Rising 7th Grade Summer Learning
Scroll to the bottom of this page to find printable Choice Book lists and discussion questions for Required Books.
Required Math Practice
This summer we are offering two options for students to reinforce their math proficiency over the summer months. Practicing 1 to 1.5 hours a week consistently every week of the summer (10 to 15 hours total) will help ensure a smooth transition back to school in August. If your child wants to do more, all the better. Review the following options with your child to determine which are preferred and would be beneficial.
- Math Minutes for Rising 7th (ISBN-13: 978-1591984306 ): These workbooks are available for purchase online or through local bookstores. Students should complete the workbook for the grade they just completed.
- Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/math/get-ready-for-7th-grade): Complete the entire course or target specific areas for practice.
- Kuta Software (http://kutasoftware.com/): Select Free Worksheets then click the appropriate course. There you will find a wide variety of topics and sub-topics with pre-made worksheets (and associated answer keys).
Keyboarding Practice
Ideally by fifth grade, students have developed beginning level keyboarding skills with attention to correct finger and hand positioning with touch typing skills. For students entering grades 6-8, computer literacy and keyboarding expectations continue to grow. Students are expected to type assignments and complete and submit assignments in Google Classroom in each of their classes. Depending on your student's current technology exposure and typing skills, we strongly recommend summer practice to increase typing speed and accuracy and computer literacy to ease their transition. Typing.com offers fun, helpful, and free practice for keyboarding, along with computer literacy modules and information. Students should create an account to keep track of their progress (not for teachers to monitor) and aim to complete courses based on their unique skill levels. Typing practice at the intermediate and advanced levels are encouraged, along with informational modules in digital literacy as time and interest allow.
Required Books
Read BOTH books and answer associated discussion questions.
Please note that both required books are available in hardcover only; know that used copies of both titles
are available for purchase via the online store of your choice should your family choose that option.
Read BOTH books and answer associated discussion questions.
Please note that both required books are available in hardcover only; know that used copies of both titles
are available for purchase via the online store of your choice should your family choose that option.
Choice Books
Choose at least TWO, preferably from different genres; as well, select titles you have NOT read previously. If you choose a graphic novel as one of your choice books, please choose a traditional book as your second choice book.
Printable lists available below.
Choose at least TWO, preferably from different genres; as well, select titles you have NOT read previously. If you choose a graphic novel as one of your choice books, please choose a traditional book as your second choice book.
Printable lists available below.
HISTORICAL FICTION
Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar Four 12-year-old Jewish girls in different time periods leave their homelands but carry their religion, culture, language, music, and heritage with them. In 1492, when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expel Jews from Spain, Benvenida and her family flee, vowing to remember where they came from. In 1923, Reina celebrates Turkish independence with her friend, a Muslim boy, causing her father to disown her and send her to live with an aunt in Cuba. Reina’s daughter, Alegra, serves as a brigadista in Castro’s literacy campaign before fleeing to the U.S. in 1961. In Miami in 2003, Paloma, Alegra’s daughter, is traveling to Spain to explore her family roots. There they find a miraculous connection. Heroes by Alan Gratz December 6, 1941: Frank and Stanley have it good. With their dads stationed at the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii, the boys get to soak up the sunshine while writing and drawing their own comic books. World War II might be raging overseas, but so far America has stayed out of the fight. December 7th, 1941: Everything implodes. Frank and Stanley are touring a battleship when Japanese planes attack. Frantically, the boys struggle to find safety. But disaster and danger are everywhere--from torpedoes underwater to bullets on the beach to the shocking cruelty that their friends and neighbors show Stanely. Because his mom is Japanese-American, Stanely is suddenly seen as the "enemy." And Frank, who is white, cannot begin to understand what his friend is now facing. How To Find What You’re Not Looking For by Veera Hiranandani Ariel Goldberg's life changes when her big sister elopes following the 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision that strikes down laws banning interracial marriage, and she's forced to grapple with both her family's prejudice and the antisemitism she experiences, as she defines her own beliefs. Last of the Name by Rosanne Parry Twelve-year-old Danny O’Carolan and his older sister, Kathleen, escape hunger and oppression in Ireland for the promise of a new life in America. But with the constant threat of starvation, disease, violence, and racism, life in 1863 NYC is scarcely better. The only work the two can find is that of a lady’s maid and a laundress. So Danny gamely dons a dress in hopes of passing as a girl, but he lives for the times when he can escape into the city. There, he earns pennies for his dancing and singing. But he also learns that the Irish are hated not just for their faith, but because they are competing for low-wage jobs, setting the stage for the unrest that caused the New York City draft riots. Familiar historical events are given new life through Danny’s wide-eyed optimism and Kathleen’s determination. Uprising by Jennifer A. Nielsen Poland has fallen under Nazi occupation, and 12-year-old Lidia wants to fight. Lidia begins to smuggle wheat and food to the Jewish people held captive in the Warsaw Ghetto. Soon, she begins to work as a courier, smuggling weapons and messages for the resistance throughout the city. When the Warsaw city uprising begins with gunfire and bombs echoing throughout the streets, Lidia joins the Polish nationalists’ fight. Drawing on the extraordinary real-life story of Polish teenager Lidia Zakrzewski, this story presents an inspiring and dramatic account of the Polish resistance fighters who struggled to force out their Nazi occupiers and reclaim their nation's freedom from tyranny. Two Roads by Joseph Bruchac It's the Great Depression, and twelve-year-old Cal Black and his Pop have been riding the rails after losing their farm. When Pop, who is Creek Indian, decides to join some fellow veterans in DC, he sends Cal to a government boarding school for Native Americans. At school, the other Creek boys quickly take Cal under their wings. Even in the harsh, miserable conditions, he begins to learn about his people's history and heritage. He learns their language and customs. And most of all, he learns how to find strength in a group of friends who have nothing beyond each other. White Bird: A Wonder Story (graphic novel) by R. J. Palacio In R. J. Palacio's stories Auggie & Me, readers were introduced to Julian's grandmother, Grandmère. In White Bird, Palacio makes her graphic novel debut with Grandmère's heartrending story: how she, a young Jewish girl, was hidden by a family in a Nazi-occupied French village during World War II; how the boy she and her classmates once shunned became her savior and best friend. MYSTERY/THRILLER And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie First, there were ten - an assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal - and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. And only the dead are above suspicion. City Spies by James Ponti (or any in series) For fans of Spy School and Framed! Operating out of a castle in Scotland are five kids from around the world who've fallen through the cracks only to form a family like no other. When they’re not at the local boarding school, they’re mastering their “spy” skills like sleight of hand, breaking and entering, covert observation, and explosives. Their first mission has them hacking into a rival school’s computer to prevent them from winning a million euros, dangling thirty feet off the side of a building, and trying to stop a villain. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney (or any in series) The message on the milk carton reads, "Have you seen this child?" Three-year-old Jennie Spring was kidnapped 12 years earlier, but Janie Johnson, looking at the photo, suddenly knows that she is that child. Fragments of memory and evidence accumulate, and when she demands to know about her early childhood years, her parents confess what they believe to be true, that she is really their grandchild, the child of their long-missing daughter who had joined a cult. Janie wants to accept this, but she cannot forget Jennie's family and their loss. What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie For fans of Agatha Christie! All Ginny Anderson wants this summer is to sleep in, attend a mystery writing workshop, and spend time with her best friend. But when Ginny's father surprises the family with a trip to Michigan, everything changes. They aren't staying in a hotel. No, they're staying in a twenty-six room, century-old building surrounded by dense forest. Woodmoor Manor. What follows is a teeth-chattering, chilling ghost story about a girl living in the decrepit and creepy mansion, who discovers something in the woods is after her. NONFICTION/MEMOIR The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis When we first meet Michael Oher, he is one of thirteen children; he does not know his real name, his father, his birthday, or how to read or write. Nor has he ever touched a football. What changes? He takes up football, and school, after a family plucks him from the streets. Their love alters the world's perception of the boy and the priceless combination of his size, speed, and agility makes him essential to the game. El Deafo (graphic novel) by Cece Bell A bout of childhood meningitis left Bell deaf at age four, and she was prescribed a Phonic Ear, with a receiver draped across her chest and a remote microphone her teachers wore. Her graphic memoir records both the indignities of being a deaf child and its joys, as when she discovers that the microphone picks up every word her teacher says leading to her invention of an alter ego—the cape-wearing El Deafo! Hey, Kiddo (graphic novel) by Jarrett Krosoczka In kindergarten, Jarrett Krosoczka's teacher asks him to draw his family. But Jarrett's family is complicated. His mom is an addict. His father is a mystery. He lives with his grandparents -- two very loud, very loving people who had thought they were through with raising children. Jarrett goes through his childhood trying to make his non-normal life as normal as possible, finding a way to express himself through drawing. Only as a teenager can Jarrett begin to piece together the truth of his family, reckoning with his mother and tracking down his father. Mexikid (graphic novel) by Pedro Martin Pedro Martín has grown up hearing stories about his abuelito—his legendary crime-fighting grandfather who was once a part of the Mexican Revolution! But that doesn't mean Pedro is excited at the news that abuelito is coming to live with their family. After all, Pedro has 8 brothers and sisters and the house is crowded enough! Still, Pedro piles into the Winnebago with his family for a road trip to Mexico to bring Abuelito home, and what follows is the trip of a lifetime, one filled with laughs and heartache. Along the way, Pedro finally connects with his abuelito and learns what it means to grow up and find his grito. Unbroken (Young Adult Adaptation): An Olympian’s Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive by Laura Hillenbrand The inspirational true story of how Louis Zamperini, a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic athlete and World War II pilot, crashed into the ocean and survived for weeks on a life raft only to become a prisoner of war. Warrior Dog: The Navy SEAL and His Fearless Canine Partner by Will Chesney and Joe Layden Starting in 2008, Will and Cairo worked side by side, depending on each other for survival on hundreds of critical operations in the war on terrorism. Their bond went beyond their military service. In 2011, Cairo and Will trained for weeks for a secret mission; a mission which resulted in the successful elimination of bin Laden. As Cairo settled into a role as a reliable “spare dog,” Will went back to his job―until a grenade blast in 2013 left him severely injured. Unable to participate in further missions, it was up to Cairo to save Will's life once more―and then up to Will to be there when Cairo needed him the most. REALISTIC FICTION Benbee and the Teacher Griefer by K.A. Holt (or any in series) For fans of Ghost, Gordon Korman, and Minecraft Ben Bellows (Benbee)—who failed the Language Arts section of the Florida State test—and three classmates are stuck in a summer school. But these kids aren't dumb—they're divergent thinkers, as Ms. J tells them: they simply approach things in a different way than traditional school demands, Told in multiple voices, these four classmates band together to save their teacher and their academic futures after Ms J.'s unorthodox teaching methods are questioned. Bystander by James Preller Thirteen-year-old Eric has moved to Long Island, NY, with his mother and younger brother. Eric soon meets Griffin Connelly, a natural leader with lots of charisma and a mean streak. While Griffin is the perfect bully, David Hallenback is the perfect victim. At first, Eric is a bystander, not participating in the bullying but not doing anything to stop it. However, a series of events move him out of this passive role. Linked by Gordon Korman Link, Michael, and Dana can’t believe it when someone sneaks into school and vandalizes it with a swastika. Michael, the first person to see it, is the first suspect. Dana, the only Jewish girl in town, is being treated like an outsider. And everyone is looking to Link to figure out who did this! The mystery deepens as more swastikas begin to appear. Some students decide to fight back and start a project to bring people together. The closer Link, Michael, and Dana get to the truth, the more there is to face-not just the crimes of the present, but the crimes of the past. |
REALISTIC FICTION (cont'd)
Louder than Hunger by John Schu Jake volunteers at a nursing home because he likes helping people. He likes skating and singing, playing Bingo and Name That Tune, and reading mysteries and comics aloud to his teachers. He also likes avoiding people his own age and the cruelty of mirrors and food. Jake has read about kids like him in books and would do anything not to be that kid, including shrink himself down to nothing. But the less he eats, the bigger he feels. A fictionalized account of the author’s experiences and emotions living in residential treatment facilities as a young teen with an eating disorder. Northwind by Gary Paulsen for fans of Hatchet; does for the ocean what Hatchet does for the woods! When a deadly plague reaches the fish camp where he lives, Leif is forced to take to the water in a cedar canoe. He flees northward, following a wild, fjord-riven shore, navigating from one danger to the next, unsure of his destination. Yet the deeper into his journey he paddles, the closer he comes to his truest self. A young person’s battle to stay alive against the odds, where the high seas meet a coastal wilderness. Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow Simon O’Keeffe’s biggest claim to fame should be the time his dad accidentally gave a squirrel a holy sacrament. But the story the whole world wants to tell about Simon is the one he’d do anything to forget. Two years after the infamous event, 12-year-old Simon and his family move to the National Quiet Zone—the only place in America where the internet is banned. Instead of talking about Simon, the astronomers who flock to the area are busy listening for signs of life in space. And when Simon makes a friend who’s determined to give the scientists what they’re looking for, he’ll finally have the chance to spin a new story for the world to tell. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli From the day she arrives at Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of "Stargirl." She captures Leo Borlock's heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. REALISTIC FICTION-SPORTS RELATED Fantasy League by Mike Lupica Charlie is known as a football stats genius. This makes him great at fantasy football; then reality comes center stage. His best friend is the granddaughter of the man who has brought NFL football back to LA, Joe Warren. But the team hasn’t done well and the GM is being blamed. Enter Charlie, who loves the team and soon comes to love Joe as the grandfather he never had. Charlie shares his massive football knowledge with Joe, and soon players are being recruited at Charlie's suggestion. Nikki On the Line by Barbara Carroll Roberts Nikki Doyle's dreams of becoming a basketball great feel within reach when she's selected to play on an elite-level club team. But in a league with taller and faster girls, Nikki suddenly isn't the best. The stress piles on as Nikki's best friend spends more time with another girl, and when her science teacher assigns a project that she can’t complete without revealing her most embarrassing secret. As if that's not enough, to cover the costs of her new team, Nikki has agreed to take care of her younger brother after school. As the stakes rise on the basketball court, at school, and at home, Nikki's confidence plummets. Can she learn to compete at this new, higher level? And how hard is she willing to work to find out? Obie is Man Enough by Schuyler Bailar Obie knew his transition would have ripple effects. He has to leave his swim coach, his pool, and his best friends. But it’s time for Obie to find where he truly belongs. As Obie dives into a new team, though, things are strange. Obie always felt at home in the water, but now he can’t get his old coach out of his head. Even worse are the bullies that wait in the locker room and on the pool deck. Luckily, Obie has family behind him. And maybe some new friends. Obie is ready to prove he can be one of the fastest boys in the water—to his coach, his critics, and his biggest competition: himself. One Last Shot by John David Anderson Malcolm has never felt like he was good enough. Especially not for his dad, whose competitive drive and love for sports Malcolm has never shared. That is, until Malcolm discovers miniature golf, the one sport he actually enjoys. Something about mini golf just clicks for Malcolm. Soon he is signed up for lessons and entered in tournaments. Yet, even as he becomes a better golfer and finds unexpected friends, he wonders if he might not always be a disappointment. Rebound by Kwame Alexander (or any in series) Before Josh and Jordan Bell were streaking up and down the court, their father was learning his own moves. In this prequel to The Crossover, Chuck Bell takes center stage, as readers get a glimpse of his childhood and how he became the jazz music worshiping, basketball star his sons look up to. Go back in time to visit the childhood of Chuck "Da Man" Bell during one pivotal summer when young Charlie is sent to stay with his grandparents where he discovers basketball and learns more about his family's past. Select by Chris Matheson 12-year-old Alex loves playing soccer, and she’s good at it, too. Very good. When her skills land her a free ride to play for Select, an elite soccer club, it feels like a huge opportunity. Joining Select could be the key to a college scholarship and a bright future—one that Alex’s family can’t promise her. But as the team gets better and better, her new coach pushes the players harder and harder, until soccer starts to feel more like punishment than fun. And then there comes a point where enough is enough, and Alex and her teammates must take a stand to find a better way to make their soccer dreams come true. The Walk On by John Feinstein Alex Myers, 14, is the new kid at his suburban Philadelphia high school. Knowing that he has a great arm, he tries out for the football team, but the quarterback position is already taken—by the coach’s son, Matt. So it’s third string for Alex, despite his talent, until, in Friday Night Lights fashion, Matt is injured and Alex must step up. SCI-FI/FANTASY/DYSTOPIA/FAIRY TALE Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston (or any in series) Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black! Amari Peters never stopped believing her missing brother, Quinton, is alive. So when she finds a briefcase, containing a nomination for a summer at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she’s certain the secretive organization holds the key to locating Quinton! Now she must compete for a spot against kids who’ve known about magic their whole lives. With an evil magician threatening the supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she’s an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t stick it out and pass the tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton. Ida in the Middle by Nora Lester Murad Every time violence erupts in the Middle East, Ida knows what’s coming next. Some of her classmates treat her like it’s all her fault—just for being Palestinian! In 8th grade, Ida is forced to move to a different school. But people still treat her like she’ll never fit in. Ida wishes she could disappear. One day, dreading a final class project, Ida hunts for food. She discovers a jar of olives that came from a beloved aunt in her family’s village near Jerusalem. Ida eats one and finds herself there—as if her parents had never left Palestine! Things are different in this other reality—harder in many ways, but also strangely familiar and comforting. Now she has to make some tough choices. Which Ida would she rather be? How can she find her place? The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera Petra Peña wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's Earth has been destroyed, and only a few hundred scientists and their children-among them Petra and her family-have been chosen to journey to a new planet and carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet to discover that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship and has systematically purged the memories of all aboard. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again? Last Gamer Standing by Katie Zhao Ready Player One meets the battle royale of video games! In twelve-year-old Reyna Cheng's world, gaming is everything. Professional esports teams are the mainstream celebrities and kids begin training from a young age. Reyna is the up-and-coming junior amateur Dayhold gamer, but no one knows who she is. Gaming is still a boys' club and to protect herself, she games as the mysterious TheRuiNar. When Reyna qualifies for the Dayhold Junior Tournament, she knows she's got what it takes to win. But when she's blackmailed by an anonymous troll, Reyna has to confront the toxic gaming community head-on. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (or any in series) After his grandfather’s death, Jacob travels to a remote Welsh island to find the orphanage where his grandfather was sent to escape Nazi persecution. When he arrives, he finds the “peculiar” children from his grandfather's stories are still at the orphanage, living in a time loop in 1940. The monsters that killed Jacob's grandfather are hunting for "peculiar" children and the group at the orphanage is in danger. Jacob must face the possibility that he, too, has certain traits that the monsters are after and that he is being stalked by adults he trusted. The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (or any in series) Every four years in the village of Gavaldon, two children are stolen away by a mysterious person known only as the Schoolmaster. These children become students at the School for Good and Evil. One will be taught the ways of goodness, honor, and beauty; the other will be instructed in the ways of darkness and villainy. Sophie just knows she's destined to be picked for the school of Good this year. Her best friend, Agatha, is surely villain material with her black clothes and dour demeanor. So how is it that Sophie winds up in the School for Evil and Agatha the School for Good? Scythe by Neal Shusterman (or any in series) A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control. Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia (or any in series) A Rick Riordan Presents fantasy! After the death of his best friend, Tristan Strong is sent to his grandparents' farm to heal. But on his first night, a sticky “doll?” shows up and steals Eddie's notebook. Tristan chases after it and, in an attempt to wrestle the journal back, Tristan punches a Bottle Tree and accidentally rips open ‘the sky’ and finds himself in battle with black American folk heroes such as John Henry and Brer Rabbit. In order to get back home, Tristan and these new allies need to entice the god Anansi, the Weaver, to come out of hiding and seal the hole in the sky. But bartering with the trickster Anansi always comes at a price. Can Tristan save this world before he loses more of the things he loves? A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson ISBN-13: 978-0374386153 Commemorating its fiftieth anniversary, Hope Larson reproduces a graphic adaptation of this beloved coming-of-age story chronicling the journey of Meg Murry, her younger brother, Charles, and their friend Calvin O’Keefe, across distant worlds to save the Murry’s, lost father. Guided by three grandmotherly guardian angels, they navigate the dangers of a mind-controlled world fallen under the influence of a cosmic force of pure evil. |
Rising 7th Grade Summer Reading List (alpha by title)
Rising 7th Grade Summer Reading List (alpha by genre; includes summaries)
Discussion Questions for Required Reading
Answer the discussion questions in complete sentences. You may type or write your responses. We will discuss them as a class in August.
Summer Reading Record
Rising 7th Grade Summer Reading List (alpha by genre; includes summaries)
Discussion Questions for Required Reading
Answer the discussion questions in complete sentences. You may type or write your responses. We will discuss them as a class in August.
Summer Reading Record