Recommended Reading for Incoming 5 th Graders Please choose two books from the list below or books of your choice. If you choose your own books, you may use www.lexile.com as a resource to check reading levels. Underlined titles represent a single book title. Italicized recommendations represent series, so there are numerous titles to choose from. Do not choose both books from a single series. All books should be available at your public library or bookstore. For prizes, coupons, and extra fun events all summer long, sign up for a summer reading program at your public library! Questions? Please email Ms. Kee (the librarian) at rkee@holyfamilycs.org. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer The Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman The Crossover, Booked, or The Playbook by Kwame Alexander The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Palo Cartaya. *** Lectio 2018-19 Selection *** Fablehaven or Five Kingdoms series by Brandon Mull Finding Perfect by Elly D. Swartz Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi*** Lectio 2018-19 Selection *** Guys Read series by Jon Scieszka A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh Hoot (or Scat, Flush, or Chomp) by Carl Hiaasen The Key to Extraordinary by Natalie Lloyd Lily s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff Loot by Jude Watson The Luck Uglies by Paul Durham The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart
Redwall series by Brian Jacques Rump (or Jack or Red) by Liesl Shurtliff Seven Wonders series by Peter Lerangis Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd Stef Soto, Taco Queen by Jennifer Torres Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers by Arigon Starr *** Lectio 2018-19 Selection *** A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff Tumble & Blue by Cassie Beasley *** Lectio 2018-19 Selection *** The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley The Winning Season series by Rich Wallace Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland Wishtree by Katherine Applegate *** Lectio 2018-19 Selection ***
Projects for Incoming 5 th Graders Choose 2 different projects to do this summer 1 for each book you read. Do not do the same activity for both of your books. Make sure your name can be easily found somewhere on your project. Turn in both projects to your new teacher on the first day of school. Questions? Please email Ms. Kee (the librarian) at rkee@holyfamilycs.org. Create a BOOK TRAILER for your book. Just like a movie trailer gets you excited for a new movie, a book trailer can get your friends excited about a new book! Just don t give away the ending! Video tape yourself talking about the book. Hold up the book, pictures of the book s pictures (if there are any), pictures that represent things happening in the book, etc. You can even use props. Anything that grabs people s attention! o A quick summary o Your favorite thing about the book o Exciting parts of the story o A conclusion that tells the audience why they should read the book Act out a TALK SHOW INTERVIEW with the author. Video yourself and a friend acting out the interview script. Your interview should have at least 6 questions and answers. Your answers should be based off of online research. Start with the author s website to see if they have a biography or information about the book you read. Turn in script and video. Act out a TALK SHOW INTERVIEW with the main character. Video yourself and a friend acting out the interview script. Your interview should have at least 6 questions and answers. The character s answers should be based off of the book and your imagination about how he or she would act. Turn in script and video.
Create a MAGAZINE COVER and write ARTICLES about the book. Create a magazine cover on PowerPoint. o Cover should include illustrations about book (either drawn by you or found online) and the titles of your articles. o Think of a fun title for your magazine it can be related to the book or to your name! Use Fodey (www.fodey.com) to create at least 5 newspaper articles about the book. Print out your cover and articles to turn in. Include articles about: o Summary o Characters o Setting o Most exciting event o Ending of book Make a BOOK JACKET for your book. A book jacket is the paper cover that goes on the outside of the book. o Illustrations o An exciting summary that gets your friends excited to read the book o A short (2-3 sentences) biography about the author Find the author s website online to learn about them first! o Write a review of the book explain what you liked best and why you would recommend it to friends. Write an ALTERNATE ENDING for the book. Change the ending to something you like better! Make sure it s really different from what the author wrote. Write at least 3 pages. Remember, you re writing a band new chapter, so include lots of exciting details! o Dialogue (talking characters) o Exciting action or a problem that the characters need to fix o A solution to that action or problem Write a SEQUEL summary for the book. Think the story should have continued after the book was over? Now s your chance to imagine a sequel! Write a summary of the sequel. o How the sequel starts out o Information about the old and new characters o Setting o Plot summary, including exciting action or a problem that the characters need to fix o How the book will end
Write a LETTER to the author. o At least 5 questions that you would like to ask the author o What you liked best about the book o How it reminded you of something in your own life o What you learned from the book this can be a fact or even a different way of thinking about something Find the author s website and see if they have an email address / mailing address where you can actually send your letter to them. Maybe they ll write back! Got Twitter? You can also try tweeting authors lots of them will respond right away! If you get a response, print it out to share with your classmates (and Mrs. Banda). Turn in a copy of your letter. Create a piece of ARTWORK about your book. Choose a scene, a character, or the setting and turn it into art! You can make a painting, a photo collage, a sculpture whatever you can imagine! You can use any type of art material that you want clay, Legos, paints, colored pencils, scrapbook paper, etc. Write a SONG about your book. You choose what to sing about the whole book, a character, an exciting event, etc. Song should be 2-3 minutes long. You can have a refrain that repeats. Turn in to teacher: o A video of yourself singing the song o A written copy of the song You can use background music from a current song or you can make up your own tune. You can play the piano or guitar while singing. Use your talents to make your book shine! Create a SHOEBOX DIORAMA for your book. Choose your favorite scene and make a diorama about it. Use any kind of materials that you want markers, paper, Legos, Play-Doh o Background pictures that show the setting o The characters who were in the scene