Cedar Hill ISD 2018 Summer Reading for Incoming 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders

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1 Summer slide is the tendency for students to lose some of the achievement gains they made during the previous school year. Research shows that over the summer some students can lose 2-3 months of reading growth and development, which creates an achievement gap. Teachers then spend up to 4 weeks reteaching skills that were lost over the summer. So, this summer in Cedar Hill ISD, we are committed to ending the summer slide by encouraging students to read a book of their choosing from the list provided below. Additionally, they will complete a dialectical journal with at least ten (10) entries (see instructions below), as a way to read independently and monitor their own thinking. You will notice that the titles represent a variety of interests and reading levels. Please note that some of the books on these lists may contain mature language or situations. While giving students choice is designed to make the reading more fun for students, it will be important for parents to be involved in book selections. Parents and students will want to preview their potential book choice prior to reading and discuss if the book is the right fit for the student. One quick way to preview the subject matter is to read reviews from online sites like Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or Goodreads.com. *****NOTE: This assignment is due on the first day of school and will count as a test grade. In addition, students may be required to complete an oral presentation on a date chosen by the teacher. ***** What is a dialectical journal? The term dialectic means the art or practice of arriving at the truth by using conversation involving question and answer. Think of your dialectical journal as a series of conversations with the text you are reading, which will help you develop a better understanding what you have read. Procedure: As you read, choose quotes/passages that stand out to you and record them in the left-hand column of a T-chart (ALWAYS include page numbers). In the right column, write your response to the text (ideas/insights, questions, reflections, and comments on each passage) Label your responses using the following codes: (Q) Question ask about something in the passage that is unclear (limit to only two) - be sure to respond to/reflect upon your question if/when you find an answer. (C) Connect make a connection to your life, the world, or another text (CL) Clarify answer earlier questions or confirm/disaffirm a prediction (R) Reflect think deeply about what the passage means in a broad sense not just to the characters in the story. What conclusions can you draw about the world, about human nature, or just the way things work? (E) Evaluate - make a judgment about the character(s), their actions, or what the author is trying to say Provide at least ten hand-written entries. Your response must be at least 2 sentences.

2 How should my dialectical journal look? Sample Dialectical Journal Entries Student Name: Bea Smart Book Title/Author: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen Total pages: 195 Quotes from the Text Page # My Thoughts from the Text Thanks. It s really nice. But the words sounded hollow, even to Brian. No roads, no trails, no clearings. Just the lakes, and it came to him that he would have to use a lake for landing. If he went down into the trees he was certain to die. Now, with the thought of the burger, the emptiness roared at him. He could not believe the hunger, had never felt this way. The lake water had filled his stomach, but left it hungry, and not it demanded food, screamed for food. p. 8 (Q) Why does Brian feel that way about getting a hatchet from his Mom? If the words sound hollow to Brian, he must not mean it. Why is he mad at his Mom? p. 23 (R) I can t imagine keeping my cool in a situation like this. I would be so afraid, and he s trying to land the plane without help from anyone! The lesson here is how important it is to keep your cool in a crisis. p. 48 (Q, C) It s weird how Brian s stomach is like a character now, driving his behavior. The author uses personification to help me understand how extreme his hunger is - roared, screamed, demanded. I ve been hungry before, but never like that. Is he going to start eating things that are poison because he is so hungry? Dialectical Journals Sentence Stems Consider using these sentence starters when completing your dialectical journals. (Q) Question Ask about something in the passage that is unclear: Who/when/where is? Why is this important? How are and alike/different? What caused to? What does it mean when s/he says? A question I have is? (R) Reflect Think deeply about what the passage means in a broad sense not just to the characters in the story. What conclusions/connections can you draw about your world, about human nature, or just the way things work? A personal connection that I can make is This reminds me of (historical event, news story, personal experience) This is like everyday life when This is related to (CL) Clarify Answer earlier questions or (E) Evaluate Make a judgment about the character, their confirm/disaffirm a prediction that you made when actions, or what the author is trying to say. reading the book: This is like because This seems to be about This is different from because The main character (or any character) seems I agree/disagree with the writer because The author believes This is a great word here because The most important idea is The character seems I think this word means If I were the author, I would At first I thought, but now I think I think the author wrote this because (C) Connect This reminds me of (another novel or literary sample) because This is related to (earlier part in story) when

3 Select one of the following novels to read over the summer. Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie By: Jordan Sonnenbuck Lexile: 940L (7th-8th) Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters By: Rick Riordan Lexile: 740L (8th-9th) Hidden Figures By: Margot Lee Shetterley Lexile: 1120L (6th-9th) Baseball in April By: Gary Soto Lexile: 830 (4th-7th) He plays drums in the All-City Jazz Band, has a crush on the hottest girl in school (who doesn't even know he's alive), and is constantly annoyed by his younger brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey gets sick, Steven's world is turned upside down. In this sequel to The Lightning Thief, a magical tree protecting the borders of Camp Half-Blood is poisoned. Thirteen-year-old Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and their new friend Tyson set out to find the one item that can save the camp. Set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South and the civil rights movement, this never-before-told true story tells of NASA s African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America s space program. Gary Soto draws on his own experience of growing up in California in this collection of short stories that reveal big themes in their daily lives. The smart, tough kids in these stories are Latino, but their dreams and desires belong to all of us. Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja By: Marcus Emerson Lexile: 620L (5th-7th) Harry Potter By: J. K. Rowling Lexile: 790L (4th-7th) A Wrinkle in Time By: Madeleine L Engle Lexile: 740L (5th-7th) Wonder By: R. J. Palacio Lexile: 790L (5th-7th) My name is Chase Cooper, and I'm a 6th grade ninja. It's my first day at a different school and the only person I know is my cousin, Zoe. It was a world of trouble I wasn't prepared for, which is why I kept this diary (or " chronicle " as my dad would call it) - to warn other kids about the dangers of becoming a ninja. Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. He's being raised by his miserable aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he's really a wizard. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards, and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright. Meg, her little brother, and their mother are having a midnight snack on a dark and stormy night when an unearthly stranger appears at their door. Meg's father had been experimenting with time-travel when he suddenly disappeared. Will they outwit the forces of evil as they search for their father? August is not an ordinary ten-year-old. Sure, he's a huge Star Wars fan, he loves his dog, and he's got a pretty good sense of humor. But August was born with a craniofacial abnormality, a genetic defect. His life has never been "normal."

4 reading level (Scholastic) The Crossover By: Kwame Alexander Lexile: 750L (5th-8th) P. S. Be Eleven By: Rita Garcia-Williams Lexile: 770L (5th-8th) Josh and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood. He's got mad beats too, beats that tell his family's story in verse. But both brothers must come to grips with growing up and paying a terrible price. Spending the summer of 1968 with their mother and the Black Panthers, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern return home to Brooklyn with a new feeling of independence. Feeling overwhelmed, Delphine writes her mother, who reminds her to enjoy being 11, not growing up too fast. Paperboy By: Vince Vawter Lexile: 940L (5th-8th) Flora & Ulysses By: Kate DiCamillo Lexile: 520L (4th-6th) Words don t come easy for an 11-year-old boy coming of age in the segregated South. Spending the summer tending his best friend s paper route leads to new discoveries, friendships, and danger as the lives behind the closed doors of neighbors are exposed for the first time. Rescuing a squirrel after an accident involving a vacuum cleaner, comic-reading cynic Flora Belle Buckman is astonished when the squirrel, Ulysses, demonstrates astonishing powers of strength and flight after being revived. A Long Walk to Water By: Linda Sue Park Lexile: 720L (5th-7th) Ghost By: Jason Reynolds Lexile: 730L (5th-8th) When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Running. That s all Ghost (Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons. Ghost has been the one causing problems and running away from them until he meets Coach, an ex-olympic Medalist who sees something in Ghost. Ninth Ward By: Jewell Parker Rhodes Lexile: 470L (6th-8th) The Dreamer By: Pam Munoz Ryan Lexile: 650L (7th-10th) In New Orleans' Ninth Ward, twelve-year-old Lanesha, who can see spirits, and her adopted grandmother have no choice but to stay and weather the storm as Hurricane Katrina bears down upon them. Much to his father's disappointment, Neftalí is not like other children. Frail and painfully shy, he spends most of his time alone. How Neftalí reconciles his own dreams with his father's is at the heart of this inspiring, radiant, and profoundly moving story of self-discovery.

5 A Cedar Hill ISD 2018 Summer Reading for Incoming 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders Grading Rubric Mastery Level Quotes are relevant, important, thought provoking, and representative of a character in the novel Thoughtful interpretation and commentary You carry on a dialogue with the writer. You question, agree, disagree, appreciate, and object Metacognitive and inference skills evident Makes insightful personal connections and asks thought-provoking, insightful, questions Coverage of the text is complete and thorough Journal is neat, organized and professional looking; student has followed directions and is organized Sentences are grammatically correct with correct spelling and punctuation B C D F 59 and below Proficient Level A solid effort is evident Less detailed, but good quotations Your quotes are relevant and connect to a character in the novel Some insightful commentary; entries exhibit insight and thoughtful analysis You create some new meaning through connections with your own experiences and the text. You raise interesting questions Metacognitive and inferencing skills are emerging Adequately addresses all sections of the reading assignment Journal is neat and legible; student has followed directions in the organization of the journal Sentences are somewhat grammatically correct with minor errors in spelling and punctuation Familiarity Level You included an insufficient number of entries You selected quotes that may be interesting to you, but that don t necessarily connect to the novel Entries exhibit insight and thoughtful analysis at times You make connections, but explain with little detail You ask simple questions of the text You may agree or disagree, but don t support your views Metacognitive and Inferencing skills shown at a limited level Addresses most of the reading assignment; there are gaps in coverage Journal is fairly neat; may be difficult to read Sentences contain grammatical errors with careless spelling and grammatical errors Perfunctory Level You include very few entries Entries exhibit limited insight or none at all You create little or no meaning from the text You make an occasional connection to the text, but the ideas lack development Sentences contain numerous grammatical and spelling errors Most entries are plot summaries or paraphrased Limited coverage of the text; sections with few entries or not covered Did not follow directions in organizing journal; difficult to read or follow Incomplete/Does not meet the standards above 0 Did not complete the assignment by the due date.