To Exceed, you must READ! 

This is for ALL Horizon students.

 UPDATE 6/6/12:
WE WILL HAVE A READING FESTIVAL TO DISPLAY AND SHARE OUR SUMMER READING PROJECTS AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER. 

JUNE: Read a NOVEL of your choice!

Complete the checklist as you read. Check out some of your teachers' favorite authors:

·     Mrs. McDonald- E.L. Konigsberg,
                                 J.K. Rowling

·     Ms. Love- Nancy Farmer, 
                     Suzanne Collins

·   Ms. Blanks- Gary Paulsen,
                        Richard Peck

Complete the 3 parts of the checklist for each book.  Notice that you have options!  Choose one Writing activity, one Creativity activity and everyone will do the Quotability activity for EACH novel.

CHECKLIST:

1. WRITING- You may either keep a Reading Journal or participate in the Reading Blog.

·      TheReading Journalmust have at least five entries that document your thoughts and predictions as you read. Which characters do you identify with and why? State your reactions to important moments in the book. How does this book make you feel? Who would you recommend this book to and why? Give your overall reaction.

·      TheReading Blogis on the website. You must blog once after you have started your book and can make some predictions/ identify with the characters in your novel. The second time you blog, you must read the other blogs and write a meaningful or insightful comment/reaction on someone else’s post. The third time you blog for your book, feel free to give us your overall reaction. Who would you recommend read this book? Why? How did it move you or change the way you think? Feel free to blog more than three times- especially if you are reading a book together (how fun would it be to start a “summer online book club?!”) 

2. CREATIVITY- Create a Soundtrack, illustrate a book jacket, or re-write a chapter.

·       SOUNDTRACK. Music speaks to us in so many ways. The lyrics tell a story, invoke emotion, and paint beautiful pictures of how things could be. As you read your book, think of the songs that would accompany your novel perfectly. Make a list of the songs and the artists (at least 5). For each song, explain what part of the book you would link it to and why. Choose one of the songs as the BEST TRACK. Copy down the lyrics. Point out your favorite part of the song and how those lyrics really encompass the theme(s) of the book.

·       ILLUSTRATION. They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but we know that is usually the reason why we pick it up off the shelf in the first place! Your job is to design and illustrate a jacket for your book that is simple yet grabs your attention. (Think of theTwilightandHunger Gamescovers) The jacket should have the title, author’s name, the illustrator’s name (YOU!), an illustration and an interesting synopsis on the back. Make sure you do your best to give the “potential reader” a small sneak-peek of what to expect, but leave them wanting more so they will choose your book!

·       CHAPTER RE-WRITE. Put your editing skills to the test. Choose any chapter/part of your book and re-write it. Ideas include:

   o  Re-write the beginning, conclusion or anywhere in between.

   o  Re-write a chapter from a different character’s point of view.

   o  Add a “missing” chapter.

3. QUOTABILITY- Select a quote (or several) from your novel that you found inspiring, funny, romantic or jaw-dropping. Be sure to cite the page, the “author” of the quote and briefly explain why the quote stood out to you.

 JULY: Read a “CLASSIC” from the Classics List and complete the checklist. You may choose a different novel written by a “classic list” author or a novel that is not on this particular list--- just check with us first!Annie Blanks- ablanks.rms@catoosa.k12.ga.us
Brenda Love-  blove.rms@catoosa.k12.ga.us

CLASSICS LIST:

·      Any Newberry Award/Honor winners
Click here to see the complete list of books.

*  Anne of Green Gables- Montgomery

·        Adventures of Tom Sawyer- Twain

·        White Fang- London

·        Swiss Family Robinson- Wyss

·        To Kill a Mockingbird- Lee

·        The Yearling- Rawlings

·        Little Women- Alcott

·        Treasure Island- Stevenson

·        Frankenstein- Shelley

·        Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland- Carroll

·        Black Beauty- Sewell

·        The Secret Garden- Burnett

·        A Wrinkle in Time- L’Engle

·        Journey to the Center of the Earth- Verne

·        The Red Badge of Courage- Crane

·        A Tree Grows in Brooklyn- Smith

·        The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes- Doyle

·        Death Be Not Proud -Gunther

·        The Hobbit -Tolkien

·        The Time Machine –Wells

·        Wonderful Wizard of Oz-Baum

·        Peter Pan–Barrie

·        The Diary of a Young Girl- Anne Frank

·        Dracula–Stoker

·        Oliver Twist- Dickens

·        Pride and Prejudice- Austen

·        Gulliver’s Travels- Swift

·        Robinson Crusoe- Defoe

AUGUST: Book Club Month

Read the novel that has been selected for your rising grade level. Complete the checklist for your novel and be ready to discuss/share when school begins in September.

Rising 6^thGrade: 
Touching Spirit Bear
 by Ben Mikaelsen
Before the Hunger Games, there was a boy all alone on an island with a bear!  Click here for the beginning of a harrowing adventure.

Rising 7^thGrade: 
The House of the Scorpion
by Nancy Farmer
This controversial sci-fi thriller will make you question the future.  Click here for a Sneek Peek!

Rising 8^thGrade: 
Jurassic Park
by Michael Crichton
Get ready to sink your teeth into adventure, science and suspense!  Click here for a BITE of inspiration!