Summer Reading Requirements
For Students Entering 6th Grade (Regular and Intermediate English)
Hello Soon-To-Be-Sixth Graders,
We hope you will enjoy the books we have selected for your summer
reading assignment.
A Tale Dark & Grimm is a darkly humorous and suspenseful tale of Hansel
and Gretel and their quest to save the Kingdom of Grimm. The protagonists,
through their adventures, learn what it means to be courageous and faithful.
After reading the book, imagine that you are Faithful Johannes, the old
family servant. Johannes passed on to the afterlife and observed all that has
become of Hansel and Gretel. Please imagine you are Johannes and write a
letter to Hansel and Gretel describing how it felt watching them on their
adventures. When writing be sure to describe at least three situations and how
Johannes thinks Hansel and Gretel managed them. This letter should be 2-3
typed pages and double spaced. Please include at least three quotes from the
book that show your understanding and careful reading of the text.
King of Shadows by Susan Cooper tells the story of Nat Field, a boy who
suddenly becomes much more involved with Shakespeare’s world than he ever
imagined. For this assignment, please write a diary entry as if you were Nat
Field at the end of Chapter 17. You could write the entry trying to make sense of
the events of the past week. You could also choose to write the diary entry as a
letter to his mother, father or even Shakespeare himself. In either case, the
purpose of the diary entry is to get inside of Nat Field’s mind as a character,
imagining how he would make sense of the world. Remember to include
concrete details showing conflict and character, including 3-5 quotes from the
text. Please feel free to be creative with how you explore Nat’s complex
character. Your diary entry should be roughly two to three pages, using 1.5 line
spacing and standard margins.
For Students Entering 6th Grade (ESL)
Summer Reading Assignment: Grades 6-7-8
1. Reading Guide for Parents of ESL Students:
The purpose of this brief guide is to familiarize parents of students who are placed in ESL
classes at the middle school level with books and materials that newly arrived students
with little or no English background can read to help develop their English language skills.
Many of the book listed on the guide are elementary school level books that are read by
native speakers of English. These books serve the needs of the new language learner
well with simple, easy to read materials based on themes of high interest. Please note
that this list is by no means complete and “ever evolving”. The list has recommendations
ranging from a rank beginner, launched beginner to High ESL students. Parents should
use their discretion and choose the books that appeal to their children. More importantly
reading in a new language should be fun and enjoyable.
2. Please read as many books as you can from the list below and record the names of the books
in your notebook.
3. Then Please select two chapter books from the list. Read the stories and keep a vocabulary
log of any new words and expressions. In addition, you must write a response journal for each
chapter. A response journal is a place where you can record your thoughts about the story and
how it made you feel. It is not a summary of the story. Lastly, you must write a summary of each
book.
On the first day of school in September, you will be expected to hand in your
notebook with your journal responses, vocabulary log and summaries of the
books you wrote.
*Some popular titles for High Beginner – High ESL level student
1. Stone Fox by J. Gardiner
2. Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen
3. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis
4. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
5. The Blue Heron by Avi
6. Something Upstairs by Avi
7. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis
8. Charlotte’s Web by E.B.White
9. Stuart Little by E.B.White
10. Tuck Everlasting by Babbit
11. Bridge to Terabithia by Paterson
12. The Midwife’s Apprentice by Cushman
13. Fly Away Home by Patricia Hermes
14. The Whipping Boy by Fleischman
15. The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl
16. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
17. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
17. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scot O’Dell
18. Shiloh by Phyllis Naylor
*Suitable Reading Series for Beginner or High Beginner ESL Students
1. “Step into Reading” Books by Random House Publishers
Step 1 thru Step 5 – Encourages independent reading in English by developing basic
vocabulary, short sentences, simple stories to longer paragraphs and chapters. This
series has several non-fiction titles as well that include learning about U.S. history, why
we celebrate certain holidays, historical figures, presidents as well as other topics of
interest to children. Good series for reluctant readers as well.
2. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” Series by Jeff Kinney
Illustrated cartoon style popular with middle school kids
3. “Magic Tree House” Series by Mary Osborne.
Stories of Adventures of Jack and Annie
4. “Classic Starts” Series
5. “Penguin Readers” Series
6. “Calendar Mysteries” Series
7. “Boxcar Children” Series
8. “Nancy Drew” Series – mystery books
9. “Goosebumps” Series – mystery
10. “Scholastic” Several series for young
11. “Harry Potter” Series
12. “Comic” Books Series
*Award Winner Books
There are several books for children with particular book awards such as Newbery Award
(for children’s literature), Caldecott Award (for exceptional illustrations), Coretta Scott King (for
African American emphasis) and Parents’ Choice Awards. These books often make excellent
reading choices for our English language learners.
*Popular Magazines
1. Scholastic News, Time for Kids, and Weekly Reader (published weekly)
2. Skipping Stones – an award winning multicultural children’s magazine
*Books with Audio CDs
Several books for children come in large hard cover style that include an audio CD for
listening to the stories as the children read along with them. These books help the English
language learner by developing their listening comprehension in English. Several of these are
meant for younger age groups for native speakers but are enjoyed very much by the young
middle grade ESL student.
*Other notes on authors
Many books for native speakers who are at the mid to upper elementary school level are
suitable for the middle grade ESL student who is a launched beginner. Choosing books from the
the following “popular” authors for this age group (again ages 7-12 for native speaker’s language
level) is fine. Some of these authors are:
Gary Paulsen, Beverly Cleary, Avi, Judy Blume, R.L.Stine, J.K.Rowling, Andrew Clements, Ramona
Quimby, Roald Dahl, E.B.White and C.S.Lewis.