6th Grade Summer Reading Assignment-2014

Chapman 2014

Students and Parents/Guardians,

Thank you for taking the time out of your summer to complete the following assignment. I look

forward to seeing the results of all your hard work. Following is the Summer Reading

Assignment for Fall 2014:

Choose one book to read from the list below, and complete one project from the list provided. These

books were selected from historical fiction that will align with social studies content and from the

Kentucky Bluegrass Award Master List for 2015. The KBA list is generated by Kentucky students

who vote for most popular, well-liked books of the year.

Be sure to read and follow the entire grading rubric! Projects will be presented during the 1st/2nd

weeks of school.

The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called

Eel by Deborah Hopkinson

Eel has troubles of his own: As an orphan and a "mudlark," he spends his days in

the filthy River Thames, searching for bits of things to sell. He's being hunted by

Fisheye Bill Tyler, and a nastier man never walked the streets of London. And he's

got a secret that costs him four precious shillings a week to keep safe.

But even for Eel, things aren't so bad until that fateful August day in 1854—the day the Great Trouble

begins. Mr. Griggs, the tailor, is the first to get sick, and soon it's clear that the deadly cholera—the "blue

death"—has come to Broad Street.

Everyone believes that cholera is spread through poisonous air. But one man, Dr. John Snow, has a

different theory. As the epidemic surges, it's up to Eel and his best friend Florrie to gather evidence to

prove Snow's theory before the entire neighborhood is wiped out.

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff

In a magic kingdom where your name is your destiny, 12-year-old Rump is the

butt of everyone's joke. But when he finds an old spinning wheel, his luck seems

to change. Rump discovers he has a gift for spinning straw into gold. His best

friend, Red Riding Hood, warns him that magic is dangerous, and she’s right. With

each thread he spins, he weaves himself deeper into a curse.

To break the spell, Rump must go on a perilous quest, fighting off pixies, trolls,

poison apples, and a wickedly foolish queen. The odds are against him, but with courage and

friendship—and a cheeky sense of humor—he just might triumph in the end.

Soldier Dog by Sam Angus

With his older brother gone to fight in the Great War, and his father prone to

sudden rages, 14-year-old Stanley devotes himself to taking care of the family’s

greyhound and puppies. Until the morning Stanley wakes to find the puppies

gone.

Determined to find his brother, Stanley runs away to join an increasingly desperate army. Assigned to

the experimental War Dog School, Stanley is given a problematic Great Dane named Bones to train.

Against all odds, the pair excels, and Stanley is sent to France.

But in Soldier Dog by Sam Angus, the war in France is larger and more brutal than Stanley ever

imagined. How can one young boy survive and find his brother with only a dog to help?

Doll Bones by Holly Black

Zach, Poppy, and Alice have been friends forever. And for almost as long, they’ve

been playing one continuous, ever-changing game of pirates and thieves,

mermaids and warriors. Ruling over all is the Great Queen, a bone-china doll

cursing those who displease her.

But they are in middle school now. Zach’s father pushes him to give up make-

believe, and Zach quits the game. Their friendship might be over, until Poppy

declares she’s been having dreams about the Queen—and the ghost of a girl who will not rest until the

bone-china doll is buried in her empty grave.

Zach and Alice and Poppy set off on one last adventure to lay the Queen’s ghost to rest. But nothing

goes according to plan, and as their adventure turns into an epic journey, creepy things begin to happen.

Is the doll just a doll or something more sinister? And if there really is a ghost, will it let them go now that

it has them in its clutches?

A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story by Linda Sue Park

The New York Times bestseller A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told

in alternating sections, about two eleven-year-olds in Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a

boy in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk

from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva,

becomes one of the "lost boys" of Sudan, refugees who cover the African

continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay.

Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with

killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya’s in an

astonishing and moving way.

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Carley uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But the day she

becomes a foster child, and moves in with the Murphys, she's blindsided. This loving, bustling family

shows Carley the stable family life she never thought existed, and she feels like an alien in their cookie-

cutter-perfect household. Despite her resistance, the Murphys eventually show her what it feels like to

belong--until her mother wants her back and Carley has to decide where and how to live. She's not really

a Murphy, but the gifts they've given her have opened up a new future

Project Choices for Summer Reading

(all projects need to be presented in 3-5 minutes)

1. Write a script of your favorite scene from your book and act it out with costumes and props

(you can make a short video and have your friends be characters if you do not want to do a skit

by yourself in class).

2. Create a 15 question test for the book you read, detailing main ideas you would expect a

reader to know after reading, and make an answer key (will be turned in, not given to the class).

3. Create a comic book for the book you read that is at least 6 “frames” of content, digital or hand

written. You would show a scene important to the plot and purpose of the book.

4. Draw, paint, digitally create, etc., a picture of your favorite scene in the book (Be CREATIVE)

and write a 5 stanza (stanzas are like paragraphs, at least 2 lines per stanza) poem about your

picture.

5. Make a PowerPoint about your book that highlights all plot structure elements (See rubric for

details!).

6. Create an interview of 10 questions you would like to ask the author of your book and write a

letter to the author addressing your questions.

7. Create a news story, article, news “website” detailing a main event in the book. Be sure to

include realistic elements of the news media you chose to do. Must include headline, bylines, at

least 2 pictures, and at least 2 articles—add-ins like advertisements, weather, ect, are

encouraged!

8. Write a song about your book, including musical elements, and sing/present to the class.

Must have at least 5 stanzas—have fun and just “Let it go!”

Rubric:

4 (24-20 points)

3 (19-15) 2 (14-10) 1 (10-6) 0 (5 and below or did not present)

Script script

identifies

script

two

Written script

one

Acts out but no written script

setting and characters

an introduction

acted out

required elements

required element

15 question test and answer key

The test is a fifteen question test with answer key that asks questions related to plot sequence (exposition, rising action, conflict, climax, falling action, resolution).

The test contains 14-9 test questions with answer key that asks questions related to plot sequence.

The test contains 15 questions related to plot sequence but no answer key.

The test contains less than 15 questions not related to plot sequence and/or no answer key

Comic book at least 6 frames, including text

At least 6 frames 6 illustrations and text highlighting main parts of the book

4-5 frames with less than 6 illustrations and text highlighting main parts of the book

2-3 frames with less than 6 illustrations and text highlighting main parts of the book

1-2 frames with less than 6 illustrations and text highlighting main parts of the book

Picture and poem—NO ACROSTIC poems

A poem of at least 5 stanzas with colored picture that both are about your favorite part of the book.

A 4 stanza poem with a colored picture that both are about your favorite part of the book.

A 3 stanza poem with colored picture that both are about your favorite part of the book.

A 2 stanza or less poem with no picture, colored picture, or a picture only.

PowerPoint or Prezi

Contains a slide for each: exposition,

Contains a slide for five elements of plot.

Contains a slide for four elements of plot.

Contains a slide for 3 or less elements of plot.

rising action, conflict, climax, falling action, resolution.

Author interview and letter

Have 10 questions you would like to ask the author and a letter written to them addressing your questions following the letter format.

Have 9-5 questions you would like ask the author and letter written to them addressing your questions following the format.

Have 9 or less questions you would like ask the author, but your letter does not follow the letter format.

Any combination of the following: has 8 or less questions, no letter, or letter and no questions.

News Story/Article/Media .

Must include headline, bylines, at least 2 pictures, and at least 2 articles

Includes all elements but has less than 2 of either pictures or articles

Is missing more than one picture, articles, or headlines

News article is not authentic, effort and creativity not apparent, missing major elements

Song .

A 5 stanza song with music and dancing.

A 4 stanza song with music and dancing

A 3 stanza song with music and dancing.

A 2 or less stanza song or song with all stanzas but no music or dancing.

Questions----Contact Ashley.chapman@eku.edu

Have a great summer! See you in the fall!