| 2011 Summer Required Reading |
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The importance of elementary aged children reading during the summer has been demonstrated repeatedly in a variety of research studies. Over and over again, it has been shown that children who read during the summer do much better when school starts again in the fall. On the other hand, children who do not read during the summer demonstrate a significant loss over the summer. The good news is that the research shows that having elementary-aged children read just four to five books during the summer can prevent this achievement loss. To support this, Cooke Magnet School has adopted a summer reading assignment for all students going in to grades one through five. Students are EXPECTED to read the selected books and complete a book study. Assignments should be turned in to teachers upon return to school in August. This reading assignment will be counted towards first quarter grades. Fourth graders entering fifth will receive a copy of their book the last week of school. I have worked with the Waukegan Public Library to set aside copies of the required books for Cooke Magnet School students
Cooke Magnet School
2011 Summer Reading Assignments
First grade students must read (with a parent) 5 fairy tales from the following list. Students need to make a poster for their favorite fairy tale. In pictures and words, students should recreate a favorite scene, identify and draw characters, describe the setting, and tell about the plot.
Second grade summer book report
Third Grade Reading Project Read a chapter book from the Magic Tree House series and complete one of the following projects. -Use a shoebox and construct a diorama of a scene from the book. You may paint your background and use any object you would like to complete your scene. Be creative! Objects can be made from many items. Write a description of the scene you have chosen so that others will be interested and want to learn more about the story. -Create a different ending of the story. YOU become the author! Be creative and change the way your story ended. Re-write the last chapter of the book you read. -Make a poster that answers all of the following: Who? What? Where? When? Why? Advertise your book so that others will want to read it! -If you could be any character in the story which one would you choose to be and why? Write a paper explaining your character and why you would like to be them. Be sure to describe the various character traits in your essay. -Create a collage that shows what the story is about. Go through newspapers, magazine, find pictures on the internet, etc, to create a big collage describing your story, the events, and the characters. -Create a play! Make puppets to illustrate the characters in the story and provide a short script or play using the puppets. Fourth Grade Summer Book Project Directions: 1.) Read the book Frindle by Andrew Clements. 2.) Choose one of the following options for your book report project. 3.) Bring your project with you on the first day back to school. Character Sculpting Create a sculpture of a character from the book. Use any combination of soap, wood, clay, sticks, wire, stones, old toy pieces, or any other objects. A one-page explanation of how this character fits into the book should accompany the sculpture. Reporting Live Interview a character from your book. Write at least ten questions and answers that would give the character the opportunity to discuss his/her thoughts and feelings about his/her role in the story. Present the questions in an interview style. Want to Buy My Book? Give a sales talk, pretending the students in the class are clerks at a bookstore and you want them to push this book. Write a one-page script to read or create a ten slide PowerPoint to present to your “customers”. Setting the Stage Build a miniature stage setting of a scene in the book. Include a one-page written explanation of what you put in the scene and how it relates to the story. Change It Up Write a different ending or beginning to the story. Your new ending or beginning should be at least one page.
Fifth Grade Summer Reading Project First, read How to Write Your Life Story by Ralph Fletcher. Then, you are going to: Δ Brainstorm your stories (see pg. 9) Δ Make a list of 15 important events in your life Δ Collect family stories (see pg. 10)
Δ Gather artifacts from your life (see pg. 12) Δ Fill a box with at least 5 meaningful objects and write down memories associated with the objects Δ Write about your name (see pg. 12) Δ Sketch a map of your neighborhood (see pg. 13, 16 – 17)
Finally, you are going to use all of the information you collected to: Δ Create a heart map (see pg. 15, 18 – 19)
(NO PENCIL FOR FINAL DRAFTS OF PROJECTS!) It is completely up to you to decide how you would like to display all of your work. You may put it all on a poster board, tri-fold board, make a mobile, make a bloom ball, etc. Be creative! This is going to be your very first grade of fifth grade so do your best and show us how awesome of a kid you are! J
Creative: 1 2 3 4 5
Neat/Organized: 1 2 3 4 5
On time: 1 2 3 4 5
Presentation: 1 2 3 4 5
TOTAL: /20
Comments: ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ TOTAL: /150 = %
Places to go over the summer… Waukegan Public Library -- 128 North County St, Waukegan Kohl Children’s Museum -- 2100 Patriot Blvd, Glenview Lake County Discovery Museum -- 27277 N Forest Preserve Rd, Wauconda Chicago Botanic Garden -- 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe Wild Life Discovery Center -- 1401 Middlefork Dr, Lake Forest Ravinia Festival -- 418 Sheridan Rd, Highland Park Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum -- 2430 North Cannon Drive, Chicago
Things to do over the summer… Reader’s Theater, Exercise, Read, Swim, Mini-golf, Lemonade stand, Grow a garden, Fishing, Camping, Picnic, Tie-Dye, Go to the zoo, learn an instrument, Fly a kite, Learn to cook/bake, Puzzles, Scrapbook, Treasure hunts, Play with friends, Arts and crafts, Computer games, Keep a journal, Draw and sketch, Learn origami. You can also check out passes from the Waukegan Public Library that permits free admission for families and individuals to many museums in Lake, Cooke, and DuPage County. |
If you are looking for something to do this summer, here are some suggestions. Please note that students in grades one through five are EXPECTED to participate in our summer reading assignments. Please read the following.