Sacred Heart School
Summer Reading Program
Entering Grade 7
Count Down
By: Ben Mikaelsen
Your Name _________________________________________
Bellevue Public Schools with adaptations by Sacred Heart School
1
Middle School Summer Reading Packet: GRADE 7
Throughout summer vacation, you will need to read your required novel and complete this
assignment, which is intended to guide your reading and focus your thoughts. This
assignment will be due in your Language Arts class on the first day of school.
By carefully completing this assignment over the summer, you will be prepared to discuss
the story in the fall and to write an in-class essay.
In order to successfully complete this assignment, you must first understand conflict. Most
good stories involve conflict, which is defined as “a struggle between opposing characters or
forces.” There are two types of conflict:

External = a character’s struggle against another character, nature, or society
(laws/rules/customs/traditions/expectations).

Internal = a character’s struggle within herself/himself against opposing desires,
emotions, or responsibilities. There are at least two sides to internal conflict.
2
A. Internal conflicts:
Identify three major internal conflicts that Elliot and Vincent
experience throughout the story. Make sure you choose a conflict from
the beginning, a conflict from the middle, and a conflict from the end of
the story.
Elliot
1. ___________________________________________________vs.
Side 1 of an internal conflict from the beginning of novel.
_____________________________________________________
Side 2 of the same conflict.
2. _____________________________________________________vs.
Side 1 of an internal conflict from the middle of the novel.
______________________________________________________
Side 2 of the same conflict.
3. _____________________________________________________vs.
Side 1 of an internal conflict from the end of the novel.
______________________________________________________
Side 2 of the same conflict.
From the three internal conflicts identified above, choose the most important or serious
internal conflict that Elliot faces. Circle the number of the conflict above. Write a 5
sentence paragraph using a 1:2 ratio (TS, CD, CM, CM, CS) to explain why this is
the most important conflict Elliot faces.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3
Vincent
1. _____________________________________________________vs.
Side 1 of an internal conflict from the beginning of novel.
______________________________________________________
Side 2 of the same conflict.
2. _____________________________________________________vs.
Side 1 of an internal conflict from the middle of the novel.
_______________________________________________________
Side 2 of the same conflict.
3. _____________________________________________________
Side 1 of an internal conflict from the end of the novel.
vs.
______________________________________________________
Side 2 of the same conflict.
From the three internal conflicts identified above, choose the most important or serious
internal conflict that Vincent faces. Circle the number of the conflict above. Write a 5
sentence paragraph using a 1:2 ratio (TS, CD, CM, CM, CS) to explain why this is
the most important conflict Vincent faces.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
4
B. Concrete Detail and Commentary:
Next, select two short pieces of text (concrete detail) from the novel
that represent both sides of Elliot and Vincent’s most important internal
conflict that you circled. Be sure to include each side of the conflict.
Commentary: Explain why each concrete detail is important to the story.
Elliot’s Internal Conflict
Concrete Details (CD) for Side 1
CD
1.
Commentary (explanation of importance)
CD
2.
Commentary (explanation of importance)
Concrete Details (CD) for Side 2
CD
1.
Commentary (explanation of importance)
CD
2.
Commentary (explanation of importance)
5
Vincent’s Internal Conflict
Concrete Details (CD) for Side 1
CD
1.
Commentary (explanation of importance)
CD
2.
Commentary (explanation of importance)
Concrete Details (CD) for Side 2
CD
1.
Commentary (explanation of importance)
CD
2.
Commentary (explanation of importance)
6
C. Vocabulary Development
Directions: Look up each word on the page listed. Copy the sentence from the book and
then look up the word in the dictionary and write the definition that matches how the word
was used in the context of the book.
Word/page found
Engang
p. 7
(African word use context
clues)
Sentence from book
Droned
p. 36
Infirmary
p. 76
Gait
p. 91
Simulation
p. 141
Endeavour
p. 148
Momentum
p. 151
Unfurling
p. 199
Billowed
p. 238
7
Definition
D. Theme: Theme is the author’s comment/message. It is what the author is telling the
readers about life. Circle at least three subjects below that represent the deeper meaning
of the novel to you.
Countdown is a novel about (theme subject word).
Adaptability
Adventure
Ambition
Chance/fate/luck
Childhood
Children
Compassion
Confidence
Consideration
Courage
Courage/cowardice
Cruelty/violence
Curiosity
Custom/tradition
Death Friendship
Defeat/failure
Despair/discontent/disillusionment
Diligence
Dreams/fantasies
Duty
Education/school
Endurance
Equality
Escape
Exile
Faith/loss of faith
Family/parenthood/commitment
Fear
Free will/will power
Freedom
Friendship
Games/contests/sports
Gratitude
Greed
Growing up
Guilt
Hate
Heart vs. reason
Heaven/paradise/utopia/
Home
Hope
Identity
Illusion/innocence
Independence
Initiation
Initiative
Instinct
Integrity
Journey (psychological
or literal)
Justice
Law/justice
Loneliness/aloneness
Love
Loyalty
Materialism
Maturity/maturation
Memory/past
Music/dance
Nature
Patience
Patriotism
Peace
Persistence/perseverance
Poverty
Prejudice
Pride
Privacy
Race relations
Reality
Religion
Resistance/rebellion
Respect
Responsibility
Revenge/retribution
Ritual/ceremony
Scapegoat/victim
Search for identity
Self-actualization
Self-discipline
Self-improvement
Service
Social Status
Success
Supernatural
Teamwork
Time/eternity
Tricks
Truth
Unhappiness
Violence
War
Wealth
Directions: Use the theme chart on the following page to provide concrete detail
from the text to support each theme subject circled.
8
E. Theme Chart:
Theme Subject
(one word)
1.
Author’s comment/message (CM)
What is the author trying to tell us about
the theme subject? (complete sentence)
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
9
Concrete Detail(s)
Text from the novel to support
author’s message.
Page
Numbers