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Welcome Incoming 8th Graders (and Parents), I am excited to meet you and to begin learning with you in August! We have the wonderful but important task of preparing you for high school and for a life of reading, writing, and communicating effectively! This summer practice will help you review and improve your English skills to ensure that you are ready to succeed in 8th grade English! Please make sure that you carefully read the information below, as all of these review assignments will be the foundation for the start of the year, and I want everyone to be prepared! Use the checklist and the suggested planning guide to help you stay focused. Warmly, Ms. Zacuto 1) ______Read ONE book that you have not already read from the following list of novels. *Look online for descriptions or browse the library or book store. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson The Call of the Wild by Jack London A Separate Peace by John Knowles Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery Little Women by Louisa May Alcott The Secret Garden by Frances H. Burnett 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien Oliver Twist OR David Copperfield by Dickens Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Actively reading the novel is optional; however, everyone must TYPE the following information on a separate piece of paper AND be prepared to write about the novel when we return to school. (You will need to bring this novel to class during the first few weeks of school and be prepared to write a formal, short essay on it.) 2) ______Answer all of the questions below in COMPLETE SENTENCES that show me your best writing. You MUST TYPE YOUR ANSWERS on a separate piece of paper. Please use the format of the attached handout as a model. 1. Identify a protagonist, an antagonist, and one other major character. Write 4-5 sentences about the CHARACTERIZION of each. (Look like, believe, do, etc…) 2. Find and write down FOUR examples of FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE (at least 3 different devices). Write the example, explain what it one MEANS and explain HOW the author used in at least 3 sentences? (metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, symbol) 3. Identify and write down two major THEMES of the novel. In 5-7 sentences each, explain how each one is a theme. 4. Identify and explain TWO DEFINING MOMENTS in the novel. Explain why each one is a defining moment in at least 4 sentences for each one. 5. All of the books on this list have become classics. Whether or not you personally would rate it a “10,” explain why you think this novel has become a classic, meaning why people continue to read it. Then give your own opinion of the novel. Write 6-10 sentences for your entire explanation. DO NOT use quotes, but refer to the story to support your ideas. 3) Make flashcards for any of the grammar parts of speech on the following list that you have not already mastered. Study them! Be prepared for an assessment in the first weeks of school. 4) Make flashcards for any of the literary devices on the following list that you have not already mastered. (You DO NOT need to know the devices that are shaded in gray. We will learn those in the 8th grade. But you may study them if you want to get ahead. Study all of the others and be prepared for an assessment in the first weeks of school.) 5) Practice typing until you can type at least 55 words per minute. You will have a typing test in the first few weeks of school. You also need to be prepared to write timed, inclass essays on the computer. http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/keyboarding_games.html (free practice website) OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT ______READ, READ, READ for pleasure!!!! Keep track of the books that you read on the log that I have provided. (Reading is the BEST way to improve your writing, fluency and comprehension skills!) (Do not read the following books as we will be reading them together in class next year: Edgar Allan Poe Stories, Twelve Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird.) Suggested Planning Week 1: 1) Read a fourth of your novel. 2) Highlight the grammar parts of speech and literary devices that you need to study. 3) Practice typing for at least 20 minutes. Week 2: 1) Read another fourth of your novel. 2) Make flashcards for the grammar parts of speech that you need to study. 3) Practice typing for at least 20 minutes. Week 3: 1) Read another fourth of your novel. 2) Make flashcards for the literary devices that you need to study. 3) Practice typing for 20 minutes. Week 4: 1) Read the final fourth of your novel. 2) Study your flashcards for at least 20 minutes. 3) Practice typing for at least 20 minutes. Week 5: 1) Type half of the answers to the questions about the novel. 2) Study your flashcards for at least 20 minutes. 3) Practice typing for at least 20 minutes. Week 6: 1) Type the final half of the answers to the questions about the novel. 2) Study your flashcards for at least 20 minutes. 3) Practice typing for at least 20 minutes. (On the following pages you will find the lists of literary devices and grammar parts of speech.) Name: Book and Author: Novel Questions: Type these answers and use complete sentences that show your best writing. Avoid tired words. 1. Identify a protagonist, an antagonist, and one other character. Write 3-5 sentences CHARACTERIZING each. (What the character says, does, thinks, feels, believes, etc….) A. Protagonist: B. Antagonist: C. One other character: 2. Find FOUR examples of figurative language and at least 3 different types. In at least 2 sentences each, explain the type of figurative language and what each example means. (metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, symbol) Example 1: I found an example of hyperbole on page 138. “Two geological ages later, we heard the soles of Atticus’s shoes scrape the front steps.” The author creates a hyperbole by exaggerating that the kids waited for their father for an entire geological age, which would really be thousands of years. She uses this hyperbole to show that the kids felt like they were waiting an eternity since they were anxious about how their father would react to their previous behavior which they knew was terrible. Example 2: I found an example of symbol on page 56. “Why one sprig of nut grass can ruin a whole yard.” In this example, the nut grass is a weed that symbolizes racism. The author uses this symbol to show that just like this weed can ruin the garden, racism can spread throughout a community and ruin the lives of many people. Example 3: I found an example of metaphor on page 197. “I saw Atticus in the yard with another knot of men.” This example creates a metaphor in which the group of men is being compared to a knot tied from string. The author uses this metaphor to show how the men looked so intertwined with one another to outside observers. A. I found an example of ___________________________________ on page ________. I have written the example in the space below: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Explain the device or comparison and explain HOW the author uses it: ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ B. I found an example of ___________________________________ on page ________. I have written the example in the space below: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Explain the device or comparison and explain HOW the author uses it: ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ C. I found an example of ___________________________________ on page ________. I have written the example in the space below: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Explain the device or comparison and explain HOW the author uses it: ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ D. I found an example of ___________________________________ on page ________. I have written the example in the space below: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Explain the device or comparison and explain HOW the author uses it: ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3) Identify and write down 2 major themes of the novel. In 5-7 sentences each, explain how each one is a theme. Theme Reminder: -The story’s main message that the author intends to communicate by telling the story. -These messages are “universal,” meaning they can be found in many pieces of literature, poems, movies, songs, etc…, and they must be communicated in a full sentence. “Friendship” is not a theme. What is the author saying about friendship? The author implies that the bonds of true friendship can withstand any hardship. Theme 1: The author implies that _______________________________________________________________ Explain you see the theme in the novel in the space below: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Theme 2: The author implies that _______________________________________________________________ Explain you see the theme in the novel in the space below: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4) Identify and explain TWO defining moments in the novel. Explain why each one is a defining moment in 3-5 sentences. 1._______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2._______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5) All of the books on this list are classics. In 5-7 sentences explain why you think people continue to read this novel, years after its original publication. Whether or not you personally would rate it a “10,” explain why you think this novel has become a classic, meaning why people continue to read it. Then give your own opinion of the novel. Write 6-10 sentences for your entire explanation and review. DO NOT use quotes, but refer to the story to support your ideas. *The literary devices and grammar parts of speech are on the next few pages. Make sure you know all of the non-shaded ones. Story Elements Narrator The speaker who tells the story. If the narrator is also a character who participates in the story, it is important not to confuse the narrator with the author—who may, in fact, hold a very different attitude toward the story. -The Unreliable Narrator: Sometimes authors give clues that the narrator cannot be trusted to tell the truth. The reader must discern the “real truth.” (Edgar Allan Poe is famous for this technique.) Point of View -Type of narration - The perspective from which a r story is told. First Person: A character in the story tells the story using first person pronouns (I, me, my, mine, we…) . Third Person Limited: One person tells the story and uses the pronouns “he,” “she,” and “it.” The reader only knows what this one character is thinking, seeing, and feeling. The story is told only from this perspective. Third Person Omniscient: The narrator uses the pronouns “he,” “she,” and “it.” The narrator is all-knowing and, therefore, knows what all of the characters are seeing, thinking, and feeling. Plot -The sequence of events in the story. Exposition: The author gives background information about the characters, setting, and sometimes the problem. Rising Action: The writer sets up a main conflict or a problem and the tension in the story rises. Climax: The moment when the rising action comes to its highest point of dramatic conflict. Usually this moment occurs before the actual ending of the story. Falling Action: The part of the story following the climax and leading to the resolution. Resolution/ Denouement: The outcome of the events in a story. Protagonist: The central/main character around which the action takes place Characters -the “people” or (often the “good guy” but not always.) “personalities” within a story Antagonist: The character who tries to interfere with the actions of the protagonist (often the “bad guy”) Characterization: The methods a writer uses to communicate information about characters to readers. (What the character says, does, thinks, feels, believes, etc…When the author tells the readers directly, it is called direct characterization. When an author shows the character in action, and allows readers to draw their own conclusions, it is called indirect characterization.) Conflict: The central source of tension and drama in the story. (It’s sometimes called the story problem.) Internal: A conflict between a character and him or herself External: A conflict between a character and an outside force (another person, an animal, a storm, etc…) Four Kinds: 1) Man vs. Man (physical) - The leading character struggles with his physical strength against other men, forces of nature, or animals. 2) Man vs. Circumstances (classical) - The leading character struggles against fate, or the circumstances of life facing him/her. 3) Man vs. Society (social) - The leading character struggles against ideas, practices, or customs of other people. 4) Man vs. Himself/Herself (psychological) - The leading character struggles with himself/herself; with his/her own soul, ideas of right or wrong, physical limitations, choices, etc. Setting The environment--time and place—of the story. Mood/Tone The overall feeling of the story created by the author’s choice of words. (light and happy, dark and brooding, Serious, suspenseful, humorous, ironic etc…) Literary Devices: Techniques that the author uses to create a particular effect in the story. Figurative Language Figurative language uses "figures of speech" to describe something in a nonliteral way. Imagery Vivid language and details used to describe in a way that creates a picture in the mind of the reader. Metaphor A figure of speech that compares two unlike objects without using “like” or “as.” An exaggeration used to make a point or for emphasis. Hyperbole A figure of speech in which an idea, object, or animal takes on human Personification characteristics. A figure of speech that compares two unlike objects using the words “like” or “as.” Simile Symbol An image, object, character or action that stands for an idea beyond its literal meaning. Idiom Phrase or expression meaning something different from what the words actually say Paradox Irony A statement that seems contradictory on the surface, but on closer inspection actually holds a truth. (Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage.) 1) Verbal irony: a figure of speech in which the words contradict what the speaker actually means. (After almost being hit by a bus to say, “Well, now that that little excitement is over, how about some tea?”) 2) Dramatic irony: when a character in a story or play utters words which the reader or audience understands to have a different meaning, but of which the character himself is unaware. (The character exaggerates that it’s so cold he will die, not knowing that he will actually die in the scene.) Suspense 3) Irony of situation is when a situation occurs which is quite the reverse of what one might have expected. (The dentist’s child has a mouth full of cavities.) Techniques used by the author to keep the reader interested in the story and wondering what will happen next. Flashback A past event remembered clearly and which affects the development of the story – usually interrupts or is inserted within the chronological development of the story. Foreshadow A writing technique that gives readers hints or clues about events that will happen later in the story. Diction The author’s choice of words; the level of vocabulary in the story. Denotation The literal meaning of a word, the dictionary meaning. (opposite of connotation) “Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest” (sleep) Connotation An implied meaning of a word. (opposite of denotation) “Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest” (burial) Dialogue The actual words the characters speak. Onomatopoeia The use of words to imitate the sounds they describe as in zip, buzz, bang, hiss, and swish. Putting two contradictory words together. i.e. bittersweet, jumbo shrimp, act naturally, wise fool, sad joy, eloquent silence, Oxymoron Anachronism Placing an event, person, item, or verbal expression in the wrong historical period. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Shakespeare writes the following lines: “Cassius: The clock has stricken three” Of course, there were no household clocks during Roman times, no more than there were DVD players! The reference is an anachronism, either accidental or intentional. Archetype An original model or pattern from which other later copies are made, especially a character, an action, or situation that seems to represent common patterns of human life. Characters: the hero, the outcast, the scapegoat, the villain in black, the mother figure, the helpless little old lady, the mad scientist, the underdog, etc… Situations: the damsel in distress being rescued from the monster, the quest or search for some treasure, the orphaned prince being discovered by long lost parents, the underdog emerging victorious, etc… Theme (s) -The story’s main message that the author intends to communicate by telling the story. -These messages are “universal,” meaning they can be found in many pieces of literature, poems, movies, songs, etc…, and they must be communicated in a full sentence. “Friendship” is not a theme. What is the author saying about friendship? The author implies that the bonds of true friendship can withstand any hardship. The author implies that love is blind. The author implies that people are afraid of change. *Do not give themes as rules: “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is too elementary. Motif A more sophisticated theme for 8th grade would be… The author implies that people are not always what they seem. A recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literature. (one word vs. a sentence for theme) A motif may also be two contrasting elements in a work, such as good and evil. Alliteration The repetition of beginning sounds of two or more words in a sentence; emphasizes a description or point. Allusion A reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature. Allusions are often indirect or brief references to wellknown characters or events. (The most famous references are to Greek/Roman mythology, Shakespeare, history, or the Bible.) Literary Genres: Types of Writing Non-fiction Informational text dealing with an actual, real-life subject.. (Biography, Autobiography, Articles, Historical Essays, Speeches) A story of someone’s life written by a different person. Biography A story of one’s own life written by the person featured. Autobiography A short literary composition that reflects the author's outlook or point. Essays Factual information presented in a format which tells a story. Narrative Nonfiction Fiction Fantasy Stories that are totally invented or imagined; content based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact. Fiction with strange or other worldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality. (J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit) Historical Fiction Stories that are made up but are based in historically significant and accurate periods. Story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting. ScienceFiction A form of fiction that draws imaginatively on actual, imagined or potential scientific knowledge. It is often set in the future or on other planets. Mystery Fiction dealing with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets. (Sometimes called detective fiction — in other words a novel or short story in which a detective, either professional or amateur, investigates and solves a crime. A made up story that could actually happen and is true to life. Realistic Fiction Adventure A genre of fiction that has adventure, an exciting undertaking involving risk and physical danger, as its main theme. Stories composed in verse (poetry) or prose (regular sentence structure), Drama/Play Fable usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue (characters talking) and action (characters moving across a stage). Narration demonstrating a useful truth, especially in which animals speak as humans; often a legendary, supernatural tale. Folklore The songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or "folk" as handed down by word of mouth. Humor Fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain (but can be contained in all genres). Legend Story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, which has a basis in fact but also includes imaginative material. Horror Fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread in both the characters and the reader. Short Fiction of such brevity that it supports no subplots. Story Poetry Verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that creates emotional responses in the reader. Grammar Parts of Speech Make Flashcards and Study the Ones you DO NOT KNOW. Part of Speech Noun Common vs. Proper Collective vs. Plural Concrete vs. Abstract Definition A word that names a person, animal, place, thing, idea, or feeling Other Important Information/ Hints 1)The three articles (a, an, the) signal that a noun follows Common Suffixes -tion -sion -ence -ance Examples democracy relevance referral artisan independence boy vs. Jack team vs. boys desk vs. idea Part of Speech Definition Important Information/ Hints Suffixes or more info. Examples Verb 1) action verb shows action (run, fly, think) 1) It tells what the subject is doing. -ate -ize dictate attained moisten ponder clarify -ible -able -ous -ent -ant incredible territorial important dependent spectacular relevant malevolent curious reliable fluently homeward timewise Action Linking 2) linking verb shows state of being verb (is, appear, seem, be) Helping 3) helping comes before another verb (could, would) Adjective A word that describes (modifies) or limits a noun or pronoun 2) Two are more verbs working together are called a verb phrase. 1) Answers the questions Which one? What kind? How many? How much? 2) The three articles (a, an, the) always function as adjectives. Adverb is a word that describes (modifies) or limits a verb, adjective or other adverb Answers the questions How? When? Where? To what extent? Common Suffixes: -ly -ward -wise Pronoun a word that takes the place of a noun The word that it replaces, its antecedent, is always a noun. Types of pronouns: Subject Object Possessive Demonstrative He, she, it Him, her His, their This, that, these, those Interjection A word that expresses sudden or strong emotion It has no grammatical relation to other words in the sentence. 1) An interjection usually comes at the beginning of a sentence. 2) An interjection must be followed by either a comma or an exclamation point. A word that shows a relationship (often position) between a noun or a pronoun and some other word (noun) in the sentence. 1. Think relation to a fence, the stairs, and lunch… through the fence up the stairs after lunch 2. It always begins a prepositional phrase and has an object. Conjunction A word that joins sentence parts Coordinating Conjunction A single word Two nouns Two verbs Two sentences Two prep phrases, Etc.. 1. They work ALONE Preposition Correlative Conjunction that joins sentence parts of the same type a pair of words that joins sentence parts of the same type Wow! Ouch, Yippee! 2. They always work with a “relative.” Memorize those that do not follow the rule or that you do not naturally notice! Of With Follow the Rule: Over Under Around Through Beside Into Before During If you see this Fanboys: conjunction, you For, and, nor, have two of but, or, yet, so something! If you see these conjunctions, you have two of something! neither…nor, either…or, both…and, not only…but also, whether…or, Summer Reading Log How many books can you read? Book Title and Author Overall Rating Summer Reading Log How many books can you read? Book Title and Author Overall Rating