READ TO SUCCEED
ROSA PARKS MIDDLE SCHOOL
2011 Summer Reading Program
For Students Entering Grade 6
(301) 924-3180
Rationale
In Montgomery County Public Schools, summer reading has been an expected practice in middle and
high schools and an encouraged practice in elementary schools since 1998.
The ability to read is crucial to an individual’s success in school and on the job. Reading is a life-long
skill that a person not only needs in order to succeed as a student and a worker, but it is also an
essential skill in civic and personal activities. Perhaps even more importantly, however, reading opens
the world to a person through periodicals, references, essays, and literature. By reading, individuals
have an opportunity to learn about people, times, regions, and ideas that they may never actually
encounter in life. Reading can also bring a lifetime of pleasure and mental acuity.
In their 2003 article, “Bridging the Summer Reading Gap,” education professors Anne McGill-Franzen
and Richard Allington reported that students who don’t read during summer vacation – especially
those who are reluctant and/or at-risk - experience a reading loss of from one to several months as
measured by standardized reading tests. This loss accumulates over time to a potentially substantial
gap for some students.
At Rosa Parks Middle School we want students to develop a life-long leisure reading habit as well as
be prepared to face reading challenges in the future.
Summer Reading Assignment Expectations
Over the summer, students must read two books of approximately 150 pages each and complete the
attached graphic organizers. As a convenience to families, a suggested list of novels and authors is
attached, however, with parent approval, students are free to select a book that does not appear
on the list. Students are expected to select books that are appropriate for their reading level.
A parent signature indicates that a parent approved the student's novel choices and that the student
read the books for the first time.
Assessment
This assignment must be submitted to the student’s English teacher by the third day of school.
Students will receive a homework completion grade in that class. After receiving instruction from
their reading teachers, students will use the graphic organizers to complete a project within the first
two weeks of school. This assignment will be considered a summative assessment for reading.
**Extra copies of this Summer Reading assignment are available in the main office at Rosa Parks
Middle School and on the Rosa Parks website.
** Suggested book titles are available at the Montgomery County Public Libraries. **
Teacher Recommendations
Agony of Alice
Al Capone Does My Shirts*
The Boxes
Brain Boy and the Death Master*
Code Talker
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
Fever 1793*
Flipped
Gossamer
Heir Apparent*
Hoot* or Flush*
How to Steal a Dog
Last Shot*
Love, Ruby Lavender
The Mailbox
Naylor
Choldenko
Sleator
Seidler
Bruchac
Sonnenblick
Anderson
Van Draanen
Lowry
Vande Velde
Hiaasen
O’Connor
J. Feinstein
Wiles
Shafer
The Million Dollar Shot
Never Mind!: A Twin Novel
No Talking
Notes from a Liar and Her Dog*
Old Willis Place
Red Kayak*
Rules*
Shakespeare’s Secret
Skateboard
Stargirl
Surviving the Applewhites
The Thing About Georgia
Trading Places with Tank Talbott
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
Witch Catcher
Gutman
Avi and Vail
Clements
Choldenko
Hahn
Cooney
Lord
Broach
Christopher
Spinelli
Tolan
Graff
Butler
Curtis
Hahn
*Indicates a more challenging book
MCPS Website – A Link to Other Recommended Reading Lists
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/readinglists/
Recommended Authors
Because not all books by these authors are approved texts in MCPS, parents must give consent prior to
reading.
Gail Carson Levine
Christopher Paul Curtis
Georgia Byng
Avi
Sharon Creech
Eoin Colfer *
Mary Downing Hahn
Betsy Byars
Madeline L’Engle
Gary Paulsen
Cornelia Funke*
Jeanne DuPrau*
Anthony Horowitz*
*Indicates a more challenging author
Do not read the following books as they may be used for instruction by your English teacher
during the school year:
Taking Sides
The White Mountains
Ruby Holler
Holes
The View From Saturday
Where the Red Fern Grows
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Maniac Magee
*Students enrolled in GT reading and English are encouraged to read more challenging authors
or titles.
Summer Reading Graphic Organizer for Book #1
Student’s Name:
____________________________
English Teacher: _______________________
Reading Teacher: ___________________
Complete this organizer thoughtfully and neatly.
1. Book Title:
2. Number of Pages:
3. Setting:
Place:
4. Major Character:
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
Author:
___________________________
Date Completed: ___________________________
Time period of book:
____________________
_________________________________
5. Write two to three sentences describing the problem the main character faces.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
6. Minor character:
_________________________________
7. Write two to three sentences that describe the minor character’s relationship with the main character.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
8. Summary – Write 7 – 10 sentences summarizing the novel. Include the problem in the story and the solution to the
problem. Include the main events that lead from the problem to the solution.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Parent Signature: ________________________
Homework Completion Grade = ___/10
Summer Reading Graphic Organizer for Book #2
Student’s Name:
____________________________
English Teacher: _______________________
Reading Teacher: ___________________
Complete this organizer thoughtfully and neatly.
1. Book Title:
2. Number of Pages:
3. Setting:
Place:
4. Major Character:
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
Author:
___________________________
Date Completed: ___________________________
Time period of book:
____________________
_________________________________
5. Write two to three sentences describing the problem the main character faces.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
6. Minor character:
_________________________________
7. Write two to three sentences that describe the minor character’s relationship with the main character.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
9. Summary – Write 7 – 10 sentences summarizing the novel. Include the problem in the story and the solution to the
problem. Include the main events that lead from the problem to the solution.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Parent Signature: ________________________
Homework Completion Grade = ___/10