RISING 6TH GRADERS
Group: ESL
ENGLISH READING LIST
AND ASSIGNMENT
SUMMER 2015
GUIDELINES:
Please follow the reading assignment on the attached sheet. The purpose of summer
reading is to help your child maintain his skills in vocabulary, reading comprehension and writing.
It is also for newly arrived students not to forget their newly acquired English language skills and
to have a continuity of English throughout the summer vacation. We are asking for your help
and support in making sure that your child does the work that is expected of him/her over the
course of the summer break.
Students will be asked to show the work completed on the first day of class in September.
We sincerely hope that every student will make reading in English a big part of his/her summer
vacation. We believe that consistent reading in English is a key factor in every student’s language
acquisition and progress. Please encourage your child to read as much as he can. .
Thank you for your cooperation. We wish you all a wonderful summer vacation
Sincerely,
Your English Teachers at the Mamaroneck Campus
FASNY 2015 Summer Reading Lists
ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES
Instructions for Summer Reading
6th grade ESL AND HIGH ESL:
1. Refer to the attached “Reading Guide for Parents of ESL Students”
You will need:
a. to keep a notebook
b. to buy the books
1. Please read Because of Winn-Dixie
-13: 978-0763644321
India Opal Buloni and her father have just moved to Naomi, Florida. Opal (that is what everyone
calls her) was a bit lonely in her new town. Her father was a dedicated preacher who spent
almost all of his time, well, preaching. He did not give much attention to Opal. Opal’s mother left
the family when she was very young. So, Opal was desperate for someone to share her life with,
and then she met Winn-Dixie. She had gone to the store for a few things when suddenly her life
changed. A stray dog came running into the grocery store. The manager went wild and Opal
could tell that the dog was about to be in serious trouble. So, she told the manger it was her dog,
apologized, and begged for forgiveness. From that day on, she called the dog Winn-Dixie (after
the grocery store) and they became inseparable. Though Opal was generally a shy girl, WinnDixie helped her make a lot of friends. As she made friends and learned more about others, she
actually came to know more about herself. She also gained the confidence she needed to be
happy in life. This is a wonderful story that students are sure to love.
2. Please keep a vocabulary log of any new words and expressions in each chapter. In addition,
write a response journal. A response journal is a place where you can record your thoughts
about the story and how it made you feel. It is not a summary of the story.
3. Then read as many other books as you can from the attached reading guide and record the
names of the books in your notebook. Give a star rating from 5 to 1. 5 stars for a book you really
liked to 1 star for a book you didn’t like as much, 5 being the best book you have ever read.
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FASNY 2015 Summer Reading Lists
A Reading Guide for Parents of ESL Students
The purpose of this brief guide is to familiarize parents of students who are placed in ESL classes
at the middle school level with books and materials that newly arrived students with little or no
English background can read to help develop their English language skills. Many of the books listed
on the guide are elementary school level books that are read by native speakers of English. These
books serve the needs of the new language learner well with simple, easy to read materials based
on themes of high interest. Please note that this list is by no means complete and “ever evolving”.
The list has recommendations ranging from a rank beginner, launched beginner to High ESL
students. Parents should use their discretion and choose the books that appeal to their children.
More importantly reading in a new language should be fun and enjoyable.
*Suitable Reading Series for Beginner or High Beginner ESL Students
1. “Step into Reading” Books by Random House Publishers
Step 1 thru Step 5 – Encourages independent reading in English by
Developing basic vocabulary, short sentences, simple stories to longer
paragraphs and chapters. This series has several non-fiction titles as well
that includes learning about U.S. history, why we celebrate certain
holidays, historical figures, presidents as well as other topics of interest
to children. Good series for reluctant readers as well.
2. “Magic Tree House” Series by Mary Osborne.
Stories of Adventures of Jack and Annie
3. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” Series by Jeff Kinney
Illustrated cartoon style popular with middle school kids
4. “Classic Starts” Series
5. “Penguin Readers” Series
6. “Capital Mysteries” Series
7. “Scholastic” Several series for young readers
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FASNY 2015 Summer Reading Lists
8. “Harry Potter” Series
9. “Comic” Books Series
10. 39 Clues series
11. “The Hunger Games” Trilogy
*Award Winner Books
There are several books for children with particular book awards such as Newbery Award
(for children’s literature), Caldecott Award (for exceptional illustrations), Coretta Scott King (for
African American emphasis) and Parents’ Choice Awards. These books often make excellent
reading choices for our English language learners.
*Popular Magazines
1. Scholastic News, Time for Kids, and Weekly Reader (published weekly)
2. Skipping Stones – an award winning multicultural children’s magazine
*Books with Audio CDs
Several books for children come in large hard cover style that include an audio CD for
listening to the stories as the children read along with them. These books help the English
language learner by developing their listening comprehension in English. Several of these are
meant for younger age groups for native speakers but are enjoyed very much by the young
middle grade ESL student.
*Other notes on authors
Many books for native speakers who are at the mid to upper elementary school level are
suitable for the middle grade ESL student who is a launched beginner. Choosing books from the
following “popular” authors for this age group (again ages 7-12 for native speaker’s language
level) is fine. Some of these authors are:
Gary Paulsen, Beverly Cleary, Avi, Judy Blume, R.L.Stine, J.K.Rowling, Andrew Clements, Ramona
Quimby, Roald Dahl, E.B.White and C.S.Lewis
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FASNY 2015 Summer Reading Lists
SUMMER READING FOR ESL STUDENTS
*Some popular titles for High Beginner – High ESL level student
1. “Stone Fox” by J. Gardiner
2. “Dogsong” by Gary Paulsen
3. “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S.Lewis
4. “Something Upstairs” by Avi
5. “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S.Lewis
6. “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B.White
7. “Stuart Little” by E.B.White
8. “Tuck Everlasting” by Babbit
9. “Bridge to Terabithia” by Paterson
10. “Fly Away Home” by Patricia Hermes
11. “The Magic Finger” by Roald Dahl
12. “Sarah, Plain and Tall”
13. “Island of the Blue Dolphins”
14. “The Sword Thief” book one of the 39 Clues series
15. (A graphic novel) “The Mystery Boxes” by Kazu Kibuishi
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