5^th Grade Summer Reading Requirements

Welcome to 5^th grade! Attached is your first homework assignment… summer reading! The following books were carefully selected, and the list provides a variety of stories from which to choose. What they have in common, however, is that they are all fun to read. Summer reading should be enjoyable as well as educational. With that said, in the event that a book doesn’t hold your interest, put it down and try another one. Find one that excites you!

You should read ONE fiction book and ONE nonfiction book. On the first day of school, you will be tested on one of those books… but you won’t know which one! Your directions, rubric, and a brief description of our selected reading are attached. Don’t forget to bring your file folder reports to school on the first day. We look forward to seeing you in August!

BOOK LIST

Fiction	Nonfiction
The City of Ember by Jeanne Du Prau	Bill Peet: An Autobiography by Bill Peet
The Classroom at the End of the Hall by Douglas Evans	Dive! My Adventures in the Deep Frontier by Sylvia Earle
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan	Girls Think of Everything by Catherine Thimmesh
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh	The Great Fire by Jim Murphy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell	The Moon and I by Betsy Byars
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli	Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille by Russell Freedman
Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park
Peak by Roland Smith
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum

File Folder Report Instructions

ü Please complete one file folder report for each book. A total of two (2) file folder reports are due on the first day of school.

ü These reports will be two of your first quarter reading grades so please put forth your best effort and spend time on each one.

ü Reports will be graded using the attached rubric.

Directions:

1) Use a standard manila file folder.

2) You may turn the folder in any direction. Put your name on the bottom right-hand corner. Put the name of the book on the folder tab.

3) On the front cover, create a memorable scene from the book. You may draw or use computer-generated art to create the scene. Provide a brief caption underneath the picture describing the scene.

4) On the inside of the front cover (left side), tape or glue the completed organizer (attached). Be sure to use the fiction story map if your book was fiction and the nonfiction graphic organizer if your book was nonfiction. Please write ALL information in complete sentences.

5) Type or write two excerpts from the book and tape or glue these excerpts to the inside of the folder (right side). Choose excerpts that you found interesting, that made you laugh, made you cry, or that were so descriptive they painted a picture in your mind. Write one or two sentences under each excerpt explaining why you chose that passage.

6) On the back of the folder, in your own words, give a little information about the author. This information may come from the back of the book, web pages, and library books.

7) Please do your best work and have fun!