Summer Reading
Channel View School for Research
*Students must complete all of the assignments. Every assignment should be placed
inside the student’s scrapbook.*
Assignment #1
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Students must read the book required for the grade which they will enter in the fall.
Students must also read at least one of the other books from the appropriate grade list.
Assignment #2
For each book, students must
1. Complete the Summer Reading Assignment that is attached.
2. Complete one task from the list of “Interesting Ways to Share Books.”
3. Place these tasks in your scrapbook.
Assignment #3
Students must read 3 articles from the list of approved magazines and newspapers. The articles
must be feature articles, not news briefs. The three articles should have a common theme.
For each article, students must:
1. Cut the article out or photocopy
2. Glue or tape the article into a scrapbook
3. Write a short paper for each article
4. The 3 short papers must include:

1 paragraph summary

1 paragraph discussing the impact or importance of story

1 paragraph relating your opinion on the issue, event, story

Identify the theme of the article
Assignment #4
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Students must make the scrapbook visually appealing and individual.
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The scrapbook can be a marble or spiral notebook, a binder, or another appropriate, large
scrapbook form.
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In addition to the required tasks, it may also include:
o Photos, drawings, poems, summer journal or diary entries, stories, raps or lyrics,
collage, letters, pay stubs, ticket stubs, receipts, artifacts, and more!
Summer Reading List
Channel View School for Research
Grade 6
Students will read one required book and one book from the list.
Required:
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Choose 1:
A Step from Heaven by An Na
Samir and Yonatan by Daniella Carmi
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
A Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Grade 7
Students will read one required book and one book from the list.
Required:
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Choose 1:
Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
Other Side of Truth by Beverly Naidoo
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
The Talking Earth by Jean Craighead George
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
Dragonwings by Laurence Yep
To Be a Slave by Julius Lester
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton by John McPhee
Grade 8
Students will read one required book and one book from the list.
Required:
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
Choose 1:
The Lord of the Nutcracker Men by Iain Lawrence
So B.It by Sarah Weeks
Rats by Paul Zindel
Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block
Hush by Jacqueline Woodson
Other Side of Truth by Beverly Naidoo
Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli
Code Talker: A Novel about the Najavo Marines of World War Two by Joseph Bruchac
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride
Son of the Mob; Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle by Gordon Korman
Cuba 15: a Novel by Nancy Osa
Interesting Ways to Share Books
1. Panel Discussion: Organize a pro and con panel with a chairperson and debate an issue that
arises in the book. Consider including one person as the author.
2. Dramatization: Dramatize an incident or important scene from the book.
3. Radio Announcements: “Broadcast” an advertisement for the book.
4. Telegram: Condense the essence of the book into fifteen, fifty, or one hundred words.
5. Costumes: Design costumes from the period of the book.
6. Letter: Write a letter to a friend recommending the book.
7. Simplification: Write a children’s version of the story for a younger audience.
8. Poetry: Write an original poem based on one of the characters in the book.
9. Crossword Puzzle: Create a crossword puzzle using clues about the characters, setting, and
events of the book.
10. Diary: Write a few pages from a diary as if you were one of the characters.
11. Cartoon: Do a cartoon strip using the characters and scene(s) from the book.
12. Sales Talk: Prepare a sales talk, pretending your audience is composed of bookstore
clerks and you want them to push this book.
13. Role Playing: Imagine you are one of the characters in the book. Tell what you think of the
author for putting you into the book and what you think about the other characters or the events
that happen to you in the book.
14. Biography: Write the biography of one of the characters in the book.
15. Interviews: Write the transcript of an interview between a character in the book and the
author, or between you and the author, or between you and one of the characters in the book.
16. Author Appreciation: Write a letter to the author; ask questions you are curious about,
explain your reaction to his/her book and share your thoughts on the book.
17. Television Report: You are a television reporter. Present an on-the-scene news report
based on incidents from the book.
18. Model: Make a model of something in the story: house, log cabin, town.
19: Mobile: Make a mobile from drawings or cut outs related to the book.
20. Collage: Cut pictures from old magazines to show an idea or scene from the book and
arrange it on a poster collage.
21. Tape Recording: Tape part of the story for the class with appropriate musical background
and other sound effects.
22. Poster Advertisement: Create a poster that effectively advertises the book.
23. Diorama: Create a diorama that illustrates the setting of the book.
24. Song Writing: Write a song with lyrics that represent the book, its characters, or setting.
25. Photo Album: Create a photo album belonging to one of the characters.
26. Mural: Create a mural to illustrate the book. Use charcoal, crayons, cut paper, watercolors,
or other art forms.
27. Travelogue: Create a travelogue using pictures, postcards, magazine clips, etc. to illustrate
the book.
28. Time Line: Make a time line of the events of the book, include illustrations.
29. Puppetry: Make a puppet or puppets of the characters. Write a script for a puppet show,
and present it to classmates.
30. Clay Model: Use clay to model a character, setting, important object in the book.
31. Scrapbook: Prepare a scrapbook illustrating the life of one of the book’s characters.
32. Dinner Date: Invite a character from the book to dinner. Plan a dinner party for the
character that is consistent with his or her personality. Write instructions to the catering staff,
including the
menu, table setting, guest list of celebrities, the music you will play, etc.
33. Obituary: Write a eulogy or an obituary for the main character.
34. Photography: Take photographs and make a photo album that depicts the experiences of a
character.
35. Book Club: Write 10 discussion questions for the book with complete answers.
Approved Periodical List
Magazines and Newspapers
El Diario
Amsterdam News
Audubon Magazine
Automotive Digest
Business Week
Car and Driver
Consumer Reports
Ebony
The Economist
ESPN The Magazine
Field and Stream
Fishing World
Forbes
Jet
Journal of American History
Latina
Literary Cavalcade
Book
National Geographic (Traveler, Adventure, etc.)
New York Times Magazine
New Yorker
Newsweek
Omni
Popular Mechanics
Popular Science
Rolling Stone
Science Digest
Science Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Smithsonian
Time
Town and Country
U.S. News and World Report
Calliope (world history)
Cobblestones (American history)
Faces (anthropology)
Junior Scholastic
Odyssey (science)
Science World (scholastic)
Scope
Time for Kids
World (National Geographic)
USA Today
Daily News
Newsday
New York Times
Channel View School for Research Summer Reading Assignment
(if you need extra space, attach your answers to this sheet.)
Title:______________________________ Author:_______________
1. Describe the SETTING (time and place) of the novel.
2. Write a PLOT SUMMARY that covers the beginning, middle and end of the book (100
word maximum)
3. List the names of the MAIN CHARACTERS (no more than 4), and provide a brief
description of each character.
a.
b.
c.
4. Focus on ONE of the main characters listed above. For this character, find 3 important
quotations that reveal something about his/her personality. Copy each quote exactly
(include page numbers), and explain what each reveals about the character’s personality.
a.
b.
c.
My son/daughter __________________________________ read the book listed above for
his/her Summer Reading and completed the assignment.
_______________________________________ ________________
(Parent/Guardian Signature)
(Date)
Channel View School for Research Summer Reading Assignment
(if you need extra space, attach your answers to this sheet.)
Title:______________________________ Author:_______________
1. Describe the SETTING (time and place) of the novel.
2. Write a PLOT SUMMARY that covers the beginning, middle and end of the book (100
word maximum)
3. List the names of the MAIN CHARACTERS (no more than 4), and provide a brief
description of each character.
a.
b.
c.
4. Focus on ONE of the main characters listed above. For this character, find 3 important
quotations that reveal something about his/her personality. Copy each quote exactly
(include page numbers), and explain what each reveals about the character’s personality.
a.
b.
c.
My son/daughter __________________________________ read the book listed above for
his/her Summer Reading and completed the assignment.
_______________________________________ ________________
(Parent/Guardian Signature)
(Date)
CVSR Reading Log
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Summer 2012
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