Spring Dear Fifth Grade Students and Parents,

Transcription

1 James M. Wigo, Sr. Superintendent of Schools Springton Lake Middle School 1900 N. Providence Road Media, Pennsylvania Telephone Fax Robert Salladino, Jr., Ed.D. Principal Michelle C. Britton, M.Ed. Assistant Principal Spring 2018 Devin M. Layton, Ed.D. Assistant Principal Dear Fifth Grade Students and Parents, As the end of the school year draws closer, we hope you re making plans to enjoy your summer, relax, and read. There are many reasons to read: to learn something new, to keep reading skills sharp, and also to dream, to laugh, to wonder, and to grow. In addition, summer reading provides a number of common texts for students and teachers to refer to throughout the next year. Please note that Springton Lake s summer reading is not optional: it is required. Activities and lessons will reference these books, their characters, and themes throughout the school year. The sixth grade teachers are excited to offer One for the Murphys, written by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, as our sixth grade all-class read. This book, emphasizing the theme of overcoming obstacles, is required reading for all students entering sixth grade. Sixth grade teachers will be incorporating activities based on the novel and its message. Students should take notes on the provided papers as they read the novel. In September, students will be evaluated in their Language Arts class on their understanding of the book. In addition, all students are required to read one book from the attached list. Students should choose a book appropriate to their reading level at the end of fifth grade. Students should take notes on the provided papers as they read the book. In September, students will be evaluated on their understanding of this book in their Language Arts class. Local bookstores will stock copies of each title, and the Middletown and Media-Upper Providence Libraries will make additional copies of the books available for your use. Families can find an additional suggested list of titles by genre on the SLMS Library webpage. These are being provided to offer a variety of titles that may be of interest to students who are looking for additional ideas for other good reads. Should parents prefer that their child not read a particular title for his/her grade level, parent may opt to have their child read from the additional titles shared on the website. Parents will need to contact their child s sixth grade teacher in September, should they choose this option. At the back of this packet, you will find a summer reading contract. We ask that both students and parents read the contract, sign it, and return it to your fifth grade teacher by Monday, June 4th. Enjoy your summer, relax, and READ! Sincerely, The SLMS Language Arts Department

2 Grade 6 Summer Reading List 2018 Every 6 th grader will read One for the Murphys AND one book from the list below, appropriate to the student s end of year reading level. Using the provided papers, jot notes as you read each book. You will bring your completed note sheets with you to school in September. One for the Murphys Lynda Mullaly Hunt A wonderful story about Carley Connors who is taken into foster care by the Murphys, an active family with three boys. After overcoming many obstacles in life, Carley eventually learns that family doesn t always have to be blood-related. Levels RST Juliet Dove, Queen of Love Bruce Coville Honus and Me Dan Gutman Out of My Mind Sharon Draper A shy twelve-year-old girl must solve a puzzle involving characters from Greek mythology to free herself from a spell which makes her irresistible to boys. When young baseball nut Joe Stoshack finds the most valuable baseball card in the world, a Honus Wagner T- 206, in a pile of garbage, he thinks he's struck it rich. It turns out the card is worth more than money. It's his ticket to an amazing time-travel adventure to a historic world series game, with one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived. Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. She's the smartest kid in her whole school-but NO ONE knows it. Most people-her teachers and doctors included-don't think she's capable of learning. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows. But she can't. She can't talk, walk, or write. Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind-that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. Levels UVW Number the Stars Lois Lowry As German troops begin their campaign to "relocate" all the Jews of Denmark, 10-year-old Annemarie Johansen's family takes in Annemarie's best friend, Ellen Rosen, and conceals her by pretending she's part of the family. Then, through Annemarie's eyes, readers watch as the Danish Resistance smuggles almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark nearly 7,000 people across the sea to Sweden.

3 Down the Rabbit Hole Peter Abrahams The Watsons Go to Birmingham Christopher Paul Curtis Welcome to Echo Falls, home of a thousand secrets. Ingrid is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or at least her shoes are. And getting them back will mean getting tangled up in a murder investigation as complicated as the mysteries solved by her idol, Sherlock Holmes. With soccer practice, schoolwork, and the lead role in her town's production of Alice in Wonderland, Ingrid is swamped. But as things in Echo Falls keep getting curiouser and curiouser, Ingrid realizes she must solve the murder on her own before it's too late! Enter the hilarious world of ten-year-old Kenny and his family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. There's Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byron, who's thirteen and an "official juvenile delinquent." When Byron gets to be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. And they happen to be in Birmingham when Grandma's church is blown up. Levels XYZ Al Capone Does My Shirts Gennifer Choldenko Okay For Now Gary Schmidt The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien Twelve-year-old Moose moves to Alcatraz in 1935 when the prison is home to notorious gangsters like Al Capone. His father has a good job as a prison guard and his mother wants his autistic sister to attend a special school in San Francisco. Although sad to leave his friends and winning baseball team behind, things look up for Moose when he befriends the irresistible Piper, the warden's daughter, who has a knack for getting Moose into trouble. Doug struggles to be more than the "skinny thug" that some people think him to be. He finds an unlikely ally in Lil Spicer, who gives him the strength to endure an abusive father, the suspicions of a town, and the return of his oldest brother, forever scarred, from Vietnam. Schmidt expertly weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love, creativity, and survival. Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.

4 Name Book: One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt Summer Reading Notes Setting (Time & Place): CHARACTER DESCRIPTION & GROWTH: Jot notes about the characters. You might want to consider: physical descriptors, traits, pressures, supports, how he/she changes, etc. CONFLICT/RESOLUTION: Jot notes about the conflicts or problems the main character faces. How are these problems resolved?

5 THEME: Jot notes about the main message or lesson about life the author chose to convey. How does the author show the development of the theme?

6 Name Summer Reading Notes Title of Book 2 from leveled list: Setting (Time & Place): CHARACTER DESCRIPTION & GROWTH: Jot/map notes about the characters. You might want to consider: physical descriptors, traits, pressures, supports, how he/she changes, etc. Use additional paper if you d like. CONFLICT/RESOLUTION: Jot/map notes about the conflicts or problems the main character faces. How are these problems resolved? Use additional paper if you d like.

7 THEME: Jot/map notes about the main message or lesson about life the author chose to convey. How does the author show the development of the theme? Use additional paper if you d like.

8 Grade 6 Summer Reading Contract 2018 I have read the summer reading letter and understand that incoming Springton Lake sixth graders are expected to: Read One for the Murphys and a second book from the appropriate leveled list. Record notes and ideas about each book on the provided sheets and bring notes to class in September. Complete graded assignments on their reading in September. (Student Signature) (Student Name Printed) (Parent Signature) (Parent Name Printed) Please return this summer reading contract to: Your 5 th Grade Teacher by Monday, June 4, 2018