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