Sussex Academy Summer Reading 2016
This summer you will need to read two books from the appropriate grade level list. Sixth graders will pick two books from the appropriate grade level list and complete FOUR summaries for EACH book. Seventh graders will pick ONE book by Jordan Sonnenblick (from the 7th grade choices) and a second book from the 7th grade list and complete FOUR summaries for EACH book.All eighth graders will read Chains by Laura Halse Anderson and pick one book from the eighth grade reading list. Eighth graders will need to complete FOUR summaries for EACH book.
- You will need to summarize what happens in the first quarter-of-the book, halfway through the book, three-quarters of the way through the book, and at the end of the book.
- Please make sure that you stop at the end of a chapter when you write your summary, not in the middle of the chapter.
- Please write your first and last name at the top of each page along with the book title (underlined and capitalized correctly please).
- Please submit on the first day of school to your reading teacher on lined paper. No folders are necessary.
What Is Summarizing?
Summarizing is how we take large amounts of text and whittle it down to the bare essentials: the gist, the key ideas, and the main points that are worth mentioning and remembering. It is the condensing of a larger work into the most basic and important ideas.
A summary for a fictional novel is a short description of the most important events in a story. The summary will tell what happens. When summarizing a story, the reader needs to include important information about the characters, plot, and setting.
Please DO the following:
- tell what happens in the story
- include the most important information about the characters, plot and setting
- write clearly so that someone who has not read the book understands what the book is about.
Please DO NOT do the following:
- write down everything
- write down next to nothing
- copy word for word
Someone who has not read the book you have summarized should be able to understand the storyline when they read your summaries.
Everest Team: 6th Grade Reading List
Out of My Mind, by Sharon Draper (realistic fiction)
Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.
Wonder, by R. J. Palacio (realistic fiction)
Ten year old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan. There he endures the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.
Lincoln’s Grave Robbers, by Steve Sheinkin (nonfiction)
A group of counterfeiter’s scheme to steal Abraham Lincoln’s body from his tomb and ransom his remains for money to free a master counterfeiter from jail. Secret Service agents learn of the plot, recruit an undercover agent to infiltrate the gang, and try to catch the criminals before they can rob Lincoln’s grave.
Among the Hidden, by Margaret Peterson Haddix (science fiction)
Luke has never been to school. He’s never been to a birthday party, or gone to a friend’s house for a sleepover. In fact, Luke has never had a friend. Luke is one of the shadow children, a third child forbidden by the Population Police.
The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan (fantasy)
After getting expelled from yet another school for yet another clash with mythological monsters only he can see, twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finally learns the truth about his unique abilities. He is a demi-god: half-human, half immortal. Even more stunning: his father is the Greek god Poseidon, ruler of the sea, making Percy one of the most powerful demigods alive. There is little time to process this news. All too soon, a cryptic prophecy from the Oracle sends Percy on his first quest, a mission to the Underworld to prevent a war among the gods of Olympus.
Al Capone Does My Shirts, by GenniferCholdenko (historical fiction)
A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards’ families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.
Down the Rabbit Hole: An Echo Falls Mystery, by Peter Abrahams (mystery)
Teenaged Ingrid, cast as the lead in Alice in Wonderland, discovers a mystery surrounding her school’s theater.
Chomp, by Carl Hiassen (mystery)
Wahoo Cray lives in a zoo. His father is an animal wrangler, so he’s grown up with all manner of gators, snakes, parrots, rats, monkeys, and snappers in his backyard. The critters, he can handle. His father is the unpredictable one. When his dad takes a job with a reality TV show called Expedition Survival, Wahoo figures he’ll have to do a bit of wrangling himself – to keep his dad from killing Derek Badger, the show’s inept and egotistical star, before the shoot is over. But the job keeps getting more complicated. Derek Badger foolishly believes his own PR and insists on using wild animals for his stunts. And Wahoo’s acquired a shadow named Tuna – a girl who’s sporting a shiner courtesy of her father and needs a place to hide out. They’ve only been on location in the Everglades for a day before Derek gets bitten by a bat and goes missing in a storm. Search parties head out and promptly get lost themselves. And then Tuna’s dad shows up with a gun . . . It’s anyone’s guess who will survive Expedition Survival . . .