Crispin
Artemis Fowl (or any of the books in the Artemis Fowl series)*
Animal Farm
Ender’s Game
Silent to the Bone
Speak, Fever 1793*
After the First Death, The Rag and Bone Shop
A Summer to Die
Dicey’s Song*
The Lovely Bones*
Walk Two Moons
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
The Secret Life of Bees
The Lord of the Flies*
Inkheart, The Thief Lord (Inkspell, Inkdeath)
I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This
Briar Rose or The Devil’s Arithmetic*
The Pigman*
The Five People You Meet in Heaven,* For One More Day
Eragon*, Eldest, Brsinger
Stargirl*
Monster*
Looking for Alaska ; An Abundance of Katheines; Paper Towns; Will Grayso, Will Grayson;
The Kite Runner*, 1000 Splendid Suns*
To Kill A Mockingbird*
Of Mice and Men*, The Grapes of Wrath*
The Road*
Shiver, Linger, Forever, The Scorpio Races

Non Fiction – Choose at least one.
Anne Frank:
Greg Mortensen:
Rosa Parks:
Barrack Obama:
Diary of a Young Girl*
Three Cups of Tea*
My Story*
The Audacity of Hope
Dave Pelzer:
Corrie Ten Boom:
Jimmy Carter:
Boyhood
A Child Called It*; The Lost Boy; The Privilege of Youth; A Man Name Dave
The Hiding Place
Immaculee Ilibagiza: Left to Tell*
Jack Gantos:
Lance Armstrong:
Aron Ralston:
Hole in My Life
It’s Not About the Bike*
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Our Endangered Values – America’s Moral Crisis; An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural
Tom Brokaw:
Nina Vason
The Greatest Generation
Do Good Well: Your Guide to Leadership, Action, and Social Innovation
David McCullough
James Herriot
Arthur Ashe
Rick Bragg
Hampton Sides
Maya Angelou
Farley Mowat
David Halberstam:
1776
All Creatures Great and Small*
Days of Grace
All Over But the Shoutin’
Ghost Soldiers
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings*
Never Cry Wolf
Firehouse
H. G. Bissinger :
C. S. Lewis
Sean Covey
Jeannette Walls
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team and a Dream
Mere Christianity*
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens
The Glass Castle – A Memoir*
Madeline Blais
Todd Burpo
In These Girls Hope is a Muscle
Heaven is for Real
*Indicates books that I have personally read and particularly enjoyed. I’ve read most of the others, but they aren’t on my alltime favorite list.
As this is a list aimed at high school levels students, some of the books address mature ideas and issues. Please preview the books before making your selections so that you are not surprised by the content of the books.
Reader Response Activity Choices:
1.
Write a two week diary for the protagonist of the book in which you reveal not only events but also the character’s feelings and responses to those events. Your character must write in his diary at least four times per week and each entry must be at least one full paragraph in length.
2.
Create a scrapbook for your character. The scrapbook should be at least 10 pages (8.5x11). It should have a creative cover and title. It should reflect the main character’s personality and show through the objects included the central plot of the book you read. Include a one page explanation of the scrapbook and its contents.
3.
Answer the following writing prompt from the point of view of the main character. Finished paper should be two pages, typed, double spaced, 12 point font. You should write in first person in the voice of the protagonist. “If there is one thing my experiences have taught me, it is…..”

After reading the novel, type a paper that explains how the following literary terms are used by the author of the book you read. You do not have to address the literary terms in the order below but they all must be included.
Do not number each term. Simply write several paragraphs that explain how the lit terms are used. Some of your lit terms explanations will be in separate paragraphs, and some of them can be combined with others.
Some may be answered in one sentence.
Some novels will not have all of the lit terms below however, even if your novel doesn't fit the "strict
“definition of a lit term, you must explain how it does not fit the lit term.
Literary Terms: (Please use the terms and underline each the first time it is mentioned. Do NOT underline the term every time.) (70 points)
1.
Discuss the major characters in the story, and briefly describe each one (what type of character they are, what they look like, and, more importantly, what they act like and what part they play in the novel as a whole). Explain who the protagonist is and who the antagonist is. (One paragraph for this.)
2.
Describe the plot of the story. This can be just one or two paragraphs, about 150 words. I don’t need all the tiny details, just the basics of what happens and why. You need to cover the entire novel. In these paragraphs, explain all of the different parts of the plot are using specific terminology (i.e. exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution) for this novel.
3.
Describe the main conflict(s) in the story. Explain what type of conflict this is and how the conflict is resolved.
4.
Describe the point of view of the novel, and explain the narrator . Make sure you explain how you know this is the point of view in your novel. (These items could be one paragraph.)
5.
Describe the setting of the novel, including the time period. If it doesn’t say the time period, and you think it’s just whenever the author wrote it, just say that. How does this setting influence the story, the characters, and the action of the novel.
6.
Describe the theme(s) of the novel. Remember a theme is a general statement about human beings or life that applies to both the novel and real life. Therefore state it as a complete sentence without mentioning specific characters or events from the novel. Most novels have more than one theme. (These last two could be a paragraph.)
7.
Write a brief review of the novel. What were the good points and the bad points of your novel? Give well thought out reasons as to why a friend should or should not read this novel. (Thinking the book was too long does not constitute a well thought out reason). Include at least 3 reasons to support your opinion making sure to include examples from your novel to support your review
******If you write about the following terms they will count for extra credit.
If you decide to write about any of these terms, please keep them separate from the rest of your project; in other words, put them at the end of the paper and label it.
Examples of similes and metaphors ; flashbacks and foreshadowing ; irony and/or sarcasm ; onomatopoeia ; personification ; symbolism
; and the author’s tone . For these terms, you MUST include the page number where the term occurs (except tone).