St. John School
English Language Arts
Arlene J. Melillo
June 12, 2009
TO: All 5th, 6th and 7th Grade Students
All English Language Arts students will need the following school supplies for
September. Please purchase these during the summer and have them ready
when school begins:
· 3 marble notebooks labeled:
- Reading/Writing
- Vocabulary/Grammar
- Journal/Poetry
· 3 double-pocket folders labeled:
- Reading/Writing
- Vocabulary/Grammar
- Take Home tests/notices
Student’s name, grade, and subject should be clearly written on a white
label and put in the upper right hand corner of all notebooks and folders.
· 2 book socks (extra large)
- Literature book
- Grammar book
- 2 transparent covers for Vocabulary and Grammar workbooks
· Writing supplies:
- 2 red pens (workbook/homework corrections and workshop editing)
- 2 blue or black ballpoint pens
- 1 highlighter
- 1 mini stapler (with refills)
- loose leaf paper
· Purchase/keep home until needed
- Index cards (large and small)
- 2 double-pocket folders.
- 2 boxes of tissues
An Assignment Planner will be purchased for all students. The cost is $5.00
Please take a look at your child’s book supplies each week and be sure to replace
whatever is needed. Thank you for your cooperation organizing your child’s needs.
St. John School
English Language Arts
Dear Parents:
Nothing will improve your child’s English Language Arts grades more than independent reading. Summer reading will magically bring your children to new places, introduce them to new friends, and teach them how other people solve everyday challenges. Character description, plot development and conflict resolution are an author’s tools for good reading and a student’s tools for good writing!
Research has demonstrated that the amount of reading a student engages in over the summer is related to academic growth during the school year. The research of Heyns and Krashin shows that the number of books read during the summer is consistently related to gains during the school year in comprehension, vocabulary development, spelling, and writing.
Research also confirms that students who do not read over the summer can lose some of the gains they have made in school the previous year. Should your child choose a selection that is also available as a movie on video, we urge you to ensure that your child reads the print version prior to watching the video.
The extensive reading list which is attached will give your child an opportunity to explore and benefit from recreational reading. Choose at least three books from the list. Your child should be prepared to talk and write about them in September. A record of the title, author, setting, and plot is essential for reading comprehension assessment. Next year’s reading assignments will include selections from this list.
Make a date with your child, and bring them to your local library. Ask for the Young Adult Reference Librarian, who will be a great resource throughout the year. She will assist you with age-appropriate books on grade level that fit monthly assignments.
Your support and encouragement will help to make reading a very pleasurable pastime.
Enjoy the summer!
Most sincerely,
Arlene J. Melillo
.
SUGGESTED SUMMER READING LIST
For Students Entering Grade 6TH Grade
Fiction
Author Title
Aiken Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Alcott Little Women
Anderson Fever 1793
Armstrong Sounder
Avi Crispin
Avi True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Babbitt, Natalie Tuck Everlasting
Bauer On My Honor
Betancort My Name is Brain Brian
Blume Tiger Eyes
Brooks Moves Make the Man
Byars The Pinballs
Christopher Long Arm Quarterback
Cisneros House on Mango Street
Clements A Week in the Woods
Clements Landry News
Clements Things Not Seen
Collier My Brother Sam is Dead
Coloubis Getting Near to Baby
Cooper Victory
Creech Walk Two Moons
Creech The Wanderer
Curtis Bud, Not Buddy
Di Angeli The Door in the Wall
DiCamillo The Tale of Despereaux
Danziger The Cat Ate My Gym Suit
De Soto Baseball in April
Farley Black Stallion
George Julie of the Wolves
George The Missing Gator of Gumbo Limbo
Gipson Old Yeller
Giff Pictures of Hollis Woods
Greene Summer of My German Soldier
Hamilton M.C. Higgins the Great (and others by)
Hayes Trouble with Lemons (and others by)
Henkes Olive’s Ocean
Henkes Sun and Spoon
Holm Boston Jane
Holt My Louisiana Sky
Holt When Zachary Beaver Came to Town
Horvath Everything on a Waffle
Konigsburg From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiller
Konigsburg The View From Saturday
Lasky Beyond the Burning Time (and others by
Levoy Witch of Fourth Street
Lowry Summer to Die
Lowry Number the Stars
McGraw, Jarvis The Golden Goblet
Montgomery Anne of Green Gables
Mowat Owls in the Family
Myers Fallen Angel
Napoli Stones in the Water
Nixon, Joan Lowery Shadowmaker
O’Brien Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Paterson Lyddie
Peck A Year Down Yonder
Peck From Here to Chicago
Philbrick Freak the Mighty
Polacco, Patricia Pink and Say
Raskin Westing Game
Reynolds-Naylor, Phyllis Beetles Lightly Toasted
Rowling Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Rylant The Van Gogh Cafe
Speare Witch of Blackbird Pond
Sacher Sixth Grade Secrets
Soto Pacific Crossing
Spinelli Maniac Magee
Sutcliff Shining Company
Taylor Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Taylor The Cay
Twain Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Voigt The Homecoming
White Belle Prater’s Boy
White Tadpole
Wolff Bat 6
Yep Dragonwings
Zindel The Pigman
Nonfiction
Blumberg Shipwrecked! The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy
Burns Tracking Trash:
Cleary My Own Two Feet
Coerr Sadako and The Thousand Paper Cranes
Cerullo The Truth About Great White Sharks
Deninberg Stealing Home: The Story of Jackie Robinson
Fritz The Great Little Madison
Haduch Science Fair Success Secrets: How to Win Prizes, Have Fun, Think
Hart Ancient Egypt
Hughes The Langston Hughes Reader
Montgomery The Snake Scientist
Myers Antarctica: Journeys to the South Pole
Revkin The North Pole Was Here
Scott Adventures in Space: The Flight to Fix the Hubble
Wisler Mr. Lincoln’s Drummer
Woodson Locomotion
Fantasy and Science Fiction
Aiken Nightbirds on Nantucket
Alexander Book of Three
Cooper The Grey King- Dark is Rising Series
Jacques Redwall Series
Juster Phantom Tollbooth
Lewis The Lion, Witch and The Wardrobe
Lowry Gathering Blue
McKinley Beauty
Napoli Zel
Pierce Squire
Pullman The Golden Compass
Folklore
Courlander The Crest and the Hide & Other African Stories
Hamilton The People Could Fly
Stamm Three Strong Wome
Biography
Bober Abigail Adams Witness To a Revolution
Cleary Girl From Yam Hill
Filipovic Zlata’s Diary
Fleischman The Abracadabra Kid: A Writer’s Life
Freedman Wright Brothers
Freedman Lincoln
Freedman Eleanor Roosevelt A Life of Discovery
Goodall My Life with the Chimpanzees
Reiss The Upstairs Room
Reiss The Journey Back
Stanley (any of a series)
Szabo Sky Pioneer
SUGGESTED SUMMER READING LIST
For Students Entering Grade 7TH Grade
Non-fiction
Aronson, Marc Sir Walter Raleigh and the Quest for El Dorado: adventurer.
Baker, Russell Growing Up
Houston and Houston Farewell to Manzanar
Kotlowitz, Alex There Are No Children Here
McKissack, Patricia Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman?
Spinelli, Jerry Knots in My Yo-yo String
Fiction
Avi The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Balliet, Blue The Wright Threed
Bloor, Edward Tangerine
Bonham, Frank Durango Street
Boyne, John The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Brennan, Herbie Faerie Wars: Troubled by family problems, Henry finds his
Broach, Elise Shakespeare’s Secret
Card, Orson Scott Ender's Game
Collier, James Lincoln My Brother Sam is Dead
Conrad, Pam Prairie Songs
Cooney, Caroline Driver’s Ed
Cooney, Caroline Fatality
Cooper, Susan The Dark Is Rising
Couloumbis, Audrey The Misadventures of Maude March
Cushman, Karen Catherine, Called Birdy
Dickinson, Peter Eva
Duncan, Lois Locked in Time
Dygard, Thomas J. Rookie Arrives
Eckert, Allan W. Incident at Hawk’s Hill
Fox, Paula The Slave Dancer
Funke, Cornelia Caroline Inkspell
Haddix, Margaret Peterson Among the Hidden
Hale, Sharon Princess fantasy.
Hermes, Patricia I Hate Being Gifted
Hiaasen, Carl Flush
Horowitz, Anthony Stormbreaker
Houston, James Ghost Fox
King, Laurie R. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice
King, Stephen The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Korman, Gordon Shipwreck
Lasky, Kathryn Beyond the Burning Time
L’Engle, Madeline The Arm of the Starfish
Lipsyte, Robert One Fat Summer
Lupica, Mike Two-Minute Drill from Comeback Kids
McCaffery, Anne Dragonsinger
Martin, Ann M Corner of the Universe
Mazer, Norma Fox Girlhearts
Myers, Walter Dean Scorpions
Nixon, Joan Lowrey The Other Side of Dark
Paterson, Katherine Jacob Have I Loved: An elder twin feels she is less favored
Patterson, James Maximum Ride
Paulsen, Gary Dogsong
The Legend of Bass Reeves Heart
Pullman, Philip Ruby in the
Qualey, Marsha Close to a Killer
Rylant, Cynthia, Missing May
Speare, Elizabeth George, Sign of the Beaver
Staples, Suzanne Fisher Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind
Strasser, Todd How I Changed My Life
Ullman, James Ramsey Banner in the Sky
Voight, Cynthia The Homecoming
Wells, Rosemary When No One Was Looking
Westall, Robert Blitzcat
Woodson, Jacqueline Feathers
Wrede, Patricia C. Dealing with Dragons
Zindel, Paul Rats
SUGGESTED SUMMER READING LIST
For Students Entering Grade 8TH Grade
Non-fiction
Curry Jack Derek Jeter: the Life You Imagine
Frank, Anne Diary of a Young Girl
Filipovic Zlata Zlata’s Diary
Gottlieb, Lori, Stick Figure
Hawk, Tony Hawk: Occupation Skateboarder)
Myers, Walter Dean The Greatest: Muhammad Ali
Nance, John Final Approach
Pfeiffer, Susan Twice Taken
Fiction
Avi Don’t You Know There’s a War On? also, Nothing
But the Truth
Bauer, Joan Hope Was Here
Bloor, Edward Tangerine
Brashares, Ann, Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Girls in Pants, or Forever in Blue
Brewer, Heather Eighth Grade Bites
Cabot, Meg The Princess Diaries
Choi, Sook Nyul Year of Impossible Goodbyes
Choldenko, Gennifer Al Capone Does My Shirts
Cleary, Beverly Fifteen
Collins, Suzanne Hunger Games
Cooney, Caroline Flight #116 is Down
Cormier, Robert I am the Cheese: Can any government be totally trusted?
Crutcher, Chris, Ironman
Dessen, Sarah Keeping the Moon
Deuker, Carl On the Devil’s Court: Seventeen-year-old Joe Faust must
Ferris, Jean Of Sound Mind
Korman, Gordon No More Dead Dogs
Koss, Amy, The Girls
Landham, Cheryl Remember Me
McDaniel, Lurlene Angels Watching Over Me
Meyer, Stephenie Twilight
other titles in this series, Eclipse, New Moon, Breaking Dawn.
Myers, Walter Dean Hoops
Pfeffer, Susan Life as We Knew It
Schraff, Anne Lost And Found
Snyder, Zipha Libby on Wednesday
Voight, Cynthia Dicey’s Song
Wolff, Virginia, Euwer Make Lemonade
Fantasy/Science-Fiction
Barron, T.A. The Lost Years of Merlin
Jacques, Brian Redwall
Marsden, John Tomorrow When the War Began
McCaffrey, Anne Dragonflight
Pullman, Philip The Golden Compass
Rowling, J. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince
Townley, Roderick The Great Good Thing