Review of the 6th Grade Reading List

Posted on: August 18, 2009
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My name is Grace Slansky. I’m 11 years old and going into 6th grade at Lincoln Middle School. One of the requirements is to read two books off the summer reading list. I got my list at the beginning of summer and was surprised to find that they were all books that I’d already read or had no interest in reading. My question is why would the middle school choose books that were obviously elementary school classics?

Because of Winn Dixie, Al Capone Does My Shirts, The Lightning Thief. Any of these titles sound familiar? At my elementary school they are practically required reading. This list asks kids to spend their summer rereading books instead of spending that time reading new books that they might enjoy, which would encourage them to read more.

I believe that the school system should give out looser guide lines, such as a genre, so that students may pick a book that interests them and is at their level. That way the teachers grading the book reports will get to know the kids better, too.

A Few of the Books on the 6th Grade Reading List:

Alvarez, Julia – How Tîa Lola Came to Stay. Although ten-year-old Miguel is at first embarrassed by his colorful aunt, Tia Lola, when she comes to Vermont from the Dominican Republic to stay with his mother, his sister, and him after his parents’ divorce, he learns to love her.

 

Creech, Sharon – The Wanderer. Thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody record their transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer, a forty-five foot sailboat, which is en route to visit their grandfather in England.

 

DiCamillo, Kate – Because of Winn-Dixie. Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog, Winn-Dixie.

 

Gantos, Jack – Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key. To the constant disappointment of his mother and his teachers, Joey has trouble paying attention and controlling his mood swings, when his prescription meds wear off and he starts getting worked up and acting wired.

 

Hiaasen, Carl – Hoot. Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy’s attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site.

 

Johnston, Tony – Any Small Goodness. Arturo and his family and friends share all kinds of experiences living in the barrio of East Los Angeles.

 

Martin, Ann M. – A Corner of the Universe. The summer that Hattie turns twelve, she meets the childlike uncle she never knew and becomes friends with a girl who works at the carnival that comes to Hattie’s small town.

 

Spinelli, Jerry – Crash. Seventh-grader John “Crash” Coogan has always been comfortable with his tough, aggressive behavior, until his relationship with an unusual Quaker boy and his grandfather’s stroke make him consider the importance of friendship and family.

View the entire 6th Grade Reading List

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