CMS ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Sixth Grade Summer Reading

Why do we have required summer reading?

We believe that all students need to be able to read and write effectively. We further believe that summer reading encourages students to maintain skills learned during the previous school year. Through their reading of the selected summer text, students will be exposed to some of the themes that are woven throughout our core literature. Having a common base from which they can derive ideas and make connections to texts studied in class enables students to discuss and interact with literature and helps them make thematic connections throughout the school year. Completing two-column notes that inspire higher order thinking will enable students to remember key points of their reading and will assist them in writing the in-class essay.

What are our goals and objectives for Summer Reading?

• To encourage students to read closely and provide relevant information from the text
• To help students form thematic connections between texts
• To gather samples of student writing to assess writing strengths and weaknesses
• To maintain skills learned prior to summer

What are the assignments?	When must they be completed?
A. Two-Column Notes One page of notes per character Three traits per character Four quotations per trait (one from each section of the novel) Include page number with each quotation	Handed in the First Class
B. In-Class Open Response Open Response Paragraph Use two-column notes to support writing	Written in the Third Class

A grade for each assignment will be incorporated into the first term average. Two-Column Notes are worth two homework assignments, and Open Response Paragraph is worth a minor assessment.

We encourage students to read more than just the selected work and to keep a log of their other reading experiences.