Your Name: ____________________________________________________
Medford Public Schools
7th Grade Summer Reading
(For Students Entering Seventh Grade)
List your summer reading books here:
(Reminder: Underline book titles)
Book #1: __________________________________________________
Book #2: __________________________________________________
Directions: You are to create a plot diagram and compose
one open response for each book you read.
Please note that the written portions of the project (the
two open responses) should be typed in 12 point, Times
New Roman font with a proper heading. The plot diagram
for each book may be written/drawn by hand.
Book #1 _______________________________________________________________
Assignment #1
Plot: Create a plot diagram! (Keep it short and sweet!)
On the chart provided (you may instead create one yourself using a computer
if you wish), you will create a plot diagram for your chosen book considering
the components below:
Exposition – Describe the setting, main characters, background info, etc.
Rising Action – Try to keep it to only 5 or 10 key events before the climax.
Remember, the rising action reveals the major conflict in the
story and how the conflict develops before reaching the climax.
Climax - Remember, the climax involves the “turning point” or “highest
point” of the major conflict and is usually found 3/4ths into the
story or further.)
Falling Action – The falling action ties up any loose ends to the story, and
usually resolves the conflict. Try to keep it to only 3 to 4 key
events after the climax, and resolution.
Resolution – Describe how the story ends. Do the characters all live “happily
ever after”? Was the conflict resolved?
*If you will be using the provided blank diagram, please fill in your events in
pencil, or blue or black ink. Remember, you are allowed to create your own
diagram on the computer if you wish to type this part of the assignment.
Assignment #2
You are to write an open response for ONE of the following prompts.
Remember you are to only choose ONE, and you must write in open response
format. Type your response in 12 point, Times New Roman font and put a
heading (name, date, and the letter of the prompt you chose) at the top.
a. Characters: In open response format, answer one of the response questions
listed below. Write about ONE main character, but do not focus on the
physical and the obvious traits. If possible, choose traits by tracing how this
character’s personality changed as the novel progressed.
Option 1. List three personality traits and give specific reasons/pieces
of evidence from the story to support your choices. Be specific.
Option 2. Tell how this character changed throughout the story. What
happened to him/her to cause this change, etc.? Write out three
different specific points in the book (beginning, middle, and end)
where the main character shows a change in their personality or
thinking.
b. Theme: Write about the theme of the book. Make sure the theme is the BIG
theme, and not a minor one. In open response format, explain the major
theme of the book. Give specific examples from the book to back up why you
think it is the theme of the book.
For example, the theme of the movie Toy Story is “friendship – A true friend
will always be there for you.” Therefore, you would choose three different
and specific events in the movie which illustrate the theme of friends always
being there for each other.
c. Conflict: Write about the major conflict in the book. Is it an internal or
external conflict? Is the conflict man vs. man, man vs. self, or man vs.
society, man vs. nature, etc.? In open response format, explain why it is the
conflict of the novel by using at least three specific examples from the story.
Remember, the conflict involves only the major characters of the novel.
For example, if the major conflict is an external man vs. society issue, you
would note three different situations the main character encounters with the
society to prove that is the conflict of the story.
Book #2 _______________________________________________________________
Assignment #1
Plot: Create a plot diagram! (Keep it short and sweet!)
On the chart provided (you may instead create one yourself using a computer
if you wish), you will create a plot diagram for your chosen book considering
the components below:
Exposition – Describe the setting, main characters, background info, etc.
Rising Action – Try to keep it to only 5 or 10 key events before the climax.
Remember, the rising action reveals the major conflict in the
story and how the conflict develops before reaching the climax.
Climax - Remember, the climax involves the “turning point” or “highest
point” of the major conflict and is usually found 3/4ths into the
story or further.)
Falling Action – The falling action ties up any loose ends to the story, and
usually resolves the conflict. Try to keep it to only 3 to 4 key
events after the climax, and resolution.
Resolution – Describe how the story ends. Do the characters all live “happily
ever after”? Was the conflict resolved?
*If you will be using the provided blank diagram, please fill in your events in
pencil, or blue or black ink. Remember, you are allowed to create your own
diagram on the computer if you wish to type this part of the assignment.
Assignment #2
You are to write an open response for ONE of the following prompts.
Remember you are to only choose ONE, and you must write in open response
format. Type your response in 12 point, Times New Roman font and put a
heading (name, date, and the letter of the prompt you chose) at the top.
*Please choose a different prompt from the one you chose for your first book.
d. Characters: In open response format, answer one of the response questions
listed below. Write about ONE main character, but do not focus on the
physical and the obvious traits. If possible, choose traits by tracing how this
character’s personality changed as the novel progressed.
Option 1. List three personality traits and give specific reasons/pieces
of evidence from the story to support your choices. Be specific.
Option 2. Tell how this character changed throughout the story. What
happened to him/her to cause this change, etc.? Write out three
different specific points in the book (beginning, middle, and end)
where the main character shows a change in their personality or
thinking.
e. Theme: Write about the theme of the book. Make sure the theme is the BIG
theme, and not a minor one. In open response format, explain the major
theme of the book. Give specific examples from the book to back up why you
think it is the theme of the book.
For example, the theme of the movie Toy Story is “friendship – A true friend
will always be there for you.” Therefore, you would choose three different
and specific events in the movie which illustrate the theme of friends always
being there for each other.
f. Conflict: Write about the major conflict in the book. Is it an internal or
external conflict? Is the conflict man vs. man, man vs. self, or man vs.
society, man vs. nature, etc.? In open response format, explain why it is the
conflict of the novel by using at least three specific examples from the story.
Remember, the conflict involves only the major characters of the novel.
For example, if the major conflict is an external man vs. society issue, you
would note three different situations the main character encounters with the
society to prove that is the conflict of the story.
Plot Diagram Rubric:
4
3
2
Exposition
Includes setting (time
and place), all major
and minor characters.
Missing one
component of the
exposition.
Missing more than one Exposition is very weak
component of the
or missing.
exposition.
Rising Action
Rising action consists
of at least 5 events
from the story. They
are written going in the
correct direction on the
plot diagram, and are
in chronological order.
Rising action consists Rising action consists
of at least 4 events
of less than 3 events.
from the story. Events
are written in the
correct direction on the
diagram, and are in
chronological order.
Climax
The correct climax is
The correct climax is
noted with details from written, but it does not
the story.
include details.
Falling Action
The falling action
consists of at least 2
events from the story
listed after the climax.
CATEGORY
1
Rising action is not
complete and events
are out of order.
The climax is incorrect The climax is
according to the story incorrectly identified
and does not include
and lacks detail.
much detail.
The falling action
The falling action
consists of at least 1
consists of one event,
detailed event from the but it is not detailed.
story listed after the
climax.
The falling action is
weak or incomplete.
Resolution
The resolution is
complete and is
detailed. (Was the
problem solved or
resolved? Did the
characters change?
Are all loose ends tied
up?)
The resolution is
included, but could be
stronger.
The resolution is not
complete or not
detailed.
Conflict
The conflict is written
very well and in detail.
The conflict is noted
but could be stronger
and with more detail.
The conflict is noted
but very weak.
Neatness and
Conventions
The plot diagram
consists of little to no
errors.
The plot diagram is
very neat.
The plot diagram
consists of more than
a few errors in
conventions.
The diagram is fairly
not neat, but could be
neater.
The student made no
effort in using proper
conventions.
The student made no
effort in the
presentation of the
diagram.
TOTAL: ____________/25
Open Response Grading Rubric:
GRADE 7 SUMMER READING LIST
Amelia Earhart (DK Biography) by Tanya Lee Stone
This biography documents Amelia Earhart’s life including her struggles, her difficult life
with her parents, and her passion for flying. The book ends with an in depth look at her last flight
and possible scenarios for her tragic end. Amelia Earhart was a social worker, a nurse, a fashion
designer, and a feminist. Reading Level: Average
Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech
Always the quiet (and often forgotten) middle child in a bustling family, Zinnia's life
begins to change when she stumbles upon a hidden, overgrown pathway that stretches from the
edge of her family's farm into the great unknown. Determined to find where the path leads,
Zinnia begins the daunting task of uncovering brambles and weeds along every inch of its length.
In powerful, honest, down-home prose, Newbery-winner Sharon Creech delivers a dazzling
portrait of a girl who's not afraid to journey into her family's mysterious past in order to find her
own way into adulthood. Watching Zinnia bloom will warm your heart. Reading Level:
Average
Heat by Mike Lupica
Michael Arroyo grows up in the shadows of hallowed Yankee Stadium, a boy forever on
the outside looking in. His only chance to see his field of dreams? Pitch his Bronx all-star team
to the district finals and a shot at the Little League World Series. However, there is a problem.
Michael is good–too good. Rival coaches and players can’t believe a boy could be this good and
be only twelve years old. And Michael has no way to prove it–no mother, no father, and a birth
certificate that is stuck home in his native Cuba. If the people from social services find out his
secret, he will have an even worse problem: being separated from the only family he knows, his
older brother Carlos. Baseball can be a game of heroes, of champions who refuse to lose. Or it
can be a field of crushed dreams. For one boy, the game is about to turn serious. Reading Level:
Average
Matched by Allie Condie
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read,
what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching
ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate...until she sees Ky
Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a
glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with
Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, she is faced with
an impossible choice: between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to
follow. Reading Level: Average
Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille by Russell Freedman
This book tells the story of Louis Braille who became blind at the age of three. As he
became more and more frustrated with communicating and learning, Louis strove to find a better
away to communicate. His hard work resulted in the development of a simple finger-felt code of
the alphabet, better known as Braille. Reading Level: Average
The Egypt Game by Zilpha Synder
In The Egypt Game, April Hall, an insecure and lonely 11-year-old, comes to live with
her grandmother and surprises herself when she forms an immediate friendship with her
neighbor Melanie Ross. April and Melanie, who share an unusual interest in ancient Egypt, use
their intellect and vivid imaginations to develop an elaborate game of "Egypt." Gradually, the
game becomes more and more real, and frightening things begin to happen in the neighborhood.
The children are faced with a soul-searching question: Has the game gone too far? Newbery
Honor Book. Reading Level: Average
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His
memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself
surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade, a large, open expanse surrounded by stone
walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they
know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every
night they’ve closed tight. And every thirty days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.
Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up, the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade.
And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he
could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.Reading Level:
Average
The People of Sparks by Jeanne Duprau
The People of Sparks picks up where The City of Ember leaves off. Lina and Doon have
emerged from the underground city to the exciting new world above, and it isn’t long before they
are followed by the other inhabitants of Ember. The Emberites soon come across a town where
they are welcomed, fed, and given places to sleep. But the town’s resources are limited and it
isn’t long before resentment begins to grow between the two groups. When anonymous acts of
vandalism push them toward violence, it’s up to Lina and Doon to discover who’s behind the
vandalism and why, before it’s too late. Reading Level: Average
Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
Bobby Phillips is an average fifteen-year-old boy. Until the morning he wakes up and
can’t see himself in the mirror. Not blind, not dreaming—Bobby is just plain invisible. There
doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to Bobby’s new condition; even his dad the physicist
can’t figure it out. For Bobby that means no school, no friends, no life. He’s a missing person.
Then he meets Alicia. She’s blind, and Bobby can’t resist talking to her, trusting her. But people
are starting to wonder where Bobby is. Bobby knows that his invisibility could have dangerous
consequences for his family and that time is running out. He has to find out how to be seen
again—before it’s too late. Reading Level: Average
The Greatest: Muhammed Ali by Walter Dean Myers
This story describes the life of Cassius Clay, better known as Muhammed Ali. It takes us
from his childhood to adulthood and demonstrates the various influences in his life. Growing up
during a time of segregation and war, the life behind the boxer is more closely revealed.
Reading Level: Above Average
The Freedom Summer Murders by Don Mitchell
In June of 1964, three idealistic young men (one black and two white) were lynched by
the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi. These men were trying to register African Americans to vote as
part of the Freedom Summer effort to bring democracy to the South. Their disappearance and
murder caused a national uproar and was one of the most significant incidents of the Civil Rights
Movement, and contributed to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The Freedom Summer Murders will be the first book for young people to take a
comprehensive look at the brutal murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael
Schwerner, through to the conviction in 2005 of mastermind Edgar Ray Killen. Reading Level:
Above Average
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Two orphaned brothers, Prosper and Bo, have run away to Venice, where crumbling
canals and misty alleyways shelter a secret community of street urchins. Leader of this motley
crew of lost children is a clever, charming boy with a dark history of his own: He calls himself
the Thief Lord. Prosper and Bo relish their new "family" and life of petty crime. But their cruel
aunt and a bumbling detective are on their trail. And posing an even greater threat to the boys'
freedom is something from a forgotten past: a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin
time itself. Winner of the prestigious Batchelder Award, New York Times Bestseller and
Notable Book, USA Today Bestseller, and Child Magazine Best Book of the Year. Reading Level:
Above Average
Watson Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis
A wonderful middle-grade novel narrated by Kenny, 9, about his middle-class black
family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. When Kenny's 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to
be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can
shape him up. Reading Level: Above Average
What Came from Stars? By Gary D. Schmidt
In Plymouth, Massachusetts, Tommy grieves for his mother, who died eight months ago.
And on a distant planet in “Weoruld Ethelim,” Young Waeglim invests all the Art of the
destroyed Valorim — his culture — into a chain necklace, sending it into the universe to keep it
safe from evil Lord Mondus. When the chain falls through worlds and lands in Tommy’s
lunchbox, it brings Tommy vivid memories of the Valorim — and gives him superhuman
abilities, including the power to create paintings that move and to conjure alien creatures from
sand. But Lord Mondus wants the chain himself, and Tommy is caught up in a fight that mingles
humdrum real estate chicanery with cosmic greed; the school bully with an epic warrior; and
human consolation with celestial triumph. Schmidt gives us two parallel stories, one told in the
formal, archaic style of epic Tolkienesque fantasy, with Old English and biblical resonances; the
other in down-to-earth contemporary language. Gradually, the two styles merge, underscoring
that inner change is itself the stuff of classic heroism. The life and power of Art is central to this
artful interplanetary story in which a boy misses his mother “like he would miss the planet.”
Reading Level: Above Average
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
Kira, an orphan with a twisted leg, lives in a world where the weak are cast aside. She
fears for her future until she is spared by the all-powerful Council of Guardians. Kira is a gifted
weaver and is given a task that no other community member can do. While her talent keeps her
alive and brings certain privileges, Kira soon realizes she is surrounded by many mysteries and
secrets. No one must know of her plans to uncover the truth about her world and see what places
exist beyond. Reading Level: Challenging
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen (Students need permission to read this book from their previous
ELA teacher or Special Education Teacher)
One day I was twelve years old and broke. I set out to mow some lawns with Grandpa’s old
riding mower. One client was Arnold the stockbroker, who offered to teach me about: the
beauty of capitalism. Supply and demand. Diversifying labor. Distributing the wealth. “It’s
groovy, man,” Arnold said. The grass grew, and so did business. Arnold invested my money
in many things. One of them was a prizefighter. All of a sudden I was the sponsor of my very
own fighter, Joey Pow. That’s when my twelfth summer got really interesting. Gary
Paulsen’s comic story about a summer job becomes a slapstick lesson in business as one boy
turns a mountain of grass into a mountain of cash.
Song of the Trees by Mildred Taylor (Students need permission to read this book from their
previous ELA teacher or Special Education Teacher)
With the depression bearing down on her family and food in short supply, Cassie Logan
isn't sure where her next meal will come from. But there is one thing that she knows will always
be there-the whispering trees outside her window. Cassie's trees are a steady source of comfort to
her, but they also happen to be worth a lot of money. When Mr. Andersen tries to force Big Ma
to sell their valuable trees, Cassie can't just sit by and let it happen. She knows that her family
needs the money, but something tells her that they need the trees just as much. The beloved
heroine of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry enchants us again in this story of strength and pride.