Name_______________________________________
6th Grade: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Required Summer Reading Project
You are about to begin a literary study of your novel. As you read, you will keep an interactive reading log and note
different interactions in the story.
This project is intended to integrate literary skills, such as summarizing, identifying cause and effect, analyzing plot,
making predictions, describing setting, and characterization. To be successful on this project you must follow all
directions as stated!
Your project will be due during the second week back to school.
1. To get you started, complete the following information on your novel:
Title: __________________________________________________________________
Author: ________________________________________________________________
Number of pages: ________________________________________________________
2. Next, you will divide your book into 5 parts. The easiest way to do this is to take your total number of pages
(from step # 1 above) and divide by 5.
______________________ pages / 5 = ______________________ pages per section
(Example: My book is 220 pages long. If I divide 220 pages by 5, I get 44 pages per section.)
3. Now, look at your book to determine where to break up the pieces using the number from step # 2. Chances are
your book won’t break evenly on chapters at these spots, so you will need to adjust some to keep complete chapters
together. However, don’t start recounting your page numbers from your adjusted spot, or you will end up with a
chunk of text that is really large at the end!
Put your proposed page ranges for the five sections below:
Section 1: ____________ – ____________
Section 2: ____________ – ____________
Section 3: ____________ – ____________
Section 4: ____________ – ____________
Section 5: ____________ – ____________
4. Next you will complete a worksheet for each of your sections. Pace yourself in completing this packet. It doesn’t
have to be done right away, but don’t wait until the last minute either. The following are specific instructions
pertaining to the reading log you will complete for every section:
Interactive Reading Log
While you are reading your book, you must keep an interactive reading log. As you complete each section of your
book, write a brief summary (no more than a paragraph) of significant events. Please record the date and pages read
with each summary.
Along with the summary, you will record two interactions with the text. Each interactive response entry should be
about a 3-5 sentences in length. You can’t be wrong in your responses, as these reflect your personal reactions to
the text. Take some risks and be honest. Use the sample prompts to help you get started with expressing your
likes/dislikes, confusion, and observations. Tell me what you think something means. Make predictions about what
might happen later. Use your personal experiences to connect with the plot, characters, setting, etc. You may only
use a sentence starter once in the ten reactions you will write.
The following are sample interactive prompts:
 I really don’t understand the part where . . .
 I really like/dislike this idea because . . .
 This character reminds me of somebody I know because . . .
 This character reminds me of myself because . . .
 I think this setting is important because . . .
 This scene reminds me of a similar scene in (title of book/movie/TV show) because . . .
 I like/dislike this writing because . . .
 This part is very realistic/unrealistic because . . .
 I think the relationship between ______and ______ is interesting because . . .
 This section makes me think about . . .
 I like/dislike (name of character) because . . .
 This situation reminds me of a similar situation in my own life. What happened was . . .
 If I were (name of character) at this point, I would . . .
 I began to think of . . .
 I love the way . . .
 I can’t believe . . .
 I wonder why . . .
 I noticed . . .
 I think . . .
 I’m not sure . . .
 My favorite character is ___ because . . .
 I like the way the author . . .
 I felt sad/happy/excited/scared/etc. when . . .
 I wish that . . .
 I was surprised . . .
 It seems like . . .
 I’m not sure . . .
 I want to know more about . . .
 I predict . . .
Section 1
Date: ________________________________
Pages Read: ____________________________
Brief summary (3-5 sentences):
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_______________________________________________________________________________________________
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Interaction #1 (3-5 sentences):
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Interaction #2 (3-5 sentences):
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Plot
1. Draw a picture of the setting of the story so far:
2. What is the conflict of the story? (What is the main character struggling with?)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. Make a prediction based on what you have read so far.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
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Section 2
Date: ________________________________
Pages Read: ____________________________
Brief summary (3-5 sentences):
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Interaction #1 (3-5 sentences):
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Interaction #2 (3-5 sentences):
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
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Character
Stick Figure Character Map
At the bottom of the page, write the selection title, the
character’s name.
1 At the bottom of the page, write the
selection title, the character’s name and your
name.
2 Add facial features, hair, clothing, and
other details to show how the character might
appear in real life.
3 Near each body part, neatly draw and color
the details below:
 Head—Draw a thought bubble near the head and write what the
character might be thinking.
 Mouth—Draw a speech bubble near the mouth and write what
the character might say.
 Heart—Near the heart, draw a picture of something or someone
the character loves, or write words to describe the character’s
feelings.
 Hands—Near one of the hands, draw something the character
might hold or use.
 Feet—Near one of the feet, draw or write a sentence to describe
where the character might have been or might like to go.
Title:
Character:
My Name:
Section 3
Date: ________________________________
Pages Read: ____________________________
Brief summary (3-5 sentences):
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Interaction #1 (3-5 sentences):
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
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Interaction #2 (3-5 sentences):
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
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Cause and Effect
For each rocket, determine one cause and one effect of the story so far. Think: “What happened to make ______
happen?” Feel free to write in the rockets!
Section 4
Date: ________________________________
Pages Read: ____________________________
Brief summary (3-5 sentences):
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Interaction #1 (3-5 sentences):
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
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Interaction #2 (3-5 sentences):
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Theme
Write a letter to a character of the book and explain what
you think the theme (message about life) of the story is.
Remember to use details from the text to support your
theme. To help write the theme, remember to start with a
“big idea” (courage, dreams, fear, friendship, etc.) and
explain the “So what?” For example, don’t just say the
theme is courage, explain what you learned about courage;
“Courage can get you through the most difficult of times.”
The letter should by one paragraph long (5-8 sentences).
Section 5
Date: ________________________________
Pages Read: ____________________________
Brief summary (3-5 sentences):
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Interaction #1 (3-5 sentences):
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
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Interaction #2 (3-5 sentences):
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Wrapping Up Your Novel
A storyboard is used by moviemakers to visualize what scenes they must film. I’d like you to write a storyboard or
comic strip describing the main events in the book. Feel free to use more than six boxes and you may also complete
this on a separate piece of paper.