This class uses two separate book lists on a two-year rotation, so students can take it in seventh grade, eighth grade, or both without repeating books. Students are welcome to use audio and electronic versions for reading at home, but paper editions of the books are required in class. No e-readers permitted in class.

The specific editions suggested are recommended, not required, but any edition substituted must be unabridged. After the ISBN for each book (except for drama and poetry, which are rated differently) you can find the Lexile score, which is an estimate of the reading level for each book. You can learn more about Lexile scoring, what it means, and how to use it here.

2024-25 Booklist

• Summer Reading Homework: Click on this link for the summer booklist and be ready to share the title, author, your opinion of the book and give a brief synopsis. Due at the first class
• The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, ISBN ‎ 978-0547928227, (Lexile score 1000)
• Agatha Christie short stories-  compare and contrast unit focusing on Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. ISBN 0062074423
• The Secret Garden by Francess Hodgson Burnett, ISBN 978-9386538994, (Lexile score 920)
• The Giver by Lois Lowry, ISBN 9780544336261, (Lexile score 760)
• Nonfiction: selected works by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, and Helen Keller (teacher will provide) as well as current event news articles approved by the teacher and parent.
• Poetry: selected works by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Langston Hughes, and others (teacher will provide)
• Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, ISBN 0486411192

2025-2026 Booklist (subject to change):

• Summer Reading Homework: Click on this link for the summer booklist and be ready to share the title, author, your opinion of the book and give a brief synopsis. Due at the first class
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, ISBN 0375756825;  (Lexile measure 570)
• Short stories: “The Diamond Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant and “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry (teacher will provide)
• The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle ISBN 1497483646 (Lexile measure 1010)
• Poetry: selected works by Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and others (teacher will provide)
• Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, ISBN-13 : 978-0553213133 (Lexile measure 970)
• Nonfiction: selected works by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln,  and others (teacher will provide)
• Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, ISBN 9781593081393 (Lexile measure 560 )
• Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, ISBN 0486478068

Credit Option:

8th Grade students enrolled in IEW 3 in addition to this class may pursue an English 1 high school credit with the completion of additional HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL reading assignments. 8th Graders pursuing this option must be academically mature with teaching parents developing, teaching, and implementing additional high school level course work.

NOTE: High school credit for eighth graders is contingent on the approval of the your accountability association and detailed documentation of coursework. See suggested guidelines.