Franklin Academy: Summer Read and Respond Challenge
As part of our rigorous program here at Franklin Academy, all students going into grades 3-5,
are required to participate in our Summer Read and Respond Challenge. Each student must
read and write a literature response essay for at least three books from the Franklin Academy
Summer Booklist. The purpose of a response to literature is to briefly discuss a character’s
traits, the setting, and plot, as well as discuss the theme of the story. Typically, the essay is
organized with a brief summary of the story, followed by an opinion about the theme that is
supported by evidence from the text. Many responses include connections to other stories, the
world, or the reader’s own experiences, as well as a personal reflection that reveals how the
story has impacted the reader.
For each book that is read, the student is required to fill out the Response to Literature Graphic
Organizer, and then use that organizer to write a 5 paragraph essay. The graphic organizers,
essays, a table of contents as well as a bibliography, will be collected on the first day of school.
The documents should all be put into a presentation folder and will be used as their first
Language Arts grade for the 2014-2015 school year.
Step 1: Read Three Books from the Book List
The books are suggested for the grade your student is going into and listed in order of
increasing difficulty. The books that you and your child choose should be specific to his/her
reading ability.
Grade 4-5 Book List by Title, Author
M.C. Higgins, the Great, Virginia Hamilton
The Birchbark House, Louise Erdrich
Bud Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Grace Lin
“The Echoing Green”, William Blake
“The New Colossus”, Emma Lazarus
“Casey at the Bat”, Ernest Lawrence Thayer
“A Bird Came Down the Walk”, Emily Dickinson
“Fog”, Carl Sandburg
“Dust of Snow”, Robert Frost
“Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf”, Roald Dahl
“They Were My People”, Grace Nichols
“Words Free As Confetti”, Pat Mora
Discovering Mars: The Amazing Story of the Red Plane, Melvin Berger
Let’s Investigate Marvelously Meaningful Maps, Madelyn Wood Carlisle
Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms, Patricia Lauber Fourth Grade & Fifth Grade Core Suggested
The Kid’s Guide to Money: Earning It Saving It Spending It Growing It Sharing It, Steve Otfinoski
Toys!: Amazing Stories Behind Some Great Inventions, Don Wulffson
Good Pet Bad Pet, Elizabeth Schleichert
Ancient Mound Builders, E. Barrie Kavash
About Time: A First Look at Time and Clocks, Bruce Koscielniak
England the Land, Erinn Banting
A History of US, Joy Hakim
My Librarian Is a Camel: How Books Are Brought to Children Around the World, Margriet Ruurs
Horses, Seymour Simon
Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea, Sy Montgomery
Volcanoes, Simon Seymour
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, Kadir Nelson
Kenya’s Long Dry Season, Nellie Gonzalez Cutler
Seeing Eye to Eye, Leslie Hall
Telescopes, Colin A. Ronan
Underground Railroad, Henrietta Buckmaster
Step 2: For Each Book, Choose the Theme (Or Add Your Own)
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Believe in yourself
Overcoming challenges / problems
Accepting differences in others
Don’t be afraid to try new things
Family love
Friendship
Love
Don’t judge a book by its cover
Teamwork / cooperation
Honesty
Treat others the way you want to be
treated
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Be happy with what you have
Never give up
Courage / bravery
Respect
Teasing / bullying
Self-control
Consequences
Patriotism (love for your country)
Responsibility
A good friend is hard to find
Don’t judge a book by its cover
Step 3: For Each Book, Fill Out the Graphic Organizers
Graphic Organizer
Introduction: Write the Quick Summary and the Thesis Statement
¶❶The story _____________________by _______________________is a
___________.
Title
Author
Genre
In the story, the theme, ______________________________________________________ is
Insert Theme
evident when the main character, ______________________________________________.
Name of Character
Choose 1
_____________________________ 
Finish the Sentence
meets the challenge of
__________________________

faces the conflict of
__________________________

shows the reader
__________________________

teaches the reader
__________________________.
The Body: Summary, 2 Examples of the Theme from the Story
¶❷ Summary: Write a brief summary of the story in 4-6 sentences. Include, the
main characters, the setting, the problem, and the solution.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
¶❸Evidence of Theme:
¶❹ Evidence of Theme:
One piece of evidence that
supports _____________________, is on
page ______when (the author/character
says)
__________________________________
_____________________.
Give a quote from the story
Another piece of evidence that
supports __________________________, is
on page _____ when (the author/character
says)
_____________________________________
_______________________.
Give a quote from the story
(Choose One):
 This quotation shows that………
 This incident means………
 I think this means that……
 Here, the character seems to be
saying………
 Here the author is showing………
__________________________________
(Choose One):
 This quotation shows that………
 This incident means………
 I think this means that……
 Here, the character seems to be
saying………
 Here the author is showing………
_____________________________________
¶❺Conclusion: Restate the Theme, then Make a Reflection
Starters:
 This convincing
evidence proves
 This proves
 This clearly
demonstrates
 This specific proof
Subject:
 the character
was…
 the impact of the
setting was…
 the events were…
 the theme/moral
was…
Opinion:
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Reflection Starters:
 After reading the book, I (felt, wished, realized, understood)
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
 The book deeply affected me because
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
 Once I finished the book, I reflected
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Reflection Ending:
It reminded me of (make a connection to self, text, world)
Step 4: For Each Book, Use the Graphic Organizer to Write a 5 Paragraph Essay
Example of 5 Paragraph Essay in Response to Literature
Cinderella
Imagine yourself in rags, with nothing to eat, and mice as your closest friends. If you can
do that then you will understand how the main character in the story Cinderella felt. The story
Cinderella was written hundreds of years ago by an unknown author. It is a fairy tale. The two
main themes of the story are: 1. cruelty doesn’t pay and 2. treat others the way you want to be
treated.
The main character of the story is the kind and beautiful Cinderella. She is poor but
always pure at heart. Unfortunately the other main characters are mean. There is an evil and
greedy step mother and two ugly step sisters who take pleasure in torturing Cinderella.
The setting of this story, like most fairy tales, is in a forest near a castle. It also takes place,
“Once upon a time,” which means many years ago. The problem in this tale is that Cinderella
loses her beloved father and becomes a slave to her step family. She must cook, clean, and
sleep on the floor near the fireplace to keep warm.
The story begins when Cinderella’s father dies and she suddenly goes from being rich to
being a slave to her step mother and step sisters. She works constantly but never complains.
One day the handsome prince in the castle announces that he will have a ball, or dance, to look
over the local maidens and choose a bride. Cinderella wants to go but her step sisters laugh at
her for being so foolish. Everyone dresses and goes to the castle leaving Cinderella behind in
the ashes. Suddenly a fairy godmother appears and grants her wish to go to the ball. Of course
there’s a catch. She must return by midnight or the spell, and all the beautiful clothes will
disappear. Naturally the handsome prince loves Cinderella at first site. Stories are boring
without problems, however, and this one is no exception. Cinderella runs away leaving only
one clue, her glass slipper. In the end the prince finds his true love and everyone lives happily
ever after (or else it wouldn’t be a fairy tale – right?)
The reason I think one of the themes is to treat others the way you want to be treated is
because Cinderella was always kind even when others were mean to her. For example, in the
story the step sisters laughed and called Cinderella ugly and foolish for wanting to go to the
ball. Cinderella, however, never said anything harsh back to the sisters. She just acted the way
she wanted to be treated, which was kind. I also think the author is trying to show that cruelty
doesn’t pay because in the end of the story the mean sisters didn’t get anything they wanted.
From personal experience I know that kindness always wins over evil. After all, my mom always
says, “Honey attracts more flies than vinegar.” (Text to Self)
The resolution to all of Cinderella’s problems is magic. If it weren’t for magic she would
still be a slave. I think girls today better make their own magic. College is more realistic than
waiting around for a prince charming, don’t you agree? Although I loved the story I thought it
was unfortunate that the author described the step mother and step sisters as evil. After all,
there are a lot of great step moms and dads out there. (Text to World) I liked the book though.
I would recommend it to third through sixth grade. Although it is written for children I also
think it is a classic that adults should read.
Step 5: Presenting
1. Put all documents into a presentation folder
2. Add a Table of Contents
3. Add a Bibliography
4. Turn in the folder to your Language Arts Teacher on the first day of school.