6th Grade Reading Summer Work Packet

6 th Grade Reading
Summer Work Packet
1

Recommended summer reading
These books are widely available – the San Antonio Public Library, used book stores, new
books stores and www.amazon.com will all carry these books. It is best for students to engage
in sustained reading – or reading for longer periods of time. Therefore, many of the
recommended books will be novels.
Title Author Genre
Al Capone Does My Shirts Gennifer Choldenko Historical Fiction
Baseball in April and
Other Stories
Gary Soto Realistic Fiction
Uglies Scott Westerfield Dystopia/Fantasy
Princess Academy Shannon Hale Fantasy
Frindle Andrew Clements Realistic Fiction
Divergent Veronica Roth Dystopia/Fantasy
Incarceron Catherine Fisher Fantasy
The Angel Experiment
(Maximum Ride, Book 1)
James Patterson Action/Adventure
Delirium Lauren Oliver Fantasy/Dystopia
Ghost Canoe Will Hobbs Adventure/Historical
Fiction
Woods Runner Gary Paulsen Historical Fiction
Flip‐Flop Girl Katherine Paterson Realistic Fiction
Swindle Gordon Korman Adventure
Schooled Gordon Korman Realistic Fiction
Spinning through the
Universe: A Novel in
Poems from Room 214
Helen Frost Poetry
Out of the Dust Karen Hesse Historical Fiction/Poetry
Letters from Rifka Karen Hesse Historical Fiction
The Lightning Thief (Percy
Jackson and the
Olympians Series, Book 1)
Rick Riordan Fantasy
2

Reading & Technology
1. Check out http://read.gov/contests/ for several contests sponsored by the Library of Congress. Some of the
contests are writing‐based, some art‐based.
2. Check out http://guides.mysapl.org/teensummer2012 to get more information on the San Antonio Public
Library’s summer teen reading program. Teens can register online and win great prizes for their reading
accomplishments this summer! (see attached flyer for more information)
3. A quick, easy, free vocabulary booster found online is:
http://www.readingcomprehensionconnection.com/lesson.php. This is a useful website for quizzing and quick
vocabulary reviews.
4. Another great, online, free, and interactive vocabulary activity is “Rooting Out Words” found at
http://www.funbrain.com/roots/index.html.
5. An extensive list of resources for parents related to reading (includes various grade levels and activities):
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/links_grades_kindergarten_12/parents_reading_help.htm
6. StoryKit – an iPhone/iPad app that allows your child to create electronic storyboards by taking pictures and
adding narration. Available from the Apple App Store:
http://itunes.apple.com/app/storykit/id329374595?mt=8.
6 simple Ways to improve your child’s reading skills
1. Surround your child with reading materials – newspapers, magazines, books, etc.
2. Establish a family reading time (everyone in the house sits down and reads for a minimum
of 20 minutes).
3. Make sure your child always has something to read with them – then time spent waiting at
the movies, doctor’s offices, etc. becomes reading time!
4. Develop a habit of going to the local library. There are wonderful summer reading programs
and classes available for your teen at the local library.
5. Track your child’s reading progress – create a chart to remain in your house that shows the
number of books or number of pages they have read, or that tracks the amount of time they
have read. Children are visual, so giving them a visual reminder of their reading is
encouraging!
6. Talk to your child about what they are reading. Ask them to share something they read with
you, and share something you have read with them. Children will remember what they talk
about!
3

Online Version:
Information about San Antonio Public Library Summer Reading Program
4
Description from SA Public Library Website:
Children and teens may sign up online at www.mysapl.org
or in person at their local libraries. Each child who finishes
the program will receive a book to keep and a completion
certificate signed by Mayor Castro. Teens may receive
prizes and will be invited to an end of summer celebration.
Along with reading, the Library offers free activities for
children and teens throughout June and July. A complete
schedule of events is available on the Library’s website or
at any San Antonio Public Library location.
The Mayor's Summer Reading Club Goes SPACE Age with a Totally Online Option for 2012! Beginning June 1, 2012, you'll be able to
register online AND keep track of your summer reading and library activities with an electronic log. You'll be able to link your log to
your Facebook account, so you can share reviews and more with your friends! Once you've read one book‐‐or joined us for one
library activity‐‐you're eligible to win a fantastic prize! Each library location will have 2 drawings for prizes this year, so stick with us
until the end! Remember: the more you participate, the more chances you'll have to win!
Directions:
This summer is going to be out of this world! Welcome to Teen Summer 2012, where you can read, play video games, hang out with
friends at your local library, attend free activities, work on goofy puzzles, and much, much more . . . all to help you win prizes! Here's
what to do:
1) Take a minute to register online, so that you are entered to win one of many awesome prizes (registration opens June 1st!);
2) Complete activities like participating in free library activities, reading whatever you'd like, or solving goofy printable puzzles;
3) Visit your local library to see if you’ve won a prize (you do not have to be here to pick it up; we’ll contact you if you’re the lucky
winner!); and
4) Attend GameFest on Saturday, August 4 th 1‐4 p.m.! This year, GameFest will take place at FIVE library locations: Central, Igo,
Mission, Pruitt and Guerra. Head to your closest branch to participate in hours of open‐play friendly gaming, pizza & other cool stuff.
It’s all FREE, and it’s JUST FOR TEENS! (PS – we’ll be skyping other libraries so we can see what their teens are up to as well. Woot!)

Comprehension strategies while reading &
during daily activities
While your student is reading this summer, they can be using the following comprehension
strategies to enhance their reading and comprehension skills.
Make a Connection – Have students make connections between their novel and themselves
(personal connections), between their novel and other pieces of literature (between different
books they have read) and between their novel and the world (songs, music, movies, etc).
Write Questions – Have your students write questions about the novel they are reading. An
excellent exercise is to write the questions on sticky notes and leave them in the novel. When your
student finishes reading, have them go back and reread their questions and find answers to the
questions.
Vocabulary Building – As your student is reading, have them write down and look up words they do
not know. They can look them up in a dictionary or online at www.dictionary.com. Dictionary.com
also has a free iPhone/Android app!
Mental Images – As your student is reading, have them stop and draw a picture on a blank piece of
paper of the image that they see in their mind as they read. Have them do draw these pictures
periodically and when they finish their novel, put all the pictures together and have your student
add notes on each picture about what is happening. This becomes a new, illustrated, short‐story
form of the novel. These short stories can then be read to younger siblings or during Family
Reading Time.
Schema – Schema is background knowledge. Every time we read, we activate our existing
background knowledge and add to it as we read and learn new things. Have your student create a
large 3‐column KWL chart on a whiteboard or a piece of poster paper. Split the writing surface into
three columns – label the first one “K” for knowledge, the second one “W” for what they want to
learn and the last column “L” for what they student learned. Before your student begins reading,
have them look at the title and cover of their novel and complete the “K” or “knowledge” column
of the chart. Here is where your student will list anything they know about what the title and
illustrations they found on the cover of their book. Have them also complete the “W” or “Want to
Know/Learn” column. Your student should write questions they have about their book before
reading it or the predictions they have about what might happen in their book in the “W” column.
After your student reads, have them complete the “L” or “learned” column. Your student should
write anything new that they learned while reading their book in the “L” column. When the KWL
5

chart is complete, have a conversation with your student about the ways in which they expanded
their schema by reading.
Inferencing – Inferencing is combining your background knowledge (or schema) and what you read
or watch to come up with a new idea. People make inferences all the time, but normally do not
think about the thought process it takes to create them. A fun activity you can do with your child
that will strengthen their inferencing skills is to read through the Sunday comics together. For
each comic, discuss why it is funny or what could be happening in the photos. Comic strips largely
rely on inferencing for their humor.
Another great inferencing activity is to pause a movie or TV show as you watch it together and
make predictions about what might happen next. Pausing and making predictions can also be
done while reading, but pausing a movie or TV show engages the entire family. Younger children
can greatly benefit from these activities also.
Theme – Theme is the heart of a song, movie, or book – it is the overall message, what the author or
artist really wants you to remember 10, 15, 20 years from now. Many students struggle with them
because it is so conceptual. A great way to help your student practice identifying theme is to listen to a
song together, and talk about what it really means. The same can be done when a family reads a book
together or watches a movie together. Younger children can really benefit from theme conversations
also!
6