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American Academy

Castle Pines - Reading

Summer 2023: Assignments are listed by grade (K-8)

 
Kindergarten

  • Practice letter recognition (letter names) A-Z by utilizing ABC/Alphabet books.
    • Chicka Chika Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault,
    • Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate

    • Recommended books:
      What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know, E.D. Hirsch


Note to Kindergarten Parents: When you begin reading this summer, start with the Language and Literature section of What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know. Throughout the school year you may want to read selections from the History/Geography section of What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know. The information in that section will help students prepare for first grade.


 

Grade 1

  • What Your First Grader Needs to Know, E.D. Hirsch


Note to incoming first grade parents: Please choose 1-2 of the following books to read to your child this summer. These books are great to introduce a Growth Mindset. We will build on these concepts throughout the school year.

  • Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg
  • The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
  • Ish by Peter H. Reynolds
  • The Book of Mistakes by Corinna Luyken
  • What Do You Do with an Idea? by Kobi Yamada
  • What Do You Do with a Problem? by Kobi Yamada
  • What Do You Do with a Chance? by Kobi Yamada
  • Elastic Fantastic Brain by Joann Deak
  • The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein


 

Grade 2

Parents of incoming second graders should pick one or two of the following Tall Tales to read with your child:

  • Paul Bunyan, Steven Kellogg
  • Pecos Bill, Steven Kellogg
  • Johnny Appleseed, Steven Kellogg
  • John Henry, Julius Lester


AND

Pick one (or more) of the following Magic Treehouse books, by Mary Pope Osbourne, to read:

  • #16: Hour of the Olympics
  • #21: Civil War on Sunday
  • #47: Abe Lincoln at Last!
  • #10: Ghost Town at Sundown
  • #14: Day of the Dragon King
  • #37: Dragon of the Red Dawn
  • #5: Night of the Ninja
  • #23: Twister on Tuesday
  • #18: Buffalo Before Breakfast


AND

Purchase:

  • What Your 2nd Grader Needs to Know, E.D. Hirsch
    (this book is used a lot throughout the year as home study)

 




Grade 3

REQUIRED:

  • Who Was Isaac Newton, Janet Pascal and Tim Foley


AND

One of the following informative-narratives about Pompeii:

  • Vacation Under the Volcano, Mary Pope Osborne
  • I Survived: The Destruction of Pompeii, Lauren Tarshis


Additional recommended reading to help build student background knowledge:

  • Third Grade Angels, Jerry Spinelli
  • Falling Up, Shel Silverstein
  • The Boxcar Children, Gertrude Chandler Warner
  • Magic School Bus Science Chapter Books, Various authors
  • Any non-fiction books about animals/plants, weather/climate, magnetism, and/or geography
  • Any non-fiction books about Ancient Rome, Vikings, the Thirteen Colonies, and/or European explorers



 

Grade 4

REQUIRED:

  • Frindle, Andrew Clements


AND

  • George Washington’s Socks, Elvira Woodruff

 


 

Grade 5

Incoming fifth graders must read a minimum of two books this summer. Students will do a book report/project on one of the REQUIRED books they read during the first trimester of school.

REQUIRED:

  • The City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau


OR

  • Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis


AND 

CHOOSE ONE: Please choose one of the following books to enjoy this summer:

  • The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
  • Pictures of Hollis Woods, Patricia Reilly Giff
  • The Black Stallion, Walter Farley



 

Grade 6

BOOK: Wonder, Raquel J. Palacio
READING PROJECT: Download and complete the grade 6 questions for Wonder. The grade 6 questions will help prepare students for the Socratic Seminars at the beginning of the school year.
Download the grade 6 Socratic Seminar Rubric.
Questions: 6th Grade English:

Deedra Lankford [email protected]


 

Grade 7

BOOK: The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton  
READING PROJECT: Download and complete the grade 7 questions for The Outsiders. The grade 7 questions will help prepare students for the Socratic Seminars at the beginning of the school year.
Download the grade 7 Socratic Seminar Rubric.
Questions: 7th Grade English:
Jessica Dawkins [email protected]
 

 

Grade 8

BOOK: The Giver, Lois Lowry
READING PROJECT: Download and complete the grade 8 questions for The Giver. The grade 8 questions will help prepare students for the Socratic Seminars at the beginning of the school year.
Download the grade 8 Socratic Seminar Rubric.

Questions: 8th Grade English:
Shannon Donohoe  – [email protected]