In preparation for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year, we have implemented our new summer reading program. The program requires all sixth and seventh graders to read one book over the summer. Additionally, eighth grade students selected to be in Honors English -- chosen based upon MAP, KPREP data, grades and teacher recommendations -- will also be required to read one book over the summer.
We believe that reading is one of the most important skills your child will learn in school. Like all skills, students become better readers with consistent practice. We encourage you to have clear expectations for your child in regard to summer reading in order to avoid “summer slide” - the tendency for students to lose some of the reading achievement gains they made during the previous school year. We are going to have expectations for your students in regard to summer reading as well.
This year’s selections for the respective grade levels are:
6th
grade: Holes, by Louis Sachar
7th
grade: Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls
Honors
8th grade: The True
Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi
As
students read the novel, they will be expected to use reading strategies
(inference, prediction, connection) to make sense of the text. Every few chapters, students will also be
required to write a brief summary of what they read to retain information. This
assignment will be due the first Friday of school, August 17th. In addition to this assignment, students will
use information from the text throughout their first unit of study next school
year.
There
are several ways to gain access to the novel:
¨ Purchase
the novel on your own (ebook or print)
¨ Check
the book out from GCMS
Letters went home to all students during the last week of school. Books are available in the front office from 7:30-4:00 Monday through Friday through mid-June. Please see the attachments for the written assignments.
Happy reading!