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Summer Reading

6th Grade Summer Reading

All incoming 6th grade students are required to read two books over the summer.

  • Students may read "up" (a higher level), but not "down" (a lower level). 

  • Students must complete a project of their choice for each book read.

  • Student's must turn in their projects to their Language Arts teacher on September 19th in order to receive an invitation to a pizza party.

  • Acceptable projects and guidelines:

    • Create a timeline featuring major events in the story. (minimum 1 event per chapter, 8.5 x 11in. copy paper)​

    • Write a condensed, illustrated "children's book" version of the novel you read. It should be designed to be read by children in grades 1 or 2. (5 pages minimum, with original illustrations included, typed, 12pt. Times New Roman double-spaced)

    • Write a letter to the author of the novel about your favorite character or event, and include why it's your favorite. (1 pg. typed, 12-pt. Times New Roman, double-spaced)

English 1 Regular Choices

  • Almost Home (Bauer)

  • Escaping the Giant Wave (Kehret)

  • My Life Among Aliens (Gauthier)

  • A Drowned Madien's Hair (Schlitz)

  • The 39 Clues (series - various authors)

  • One Crazy Summer (Williams-Garcia)

  • The Pinballs (Byars)

  • Hungry Plants (Batten)

  • Stand Tall (Bauer)

  • My Guy (Weeks)

  • Chomp (Hiaasen)

  • The Candymakers (Mass)

English 1 Advanced/Gifted Choices

  • Things Hoped For (Clements)

  • Esperanza Rising (Munoz-Ryan)

  • The Mysterious Benedict Society (Stewart)

  • Out of My Mind (Draper)

  • The Crossover (Alexander)

  • Elephant Run (Smith)
7th Grade Summer Reading

All incoming 7th grade students are required to read two books over the summer; one project book and one test book.

  • Students may read "up" (a higher level), but not "down" (a lower level). Levels are determined by the student's Language Arts class level in 6th grade.

  • Projects are due to the student's Language Arts teacher on September 6th. Acceptable projects and guidelines:

    • Write a diary that the main character may have written. (1 typed page, 12 pt. Times New Roman, double-spaced)​

    • Prepare a list of interview questions for the novel's main character, and the responses that he/she would give. (1 typed page, 12 pt. Times New Roman, double-spaced)​

    • Design a comic stripto represent the plot of the novel. (10-12 panels with pictures and dialogue)

    • Compile a scrapbook page of major characters in the novel. (Page should include both pictures and information about each important character in the novel)

  • For the test book, students should take notes on the plot, characters, setting, etc. as they read.

  • On September 7th, the summer reading test will be given by the student's Language Arts teacher. The test will consist of 50 multiple-choice, true/false and matching questions and will count toward the student's Language Arts grade.

  • Students in 7th grade must score at least a 70% or better on each novel's assessment (project and test) to receive an invitation to the pizza party.

English 2 Regular Test Choices

  • Among the Hidden (Haddix)

  • Stormbreaker (Horowitz)

  • The Red Pony (Steinbeck)

  • Dragonwings (Yep)

  • Amos Fortune, Free Man (Yates)

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English 2 Regular Project Choices

  • Zach's Lie (Smith)

  • Homesick (Klise)

  • Crazy Weekend (Soto)

  • Fever, 1793 (Anderson)

  • Maniac Magee (Spinelli)

  • Tesla's Attic (Shusterman)

  • The Transall Saga (Paulsen)

  • Rules (Lord)

  • Eighth Grade Bites: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod (Brewer)

  • The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy (Birdsalll)

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English 2 Advanced/Gifted Test Choices

  • Walk Two Moons (Creech)

  • A Single Shard (Park)

  • Driver's Ed (Cooney)

  • The Boy on the Wooden Box (Leyson)

  • Hiroshima (Hersey)

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English 2 Advanced/Gifted Project Choices

  • Hero (Lupica)

  • Scat (Hiaasen)

  • I, Emma Freke (Atkinson)

  • Far, Far Away (McNeil)

  • Enchantress from the Stars (Engdahl)

  • Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life (Mass)

  • Savvy (Law)

  • Uglies (Westerfield)

  • Dragonsong (McCaffrey)

  • The False Prince (Nielsen)

8th Grade Summer Reading

All incoming 8th grade students are required to read two books over the summer.

  • Students may read "up" (a higher level), but not "down" (a lower level). Levels are determined by the student's Language Arts class level in 7th grade.

  • If a student registered for the Biology I Honors class, one of their book choices MUST be The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton.  The student will receive a grade in the Biology I Honors class and the language arts class for this title.

  • Students should take notes on the plot, characters, setting, etc. as they read. 

  • On September 6th and 7th, the summer reading tests will be given by the student's Language Arts teacher. The test will consist of 50 multiple-choice, true/false and matching questions and will count toward the student's Language Arts grade.

  • Students in 8th grade must score at least a 70% or better on each novel's test to receive an invitation to the pizza party.

English 3 Regular Choices

  • The Skin I'm In (Flake)

  • The Adoration of Jenna Fox (Pearson)

  • Define "Normal" (Peters)

  • Running Out of Time (Haddix)

  • Hoops (Myers)

  • Surviving the Applewhites (Tolan)

  • One Fat Summer (Lipsyte)

  • The Wish (Levine)

English 3 Advanced/Gifted Choices

  • Knights of Hill County (Tharp)

  • If I Should Die Before I Wake (Nolan)

  • The Witch of Blackbeard Pond (Speare)

  • The House of the Scorpion (Farmer)

  • Delirium (Oliver)

  • Ship Breaker (Bacigalupi)

  • Warriors Don't Cry (Beals)

  • Copper Sun (Draper)

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Biology 1 Honors Choice

  • The Andromeda Strain (Crichton)

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