Briggs Chaney Middle School

June 2010

Dear Incoming Sixth Grader,

We look forward to seeing you in our classes next school year. In order for you to maintain and strengthen your basic language skills, we urge you to read and write as much as you can during your months away from school.

In Montgomery County Public Schools, summer reading has been an expected practice in middle and high schools and an encouraged practice in elementary schools since 1998. The ability to read is crucial to an individual’s success in school and on the job. Reading is a life-long skill that a person needs to succeed not only as a student but also as a worker and a citizen. Perhaps even more importantly, reading opens the world to a person through periodicals, textbooks, and literature. By reading, individuals have the opportunity to learn about people, times, regions, and ideas that they may never actually encounter in life. Reading can also bring a lifetime of pleasure and mental fitness.

Research strongly suggests that reading, like most skills, improves with practice and decreases when we don’t engage in it for even a short time. Therefore, consistent with our commitment to prepare all students for success during school and after graduation, we continue in MCPS to expect all students to read during the summer.

For you to be better prepared for English and Reading in the 6th grade, read at least two fiction books of your choosing. We suggest you consider the list of books included with this letter and select titles that you have not previously read. Visiting your library and discussing your choice(s) with the librarian is another method to use in your search for appropriate books to read. Also, bookstores give you the opportunity to examine many books and to locate those that interest you.

Assignment: Read two novels of your choosing.

For each novel, use your notes to complete the attached assignment sheet and have your parents sign it. As you read each novel, jot down notes about the setting (where and when the story takes place), the characters (describe the characters’ appearance and actions), and the plot (the problem, the main events, and the resolution to the problem). Making connections is an important reading strategy. Be sure to note connections you have made with the major characters or situations/events that take place in each book. You will want to record related quotations or short passages from the texts to support your connections. Be sure to write a little about your favorite part of each book. Take enough notes so that you will remember your books in August. You will use the assignment sheet and your notes to help in the creation of an in-class assignment in your reading class when you come to school in the fall. If you read any other books, keep a list of the titles and authors.

Remember to find some good summer reading and enjoy your summer.

Sincerely,

The Sixth Grade Reading Teachers

Suggested Reading List for 6th Grade

Novel Selections:

Agony of Alice Naylor

Secret of Gumbo Grove Tate

Ruby Lavender Wiles

Notes from a Liar and Her Dog Choldenko

Pinballs Byars

Point Blank Horowitz

Around the World in 80 Days Verne

Peter Pan Barrie

Because of Winn Dixie DiCamillo

Lone Wolf Franklin

Search for Shadowman Nixon

Anthony Burns Hamilton

Zach’s Lie Smith

Stowaway Hesse

My Story Parks

The Lost Garden Yep

Daphne’s Book Hahn

Flipped Van Draanen

The Land Taylor

The Maze Hobbs

Westmark Alexander

Tiger Eyes Blume

The Wish Giver Brittain

The Place of Lions Campbell

Where the Lilies Bloom Cleaver

The Dark is Rising Cooper

Catherine Called Birdy Cushman

The Ear, the Eye and the Arm Farmer

Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery Freedman

The Silent Storm Garland

One Foot Ashore Greene

Get on Board Haskins

Letters from Rifka Hesse

Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey Highwater

Sugaring Time Lasky

Volcano Lauber

Shadow Boxer Lynch

Daniel’s Story Matas

The Blue Sword McKinley

The Name of the Game was Murder Nixon

The Winter Room Paulsen

Freak the Mighty Philbrick

Time Windows Reiss

Caught! Roberts

Finding Buck McHenry Slote

Dragon’s Gate Yep

Between a Rock and a Hard Place Carter

Bottled Up Murray

Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor Mazer

Crossing the Divide Carr

Deep Water Wilkinson

Edge of Disaster Parker

Digital Fortress Brown

Eragon Paolini

Fires of Merlin Barron

Golden Fleece Colum

Hidden Talents Lubar

House of the Scorpion Farmer

Jason’s Gold Hobbs

King of Shadows Cooper

Knight’s Journey Wilkinson

Legend of Luke Jacques

My Life in Dog Years Paulsen

Raptor Zindel

Silverwing Oppel

Tears of a Tiger Draper

Thief Lord Funke

Touching Spirit Bear Mikaelsen

Tunnels of Blood Shan

Wolf Cry Goetze

The City of Ember DuPrau

Author Selections:

Gail Carson Levine Betsy Byars

Christopher Paul Curtis Jerry Spinelli (not Maniac Magee)

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Gary Paulsen (not Mr. Tucket or Hatchet series)

Avi (not Charlotte Doyle) Mildred Taylor (not Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry)

Louis Sacher Sharon Creech

Jacqueline Woodson Tamora Pierce

Garth Nix Kenneth Oppe

Richard Peck