Dear Parents and Students,

By now, you are hopefully beginning that glorious tradition of jumping into the freedom of Summer Break. Taking the time to rest your brain a bit and relax, to put the hard work and challenges of the previous school year aside, and to do something else–anything new or different–is essential to your future learning. This is not the time to be worrying about what the upcoming school year will be like.  All those questions that love to swim around our heads when we’re facing a new grade - What will my teachers be like? Will I have a lot of friends in my class? Will the school work be hard? How much homework will I get? - need to take a break. Soon enough, those questions and more will be answered on your first day of school. So please enjoy your summer and indulge in all of the things you are too busy for during the school year. Summer vacation is a time to unwind, have fun, and grow as a person. Yes – you do need to do your Summer homework, just to keep your Fourth Grade learning fresh. But it should not dominate your time or mind for the next two months.

When Fifth Grade does begin, rest assured that it will be filled with plenty of learning adventures as your time in the Kew-Forest Lower School comes to a close. This will be the year when you prepare for the transition to middle school, a major landmark in your educational journey.

In the meantime, please read through this packet carefully and try to begin doing your Summer work a little bit at a time, starting in July. September will be here before you know it! 

Warm Regards,

Grade 5 Lead Teacher 

We encourage you to have your child spend a little time each week on IXL this summer to keep their learning fresh and stay confident for the upcoming school year. 

Summer Reading for Entering 5th Graders

The following books are the “CORE” summer reading books.

The Public Library has multiple copies of these books.

TITLE               AUTHOR
Gregor the Overlander *     Suzanne Collins

Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money *     Christopher Paul Curtis

Turtle in Paradise       Jennifer Holm

Children of the Lamp (The Akhenaten Adventure)* P.B. Kerr

Regarding the Sink: Where, Oh Where, Did Waters Go?* Kate Klise

Skulduggery Pleasant * Derek Landy

Julia Gillian (and the art of knowing) * Alison McGhee

Saffy’s Angel * Hillary McKay

The Boy Who Saved Baseball John Ritter

The Invention of Hugo Cabret Brian Selznick

Listening for Lions Gloria Whelan

NOTE: A star * means the book is part of a series or has sequels.

ADDITIONAL GREAT SUMMER READS

Nonfiction

Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature by Sarah Campbell

In nature, the number series called Fibonacci numbers (1,1,2,3,5,8,13...) often appears in the arrangement of petals or spiral patterns in plants and animals. A beautiful photo-essay introducing Fibonacci numbers and the idea that plants carry genetic instructions for their development, often including a mathematical pattern.

Sparky: The Life and Art of Charles Schulz by Beverly Gherman

A colorful introduction to the world’s most famous cartoonist, with lots of pictures of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and his other creations.

The Dark Game: True Spy Stories by Paul Janeczko

Ever wonder why invisible ink works? How a code breaker deciphers a message? Or whether dentistry could affect a secret agent's success? The answers to these questions and more can be found here. Delve into the lives of famous spies and enter a world of intrigue and danger.

Kubla Khan: The Emperor of Everything by Kathleen Krull

Complemented by intricately detailed art, this grand portrait of the Mongolian emperor introduces a mighty ruler who supported learning and the arts while founding a dynasty in China.

Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter
Two well-known authors offer beginning writers savvy advice and hard-earned wisdom— from getting started to getting past writer’s block—in this warm and funny manual.

T-minus: The Race to the Moon by Jim Ottaviani

What happens when you take two global superpowers, dozens of daring pilots, thousands of engineers and scientists, and then point them at the night sky and say "Go!"? A SPACE RACE! The whole world followed the countdown to sending the first men to the moon. This book tells the story.

Smile by Raina Telgemeier GRAPHIC NOVEL

In sixth grade, Raina tripped while running and lost two front teeth. In the years that followed, she went through a torturous series of dental surgeries and repairs, the trauma of which was mirrored by the social struggles she experienced during her adolescence. Through artwork showing the details, the reader shares Raina’s pain as the angst of middle school is exacerbated by her disfiguring dental mishap.

Fiction

The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood

Widge finds himself in the middle of an adventure to steal and copy the play HAMLET from Shakespeare. He soon discovers that life in the Globe Theatre is much better than the other places he has apprenticed.

Trickster:  Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection edited by Matt Dembicki
This collaborative effort by more than 40 artists and writers (including Joseph Bruchac) presents 21 Native American trickster tales in graphic novel format. The stories are drawn from a Native peoples across North America, and so the trickster character appears variously as a rabbit, raccoon, coyote, and other animals.

Boom! (or 70,000 light years) by Mark Haddon SCIENCE FICTION

Two British lads discover that their teachers are space aliens bent on kidnapping science fiction fans. When the aliens realize the kids are on to them, the outrageous adventures begin.

Waggit's Tale by Peter Howe *

When a puppy gets lost in the park, he joins a well-organized pack of homeless dogs. His new friends name him Waggit for his lively tail and train him in the ways of survival. The dogs have staked out a secluded tunnel in a place much like Central Park, where they spend their days gathering food, protecting one another, spying on a rougher gang of dogs, and avoiding the “Great Unknown”—the pound.

The Secret of Zoom by Lynne Jonell

Laced into the rocks of the Starkian Ridge is a pink-and-green substance called zoom. Like most fuels, zoom makes things go, is definitely explosive, and worth buckets of money for the savvy prospector. What’s different is that it only responds to certain notes sung by a voice fueled by fear. So bad guy, Lenny Loompski, employs a group of starved, neglected, and terrified singing orphans to mine the precious substance. Until Christina catches wind of the orphans’ plight and embarks on a zoom-fueled thrill ride to save the day.

Titanic. Book One, Unsinkable by Gordon Korman

The unsinkable Titanic?? There's plenty of danger waiting for four of its young passengers. Paddy’s a stowaway, escaping a deadly past. Sophie is delivered to the ship after being arrested. Juliana's father is a rich, crazy, eccentric, and Alfie is hiding a terrible secret. Their lives are forever linked with the fate of Titanic.

Gods of Manhattan by Scott Mebus

Look. What do you see? Sidewalks, skyscrapers, pigeons? There’s more that only Rory can see. So, look again. What do you see? A spirit city inhabited by warrior cockroaches, malevolent subway trains, kung fu rodents, hungry gargoyles, and children made entirely of paper-mache. Built by history and legend, ruled by the Gods of Manhattan. Now everyone is racing to find Rory, the boy who can see.

A Long Walk to Water: A Novel Based on a True Story by Linda Sue Park

As Salva sits in school one day, his Sudanese village erupts into chaos and the teacher tells the children to run away. Salva leaves his family and all that is familiar and begins to walk toward a refugee camp, a temporary shelter from the violent political storm. When forced to leave the country, thousands of refugees are killed as they try to cross a crocodile-infested river; will Salva survive? How is his story linked to Nya's life in 2008? To Rochester, New York? Read this book and find out!

Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson *

Using cutting-edge technology, Finn and his friends are transformed into hologram projections that guide guests through Disney World. But the new technology has unexpected effects, both thrilling and scary. Is it real? Is he dreaming? Finn learns the park is in grave danger. The scheming witch, Maleficent, and the mysterious Overtakers, are plotting to destroy Disney's beloved realm, and more.

Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Communicating with ghosts, including the spirit of her mother, is a gift that Lanesha, 12, has had for as long as she can remember. Her beloved caretaker, Mama Ya-Ya, has a gift that allows her to predict the future. When she begins to sense that a big storm is coming to their much-loved New Orleans neighborhood, both she and Lanesha must trust in their senses and in one another to survive.

Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors by Joyce Sidman POETRY

Well-researched science facts are paired with amazing and vivid poems to describe how these very special life-forms, from the single-celled bacteria to the ever-present ant and dandelion, avoided extinction to become nature's survivors.

Ghostopolis by Doug Tennapel GRAPHIC NOVEL
When washed-up ghost wrangler, Frank, accidentally zaps Garth into the afterlife, he does everything he can to rescue him. Meanwhile, Garth explores the spirit world with a skeleton horse, terrifying and fantastic creatures, and family members he never expected to meet.

A Faraway Island by Annika Thor

Jewish sisters, Stephie and Nellie, are evacuated from their home in Nazi-occupied Vienna to an island off the coast of Sweden, where separate foster families take them in. Nellie adjusts quickly—learning Swedish, making friends, and enjoying her new foster siblings. But Stephie has more difficulties -- tormented by bullies, a cold and critical foster mother, and worries about her parents’ safety.

Sports Camp by Rich Wallace
When it comes to speed and endurance events, like running and swimming, Riley is better than he looks. He’s pretty sure he can bring in major trophy points in the final mile-long swim race across Lake Surprise in the competition for the Camp Trophy. But he doesn’t count on being followed by the shadow of Big Joe, the giant vicious snapping turtle of camp lore. Wasn’t that supposed to be a legend?

Every student will keep a Reader’s Response Journal to continue practicing the comprehension skills and strategies that they have been taught in class when reading and responding to literature. 

Your child has two options for writing and drawing their Reader's Response entries.

Please download this packet to work on throughout the summer. The activities in this packet will help hone your skills and keep you fresh for 5th grade! The answer key is included.

On the first day of school, please make sure your child brings in the following:

• Completed Summer Enrichment Packet and Reader’s Response Journal

• A backpack (clearly labeled with student’s name) that is large enough to accommodate a Homework Folder measuring 9 in. X 12 in.

• Official K-F uniform items (clearly labeled with student’s name)

• A reusable water bottle (clearly labeled with student’s name)

• Large capacity pencil case/pouch

• A homework planner

Please note: All other school materials, such as pencils and notebooks, will be supplied by the school. Please also remember to label all uniform items with your child’s name!