Lakewood Summer
Literacy Initiative
2013
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MENU
Fo r S t u d e n t s E n t e r i n g
Grades 3, 4, or 5
Preview this menu.
Read 4 books: 2 Fiction and 2 Nonfiction
(don’t forget to complete any pre-reading activities you choose before you read).
Select and complete an activity from the Appetizers, Entrées, Sides, and Desserts sections
of this menu so that you give your brain a
complete meal!
*Appetizers and Entrées activities are for
Fiction and Sides and Desserts activities
are for Nonfiction.
All students must complete the
Complimentary Beverage activity.
Completed assignments should be given to
your teacher on the first day of school.
Appetizers (Fiction)
Predict what the book will be about based only on the
cover and the title. After you read, evaluate the accurateness of your prediction. Respond to the correct pair of
questions: A. Were you completely correct? How did you
know what would happen? B. Were you close to correct?
How did your prediction differ from what really happened?
C. Was your prediction completely inaccurate? What
made you think that you were predicting correctly and
how did your prediction change as you read?
Before you read, establish a purpose for
reading. After you read the title, review any pictures
or illustrations, and read any introduction or preface,
write at least two purpose questions that will guide you
through your reading. To decide on your questions, think
about what you’d like to find out about. As you read, find
the answers to your purpose questions.
Make a connection between one of your books and
any other books that you remember (a text-to-text connection) and make a connection between one of your books
and something currently happening in the world, something that happened in the past, something you learned
about in school, or anything outside of yourself (a text-toworld connection). Don’t forget to explain how you make
the connections!
Create a sign that suggests the conflict of the book.
If you can, use the computer to create your sign!
Entrees (Fiction)
Create a comic strip that tells about your favorite
part of the books. The comic strip should have a minimum of
six scenes or panels. Include comic-style illustrations in either black and white or color. Include words with dialogue
bubbles, captions, or as a part of the panel.
Write a Book Review including the following information: Title, author, date of publication, main characters,
theme of the book, author’s purpose for writing, brief summary (no more than one paragraph), and if you would recommend this book (don’t forget to tell why or why not!).
Trace one theme throughout your Summer Reading
books. Describe how the theme is seen in each text. Then,
explain how reading different books with the same theme
either helped you to better understand the theme and why
or why it didn’t help you. Provide examples from the texts
to prove your ideas.
Sides (Nonfiction)
Compare and Contrast the author’s point of view
on the topic to your point of view on the topic. Explain
your reasoning.
Describe in writing the organization of sentences
and paragraphs in the text (ex. Compare/contrast,
cause/effect, sequence, etc.). How does this organization
help the reader to understand the author’s ideas? Explain.
Make a list of any words that you didn't understand
when you were reading. Use a dictionary to define those
words. Then, go back to the text and decide if knowing the
definition of the word changed the way you understand the
text. If it did, put a check next to the word in your list. If
it didn’t, put a 0 next to the word on your list.
Desserts (Nonfiction)
Summarize the text in 1 paragraph. Remember
that a summary ought to include only the author’s
main idea and the key points that support this idea.
Write a Nonfiction text using one of your
Summer Reading Nonfiction texts as a model. Decide what the purpose of the text will be (to entertain, to persuade, to inform, or to explain) and select
one of the following topics on which to write: Your
family vacation; Your favorite kind of food; Why everyone should play your favorite sport or game; or
your favorite family member. Articles should be 2-3
paragraphs.
Complimentary Beverage
Complete the Self-Evaluation Rubric!
Grade 3
Suggested Books to Chew On
School Stories
• Kirsten Learns a Lesson: A School Story by Janet
Beeler Shaw
• Ramona Quimby Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
Animal Stories
• The Adventures of Paddington by Michael Bond (book
and tape series)
• Babe: The Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith
• Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Lion’s Whiskers: An Ethiopian Folktale by Nancy
Raines Day
• Rats on the Roof and Other Stories by James Marshall
Books About Friends
• The Candy Corn Contest by Patricia Reilly Giff
• Pinky and Rex by James Howe
Historical Fiction
• Ben and Me by Robert Lawson
• Changes for Addy by Connie Rose Porter (and other
American Girl books)
• If You Grew Up with George Washington by Ruth Belov Gross
• Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express by Margaret
K. Wetterrer
• Kibitzers and Fools: Tales My Zayda Told Me by
Simms Taback
• Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
• Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
• Teammates by Peter Golenbock
Folktales
• Iktomi and the Berries: A Plains Indian Story by
Paul Goble
• Mirandy and Brother Wind by Patricia C. McKissack
• Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Northwest by Gerald McDermott
• The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci
Great Series Books
• Amelia Bedelia series by Peggy Parish
• American Girl series
• Arthur series by Marc Brown
• Berenstain Bears series by Jan and Stan Berenstain
• Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
• Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol
• Eyewitness Science Explorers
• Henry and Mudge series by Cynthia Rylant
• Horrible Harry series by Suzy Kline
• Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Nancy Drew Notebooks by Carolyn Keene early series
• Pee Wee Scouts by Judy Delton
• Polk Street School by Patricia Reilly Giff
Award Winners
• The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Jane
Coatsworth
• Doctor De Soto by William Steig
• How Much Is a Million? by David M. Schwartz
• Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
• Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
• Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
• Prehistoric Pinkerton by Steven Kellogg
• Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
 The Village of Round and Square Houses by Ann
Grifalconi
Note: These books are only suggestions. Please feel free
to add any books that interest you. The staff in the children’s area of the public library will also have many
wonderful suggestions for you.
Grade 4
Suggested Books to Chew On
School Stories
• 4B Goes Wild by Jamie Gilson
• Harriet, the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
• My Teacher Fried My Brains by Bruce Coville
• Ramona and Her Father by Beverley Cleary
• Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Mystery and Adventure Stories
• The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop
(Challenging independent read)
• Culpepper’s Cannon by Gary Paulsen
• Encyclopedia Brown Gets His Man by Donald J.
Sobol
• Julian, Secret Agent by Ann Cameron
Sports Stories
• Baseball Fever by Johanna Hurwitz
• Benjy the Football Hero by Jean Van Leeuwen
• Bobby Baseball by Robert Kimmel Smith
• Dog on Third Base by Constance Hiser
• Gold Medal Rider by Bonnie Bryant
• Tall Man in the Pivot by Matt Christopher (There are
many other sports stories by this author.)
Historical Fiction
• The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgleish
• The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
• The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell
Mathis
• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura
Ingalls Wilder
• The Well by Mildred D. Taylor
(Challenging independent read)
Fantasy and Science Fiction
• Aliens Ate My Homework by Bruce Coville
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S.
Lewis (Challenging independent read)
Series Books
• The Babysitter’s Club by Ann M. Martin
• Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
• Cam Jansen by David A. Adler
• Goosebumps by R. L. Stine
• The Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon
• Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
• Marvin Redpost series Louis Sachar
• Nancy Drew Mysteries by Carolyn Keene
• A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
• The Stories that Julian Tells by Ann Cameron
Note: These books are only suggestions. Please feel free
to add any books that interest you. The staff in the children’s area of the public library will also have many
wonderful suggestions for you.
Grade 5
Suggested Books to Chew On
Great Reads
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsberg
• Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
• Holes by Louis Sachar
• Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
• Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park
• Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
Mystery and Adventure
• Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
• The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
(Challenging independent read)
Newbery Medal and Honor Books
• Afternoon of the Elves by Janet Taylor Lisle
• Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
• Dragon’s Gate by Laurence Yep (Challenging independent read)
• The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
• Homesick, My Own Story by Jean Fritz
• Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
• The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul
Curtis
Historical Fiction
• Black Stallion by Walter Farley (Challenging independent read)
• Bull Run by Paul Fleischman
• Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of
World War Two by Joseph Bruchac
• Sarah Bishop by Scott O’Dell
Fantasy and Science Fiction
• The BFG by Roald Dahl
• Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
• The High King by Lloyd Alexander (Very challenging independent read)
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S.
Lewis
• Lizard Music by Daniel Pinkwater
• Redwall by Brian Jacques (Challenging independent read)
• A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle
Humorous Stories
▪ Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
▪ Matilda by Roald Dahl
▪ Skinnybones by Barbara Park
Note: These books are only suggestions. Please feel free
to add any books that interest you. The staff in the children’s area of the public library will also have many
wonderful suggestions for you.
Some of Our Favorite Authors
Alama Flor Ada
Francisco Alarcon
David Allard
Lloyd Alexander
Natalie Babbitt
Lynne Reid Banks
Judy Blume
Bill Brittain
Maria Christina Brusca
Eve Bunting
Betsy Byars
Matt Christopher
Beverly Cleary
Ellen Conford
Bruce Coville
Barbara Dillon
Sid Fleischman
Jean Craighead George
Mary Dowing Hahn
Johanna Hurwitz
Francisco Jimenez
Charles Keller
Suzy Kline
Gordon Korman
Patricia Lauber
Madeleine L’Engle
Lois Lowry
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Katherine Paterson
Gary Paulson
Cynthia Rylant
Louis Sachar
Marily Sachs
Robert San Souci
Shel Silverstein
Elizabeth Speare
Mary Stolz
Mildred Taylor
Gertrude Warner
Barbara Williams
Laurence Yep
Need Assistance?
Contact or Visit the
Ocean County Library!
Lakewood Branch
Ocean County Library
301 Lexington Ave.
Lakewood, NJ 08701
Phone : (732) 363-1435
Hours: Monday - Thursday 9-9,
Friday & Saturday 9-5,
Sunday 1-5 (September - May)