READ TO SUCCEED
ROSA PARKS MIDDLE SCHOOL
2011 Summer Reading Program
For Students Entering Grade 7
(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 McGillFranzen 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 teacher, 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.
**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 Library.
Teacher Recommendations
Becoming Naomi Leon
Ryan
Where the Lilies Bloom
Cleaver
Flotsam
Wiesner
Nothing But the Truth
Avi
The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm
Farmer
Cryptid Hunter
Smith
The First Woman Doctor
Baker
Catherine Called Birdy *
Cushman
Hannah in Between
Rodowsky
The Other Side of Truth*
Naidoo
Journey to Topaz
Uchida
The Lost Years of Merlin*
Barron
On the Bike with Lance Armstrong Christopher
Pool Boy
Simmons
Monkey Island
A Connecticut Yankee in
King Arthur's Court*
Zlata’s Diary*
Grab Hands and Run
Penny from Heaven
Airborn*
Planet of Junior Brown
Clover
Adam Canfeld of the Slash
The Higher Power of Lucky
Rules*
On the Field with Alex Rodriguez
Fox
Twain
Filipovic
Temple
Holm
Oppel
Hamilton
Sanders
Winerip
Paton
Lord
Christopher
*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.
C.S. Lewis
Jean Craighead George
Christopher Paolini
Lemony Snicket
Isaac Asimov
Christopher Paul Curtis
Sharon Creech
Mike Lupica
Blue Balliett
Jack Gantos (Joey Pigza series)
Walter Dean Meyers
Ruth White
Do not read the following books, as they may be used for instruction by your English
teacher during the school year:
The Outsiders
The Great Gilly Hopkins
Good Night, Mr. Tom
Freak the Mighty
Lizzie Bright and the
Buckminster Boy
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Daniel’s Story
Escape from Warsaw
The Midwife’s Apprentice
The Call of the Wild
The Endless Steppe
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
*Students enrolled in Advanced English 7 are encouraged to read more challenging titles.
Summer Reading Graphic Organizer for Book #1
Name_____________________
English Teacher____________________
Complete the following questions thoughtfully and neatly about each book you have read.
1. Book title ______________________________________ Author ______________________________
2. Number of pages ____________
Date completed _______________
3. Setting: Place ________________________________ Time period _____________________
4. Major character: ____________________________________________________
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.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Parent Signature: _________________________
Homework Completion Grade = _____
Summer Reading Graphic Organizer for Book #2
Name_____________________
English Teacher____________________
Complete the following questions thoughtfully and neatly about each book you have read.
1. Book title ______________________________________ Author ______________________________
2. Number of pages ____________
Date completed _______________
3. Setting: Place ________________________________ Time period _____________________
4. Major character: ____________________________________________________
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 = _____