Summer Reading
Required Summer Reading for GT/Pre-AP Grade 7

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

As defined by the College Board, Pre-AP/GT students will engage in curriculum that will provide depth and complexity, called differentiation.

Depth is the exploration of content within a discipline.
            · Analyzing from the concrete to abstract, familiar to the unfamiliar, known to the                     unknown;
              · Exploring the discipline by going past facts and concepts into                     generalizations, principles, theories, laws;
               · Investigating the layer of experience within a discipline through                     details, patterns, trends, unanswered questions, and
                    ethical considerations

Complexity is
              · Extending content in, between, and across disciplines through the study of themes,                 problems, and issues;
              · Seeing relationships between and among ideas in/within the topic, discipline,                 and/or disciplines;
              · Examining relationships in, between, and across disciplines over time, and from                 multiple points of view.

The GT/Pre-AP ELA student entering 7th grade is required to read the following:

Watership Down by Richard Adams

A phenomenal worldwide bestseller for over thirty years, Richard Adams's Watership Down is a timeless classic and one of the most beloved novels of all time. Set in England's Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society.

After reading the novel, students are required to answer one of the following open-ended questions. Be sure to support your response with text evidence from the novel. This response is due upon return to school for the fall semester:

            1. Is Hazel a good leader? Explain your answer with text evidence.
            2. Why are Fiver’s instincts important to the novel? Explain your answer with text                evidence.
            3. Why does the idea of “home” resurface again and again in the novel? Explain your                answer with text evidence.
            4. Why is nature important to the novel? Explain your answer with text evidence.
            5. Is it acceptable for the rabbits to use trickery in order to survive? Explain your                answer with text evidence.

It is imperative that students complete this assignment in order to be successful in their 7th Grade GT/Pre-AP ELA class.