Summer Reading List Entering Fourth Grade

Summer Reading List Entering Fourth Grade

June 15, 2007 Dear Parents, As the school year comes to an end, the teachers and administration are grateful for the strides the students made in reading this year and want to maintain their enthusiasm and interest in literature over the summer. Enclosed you will find your child s grade-level summer reading list. This list should be seen as a guide or a place to start when looking for books with your child. The books on this list are not required, but a suggested selection of quality literature available in local libraries. We are asking that each child read the required grade level text and a minimum of three additional books, either with an adult or individually. In addition, students will be asked to complete the attached assignment for his or her grade level. We encourage your child to read additional literature if he or she finishes the required readings. In this packet, you will also find a reading log on which your child should record the books read. Please add any additional books read independently or together to the book log. In addition to recording the books, your child should rate each book using the key at the bottom of the reading log page. The log must be signed by a parent and returned with the required book project/writing assignment to school by Friday, September 14, 2007. Students will be recognized for their completion of the summer reading requirements. We look forward to seeing you in September. Have a wonderful summer! Sincerely, Tracy Bradley Director Jennifer Tress Assistant Director 4th Grade

Summer Reading Instructions for Students Entering 4th Grade I. Summer Reading Required reading: Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White. Students are asked to read a minimum of three books in addition to the required reading listed above. These books may include selections from the school s grade level book list or other appropriate favorites. Please list the titles of the books on the book log provided in the packet. II. Writing/Project For the required text listed above, we ask that you complete ONE project/writing assignment listed below. You may choose which project you would like to complete. This is a required summer assignment. i. Create a life-size model of your favorite character in the required text. You may use any materials to complete the model. Be creative and have fun! Including paragraphs, write a 2 page creative writing piece to describe your character. Tell why you like him/her and explain his or her thoughts and feelings. Do you feel that you can relate to this character? ii. iii. Create a sculpture of a character from the required text. Use any combination of media or materials (clay, wood, wire, sticks, stones, etc.) Including paragraphs, write a 2 page creative writing piece explaining the development of the character throughout the book. How did the author use this character to develop the plot? Create a book cover for the required text as it would look if YOU designed the cover. Please refer to the attached book cover guidelines. Use any media (pastels, colored pencils, etc.) for the illustration as you make the book cover interesting to a reader who would pick up the book. Include details about the author on the inside cover with a short summary of the book. Remember to include the title and author on the cover. Including paragraphs, write a 2 page creative writing piece from the perspective of a publisher who is trying to sell the book to a bookstore. III. IV. Procedure for Submitting Work Your new teacher will collect the creative writing assignment and project, with the book log on Friday, September 14, 2007. Students should complete the assignments and will receive a certificate and reward in September. In the weeks to follow the start of school, your new teacher will ask you to share the project and writing assignment in class, as you discuss your thoughts and perspectives on the required text. Extra Credit In addition to the project listed above, earn the opportunity to receive extra credit through the completion of additional 2 page book reports for other literature which you enjoyed this summer. You will earn extra credit for each submitted report. If you choose to do this option, please hand these reports in with the required assignments on September 14, 2007.

Park Street School Summer Reading Log Name The following is a record of the books I have read this summer: Title Author Rate this Book I verify that my child read the books listed above. Parent Signature Please use the following key to rate each book. It was ok. I liked it. Super book!

READING CUES TO USE WHEN READING WITH YOUR CHILD Reading Cues Look at the beginning sounds Skip the word and read to the end of the sentence Look for key words in the sentence Look for little words in bigger words Does it make sense in the sentences? Does it sound right? Go back and reread the sentence Look at the pictures Reading Cue Questions Did that make sense? You said. What does that mean? Have you heard a word like that before? What would make sense here? What is happening in the story? Does this word make sense in the story? Questions for syntax cues Did that sound right? Would it be correct to say? Can you think of a better word that fits? What word would sound right? Questi ons for visual cues Did that look right? Do you know a word that looks like that? What do you notice about that word? Do you notice something familiar about that word? Do you see a part of the word you know? Questio ns to build comprehension Can you tell me about the main characters in the story? How did that story make you feel? Does that story remind you of anything? Start from the beginning and tell me the main events in order Predict what will happen before you finish reading Questions for self-corrections Were you right? Why did you stop? What did you notice? What else could you try?

RECOMMENDED READING FOR ENTERING GRADE FOUR Burleigh, Robert, Into the Woods, 2003 Audubon, famous naturalist and artist finds his life work in the woods, studying and drawing birds. BIOGRAPHY Christelow, Eileen, What Do Illustrators Do?, 1999 Two illustrators go through all the steps involved in creating new picture books of "Jack and the Beanstalk," including layout, scale, and point of view. ART Cole, Joanna, The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs, 1994 Miss Frizzle is off again -- this time to prehistory. SCIENCE Cooney, Barbara, Eleanor, 1996 Eleanor Roosevelt s childhood is a curious combination of wealth and privilege, fear and loneliness, but this shy, awkward orphan grows into a confident, brave young woman with a remarkable future. BIOGRAPHY Cooper, Ilene, Jack, 2003 The childhood and youth of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, thirty-fifth president of the United States. BIOGRAPHY Farris, Christine King, My Brother Martin, 2003 The early life of Martin Luther King, Jr., as seen through the eyes of his older sister. BIOGRAPHY Freedman, Russell, Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille, 1997 Blinded in an accident, young Louis is sent to a special school in Paris. There he invents a new system to help blind people read and write quickly, but the teachers at the school ban the method and confiscate the students writing tools and paper. BIOGRAPHY Fritz, Jean, Homesick: My Own Story, 1982 Jean Fritz grew up in Harkow, China, far from the America she has read about. BIOGRAPHY Giblin, James Cross, Charles A. Lindbergh: A Human Hero, 1997 Being first to fly solo across the Atlantic brought both fame and disaster to Charles Lindbergh. BIOGRAPHY Kerley, Barbara, The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins, 2001 In the 1800s, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins used fossil information to build life-sized dinosaurs, giving people their first glimpse of these ancient animals. BIOGRAPHY Krull, Kathleen, Lives of the Athletes: Thrills, Spills (and What the Neighbors Thought), 1997 Little-known facts about well-known people. BIOGRAPHY Krull, Kathleen, Lives of the Musicians: (and What the Neighbors Thought), 1993 Read what the neighbors thought about people like Beethoven, the slob. BIOGRAPHY

Macaulay, David, Castle, 1977 Caldecott Honor - Lord Kevin hires builders and craftsmen to construct a castle. HISTORY McGovern, Ann, Secret Soldier, 1975 Disguised as a man, Deborah Sampson goes to fight in the Revolutionary War. BIOGRAPHY North, Sterling, Rascal, 1963 A boy remembers his year with a mischievous pet raccoon. ANIMALS Schroeder, Alan, Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman, Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney 1996 Coretta Scott King Award - As a young slave, Araminta is punished for freeing muskrats from their traps. When she says she will run away, Old Ben begins to teach her the survival skills she will use as Harriet Tubman, the brave leader of the Underground Railroad. BIOGRAPHY Barrie, J. M., Peter Pan, 1901 Travel to Neverland with Wendy, John, Michael, and the Lost Boys. CLASSIC Carroll, Lewis, Alice s Adventures in Wonderland, 1865 Alice follows the White Rabbit down a hole to the home of the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen, and the Cheshire Cat. CLASSIC DiCamillo, Kate, Because of Winn-Dixie, 2000 Opal moves to a new town in Florida, where she finds a big, ugly dog abandoned in a Winn- Dixie store. REALISTIC FICTION DiTerlizzi, Tony and Holly Black, The Spiderwick Chronicles : The Field Guide, 2003 Jared and his siblings move into Great-Aunt Lucinda's old Victorian home, where they uncover a hidden room and an unusual field guide. Series. FANTASY Fitzhugh, Louise, Harriet the Spy, 1964 Harriet keeps a notebook of her honest observations about her parents, friends, and neighbors. REALISTIC FICTION Forbes, Esther, Johnny Tremain, 1943 Newbery Award - Johnny is drawn into the intrigues of the American Revolution. HISTORICAL FICTION Funke, Cornelia, Dragon Rider, 2004 An orphaned boy joins a dragon on a quest to find a homeland for an ancient race of dragons threatened by an evil foe. FANTASY Hale, Shannon, Princess Academy, 2005 Newbery Honor -- Miri and nineteen other girls are taken from their mountain village to the Princess Academy, where they will be educated to become potential princesses. In one year, the Prince will come to choose one girl to be his bride. FANTASY Henry, Marguerite, Misty of Chincoteague, 1947 Paul and Maureen help capture two wild ponies. Series. REALISTIC FICTION / ANIMALS

Knight, Eric, Lassie, Come Home, 1938 Lassie meets Joe after school every day for four years until the day his father is forced to sell her. ANIMALS Langton, Jane, Time Bike, 2000 Eddy receives a mysterious gift from India, an old-fashioned bike that transports its rider through time. Series. FANTASY Lindgren, Astrid, Pippi Longstocking, 1950 Pippi Longstocking, daughter of a pirate king, has no adult to tell her what she can and cannot do. HUMOR Martin, Ann, The Doll People, 2000 A family of porcelain dolls that has lived in the same house for one hundred years is taken aback when a new family of plastic dolls arrives and fails to follow The Doll Code of Honor. SERIES. FANTASY Martin, Ann, The Meanest Doll in the World, 2003 Annabelle and Tiffany hide in Kate's backpack, go to school, but end up in another house ruled by the threatening Princess Mimi. Sequel to The Doll People. FANTASY Norton, Mary, The Borrowers, 1953 A family of tiny people live in an old country house and borrow the things they need from the unsuspecting human owners. CLASSIC Sawyer, Ruth, Roller Skates, 1936 Lucinda roams New York on her roller skates. CLASSIC Selden, George, The Cricket in Times Square, 1989 Newbery Honor - A Connecticut cricket sings in the New York subway. FANTASY Snicket, Lemony, The Bad Beginning, 1999 After the sudden death of their parents, the three Baudelaire children must outwit their appointed guardian, who is determined to use any means necessary to get their fortune. Series. FICTION Stevenson, Robert Louis, Treasure Island, 1883 Jim Hawkins sails off with the notorious pirate Long John Silver. CLASSIC