Summer Reading at Skyview!
For students entering grade 6 in the Challenge Program
Summer is a great time to unwind, spend time outdoors, and enjoy time with
family and friends. It’s also a great time to READ! Summer reading allows students to stretch their
imaginations, relax, and maintain and continue to grow their reading comprehension and vocabulary.
Skyview teachers want you to keep reading this summer, and we are requiring all students to
participate in our Skyview Summer Reading Program. The program is simple:
1. Read two books over the summer that are in your ZPD (see below). Pick books you are
interested in reading! You can check to see if your book is in your ZPD by visiting
www.arbookfinder.com. You can use the Advanced Search feature on this site to find books
that are related to your interests.
2. Students in the challenge program are required one of the historical fiction books listed on
page 3 in addition to the two books of your choice. Students are required to complete the
graphic organizer and it is recommended to read closer to start of school as students will
begin the year completing a series of activities using the book. The graphic organizer is on
page 4 of this letter.
a. 3 books total – 2 of your choice and 1 historical fiction book from the list
b. 2 AR tests or story map for the 2 books of your choice
c. 1 graphic organizer for the historical fiction book
3. Choose a way to show what you’ve read for the 2 books of your choice:
a. Arrange to visit the Skyview computer lab over the summer during one of our four AR
Days to take an Accelerated Reader quiz. Accelerated Reader is a computer-based
assessment program that asks students comprehension questions based on what they
have read. Students must achieve an 80% or better on the quiz. OR
b. Complete a story map with detail. Story maps will be collected in the first week of
school. (Students may choose either option for each book. If a book does not have an
AR quiz associated with it, the Story Map option must be selected for that book.)
c. Complete the graphic organizer in detail that coincides with the historical fiction book.
Graphic organizers will be collected in the first week of school.
Students took a test called the STAR Reading Assessment that gives a measure of reading
comprehension. While no one test can give us a complete picture about a child’s abilities, we can gain
valuable information from this assessment that will assist us and your child in improving his/her reading
achievement. From this set of scores, the program also offers a valuable measure that will assist your
child in selecting books at just the right level.
When a reader chooses books that are “just right,” he/she can improve vocabulary and comprehension
faster than if reading books that are too easy or too hard. We will refer to this reading level as the Zone of
Proximal Development or ZPD. The ZPD suggests the readability-level range from which your child
should be selecting books for optimal growth in reading without frustration. The ZPD is the approximate
range of books that will challenge your reader without causing frustration or a loss of motivation.
The focus of this program is not on taking a test or doing a project. It’s about encouraging your child
to read. To help with that endeavor, we will be adding a special Summer Reading section to the
Skyview website with lots of great activities you and your child can do to make reading fun
(www.methacton.org – choose Skyview from Schools drop down menu in upper left). We also
encourage you to check out all of the great programs available at the Lower Providence Community
Library (www.lowerprovidencelibrary.org).
If you have any questions about our program, please contact your child’s teacher.
Please check the Skyview website for available test dates.
Happy Reading,
Mrs. Laskey
6th Grade Challenge Historical Fiction Summer Reading Book Choices (choose one)
Title: Dragon's Gate
Author: Laurence Yep
Overview: Set in and around 1867, this coming-of-age story combines Chinese and United
States (particularly California) history in the tale of Otter, a 14-year-old Chinese boy who is
forced to flee his country and join his father and uncle in California. There his unrealistic
expectations of life in the U.S. come up against the reality of the Chinese immigrants' harsh
experiences there.
Awards: 1994 Newbery Honor Book
ISBN: 9780064404891
Title: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Author: Jacqueline Kelly
Overview: Set in Texas in 1899, this is the story of spunky Calpurnia Tate who is more
interested in science and nature than in learning to be a lady and her life with her family,
which includes six brothers.
Awards: Newbery Honor Book, several state awards
ISBN: 9780805088410
Title: Zora and Me
Author: Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon
Overview: This novel is based on the childhood of author and folklorist Zora Neale
Hurston. It takes place around 1900, during the year Hurston was in the fourth grade and
living (and telling stories) in Eatonville, an all-black community in Florida.
Awards: 2011 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent; also endorsed by the
Zora Neale Hurston Trust
ISBN: 97800763643003
Title: Moon Over Manifest
Author: Clare Vanderpool
Overview: The story, which is set in southeast Kansas during the Depression, moves
between 1936 when 12-year-old Abilene Tucker comes to Manifest, Kansas, and 1918
during her father's youth there and includes mysteries and the search for home.
Awards: 2011 John Newbery Medal, 2011 Spur Award for Best Western Juvenile Fiction
from the Western Writers of America
ISBN: 9780385738835