Saint John Academy Summer Reading
For Rising 7th Graders
Greetings Parents and Students
The books, stories and poems have been carefully selected to foster an enjoyable and thoughtful reading experience. Enjoy this special time with your child. These assignments are meant to be enriching and meaningful. Be sure to balance the assignments with lots of fun and enjoyable time outside with family and friends.
Best to you and your family,
Mrs. Karen Tessier
Assistant Headmaster
Saint John Academy
Core Elements for Rising 7th Graders
- You will need a writing journal (a leather journal that you can keep and use over time).
Read 2 books, (Rabble in Arms is the mandatory read, and you may choose 1 other book from the list). You may choose to complete Rabble in Arms by Thanksgiving break if you choose.
You are encouraged to read as many as you like.
- For each book draw a picture of something interesting or an image that strikes you and illuminates something important to the story. Think about the characters, the setting and the sequence of events as your draw. Sketch the picture and then color it.
- Write a 1-2 paragraph(s) describing each picture inside of your journal (pictures may be drawn and placed inside journal if you would like).
Rabble in Arms by Kenneth Robertson
King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard (Adventure Fiction)
Lee and Grant at Appomattox by MacKinlay Kantor (Historical Fiction)
The Last Crusader: Don John of Austria by Louis de Wohl (Historical Fiction)
The Mouse that Roared by Leonard Wibberley (Political Satire Fiction)
The Once and Future King by T. H. White (Fantasy/Fiction)
True Grit by Charles Portis (Western Fiction)
Black Beauty by Anna Sewall
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Little Women by Mary Louise Alcott
Little Men by Mary Louise Alcott
- Read all four recommended poems, copy one in your journal and memorize, reciting it at home (at the dinner table or some other spontaneous moment). This will also be recited at school.
“After Apple-Picking” by Robert Frost
“Before a Statue of Achilles” by George Santayana
“Spring and Fall” by Gerard Manley Hopkins
“The Solitary Reaper” by William Wordsworth
- Read the following Gospel selections focused on the story of the Good Samaritan and Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well.
Luke 10: 25-37
John 4: 4-42
Please view (and ponder) N.C. Wyeth's “The Good Samaritan”, and the icon of the Samaritan woman and Jesus (below) to help you enter the scene of those moments.
- Choose one of the Gospel passages to reflect on, such as the conversation of the Samaritan woman and Jesus. What was unusual about the conversation? What was Jesus' "style" of conversation? Why did the woman change? Why did the village change?
- Write a paragraph about the other Gospel passage imaging you are a servant or creature observing what is going on. Tell it like a story.