6th Grade Summer Reading

6th Grade Summer Reading

Our Lady of the Angels

Mrs. Dinsdale

6th Summer Reading Full Printable Document 

In addition to enjoying all of the summer activities you have planned with family and friends, I want you to travel to different places, to different times, and/or meet new people!  You only can do that through a great book!  Stories allow us to experience the wonders of the world (or worlds) and make us laugh, scream, cry, curse, jump up and down, feel empathy, and learn to see life in a whole new way.  Through stories, we see what it is to be human and all of the joys, trials, sorrows, and experiences that shape each unique person.  Great stories teach us and transform us, so we never see the world the same way.  Our minds are more open and our hearts are enlarged.

 Requirements:

Community Books: The Middle School teachers have elected to continue with the Community Book.  Each grade will have 1 book that each student must read as part of the overall summer reading requirements.  I recommend that you read the community book as close to the beginning of school as possible.  This way you will be able to remember it for when we discuss it in class.

 All 6th Grade Students must read:

Cervantes, Jennifer. Tortilla Sun. Chronicle Books, 2014.

In addition to the Community Book, each student is required to read a minimum of 2 other books of his/her choosing for a total of 3 books.  These books must be age appropriate.  The books on the attached list are titles recommended by your peers and others.  They bridge a variety of genres, styles, and topics that both boys and girls your age have loved, so I encourage you to read through the selection.  However, you only have to select 1 of your 2 choice books from this list.  Find ones that interest you, and you will enjoy reading!  Also, you do not have to stop at 2 books!  Challenge yourself! Read as many books as you want…

You are required to keep a Reading Log (see attached).  After you finish a book, complete a line entry on the log.  Keep track of all the books you read on this log, have a parent initial each entry and sign the bottom, then bring it with you on the first day of school.  We will record the number of books you read on our class reading log! 

Finally, you will be responsible for 1 project on one of the books you choose and the Recommendation Card on the other.   Both are due on the first day of school.

Choose 1 Book of Your 2 Choice Books from the List Below

(Mrs. Guerra has a bunch of these)

Alexander Hamilton, the Outsider, Jean Fritz

A Hope More Powerful than the Sea, young readers, Melissa Fleming

A Wrinkle in Time (or others in this series), Madeleine L’Engle

Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson

Code Talker, Joseph Bruchac

Eleven Birthdays, Wendy Mass

Fish in a Tree, Lynda Mullaly Hart

Greek Myths, Olivia Coolidge

Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent, Thomas B. Allen

Inside Out and Back Again, Thanhha Lai

Jake and Lily, Jerry Spinelli

The Land of Stories, a Wishing Spell (or any in the series), Chris Colfer

Lincoln, a Photobiography, Russell Freedman

Seven Day Magic, Edgar Eager

Team Moon, How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon, Catherine Thimmesh

The Red Umbrella, Christina Gonzalez

The River, Gary Paulsen

Words on Fire, Jennifer A. Neilson

Project #1: Choice Book

I. Poster: Draw a pivotal/critical/significant/important scene from one of your books on an 11” x                   14” poster board.  Include on the board the following:

• Title of Book

• Author’s Name

• Caption of What Is Happening

• Your Name in Lower Right-Hand Corner

• Picture of Scene

II. Written: Write a short essay that contains the following information:

2. 1. Brief Introduction Paragraph to include:

      • Title

      • Author

      • Genre (realistic fiction, science fiction, non-fiction etc.)

      • Brief Summary of the Entire Book (2-4 sentences)

   2. Body Paragraph:

      • Premise Sentence: Announce your scene

      • Body: Explain what is happening in the scene (if you use direct quotations from the book, be sure to put quotation marks around it and add the page number next to it in parentheses around the page number)

      • Justification: Explain why this is a critical/important/significant scene

   3. Conclusion: Wrap up the essay with 1-2 sentences

Project #2: Choice Book–Complete the Recommendation Card

 Reading Recommendation Card

Please complete this for the second book you chose.  On a separate paper, please type the following information for one of your books.  Be sure to include your name and grade.

Title of the Book: 

Author: 

Genre:

Setting: In a few sentences, describe where and when the book took place.

Summary: Write a short summary of the plot of the book. Please include main characters and an 8-10 sentence summary of the story. If your book is nonfiction, summarize the information that the book presented. 

Opinion: In a few sentences, tell why you liked or disliked this book.

Recommendation: In a few sentences, tell if you would recommend this book, and, if so to what type of reader. 

Connection: Think of a book, story, poem, movie, or real-life person or event that reminds you of some aspect of this book that you read.  In a paragraph, explain this comparison.