Entering Grade 7

S u m m e r R e a d i n g

Schooledby Gordon Korman

Assignment: Six Dialectical Journals and 10 Short Answer Questions

The theme of any story illustrates a lesson about like that any human being can relate to or learn from. A theme teaches a lesson about what it means to be human. Schooled contains theme topics such as change, popularity, coming of age, bullying, being different and friendship. A thematic statement tells what lesson can be learned about a particular theme topic. For example, if one were to say that popularity was a theme topic in Schooled, what lesson about popularity can be learned from the story?

Choose a theme topic and annotate for that theme. 1. As you read, annotate specific text, quotes, or events that show or illustrate theme. Lessons can be learned from events, characters, dialogue, actions, etc. 2. In the left column, write the text that shows or hints at theme. 3. In the middle column, identify the theme and specific words that are important from this passage. 4. In the right column, discuss, in detail how theme is revealed. You may discuss the author’s diction (word choice), imagery, links to previous evidence of theme in the text, etc. This is your discussion and analysis about the text and how theme is revealed by the author’s words. You will be expected to create a thematic statement at the beginning of school, based on your understanding of the book. Thematic statement will be also be based on the theme topic and the evidence of theme you have gathered from the text.

Create 6 dialectical journal entries, following the dialectical journal format. Your entries should be 50-150 words in length, be properly cited and formatted. An example has been provided for you.

Student Name 7th Grade Summer Reading September 5, 2013

Dialectical Journal – Schooled Chapter 1

Topic (Coming of Age) Theme Topic

Quotation Theme

Topic/Diction Commentary

“I was thirteen the first time I saw a police officer up close. He was arresting me for driving without a license. At the time, I didn’t even know what a license was. I wasn’t too clear on what being arrested meant either.” (Gantos 1) Authors Last Name & Page Number This is the opening paragraph to the story of Capricorn, the 13 year old main character of Schooled.

Theme Topic Coming of Age Diction( important words/phrases that the author uses) first, too clear

Coming of age themes deal with growing up and the changes that kids go through as they grow and learn about what it means to be a grown up. Cap seems pretty innocent and protected because he hadn’t ever seen a police officer “up close’. He states that it was the “first time” and the word “first” is an important one when anyone talks about a kid’s life. It’s a big deal when a baby gets their first tooth or takes their first steps. As a child grows, those “firsts” change to the first bike ride without training wheels and the first day of school. Coming of age “firsts” mark the time between being a teenager and taking the first steps to being an adult. I think that this first for Cap will lead to some changes in the way that he sees the world. The fact that Cap wasn’t “too clear on what being arrested meant” tells me that he has definitely been sheltered. I don’t know of any 13 year old kid that hasn’t seen what being arrested looks like on TV. I wonder if this means that he has lived on a deserted island or maybe he doesn’t have a TV or a computer

 

Student Name:

Incoming 7th Grade Summer Reading

Dialectical Journal - Schooled Chapter

Topic

Your Name

Incoming 7th Graders

Theme Topic

Quotation ThemeTopic/Diction

Theme Topic

Diction (Important words/phrases that the

author uses)

Commentary

7th Grade Summer Reading Questions Answer the following 10 questions. 1. Pretend that Zach and Cap were switched at birth. How do you think their personalities would (or would not) be different? 2. Change is a big theme throughout the book. Choose a character, and cite significant changes within him or her during the course of the story. 3. How would you react if a student like Cap walked into your school? 4. What was the author trying to accomplish by adding the character Hugh to the mix of characters?

5. Do you think buying Sophie the bracelet and pretending that it was from her father was the right thing for Cap to do? Why or why not? 6. Why do you think Hugh turns on Cap toward the end of the story? 7. On page 192, Naomi shares, “I wasn’t a nice person … then I started watching [Cap]. He showed me a whole different way to be.” Discuss a person in your life who has had a similar positive impact on you. 8. Why do you think Floramundi left Garland all those years ago? 9. What do you predict would happen in a sequel to Schooled? 10. Why do you think Korman chose to tell the story through the eyes of each character rather than just sticking with one person’s point of view throughout the story?

Reading LogPlease record additional books you have read here. Also, have staff from the various sites

you visit sign here when participating in the Book Scavenger Hunt.

My child has read the books listed above.Parent Signature

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StoriesAlcott, Louisa May. Little WomenTwain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom SawyerL’Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in TimeCooper, Susan. The Dark Is RisingYep, Laurence. DragonwingsTaylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My CryHamilton, Virginia. “The People Could Fly”Paterson, Katherine. The Tale of the Mandarin DucksCisneros, Sandra. “Eleven”Sutcliff, Rosemary. Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad

DramaFletcher, Louise. Sorry, Wrong NumberGoodrich, Frances and Albert Hackett. The Diary of Anne Frank: A Play

PoetryLongfellow, Henry Wadsworth. “Paul Revere’s Ride”Whitman, Walt. “O Captain! My Captain”Carroll, Lewis. “Jabberwocky”Navajo tradition. “Twelfth Song of Thunder”Dickinson, Emily. “The Railway Train”Yeats, William Butler. “The Song of Wandering Aengus”Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken”Sandburg, Carl. “Chicago”Hughes, Langston. “I, Too, Sing America”Neruda, Pablo. “The Book of Questions”Soto, Gary. “Oranges”Giovanni, Nikki. “A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long”

Informational Texts: English Language ArtsAdams, John. “Letter on Thomas Jefferson.” Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave, Written by HimselfChurchill, Winston. “Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat: Address to Parliament on May 13th, 1940.” Petry, Ann. Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground RailroadSteinbeck, John. Travels with Charley: In Search of America

Informational Texts: History/Social StudiesUnited States. Preamble and First Amendment to the United States Constitution. (1787, 1791)Lord, Walter. A Night to RememberIsaacson, Phillip. A Short Walk through the Pyramids and through the World of ArtMurphy, Jim. The Great Fire

Greenberg, Jan, and Sandra Jordan. Vincent Van Gogh: Portrait of an ArtistPartridge, Elizabeth. This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody GuthrieMonk, Linda R. Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the ConstitutionFreedman, Russell. Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Informational Texts: Science, Mathematics, and Technical SubjectsMacaulay, David. Cathedral: The Story of Its ConstructionMackay, Donald. The Building of ManhattanEnzensberger, Hans Magnus. The Number Devil: A Mathematical AdventurePeterson, Ivars and Nancy Henderson. Math Trek: Adventures in the Math ZoneKatz, John. Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet out of IdahoPetroski, Henry. “The Evolution of the Grocery Bag”“Geology.” U*X*L Encyclopedia of Science“Space Probe.” Astronomy & Space:From the Big Bang to the Big Crunch“Elementary Particles.” New Book of Popular Science California Invasive Plant Council. Invasive Plant Inventory

Suggested Reading List (6-8)