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Name__________________________
Middle School Summer Reading Packet
GRADE 7
Throughout your summer vacation, you will need to read your required
novel, Countdown by Ben Mikaelsen, and complete the sections in this
packet, all of which are intended to guide your reading and focus your
thoughts. This packet will be due in your Language Arts class on the
first day of school.
By carefully completing this assignment over the summer, you will be
prepared to discuss the novel in the fall and to write an in-class essay.
In order to successfully complete this assignment, you must understand the
following concepts:
INCIDENT: a single event that a character or person experiences; the event can be large or small
RESPONSE: the feelings and thoughts of the characters and people involved with the incident
REFLECTION: the lesson learned or the significance of the experience resulting from the incident
In addition, you will need to understand the concept of making choices, which is
the major focus for your 7th grade year:
CHOICES: In literature as in real life, characters and people make choices, both large and small, for
personal or cultural reasons about the way they live their lives.
Most good stories involve incidents that characters experience and involve choices they must
make and respond to. By making choices characters grow, typically gaining new knowledge
and perspective, by reflecting on the lessons learned as a result of the choices they made.
Part A: Tracking Elliot’s Choices:
As you read, keep track of the important incidents in Elliot’s life and the choices involved with each one. They may be major or minor choices that Elliot made or
choices that were made for him. As you describe the incidents, include specific details from the text as well as the page numbers.
Incidents What choices were involved? Lessons Learned
(Be detailed in your description and address as (Explain the choice and be sure to include who (If the lesson is not stated in the text, what do
many of the 5WH as you can: who, what, made the choice and who was impacted by the you think Elliot learned?)
where, why, and how.) choice.)
(page ___)
Elliot
(page ___)
(page ___)
(page ___)
(page ___)
Part B: Tracking Vincent’s Choices:
As you read, keep track of the important incidents in Vincent’s life and the choices involved with each incident. They may be major or minor choices that
Vincent made or choices that were made for him. As you describe the incidents, include specific details from the text as well as the page numbers.
Incidents What choices were involved? Lessons Learned
(Be detailed in your description and address as (Explain the choice and be sure to include who (If the lesson is not stated in the text, what do
many of the 5WH as you can: who, what, made the choice and who was impacted by the you think Vincent learned?)
where, why, and how.) choice.)
(page ___)
Vincent
(page ___)
(page ___)
(page ___)
(page ___)
Part C: Using Context Clues
Context clues are the words around an unfamiliar word that help readers to figure out the unfamiliar word’s meaning. This will help you to understand new
vocabulary and make greater meaning from the text.
Directions: The first column contains a vocabulary word from the novel. In the second column, write the entire sentence in which the word was used. Underline
the word or words that can help you understand the meaning of the unknown word. In the third column, based on the context clues that you underlined, write
what you guess the word means. In the fourth column, record the dictionary definition that best matches the use of the word in the sentence.
Vocabulary
Context My Guess Dictionary Definition
Word
coaxed “Bitter wind from Crazy Peak tugged at the to convince or talk into to influence or gently urge; to persuade
sagebrush as 14 year old Elliot Schroeder coaxed doing something
p. 1 his buckskin horse back toward the ranch.”
implications
p. 18
canopy
p. 33
evolved
p. 118
ambassador
p. 154
feverishly
p. 201
maneuvered
p. 226
Part D: Analyze the Novel’s Ending
The author ends the novel with a very descriptive paragraph, leaving the reader with something to think about. Reread
this paragraph and, in your own words, state the author’s message to his readers. What lesson do you think Ben
Mikaelsen wants you to take away from this paragraph? Pull descriptive words and key phrases from the ending as
supporting evidence.
“With those simple words, on that morning in Senegal, two very
different boys reached out and touched hands. Because of that
moment, the future of a tiny planet named Earth, located in a distant
spiral arm of a remote galaxy, glowed warmer against the cold black of
a wonderful and undiscovered universe” (246).
Part E: Personal Response
Now that you have read about the choices made by Elliot and Vincent, it is time to consider your own experiences.
Directions: Write about a significant incident in your life where a choice (big or small) was involved. The choice could
have been made by you or made for you by someone else. Be sure to include:
The 5WH (who, what, where, when, why, how) details about the incident
How the choice impacted you (the lesson learned from the choice or the significance of the choice)
