6th Grade English Language Arts
Summer Reading Assignments 2015
Required reading for sixth graders:
The Last Book in the Universe, by Rodman Philbrick
Soldier Boys, by Dean Hughes
Kids on Strike!, by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Students should follow these instructions:
1. Read the three mandatory books for your grade level. Students will discuss these books in class during
the first two weeks of school and will be tested on each book.
2. For each of the fiction novels (The Last Book in the Universe and Soldier Boys), students will complete
double entry journals. Templates and instructions are included in this document.
3. For the nonfiction selection (Kids on Strike!), students will complete a study guide of chapter questions.
Study guide questions are included in this document.
4. These assignments will count as the first three homework grades of the semester. Students should
bring their completed assignments and their personal, paper copies of each book to their first FULL day
of English class.
5. Assignments can be typed in this document or printed and written by hand.
6. Dates of assessments on the summer books will be announced when we begin the school year.
Summer Reading Double-Entry Journal
A double-entry journal is a two-column journal in which a passage from the book is written in the left side
(textual evidence) and a response to the passage is written in the right column (commentary). Responses
might include asking questions of the text, forming personal opinions about the text, interpreting the text, or
reflecting on the process of making meaning of the text.
As you read, you will be taking notes in a double-entry journal to record your thoughts and questions in
response to your reading. You should choose a passage (a sentence, two sentences, a paragraph) from each of
the sections shown on the template. You may respond in these ways:

Write about an experience in your own life that relates to what is happening in the novel.
 Write your opinions about what is happening in the novel.
 Write your questions about what is happening in the novel.
If you are having trouble thinking of what to write, use these response starters:

I really like (or dislike) this part because…
 I wonder why…
 I predict that…
 I think the character should…
 This reminds me of the time when I…
 This reminds me of a book I read (movie I
watched, and so on)…
This is an open Word document. You may type your answers directly into this document or you
may print this document and write your answers by hand. Bring a printed copy of your work to
our first class meeting. Please do not wait until you get to class to print your work.
6th Grade English Language Arts
Summer Reading Assignments 2015
Student’s Name:
The
TheLast
LastBook
Bookin
inthe
theUniverse
Universe
Chapter
Chapter
#
#
Chapters
7-12
SAMPLE
Chapters
7-12
Passage from Text
Passage from Text
“Just over a year ago, my
father plucked me up like a
weed and took me and all our
belongings (no, that is not true
– he did not bring the chestnut
tree, the willow, the maple, the
hayloft, or the swimming hole,
which all belonged to me) and
we drove three hundred miles
straight north and stopped in
front of a house in Euclid,
Ohio.”
Page #
Page #
SAMPLE
Personal Response/Commentary
Personal
Response/Commentary
(3-5
sentences)
(3-5 sentences)
This passage reminds me of when I had to
move away from my old house in the city. I
was really angry that we couldn’t bring the
playground with us. It sounds like she really
likes trees and being outdoors, and that she
will have to give up those things in her new
home. Why is she moving and where is her
mother?
Chapters
1-6
Chapters
13-18
Chapters
1-6
Chapters
13-18
Chapters
1-6
Chapters
19-24
Chapters
7-12
This is an open Word document. You may type your answers directly into this document or you
may print this document and write your answers by hand. Bring a printed copy of your work to
our first class meeting. Please do not wait until you get to class to print your work.
6th Grade English Language Arts
Summer Reading Assignments 2015
Student’s Name:
The Last Book in the Universe
Chapter
#
Passage from Text
Page #
Personal Response/Commentary
(3-5 sentences)
Chapters
19-24
Chapters
19-24
Chapters
25-30
Chapters
25-30
Chapters
31-33
Chapters
31-33
This is an open Word document. You may type your answers directly into this document or you
may print this document and write your answers by hand. Bring a printed copy of your work to
our first class meeting. Please do not wait until you get to class to print your work.
6th Grade English Language Arts
Summer Reading Assignments 2015
Student’s Name:
Soldier Boys
Chapter
#
Passage from Text
SAMPLE
“Just over a year ago, my father
plucked me up like a weed and
took me and all our belongings
(no, that is not true – he did
not bring the chestnut tree, the
willow, the maple, the hayloft,
or the swimming hole, which
all belonged to me) and we
drove three hundred miles
straight north and stopped in
front of a house in Euclid,
Ohio.”
Page #
Personal Response/Commentary
(3-5 sentences)
SAMPLE
This passage reminds me of when I had to
move away from my old house in the city. I
was really angry that we couldn’t bring the
playground with us. It sounds like she really
likes trees and being outdoors, and that she
will have to give up those things in her new
home. Why is she moving and where is her
mother?
Chapters
1-2
Chapters
3--4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
This is an open Word document. You may type your answers directly into this document or you
may print this document and write your answers by hand. Bring a printed copy of your work to
our first class meeting. Please do not wait until you get to class to print your work.
6th Grade English Language Arts
Summer Reading Assignments 2015
Student’s Name:
Soldier Boys
Chapter #
Passage from Text
Page #
Personal Response/Commentary
(3-5 sentences)
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
This is an open Word document. You may type your answers directly into this document or you
may print this document and write your answers by hand. Bring a printed copy of your work to
our first class meeting. Please do not wait until you get to class to print your work.
6th Grade English Language Arts
Summer Reading Assignments 2015
Student’s Name:
Soldier Boys
Chapter #
Passage from Text
Page #
Personal Response/Commentary
(3-5 sentences)
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
This is an open Word document. You may type your answers directly into this document or you
may print this document and write your answers by hand. Bring a printed copy of your work to
our first class meeting. Please do not wait until you get to class to print your work.
6th Grade English Language Arts
Summer Reading Assignments 2015
Kids on Strike!
This is a book about a time during our country’s history when children worked at jobs that adults would
normally perform. They worked to earn wages that helped support their families. More often than not, these
jobs put children at great risk of personal injury and even death. While there were adults who fought for the
rights of children to attend school and to be kept safe from harm, many times the child laborers themselves
took brave actions on their own behalf. Sometimes their efforts were successful; sometimes they were not.
Photographs – the story told in pictures
There are many sketches and photographs to illustrate each section of the book. Each one has a caption
(words of explanation underneath the picture). I want you to choose one or two photographs that you find
most interesting, curious, surprising, etc. Mark the spot in the book with a bookmark or clip so that you can
find it quickly to show in class.
I will ask you to show your choice(s) in class.
I.
A. Look on the title page. Record the information you find there.
the full title (and subtitle) of the book:_______________________________________
the author’s name: ____________________________________________________
the illustrator’s name (if the book has an illustrator):_____________________________
the publisher’s name and city of publication:__________________________________
B. Look at the verso side of the page. What is the copyright date of this book?_______________
(Do not write the city of publication. Look for a DATE.)
II.
Which does the author have - a Dedication or an Acknowledgments page? (Circle one)
On this page, does she thank her family? ____________________
Of the other people on the page that the author acknowledges, what kinds of institutions are those
people associated with? ____________________________
__________________________ _______________________________
This is an open Word document. You may type your answers directly into this document or you
may print this document and write your answers by hand. Bring a printed copy of your work to
our first class meeting. Please do not wait until you get to class to print your work.
6th Grade English Language Arts
Summer Reading Assignments 2015
III.
Turn to the Table of Contents.
How many chapters are there? _________________________
Based on the information given with each chapter title, is this book arranged in strict chronological
(time) order? ____________________________
Besides an introduction and chapter titles, what else does the Table of Contents tell the location of
in the book? ___________________________________________________________
IV.
Even though it is not called an Appendix, what resource is provided in the back of the book that fits
the description of an Appendix? _____________________________________
V.
Look at the list of General Resources in the Bibliography. What is date of the oldest publication
the author used in writing this book? ___________________________
Does the author list chapter notes and sources as well? ________________________
VI.
Turn to the Index. List the names of three people who are topics in this book.
______________________________
_____________________________
____________________________
List three places that are topics in this book.
______________________________
______________________________
____________________________
This is an open Word document. You may type your answers directly into this document or you
may print this document and write your answers by hand. Bring a printed copy of your work to
our first class meeting. Please do not wait until you get to class to print your work.
6th Grade English Language Arts
Summer Reading Assignments 2015
Jobs that children performed
As you read this non-fiction book, make notes on the kinds of jobs that children performed as
laborers. You should include a definition of the job, the dangers that the job posed, and other details
you want to remember.
This will be a useful document to use for review before taking a test on the book.
Mills and garment
Coal Mines:
factories:
breaker boys =
doffer =
Nippers =
spinner =
Spraggers =
Street Workers
Newsies =
Messengers =
Bootblacks =
Important cities in the story of child labor
As you read this non-fiction book, consider each of these cities. Make note of the kinds of jobs
that children performed in the city and any strikes or job protests that took place in the city.
This will be a useful document to use for review before taking a test on the book.
Lowell, Massachusetts
(Type or write your answers after each city.)
Lawrence, Massachusetts
New York City
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lattimer, Pennsylvania
Chicago, Illinois
This is an open Word document. You may type your answers directly into this document or you
may print this document and write your answers by hand. Bring a printed copy of your work to
our first class meeting. Please do not wait until you get to class to print your work.
6th Grade English Language Arts
Summer Reading Assignments 2015
Important People in the story of child labor
As you read this non-fiction book, consider each of these people and make note of the
contributions each made to the cause of working people, especially working children. Some of these
people were a negative influence or a hindrance to the cause of improving conditions for working
people.
This will be a useful document to use for review before taking a test on the book.
(Type or write your answers after each person’s name.)
Harriet Hanson
Camella Teoli
Samuel Lipson
Kid Blink (Louis Ballatt)
Pauline Newman
Andrew Chippie
Al Priddy
Theodore Bingham
Mother Jones
Lewis Hine
Theodore Roosevelt
Vincent Cataggio
John Mitchell
William R. Hearst
William Howard Taft
Gomer Jones
Agnes Nestor
This is an open Word document. You may type your answers directly into this document or you
may print this document and write your answers by hand. Bring a printed copy of your work to
our first class meeting. Please do not wait until you get to class to print your work.