Novel options: Around the World in 80 Days; The House of Dies Drear; Maniac Magee or other novel(s) that explore theme; writing skills: creating complex sentences to avoid simple sentences and repetition; SOL test prep: test-taking strategies

Summarize for plot, characterization, conflict; analyze development of character and theme; apply rules of writing to combine simple sentences and punctuate them correctly when writing in response to reading and discussion