Carol Baker, Ed.D., Language Arts/Social Studies Supervisor
Flemington-Raritan Regional School District
50 Court Street, Flemington, NJ 08822
T: (908) 284-7567; F: (908) 284-7514
June 1, 2015
Dear Parents/Caregivers:
Summer reading promotes reading for pleasure, helps students develop into life-long readers, and
maintains students’ reading skills (Cornish, 2003). The more students read, the better readers they become
(Marz & Rasinski, 2007). Summer reading provides students with the opportunity to practice and
maintain the reading skills and strategies they have been taught during the school year. In addition to
increasing academic skills, reading can be a means for students to connect with their family and peers.
The Flemington-Raritan Schools hope that reading books together will provide a means for parents and
caregivers to become literacy partners with their children. During the Summer of 2015, students in Grades
4-7 will read a book and complete a graphic organizer. Students may read as many books on the list as
they would like. However, only one of the books is needed for the assignment. Please work with your
child to choose a book that will be challenging and enjoyable for him or her.
Your child should return to school in September with his/her completed graphic organizer. Students will
complete a writing assignment about the book during the first week of school. The purpose of the
assignment is to get a “snapshot” of students’ writing and comprehension skills. Teachers will use this
information to plan instruction. Students also will be asked to orally share the book they read with their
peers.
Books can be found at the Flemington Public Library and the Hunterdon County Library on Route 12.
In addition to the information that is attached, a list of helpful websites can be located on the District’s
website at http://www.frsd.k12.nj.us/. The websites provide additional book lists and activities for your
child.
If you have any questions, please contact the Language Arts/Social Studies Supervisor, Dr. Carol Baker,
at 284-7567 or [email protected]. Happy Reading!
Sincerely,
Carol A. Baker, Ed.D.
Language Arts/Social Studies Supervisor
Flemington-Raritan Schools
6th Graders going to 7th
Summer Reading List 2015
Main
Realistic/Historical Penny From Heaven (Jennifer Holm) It’s1953 and 11-year-old Penny dreams of a summer of
butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. But nothing’s that easy in Penny’s life. To make matters worse,
the two sides of her family aren’t speaking to each other!
Realistic Joey Pigza Loses Control (Jack Gantos) Carter Pigza, Joey’s dad, is eager to make past wrongs up to
Joey, to teach him how to be a winner and how to take control of his life. And Joey is eager to do whatever his dad
says, even if he suspects it will do him more harm than good.
Realistic Al Capone Does My Shirts (Gennifer Choldenko) Moose Flannagan moves with his family to Alcatraz so
his dad can work as a prison guard and his sister, Natalie, can attend a special school. All Moose wants to do is
protect Natalie, live up to his parents' expectations, and stay out of trouble. But on Alcatraz, trouble is never very
far away.
Horror/Story Collection (S.E. Schlosser) Spooky New Jersey Pull up a chair or gather round the campfire and get
ready for thirty creepy tales of ghostly hauntings, eerie happenings, and other strange occurrences from times
past.
Adventure/Fantasy Thief Lord, (Cornelia Funke) Orphaned brothers Prosper and Bo, having run
away from their cruel aunt and uncle, decide to hide out in Venice where they fall in with the Thief
Lord, a thirteen-year-old boy who leads a crime ring of street children.
Classic Red Badge of Courage. (Stephen Crane) Through the eyes of ordinary Civil War soldier Henry Fleming,
you’ll experience his patriotism, the bloody realities of battle and the flight from it.
Nonfiction Brainstorm!: The Stories of Twenty American Kid Inventors (Tom Tucker) Brainstorm features
young inventors from colonial to modern times and includes women and minorities. The ideas range from a safety
device for power looms to the Popsicle, invented by an 11-year-old boy in 1905. The last chapter explains that
process and gives advice on ways to save money on searches. Be sure to use the Nonfiction Graphic organizer.
Challenge
Fantasy Once Upon A Marigold (Jean Ferris) A young man with a mysterious past and a penchant for inventing
things leaves the troll who raised him, meets an unhappy princess he has loved from afar, and discovers a plot
against her and her father.
Realistic/Historical Fiction Lizzy Bright and Buckminster Boy (Gary D. Schmidt) In 1911, Turner
Buckminster hates his new home of Phippsburg, Maine, but things improve when he meets Lizzie
Bright Griffin, a girl from a poor, nearby island community founded by former slaves that the town
fathers--and Turner's--want to change into a tourist spot.
Challenge, Continuted
Suspense/Mystery Mysterious Benedict Society (Trenton Lee Stewart) Dozens of children respond to this
peculiar ad in the newspaper and are then put through a series of mind-bending tests. Only four children--two boys
and two girls--succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and inventive
children could complete.
Classic/Fantasy The Hobbit (J.R.R Tolkien) Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbithole by Gandalf the wizard and a company of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the
treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon.
.
Reluctant Reader
Realistic Fiction Firegirl (Tony Abbott) From this moment on, life is never quite the same for Tom and his
seventh-grade classmates. A new girl in school, Jessica, has quite a story to tell and it just may change
their lives.
Adventure/Fantasy Tuck Everlasting, (Natalie Babbit) The Tuck family is confronted with an
agonizing situation when they discover that a ten-year-old girl and a malicious stranger now share
their secret about a spring whose water prevents one from ever growing any older.
Suspense/Spy Storm Breaker: An Alex Rider Adventure (Anthony Horowitz) Enlisted to find uncle Ian’s killers
and complete Ian’s final mission, Alex suddenly finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, with no way
out.
Sports Fiction/Mystery Last Shot (John Feinstein) Steven Thomas is one of two lucky winners of the U.S.
Basketball Writer’s Association’s contest for aspiring journalists. His prize? A trip to New Orleans and a coveted
press pass for the Final Four. But the games going on behind the scenes between the coaches, the players, the
media, the money-men, and the fans turn out to be even more fiercely competitive than those on the court.
Sports/Realistic Fiction Travel Team, (Mike Lupica) After he is cut from his travel basketball
team--the very same team that his father once led to national prominence--twelve-year-old Danny
Walker forms his own team of cast-offs that might have a shot at victory.
How do I complete the graphic organizer?
While reading your summer reading book, complete the provided graphic organizer. The book
mark is double sided in case you need more space to write your notes. The purpose of the
graphic organizer is for you to make notes on important topics that occur in the book.
You will be required to use your graphic organizer and its contents on a writing assessment that
will be given during the first week of school. The graphic organizer will count as part of the
overall assessment grade.
Directions: Below are specific directions on how to complete each section of the graphic
organizer.
Fiction Graphic Organizer
Character Analysis: On this section of the graphic organizer, take notes on the characters in
your book, their descriptions, personality traits, relationship to other characters, etc.
Plot Elements: On this section of the graphic organizer, take notes on the main plot elements
that occur in the story. For example: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution,
and conflict.
Theme & Quotes: On this section of the graphic organizer, identify the overall theme of the
book. The theme is the moral or lesson that is presented to the reader. Then identify three
significant quotes from the book that support the theme.
Likes & Dislikes: On this section of the graphic organizer, identify three things you liked about
the book and three things you disliked about the book. Be sure to provide relevant text evidence
to support your likes and dislikes.
Nonfiction Graphic organizer
Main Idea(s) of the Book: On this section of the graphic organizer, take notes on the main ideas
or topics that are included in your book. The ideas can include a description of the main ideas,
how the ideas fit together, why the ideas are important, etc.
Interesting/Surprising Elements: On this section of the graphic organizer, identify some ideas
or facts from the book that were interesting or surprising for you. You may also include any
questions you had about these facts. Be sure to include the page numbers so you can refer back
to them when you do your assignment.
Main Idea & Quotes: On this section of the graphic organizer, identify at least one of the main
ideas of the book and find quotes from the text to support the idea.
Likes & Dislikes: On this section of the graphic organizer, identify three things you liked about
the book and three things you disliked about the book. Be sure to provide relevant text evidence
to support your likes and dislikes.
Summer Reading Fiction Graphic Organizer
Character Analysis
List some of the main characters of your story and describe them. What are they like, how do
they act?
Plot Elements
Setting (describe and include the time and place):
Describe the main events of your story:
What is the main problem in your story? Is it solved? If so, how?
Attach additional paper if you need more space to write.
Themes & Quotes
The theme of the book is
Three significant quotes from the book that support the theme are:
1. (p. )
2. (p. )
3. (p. )
Answer the following question for each quote you chose to determine if you picked a good
quote.
Quote 1 relates to my theme because
Quote 2 relates to my theme because
Quote 3 relates to my theme because
Likes and Dislikes
Be sure to refer to specific things about/in your book!
Three things I disliked about the book:
Three things I liked about the book:
Attach additional paper if you need more space to write.
Summer Reading Nonfiction Graphic Organizer
Main Idea(s) of the Book
List some of the main idea(s) in your book and describe it/them.
Interesting/Surprising Elements
Be sure to tell if the element was interesting or surprising.
1.
2.
Attach additional paper if you need more space to write.
Main Idea & Quotes
The main idea(s) of the book is/are
Three significant quotes from the book that support the main idea are:
1. (p. )
2. (p. )
3. (p. )
Answer the following question for each main idea you chose to determine if you picked a good
quote.
Quote 1 relates to my main idea because
Quote 2 relates to my main idea because
Quote 3 relates to my main idea because
Likes and Dislikes
Be sure to refer to specific things about/in your book!
Three things I disliked about the book:
Three things I liked about the book:
Attach additional paper if you need more space to write.