6th
Hull Middle School
Grade Summer Reading Choices
(For Rising 6th Graders)
Read one book from the following list (Reading more books is recommended, but only one assignment is required).
Complete the assignment on the back of this sheet (This will be due during the second week of school).
A reading comprehension quiz on the book will be given when the assignment is due.
During the first few weeks of school, you may complete in-class assignments using the book you read.
Books may be found online, at local bookstores, and at local libraries. Don’t wait until it is too late.
PROBE/gifted language arts students will NOT complete the assignment on the back of this sheet. Instead, you must read TWO books.
One book must be The Mysterious Benedict Society, and the second book must be a NONFICTION selection of your choice.
The two books will have separate assignments.
After 6th grade PROBE placement letters are received, if you have gifted language arts, please check the school website for the PROBE
summer reading assignment guide (also available from 5th grade teachers).
Both assignments are due at the end of the FIRST week of school. There will also be a quiz on The Mysterious Benedict Society (first week).
11 Birthdays
By: Wendy Mass
Lexile: 650
Pages: 267
Amanda and Leo have the same birthday. They celebrated their first nine birthdays together. However, the two kids have a falling
out on their tenth and have not spoken to each other for the last year. Now, as they prepare to celebrate their eleventh birthday
separately, peculiar things begin to happen as the day of their birthday begins to repeat itself over and over again.
Fish
By: Gregory Mone
Lexile: 810 (More Challenging)
Pages: 241
Fish, a twelve-year-old Irish boy from a poor farming family, takes a job as a messenger for his uncle and is immediately captured
by pirates who want the package he's carrying. As Fish makes friends with the kind-hearted pirate captain Cobb, Cobb's wife,
Melinda, and other colorful characters, he falls in love with the seagoing life on board the pirate ship Scurvy Mistress. But when Fish
becomes aware of a rebellion headed by a particularly nasty pirate named Scab, it's up to him and some fellow pirates still loyal to
Cobb to stop Scab's plan and save the day. (More challenging due to reading level)
Gregor the Overlander
By: Suzanne Collins
Lexile: 630
Pages: 380
When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle
involving humans, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy. The first of a five-book
series, this is the choice for anyone who enjoyed Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief series.
IQ Book 1: Independence
Hall
By: Roland Smith
Lexile: 660 (More Challenging)
Pages: 302
Quest and his stepsister Angela are thrust into the dangerous world of the American Secret Service and the Israeli Mossad when
they learn Angela's real mother was a former Secret Service agent who was killed by a terrorist group.
(More challenging due to content)
The Mysterious Benedict
Society
By: Trenton Lee Stewart
Lexile: 890 (More Challenging)
Pages: 440
When a peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And
you, dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children — two boys and two girls —
will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children could complete. To
accomplish it they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are
no rules. (More challenging due to reading level)
Out of My Mind
By: Sharon M. Draper
Lexile: 700
Pages: 304
Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's
no delete button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school—but no one knows it. Most people—her teachers and doctors
included—don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschoollevel alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up; if only she could tell people what she thinks and
knows . . . but she can't, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write.
Schooled
By: Gordon Korman
Lexile: 740
Pages: 208
Cap lives in isolation with his grandmother, a former hippie; but when she falls from a tree and breaks her hip, Cap is sent to a
foster home where he has his first experience in a public school.
What do I do after reading my book?
After you finish reading your book, you are required to write a friendly letter to your 6th grade language arts
teacher, introducing yourself and demonstrating that you have read the book. Your letter should be typed, if
possible, and between one and two pages long. When typing, use single-spaced, 10-12 point Arial font. This
letter will be turned in to your language arts teacher during the second week of school in August.
What do I write in my letter?
Part 1 - A brief introduction of yourself. Please include the following information in your paragraph(s):
What you will miss about elementary school and what you expect middle school to be like.
Some brief background information about yourself, including places you have lived and
interesting things you have experienced. If you speak multiple languages or if a language
other than English is spoken at home, you may want to include that information.
A few interesting facts about yourself, including some of your interests.
Part 2 – In paragraph form (at least one paragraph), discuss your experience with the Summer Reading
assignment and your opinion of the book.
Don’t forget to mention what book you read.
When did you read the book during the summer?
How long did it take you to read the book?
Did you read more than one book this summer? If so, which books did you read?
Did you enjoy your Summer Reading experience? Explain.
Your personal rating of the book, from 1-5, with 5 being the highest, plus your reasons for the
rating. (“I liked it,” or “I hated it,” or “It was okay,” are not sufficient. Give examples from
the book when explaining your answer.)
Part 3 – Respond to THREE of the following reader-response prompts in paragraph form. Each response
should be a SEPARATE paragraph (Three separate paragraphs; one for each response). These
responses should NOT be a summary of the book.
Think about the main character. How has he/she changed throughout the book? Include
specific examples from the book.
Are there any quotes in the book (passages, descriptions) that are memorable to you? Explain
why it is memorable to you. How does it make you feel, or what does it make you think
about?
What do you think will happen to the main characters in the book in one year? Five years?
Give reasons from the novel to support your answer.
Does anything in the book remind you of another book, a movie, or an experience you have
had? Explain your answer by comparing parts of the book to what it reminds you of.
Think about the characters in the book. Choose a character and discuss how he/she is similar
to or different than you. Include specific examples from the book.
YOUR ESSAY SHOULD BE 5 PARAGRAPHS OR MORE!