Lower School Summer Reading Guide

2010 Summer Reading Program

lower school

2010 Summer Reading Program Student achievement begins with confident reading. So this summer don’t forget to tuck a book into camp trunks, carry-on luggage and hiking knapsacks. Leave room in the beach bag for a book by your favorite author!

He that loves a book will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, as in all fortunes.

- Barrow Does not wisdom call and does not understanding raise her voice? - Proverbs 8:1 The failure to read good books both enfeebles the vision and strengthens our most fatal tendency -- the belief that the here and now is all there is. - Allan Bloom Children are made readers on the laps of their parents. - Emilie Buchwald But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him. - James 1:5 Read, read, read. - William Faulkner Today a reader, tomorrow a leader. - W. Fusselman To read is to empower To empower is to write To write is to influence To influence is to change To change is to live.

- Jane Evershed The greatest gift is the passion for reading.

It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind.

It is a moral illumination.

- Elizabeth Hardwick

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

- Joseph Addison

Why Read Throughout the Summer?

Researchers have confirmed what you may have observed as a parent - that children differ widely in how much they read. Some children are voracious readers who keep a flashlight by the bed while other children believe that reading is a painful experience devised by adults who just don’t understand all that life has to offer.

Researchers have shown that students who read consistently and widely develop fluency, a rich and useful vocabulary, expand their knowledge of God’s world, other people, historical events, and culture. Most significantly, reading is a fundamental skill that positively correlates with academic achievement.

Simple reading is not enough. Chall, Jacobs, and Baldwin (1990) emphasize that challenging but comprehensible reading materials need to be the primary portion of students’ reading diets. Reading easy, entertaining, enjoyable books or an “old favorite” is appropriate once in awhile but should be considered an occasional treat.

We encourage students, with parent help and direction, to choose books to read that appeal to their interests. Students are encouraged to read with purpose—to learn or for pleasure. We also advocate designating some reading time each day.

For middle students, the themes or concepts that students learn about through summer reading assignments will be integrated in the curriculum in August. Summer reading gives students the background information they need to participate in meaningful class discussions.

The quantity of thought-provoking supplementary books that are beneficial for students preparing themselves for college grows every year. Students can use the summer months to their advantage by reading a wide variety of books. Upper school students may be able to include their thoughts and reflections about books that have impressed them as part of college essays.

All choices for summer reading for lower school students are personal. We have listed favorite series, authors and award winning books. Again we encourage students to read within their reading zone. Middle and upper school students have both required and optional reading suggestions. Thank you in advance for supporting encouraging your children to read consistently throughout the summer.

Chall, J., B.Jacobs, and L. Baldwin. “The Reading Crisis.” Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1990.

Lower School Instructions Theme:

“Lasso a Good Book and Read”

Purpose:

For lower school students, reading consistently throughout the summer months allows them to learn new vocabulary and broaden their perspectives while maintaining reading gains made throughout the school year. We encourage every student to read at least three books that appeal to his/her interests.

Book Selections:

Teachers have encouraged students to read to learn and/or to be entertained. Students are becoming more adept at selecting books in their zones of development. So, rather than try to publish comprehensive and perhaps cumbersome lists that attempt to meet the wide array of interests and meet the developmental needs of our student body, we encourage you to use AR Bookfind—http://www.arbookfind.com/. This great tool allows you to locate books that appeal to your child and would be in his/ her zone of development. This will give you the flexibility to offer a huge variety of books to your readers.

We have included a list of favorite series and authors.

Incentives: To encourage reading the media center will offer incentives to readers. To earn these incentives, please follow these directions.

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To earn an incentive, students must read at least three books.

Record ALL the books you read this summer. A reading record is on the Web site.

Parents, please sign the reading record beside the book title.

Please bring your summer reading record to school on the first day of school in August 2010.

You may turn your reading record in to your classroom teacher.

Teachers will submit the reading records to the media center.

READING RECORDS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED LATER THAN FRIDAY, SEPT. 4, 2010.

Students who read at least three books will earn a sticker. Additional and/or different incentives will be provided for students who read 10 or more; 20 or more; and 40 or more books. So “Lasso a Good Book and Read.”

Charlotte Christian School faculty and staff have not read all of these books. We have, however, read reviews and have tried to recommend books that are wholesome and uplifting. There may be times when reviews may not reveal language or ideas that members of the Charlotte Christian community consider inappropriate; therefore, we recommend that families read together. Reading with family members benefits students in several ways. Reading as a family supports the concept (value) that reading often and well makes for a well-read educated person. Students retain information better when they have an opportunity to discuss (retell) what they have learned or experienced by reading. Students can ask questions about unfamiliar concepts or vocabulary. Explanations will foster additional learning that becomes new background knowledge. This new background knowledge can be used for making connections to even more new learning in the future.

Lower School Reading Record Name:___________________________________________________ Date: ______________________

Directions for Locating Leveled Book Lists Please follow the directions carefully because the web site has many steps.

• Go to http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/home.jsp

• Scroll down and look to the right of the screen for Teacher Book Wizard.

Click on the words: Teacher Book Wizard. (You do not need to fill in the search box).

• At the top right corner in very small gray print you will see, “Your Reading Level System.”

Click on Guided Reading. Then click the set button.

• Look to the left of the screen and click on, Leveled Search. Then click, Go.

• Look at the left margin for Reading Level. Click on the arrow button beside Any (a drop down box) to find your child’s level.

• You should see letters: A, B, C etc. Select the letter that aligns with your child’s reading level.

You may also elect to narrow the search by selecting options.

• Then scroll to bottom of the page and click on search.

• A list of books will come up with your child’s reading level.

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/home.jsp

Favorite Series Ages Series Author 9-12 A to Z Mysteries Ron Roy 6-12 Adventure Odyssey 8-12 Alex Rider Anthony Horowitz 4-8 Amelia Bedelia Peggy Parrish 8-10 American Girls Various 7-10 Andrew Lost J.C. Greenberg 8-12 Animal Ark Ben M. Baglio 4-8 Angelina Katharine Holabird/Helen Craig 8 & up Arthur Marc Brown 7-12 Boxcar Mysteries Gertrude Chandler Warren 8-12 Cam Jansen David Adler 4-8 Curious George H.A. & Margaret Rey 9-12 Dear America Various 4-8 Eloise Kay Thompson 9-12 Encyclopedia Brown Donald J. Sobol 9-12 FaithGirlz Kristi Holl 9-12 FaithGirlz – Girls of 622 Harbor View 9-12 FaithGirlz – Lucy Nancy Rue 9-12 Faith Girlz – Sophie Nancy Rue 4-8 Franklin Sharon Jennings/Paulette Bourgeois 7-10 Geronimo Stilton Geronimo Stilton 8-12 Great Brain John Dennis Fitzgerald 8-12 Grandma’s Attic Arleta Richardson 9-12 Hank the Cowdog John R. Erickson 12 and up Hardy Boys Frankin W. Dixon 9 and up High Hurdles Lauraine Snelling 8-12 Hyperlinkz Robert Elner 4-8 If You Give A Mouse Lauren Numeroff 6-10 Judy Moody Megan McDonald 4-8 Junie B. Jones Barbara Park 7-12 Katie Kazoo Switcheroo Nancy Krulik 8-12 Lady Grace Mysteries Lady Grace Cavendish 9-12 Landmark Book Series 9-12 Left Behind Jerry Jenkins/Tim LaHaye 9-12 Little House on the Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder 4-8 Madeline Ludwig Bemelmans 4-8 Magic Tree House Mary Pope Osborne 4-12 Matt Christopher Sports Matt Christopher 7-10 My America Various 9-12 My Name Is America Various 9-12 Nancy Drew Carolyn Keene 9-12 Narnia C.S. Lewis 6-9 Nate the Great Marjorie Sharmat 7-12 Ramona & Henry Beverly Cleary 8-12 Red Rock Mysteries Jerry Jenkins/Chris Fabry 9-12 Redwall Brian Jacques 9-12 RPM Chris Fabry 8-10 Sarah Plain & Tall Patricia MacLachlan 10 and up Series of Unfortunate Events Lemony Snicket 8-12 39 Clues Various 12 and up Young Believer on Tour Stephen Arterburn

Favorite Authors Adler, David A. Allard, Harry Allen, Judy Arnold, Tedd Arnosky, Jim Avi Aylesworth, Jim Baglio, Ben M. Barrett, Judi Berenstain, Stan/Jan Bodecker, N. M. Bourgeois, Paulettte Bratton/Kennedy Brenner, Martha Brett, Jan Bridwell, Norman Broekel, Ray Brown, Marc Bulla, Clyde Robert Burningham, John Byars, Betsy Carle, Eric Carlstrom, Nancy Whtie Carrick, Carol Cooney, Barbara Coughlan, Cheryl Dahl, Michael Dalgliesh, Alice De Paola, Tomie Echlert, Lois Eckert, Edana Fleming, Denise Foley, Cate Fowler, Allan Fox, Mem Fradin, Dennis B Fraustino, Lisa Rowe Freeman, Don Freeman, Marcia S. Friskey, Margaret Frost, Helen Ganeri, Anita Garcia, Eulalia George, Jean Craighead Gerrard, Roy Gibbons, Gail

Giff, Patricia Reilly Gipson, Fred Greene, Carol Hall, Lynn Hayward, Linda Henkes, Kevin Herriot, James Heyman, Anita Hoban, Russell Hoff, Syd Holabird, Katharine Holm, Jennifer L. Hornblow, Leonora Hurwitz, Johanna Jacobs, Marian B. Kalbacken/Lepthien Karon, Jan Kellogg, Steven Keene, Carolyn Kessler, Leonard Kimmel, Eric A. Kirpatrick, Rob Knox, Barbara Kramer, S. A. Kraus, Robert Krensky, Stephen Krumgold, Joseph Kuskin, Karla Lasky, Kathryn Leppard, Lois Gladys Lester, Helen Levine, Ellen Lewis, Beverly Lewis, Marjorie Lobel, Arnold Lonenecker, Theresa Lord, John Vernon Lowry, Lois Lunn, Carolyn MacLachlan, Patricia Marshall, Edward Marshall, James Mattern, Catherine Maurer, Tracy M. McCall/Keller McCloskey, Robert

McDermott, Gerald McKissack, Patricia C. Mills, Lauren Minarik, Else Holmelund Moore, Eva Murphy, Elspeth Campbell Murphy, Patricia J. Myers, Bill Noble, Trinka Hakes Numberoff, Laura Oke, Janette Olien, Becky Osborne, Mary Pope Parrish, Peggy Pascoe, Elaine Pattern, Barbara J. Peet, Bill Pfister, Marcus Polacco, Patricia Potter, Beatrix Rey, H.A. Richardson, Adele D. Rope, Peter/Connie Rylant, Cynthia Saunders-Smith, Gail Say, Allen Schaefer, Lola M. Scheer, Julian Seuss, Dr. Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Mitchell Shaw, Nancy Slate, Joseph Snelling, Lauraine Stamper, Judith Townsend, Emily Rose Trumbauer, Lisa Waber, Bernard Waddell, Martin Warner, Gertrude Chandler Wexler, Jerome Wilder, Laura Ingalls Wise Brown, Margaret Wisniewski, David Wood, Audrey Ziefert, Harriet

Multicultural authors of Children’s & Young Adult Literature Joseph Bruchac Gwendolyn Books Nikki Giovanni Nikki Grimes Virginia Hamilton Ji Li Jiang

Julius Lester Patricia McKissack Frederick McKissack Patricia Polacco Linda Sue Parks Gloria Jean Pickney

Jerry Pinkney Ethel Footman Smothers Mildred D. Taylor Angela Johnson Jacqueline Woodson Lawerence Yep

Foreign Language Enrichment Practice makes perfect! Especially when it comes to a foreign language.

You may want to take advantage of some of the following tools this summer.

Spanish • JK - Grade 2 Teach them Spanish First 1000 Words Picture Dictionary Coleccion de Clifford grande y pequeno (two books in Spanish) La ganga de enero (nine books in Spanish)

Spanish • Grades 3-5 Teach them Spanish First 1000 Words Picture Dictionary Seasons Book Set (four books) La Gallinita Roja book (32 pages) Zoo Books in Spanish Coleccion de Clifford grande y pequeno (two books in Spanish) La Ganga de enero (nine books in Spanish)

French • JK - Grade 2 My First French Word Coloring Book Let’s Learn French Coloring Book

French • Grades 3-5 Way Cool French Phrase Book First 1000 Words Picture Dictionary

Charlotte Christian School is a Christ-centered, college preparatory school, equipping and developing students to effectively integrate Biblical truth and learning into their daily lives and to impact the culture for Christ.

7301 Sardis Road • Charlotte, NC 28270 • (704) 366-5657 • www.charlottechristian.com