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,
Mr. Jeffrey P. Presberg
Headmaster
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 3 books from the list below.
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 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 - Kenneth Roberts (counts as 2 books)
Where the Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls
Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
King Solomon’s Mines - H. Rider Haggard
Lee and Grant at Appomattox - MacKinlay Kantor
The Last Crusader: Don John of Austria - Louis de Wohl
The Mouse that Roared - Leonard Wibberley
The Once and Future King - T. H. White
True Grit - Charles Portis
Black Beauty - Anna Sewall
The Black Stallion - Walter Farley
The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
Little Women or Little Men - 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 imagining you are a servant or creature observing what is going on. Tell it like a story.
Be sure to read what is required but also read books that you love!
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