West Allegheny School District
Summer Reading
Promoting Community Literacy
2015-2016
Today a Reader,
Tomorrow a Leader
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,
Summer is a perfect time for students to practice reading to help them maintain or further progress their
literacy skills. Research shows that one of the greatest reasons for achievement gaps is variation in the amount
of time students spend reading outside of school. For example, one study found that students who spent 65
minutes per day reading outside of the school setting read 4,358,000 words per year and scored in the 98th
percentile or above on reading assessments. In contrast, students who did not read outside of the school setting
scored in the 2nd percentile or below on reading assessments. In order to narrow this gap and promote reading
during the summer months, West Allegheny School District has developed a summer reading list for students
entering grades 6-8. This aligns to the District’s commitment to ensuring all students read on or above grade
level as part of our Priority 1: Academic Rigor, Equity and Excellence for All Students.
As you know, good readers and writers read and write daily. Students who read during the summer continue to
build on the knowledge and skills they have been
working on all year. Those who do not, are likely to
experience the “summer slide,” meaning that they will
actually experience learning loss. According to the
National Center for Educational Statistics, years of
summers without access to books have the potential to
add up to a four year reading achievement gap.
Below you will find the summer reading lists by incoming
grade level from which students are asked to read a total
of two books. This list is just a sampling of books
appropriate for the suggested grade levels; however, we
encourage children to read even more books that do not
appear on the list.
We have also included reflection forms. Please have your
child complete the indicated forms and return them to
their teacher at the start of the 2015-2016 school year.
In closing, literacy is the single most significant skill
needed to function effectively in school, the workplace
and in society . . . it is vital to a successful education,
career and quality of life.
On Behalf of the Superintendent, School Leaders and Literacy Teachers, we sincerely thank you for your support!
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, and the man who never reads lives only one.”
George R.R. Martin
West Allegheny School District
Summer Reading
Promoting Community Literacy
2015-2016
Today a Reader,
Tomorrow a Leader
Below are the summer reading requirements by incoming grade level:
Required Reading #1
Incoming All students are to read the required book below for
their grade-level and complete Reflection Form #1
Grade
prior to the start of school.
All students are to CHOOSE at least one book from
this list and complete Reflection Form #2 prior to the
start of school.
Wonder (Raquel Palacio)
How They Croaked (Georgia Bragg)
Disasters: Natural and Man-made Catastrophes
through the Centuries (Brenda Guiberson)
Among the Hidden (Margaret Peterson Haddix)
Ungifted (Gordon Korman)
Phobiapoedia (Joel Levy)
Storm Runners (Roland Smith)
The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie)
The Skin I’m In (Sharon Flake)
Phineas Gage (Johan Fleischman)
Fish in a Tree (Lynda Mullaly Hunt)
Uncommon Champions: Fifteen Athletes who Battled
Back (Mary Kiminsky)
An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of
the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 (Jim Murphy)
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
(Jordan Sonnenblick)
The House of the Scorpion (Nancy Farmer)
My Life With Chimpanzees (Jane Goodall)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
(Mark Haddon)
A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little
Rock Central High School (Carlotta Walls Lanier with
Lisa Frazier Paige)
Monster (Walter Dean Myers)
I am Malala: How One Girl Stood up for Education
and Changed the World (Malala Yousafzai/Young
Reader’s Edition)
6th
7th
8th
Required Reading #2
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, and the man who never reads lives only one.”
George R.R. Martin
West Allegheny School District
Summer Reading
Promoting Community Literacy
2015-2016
Today a Reader,
Tomorrow a Leader
Please Note: Families will be responsible for obtaining copies of the assigned summer reading books. In the
event that you are unable to obtain a copy, please contact Dr. Assetta at cassetta@westasd.org or 724-6955204.
Copies of these books can easily be obtained from several sources:
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Western Allegheny Community Library
Overdrive App
Half-Priced Books and www.hpbmarketplace.com
www.amazon.com
Barnes & Noble and www.bn.com
www.alibris.com
For your convenience, we have attached with this email a West Allegheny School District Library Card
Registration Form.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, and the man who never reads lives only one.”
George R.R. Martin
West Allegheny School District
Summer Reading
Promoting Community Literacy
2015-2016
Today a Reader,
Tomorrow a Leader
Reflection Form #1
Name__________________________________________Grade___________Date________________________
Title of Book_____________________________________Author______________________________________
As you read your assigned novel, please mark moments (e.g., phrases, sentences, paragraphs) that you find
interesting, surprising, and important to the novel as a whole. The moments you mark should span the entire
book. Please use this graphic organizer to record and explain the moments you choose.
Directions: In the left column of this organizer, please list each moment and circle whether you found it
interesting, surprising, or important. In the middle column, please list the page number where the moment can
be found, and in the right column, please jot a few words about why you marked each moment.
Moment (circle whether
the moment is interesting,
surprising, or important)
Page
Number
Explain why you marked each moment
Interesting/ Surprising/
Important
Interesting/ Surprising/
Important
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, and the man who never reads lives only one.”
George R.R. Martin
West Allegheny School District
Summer Reading
Promoting Community Literacy
2015-2016
Today a Reader,
Tomorrow a Leader
Interesting/ Surprising/
Important
Interesting/ Surprising/
Important
Interesting/ Surprising/
Important
Interesting/ Surprising/
Important
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, and the man who never reads lives only one.”
George R.R. Martin
West Allegheny School District
Summer Reading
Promoting Community Literacy
2015-2016
Today a Reader,
Tomorrow a Leader
Reflection Form #2
Assignment for student choice:
The purpose of this assignment is for you to reflect on the book that you chose (whether fiction or nonfiction).
Please answer three of the following in complete sentences and cite evidence from the novel where required.
Be sure to include pages numbers with your textual evidence.
1. Write a 17 word summary of the book.
2. Did the book spark your curiosity? If so, explain why and if not, explain what the author could have
done differently. Cite evidence from the text to support your opinion.
3. Describe how the information in this book added to your knowledge about the topic. Cite evidence
from the text.
4. Cite an effectively written passage from the text. What did the author do to make the passage
effective?
5. Pick a chapter from the book and identify the 10 most important words and explain why each word
was chosen.
6. Discuss how the key idea/theme is developed throughout the text. Cite at least three specific pieces
of text evidence.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, and the man who never reads lives only one.”
George R.R. Martin