Rising sixth grade students will be expected to turn in a written product for each one of the three books they have read during the summer. The requirements for this piece of writing are as follows:
• Students will write an eyewitness account of the main events of the book's plot ( story line) from the point of view of one of the main characters. The character will recount the story using the pronoun "I" and will reflect on the events as he/she tells them.
• The required length for each eyewitness account is 200 words minimum and 300 words maximum.
• Correct spelling, mechanics, and sentence structure will be expected as part of the grade on each piece of writing.
• This writing assignment FOR ALL THREE BOOKS is due by the end of the first week of school.
Required of all Students:
The Cay, Theodore Taylor. Phillip, a young American living off the coast of Venezuela, quickly abandons his island to avoid being bombed during wartime. His boat is torpedoed, and he finds himself shipwrecked with a man named Timothy. Blinded in the accident, Phillip slowly learns how to depend on Timothy for survival and how to manage as a blind boy in an alien land.
Select two from the following:
Among the Hidden, Margaret Peterson Haddix. Luke Garner is a shadow child, a third child forbidden by the Population Police. He’s lived his entire life in hiding. Then he meets Jen, another shadow child; does Luke dare to become involved in her dangerous plan? Can he afford not to?
My Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead George. Sam Gribble describes a year alone in a remote area of the Catskill Mountains. This story, which is told in diary form, includes suspense and humor.
Hatchet, Gary Paulsen. When Brian Robeson’s small plane crashes in the middle of the Canadian north woods wilderness, Brian is stranded with only a remote hope of rescue. Supplied only with a small hatchet, he must depend on his wits and physical stamina to survive.
Homeless Bird, Gloria Whelan. At the age of thirteen, Koly is a bride and then a widow in twentieth century India. Being a widow in India has dire consequences, and a meaningful life for Koly seems over almost before it has truly begun. The story highlights aspects of Indian cultural life as it chronicles Koly’s determination to battle the odds and create a life of happiness and purpose.
Inkheart, Cornelia Funke. Imagine how our lives would be if we could read the characters out of their books and into our own world as breathing, living people!Read Inkheart at your own risk! You may find that the characters you read about might come knocking at your front door, and not all of them are very safe……
The Great Tree of Avalon, T.A. Barron. Mystical, fantastical adventures await the readers of this book. If you are ready for an epic quest with characters human and supernatural, join the travelers on their journey. Along with the adventure, readers will find what is important to them about the beauty of the world and its ecological balance.
The Seeing Stone, Kevin Crossley-Holland. Arthur de Caldicot lives on an English manor in the Middle Ages. When his tutor, the mysterious Merlin gives him a strange stone, Arthur finds that the stone gives him visions of King Arthur of Round Table fame. Somehow their lives are interwoven, with each Arthur facing trials, challenges, and amazing opportunities in their parallel stories. Readers of The Seeing Stone just might find that they are compelled to complete the Arthur trilogy: At the Crossing Places and King of the Middle March.