Thomas W. Pyle Middle School
6311 Wilson Lane
Bethesda, Maryland 20817
Telephone:
(301) 320-6540
Fax:
(301) 320-6647
Chris Nardi, Principal
June 2015
Dear Parent of Incoming Sixth Grader:
We look forward to meeting you and your child next school year. In order to maintain and strengthen your child’s basic
language skills, we urge you to give opportunities for your child to read and write as much as possible during his or her
months away from school.
In Montgomery County Public Schools, summer reading has been an expected practice in middle and high schools and an
encouraged practice in elementary schools since 1998. The ability to read is crucial to an individual's success in school and
on the job. Reading is a life-long skill that a person needs to succeed not only as a student but also as a worker and a citizen.
Perhaps even more importantly, reading opens the world to a person through periodicals, textbooks, and literature. By
reading, individuals have the opportunity to learn about people, times, regions, and ideas that they may never actually
encounter in life. Reading can also bring a lifetime of pleasure and learning.
Research strongly suggests that reading, like most skills, improves with practice and decreases when we do not engage in it
for even a short time. Therefore, consistent with our commitment to prepare all students for success during school and after
graduation, we continue in MCPS to expect all students to read during the summer.
For your child to be better prepared for English and reading in the 6th grade, we require that incoming 6th graders read at
least two fiction books this summer. The books your child chooses will be used to complete two assignments upon
returning to school in August. Although we provide a list of reading suggestions on the back of this letter, your child is
welcome to choose any fiction or biography chapter books.
Visiting your library and discussing choices with the librarian is another method to use in your search for appropriate
books for your child to read. Book stores give you the opportunity to examine many books and to locate those which
interest your child most.
Assignment: Read two novels of your choosing and write a letter to your 6th grade English teacher about the main
character in ONE of the novels (assignment details on the back of this paper).
The letter assignment will be collected on the first days of school. Please go through the attached letter to students, sample
letter, and organizer with your child to help him or her understand the assignment. Students will complete a second
assignment on the second novel during the first week of school as well.
Again, we look forward to meeting you and your child. Have a lovely summer!
Sincerely yours,
Chris Nardi
Principal
Sandra Gallagher
English Resource Teacher
Sixth Grade English Teachers
6th
Thomas W. Pyle Middle School
Grade Summer Reading Suggestions
Title
Chasing Vermeer
The Wright 3
Cosmic
Quinceanera Means Sweet 15
The Counterfeit Tackle
Dirt Bike Racer
The Hockey Machine
Skateboard Tough
Snowboard Maverick
Soccer Halfback
Frindle
The Report Card
Things Not Seen
Artemis Fowl
Driver’s Ed
Replay
Love That Dog
Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
The Tale of Despereaux
The Tiger Rising
City of Ember
Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25
Joey Pigza Loses Control
Pictures of Hollis Woods
Running Out of Time
Found
Raven’s Gate
Stormbreaker
The Secret of Platform 13
The Tales of Emily Windsnap
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Eleven Birthdays
Monster
Slam
The Phantom Tollbooth
Wonder
Brian’s Winter
Brian’s Hunt
Brian’s Return
The River
Esperanza Rising
Author
Balliet, Blue
Balliet, Blue
Boyce, Gottrell
Chambers, Veronica
Christopher, Matt
Christopher, Matt
Christopher, Matt
Christopher, Matt
Christopher, Matt
Christopher, Matt
Clements, Andrew
Clements, Andrew
Clements, Andrew
Colfer, Eoin
Cooney, Caroline
Creech, Sharon
Creech, Sharon
Creech, Sharon
DiCamillo, Kate
DiCamillo, Kate
DiCamillo, Kate
DuPrau, Jeanne
Evans, Richard Paul
Gantos, Jack
Giff, Patricia Reilly
Haddix, Margaret Peterson
Haddix, Margaret Peterson
Horwitz, Anthony
Horwitz, Anthony
Ibbotson, Eva
Kessler, Liz
Lewis, C.S.
Mass, Wendy
Myers, Walter Dean
Myers, Walter Dean
Norton, Juster
Palacio, R.J.
Paulsen, Gary
Paulsen, Gary
Paulsen, Gary
Paulsen, Gary
Ryan, Pamela Munoz
Lexile
770
870
670
630
720
630
790
720
680
730
830
700
690
600
670
850
1010
810
700
670
520
680
500
800
650
730
750
620
670
910
600
940
650
670
750
1000
790
1140
1180
1130
960
750
Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes
See You Later, Gladiator
Tut Tut
Sammy Keys and the Hotel Thief
Uglies
Sachar, Louis
Scieszka, Jon
Scieszka, Jon
Van Draanen, Wendelin
Westerfield, Scott
560
600
690
840
770
Explanation of Lexile Scores:
Lexile scores are one way to match readers to books that they can read independently. When choosing a book,
however, readers must also consider their interests. If the topic of the book is something that the reader knows a
lot about, he or she can often enjoy a book at a higher lexile. If the topic of the book is new to the reader or is
very complicated, it is better to choose a book at or below the reader’s lexile level.
Students’ individual lexile scores can be found on the MAP-R report. Your teacher can provide this
information and answer any questions that you have. More information is available at www.lexile.com.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Incoming Pyle 6th Grade Student,
Welcome to middle school. Pyle’s 6th grade English teachers are excited to meet you! We love a good
book and hope you do too. We’re excited to get to know you and to hear about what wonderful books you read
this summer.
So, we’re asking you to let us know about both. Please introduce yourselves and let us know about a
terrific book you read this summer by writing a letter to your 6th grade English teacher. Tell him or her all
about the main character in ONE of the books you read. This letter should be five or more paragraphs long.
But don’t worry! Attached is an organizer that will help you write your letter, step by step. We’ve also written
a sample letter to guide you.
Here’s what we’re looking for in your letter:






Introduce yourself and let us know what book you read.
Introduce your main character using character traits. Is the character kind and clever? Sneaky or shy?
Please include examples from your book.
Make connections between yourself and your main character. Are there any similarities or differences?
Tell us what happens in the book – what events, experiences, and conflicts does the main character
face? What other characters are involved?
Tell us how your character changes from the beginning of the book to the end. Please include examples
from your book. Is there a lesson your character learned?
Finally, would you recommend this book to others? Tell us why or why not.
Remember to use the organizer and the sample letter to help you out.
So, go out and find some terrific summer reading; enjoy the books and enjoy your summer! And don’t
forget to come to Pyle’s 6th grade orientation.
We look forward to meeting you and talking about these excellent books!
Best,
Pyle’s 6th grade English Teachers
Sample Response
Dear Future English Teacher,
I am excited to come to middle school, mostly because I heard the hotdogs in the cafeteria don’t bounce.
I won’t say I love to read, but I don’t hate it either. This summer I read a few books. I will be writing about The
Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson.
The main character in the novel is Gilly Hopkins, a foster child who is going to a new home. Gilly has a
terrific imagination and quite a bit of spunk. At the beginning of the novel, as her case manager is driving her
to her new foster home and encouraging her to “get off on the right foot,” Gilly imagines, “Sailing around the
living room of the foster home on her right foot like an ice skater. With her uplifted foot she was shoving the
next foster mother square in the mouth” (3). Gilly is also very stubborn. One evening as she was reading to a
blind neighbor, because her foster mother made her, and he remarked that she was a good reader, Gilly thought
about how she became to be such a good reader. “She was a good reader because she had set her mind to be
one. The minute that darn first grade teacher had told Mrs. Dixon that she was afraid Gilly might be ‘slow,’
Gilly had determined to make that old parrot choke on her words” (47). Gilly is also seen as caring when she
starts to look out for her foster brother who has special needs. She decides to teach him how to fight so he can
defend himself. I am different from the main character because she can be very disrespectful to grown-ups and
I am very polite. I am similar to Gilly because I am very determined to do well in school also. I felt bad for her
when her mom didn’t want her.
Gilly is a foster child who keeps trying to find her mom. Gilly has a lot of trouble with people in the
book. Gilly is very rude to Mrs. Trotter, her foster mom in the book. Gilly is very mean to W.E., her foster.
When Gilly is first placed in Mrs. Trotter’s home, she is horrified to learn their neighbor is blind, stunned that
her foster brother has special needs, and really mean about Trotter being over-weight. Gilly has a hard time at
her new school. The only student who will talk to her is an outcast, and Gilly’s teacher is also different. Gilly is
desperate to leave Mrs. Trotter’s home and find her real mother. Gilly steals money from their blind neighbor
and runs away. Gilly is caught and brought back to Mrs. Trotter’s home. As Gilly stays in her new home, she
starts to like her teacher, her foster brother, Mrs. Trotter, and their neighbor. But in the end she is taken away
by her grandmother.
At the beginning of the novel, Gilly was rude and cruel, but by the end of the novel she has changed and
become caring, loving, and responsible. Gilly was very rude to Mrs. Trotter at the beginning. When Mrs.
Trotter welcomed Gilly into her home and asked if she needed anything, Gilly, shouted, “I don’t need any help
from anybody!” (36), and slammed the door. Gilly was very mean to the only kid at school who would talk to
her. Gilly told Agnes she had a big mouth and told her to, “Keep it shut. We wouldn’t want what’s left of your
brains to trickle out”(54). Gilly even tricked Agnes into helping her steal money from the neighbor, Mr.
Randolph, by pretending to be nice to her. Later, Gilly started helping out around the house, especially after
everyone became sick. She helped her foster brother, W.E. fly a paper airplane and was genuinely kind to him.
Gilly even decided she liked Mrs. Trotter so much that she wanted to stay in her home. From reading this novel
I learned that people are not what they seem at first. I also learned that if you are kind to someone for long
enough, they will learn to be kind back to you.
I would definitely recommend this book to you. I think teachers can learn that kids are not exactly what
they seem and everyone needs love and support. I think my friends would enjoy getting to know Gilly and
seeing how she changed. I really liked that she stood up for herself and learned to care about others.
Sincerely,
New Student
Friendly Letter Organizer
Directions:
Use this organizer for prepare your letter that will be due in your English class during the first week of
school.
Introduction: (Paragraph One)
 Briefly introduce yourself. (Include a greeting to your teacher at the beginning: (“Dear teacher,”)
 Let your teacher know what book you read (include title and author)
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Introducing your character : (Paragraph Two)
 Character description- Describe the main character using character traits. Include examples from
the book that show those traits.
 Character connection- How do you connect to your character? How are you similar or different?
*Possible sentence starters- I am similar to the character because…
I am different from the main character because…
The main character is ____________ (trait). This trait is revealed when…
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Novel summary: (Paragraph Three)
 Character experiences- Describe the events & experiences that the main character faces.
 Conflict- Include the main problem & how the main character addresses this problem. Explain how
the other characters are involved.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Character Change & Lesson: (Paragraph Four)
 Change in character- Using specific examples, describe how the character changes from the
beginning to the end of the book.
 Lesson- Make sure to describe what you learned from the characters. What does he or she teach
you? What is a lesson from the novel?
*Possible sentence starters- At the beginning of the novel, the main character was __________ but by the
end of the novel, the character had changed and become _________.
At the start/end of the novel when the character said/did ___________ it
showed s/he was ____________.
From reading this novel, I learned…
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion: (Paragraph Five)
 Book Recommendation- Would you recommend this novel to your teacher? Or to a friend? Why or
Why not?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Finished! Now just type or hand write your letter and revise it before
printing. Don’t forget to bring your letter in on the first day of school!