Dear Incoming 6th Graders,
This is your summer reading activity. You will need to read 1 novel from the list and complete the charts
provided to you in this packet. I would recommend that you complete the charts as you read. If you try to
complete it after reading the entire book, the assignment will be much more difficult than it is intended to be.
Book List:
1. Island of the Blue Dolphins—Scott O’Dell
2. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry—Mildred D. Taylor
3. Esperanza Rising—Pam Munoz Ryan
4. City of Ember (or any other book in the series if you have already read this) – Jeanne DuPrau
5. Tangerine – Edward Bloor
6. The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint Exupery
7. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (or any other book in the series if you have already read this) –
C.S. Lewis
8. The Circuit – Francisco Jimenez
9. Hatchet – Gary Paulsen
10. My Side of the Mountain – Jean Craighead George
11. A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
12. The Uglies (or any other book in the series if you have already read this) – Scott Westerfield
13. Holes – Louis Sachar
14. There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom – Louis Sachar
15. Stargirl – Jerri Spinelli
16. The Phantom Tollbooth – Norton Juster
17. Where the Red Fern Grows—Wilson Rawls
Grading will be based on the following criteria:
1. Completion of all charts
2. Writing in complete, thoughtful sentences
3. Accuracy and Quality
This activity will be due during the first week that you return to school.
There are 5 sections to the activity:
1. Similes– 10 examples of similes IN THE NOVEL. (This is a comparison of two objects or ideas using
like or as.)
2. Setting description – 10 sentences from the novel that describe the way the setting looks (OR smells,
feels, sounds).
3. Character Description – Introduce characters as the show up in the novel, even minor characters! State
the chapter, give a sentence from the story that describes them, then tell me what you can tell about the
type of personality they possess. You may need to repeat some characters and discuss their changes.
4. Sentences – I want to make sure you remember sentence types when you come to 6th grade. You can
pull these sentences from anywhere in the novel: Simple, compound, and dialogue.
5. Chapter Reflections – At the end of each chapter (for 10 chapters of your choice), you need to write a
reflection. It needs to be at least 3 sentences long. You can write about what surprised you, what you
think will happen next, and any other thoughts, feelings, personal/world connections, or questions that
you have.
Sincerely,
Your 6th Grade English Teacher
Part 1 Similes. Choose 10 sentences from your novel that have SIMILES. Copy the simile from the novel, state what two things it is
comparing, and include the page number. You can see my example below from The Phantom Tollbooth from the 6th grade literature
book. Juster is the last name of the author.
Pg. #
538
Simile
They are dressed to blend into the scenery and
carry small pillows that look like rocks.
What is it comparing?
Juster compares the pillows the
Lethargarians are carrying to
rocks.
Part 2 Setting Description. While you are reading, choose 10 sentences that describe the setting and copy them from the novel. The
setting is the occasion, time, place, and location of the events of the story. I am looking for descriptive language – adjectives and
adverbs. The sentence should create a clear picture about what the setting looks like, sounds like, smells like or feels like to be there.
You can see my example below from The Phantom Tollbooth.
Pg. #
536
Descriptive Sentence of the Setting
Dictionopolis has a marketplace full of open air stalls and little shops. Letters and
signs abound. There are street signs and lampposts in the shapes of large letters and
all windows and doors are in the shape of H’s and A’s.
Part 3 Character description. Look for where new characters are introduced. Copy a sentence from the text that shows either what
they look like or how they behave. Write one sentence stating what you can infer or tell about the character’s personality based on the
description.
Pg.#
Sentence that describes the character from the
novel
One sentence inference about that character
540
Azaz has a great stomach, a grey beard
Azaz seems to get whatever he wants
reaching to his waist, a small crown and a judging by how he is dressed in letters and
long robe with the letters of the alphabet has a big belly.
on it.
Part 4 Sentences. Copy 3 simple, 3 compound, and 3 dialogue sentences from the novel. Circle (In my examples they are in bold)
the subject noun and underline the predicate verbs. In the compound sentences, highlight the coordinating conjunction. Include the
page number of where you go the sentence. A simple sentence has one subject noun and one subject predicate. A compound sentence
is 2 sentences joined by a comma and FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). Dialogue has a character talking and uses quotation
marks.
Pg.# Sentence
Type
541 Simple
Sentence
Words and numbers are of equal value.
Simple
Simple
Simple
549
Compound
You need a guide, and the humbug has cheerfully volunteered to
accompany you.
Compound
Compound
Compound
546 Dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue
Milo said, “Me? Well, uh… I’m not very hungry. Can we just have a
light snack?”
Part 5 Chapter Reflections. Write a 3 sentence reflection over the 10 chapters of your choice that you thought were the best in the
entire book! Just some ideas: talk about your feelings, what surprised or shocked you, self to text connections or connections that you
have made from the text to the world or history, questions that you are left with, or predictions about what may happen next.
Chapter Reflection