K-6 Spencer/East Brookfield Summer Reading Requirements 2024

Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District: Grades K-6

Entering Grades K-4 (Wire Village)

• Read every day and fill out the journal pages twice a week. You may read any book(s) of your choosing.
• Turn in your journal pages to your teacher at the start of the school year.
• Printable: 2024_Weekly_Summer_Reading_Journal

 

 

Entering Grade 5 (East Brookfield)

• 5^th Grade: Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm.
• Students are also required to read a second novel of their choice.

 

Entering Grades 6 (East Brookfield)

• 6th Grade Rules by Cynthia Lord
• Students are also required to read a second novel of their choice.

 

Entering Grades 5-8 (Knox Trail)

• Knox Trail Summer Reading Requirements
  *Read the required book for your grade.*

• Incoming 5th graders: Ghost- Jason Reynold
  Choose 1 of the following activities to complete:
  1. Throughout the novel, Ghost has a number of adults who act as advocates for
  him: Mr. Charles, Coach, his mom, and even Principal Marshall. Consider the
  importance of each of these figures in Ghost’s life. Then write an essay or
  prepare a speech about a trusted adult in your own life. Why do you trust this
  person?
  2. Jason Reynolds uses world records as a framing motif in the novel. Research
  world records and create a poster about some of the most interesting world
  records that you find. If you were going to try to break a world record, which one
  would you attempt?
• Incoming 6th graders: Hatchet- Gary Paulson
  Choose 1 option from the choice board to demonstrate your understanding of the novel.
  Be sure to include all listed requirements in your work.
  2024 HatchetProjectChoiceBoardActivitiesBasedontheNovel-1-2-3
• Incoming 7th graders: The Giver- Lois Lowry
  Brief chapter summaries. 5-7 sentences each.
  Focus on plot, characters and important events.
• Incoming 8th graders: Inside Out and Back Again- Thanhha Lai
  Brief chapter summaries. 5-7 sentences each.
  Focus on plot, characters and important events.

 

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope this year’s Summer Reading format will assist you in helping your child to read EVERY DAY this summer.  Of all the activities in which children engage in outside of school, time spent actually reading is the best predictor of reading achievement.  It may sound obvious, but it is true:  The more children read, the better readers they become.  And for the next few months it’s all up to YOU to ensure your child doesn’t experience what is known as “The Summer Slide!”

The Summer Slide

The Summer Slide sounds like fun, but it’s not.  The stakes for children who do not read over the summer are high.  Substantial research on this topic shows it’s usually the students who can least afford to lose ground as readers who are most likely to suffer from summer reading loss, and “slide” far behind their peers.  These few months of reading loss compounds over the years, and by the time these children reach middle school, those who haven’t read during the summer may have lost as much as two years worth of achievement.

Weekly Summer Reading Journal

Each student in Grades K-4 will keep a Weekly Summer Reading Journal.  Your student should be reading daily, but only needs to fill out his/her journal twice each week.  This journal should be seen as a visual to help recognize how much your child has been reading but more importantly, when he/she has NOT been reading.  Please keep it in a safe yet visible place.  It should be returned to your child’s teacher on the first day of school.

This journal format accommodates ALL reading abilities – from those Kindergarteners reading short books to 4^th Graders reading novels.  There are lines to write a response about the MAIN IDEA of what was read.  This can be written by your child independently, with assistance OR for the littlest readers/listeners, an adult can prompt the child to talk about what was just read, and then write the response for them.  The most important thing is that your child is reading and is thinking about what they just read each and every day.  Easier said than done, right?  Read on below for some helpful suggestions.

Summer Reading Tips

1. Set a daily reading routine to read at the same time each day.  Usually this time is right before bed.  But in the summer months, bedtime routines are not as consistent and this may not be the best time to read.  A great time to read during the summer is right after lunch.  Kids have had the morning to relax and play, they have just settled into lunch, and have not begun any afternoon activities yet.
2. Model good reading.  If your child’s reading is sounding monotone or choppy, the best thing you can do is model what the reading should sound like and then have your child try reading the passage again.  Rereading is a great way to help kids become more fluent readers.
3. Model good reading can also mean reading aloud an entire book (even a chapter book).  Children’s listening comprehension is usually stronger than their reading comprehension until around the 6^th grade.  Have multiple children at home?  Use this summer as an opportunity to do a family read-aloud.
4. Keep in mind reading books that seem slightly below a child’s reading level or books that have become “old favorites” can help a developing reader to build confidence and fluency.
5. Families should make regular visits to the library and allow children to explore different reading materials.  Librarians can offer suggestions that might be a good match for a child’s interests and reading level.  Most libraries also hold Summer Reading Programs that can help keep you and your child stay motivated.

What should your child read this summer?

The main answer is – let them choose!  Let’s not forget reading is supposed to be an enjoyable activity.  During the school year, teachers select all of the reading material.  Summer is the time for kids to choose!  In fact, research shows children tend to read more during the summer if they are allowed to choose the books they read.

Please remember YOUR CHILD needs to engage with books EVERY DAY so he/she can maintain, and ideally strengthen, all of the literacy skills learned during the school year.  Encouraging your child to read over summer vacation is the single most important thing you can do to help develop your child’s literacy learning.

Enjoy your summer reading!