St. John Catholic School

800 Gornto Road Valdosta, GA 31602-1699
229-244-2556 FAX 229-244-0865
http://www.stjohnschl.org
E-Mail: stjohnschool@stjohnschl.org

SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT

Summer reading is vital for students to maintain their reading comprehension and vocabulary skills.
Research has shown a direct correlation between the number of minutes per week that a child reads
and his/her score on standardized tests.

Each grade's summer reading list includes one assigned book which all students in that grade will read. Teachers will do activities based on this book during the first several weeks of school.

    Here are some tips for summer reading.
    * Encourage your child to read 20 minutes each day.
    * Set a good example: you read too!
    * Match your child's interests or real-life connections with the choice of books.
    * Encourage a variety of books (just as you would encourage a variety of foods in your child's        diet)
    * Consider extending bedtime 20 or 30 minutes to set aside "reading time".
    * Talk about the books you read and encourage your child to do the same.

Thank you for your support of your child and of our summer reading program.

WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS
by Wilson Rawls

VOCABULARY

Use a dictionary to look up the definitions for all the words on the vocabulary list (below). If there is more than one definition for a word, select the one that seems most likely to fit the story. It is very important that you understand the definition. Do NOT use the root word as part of the definition! After you read section I of the book, you'll be familiar with the themes and characters of the book, so this will be easier to do. Write these definitions in a spiral-bound notebook. Bring this notebook with you the first day of school. You will use this same notebook for literature (sixth-grade reading) throughout the school year.

PLEASE skip a line between each definition. Please also LABEL each new section of definitions. This will make it much easier for you to do your first few homework assignments in literature. Make sure that you write your definitions in cursive. Do not print. Use blue or black pen. If you do the definitions in pencil you will have to rewrite them at the beginning of the year.

Do one section of vocabulary at a time. I highly recommend that you look up the words for each section before you begin reading that section of the book. This will better help you understand the reading.

READING

I do NOT recommend that you read the book at the beginning of the summer, because you are likely to forget many details by the time school resumes and we begin discussing (and taking quizzes and tests on) the book. NEITHER do I recommend that you wait until the weekend before school starts to read the book because it will be extremely difficult to look up all the words and comprehend what you read in such a short period of time. Use good judgment.

MAJOR THEMES

We will be looking at several major themes in this book. Look for them as you read.

Characterization

Be able to identify the basic personality traits of each major character in the book, including the animals. "Nice" is not an exact character trait. Characteristics might include friendly, responsible, bullying, smart, determined, loyal. Be able to support your conclusions with evidence from the book. If you say that a character is smart, be able to point out some exact events from the book that show the character's smartness.

Conflict

Several of the characters in this book come into conflict with each other during the story. There are also conflicts with nature (survival), and characters having conflicts within themselves about what to do in a difficult situation.

Relationships

Be able to describe the relationships between characters. Are they in conflict with each other? Do they support each other? Are they loyal to each other? Be able to prove your conclusion with specific events or dialogue.

Vocabulary List

SECTION 1	SECTON 2	SECTION 3	SECTION 4	SECTION 5
Chaps. I-V	Chaps. VI-IX	Chaps. X-XIII	Chaps. XIV-XVIII	Chaps. XIX-XX
canebrakes	bulldogged	begrudgingly	droning	berserk
dormant	domain	belligerent	gawk	cleave
dumbfounded	gouge	debris	gloat	disembowel
fester	liniment	disposition	heedless	entrails
provisions	persistence	nonchalantly	impulsively	jugular
quaver	wily	predicament	jubilant	lithe
sheen	wince	rile	squabble	petrified
squall		salve	verge	predatory
		sidle		scourge
		slough		sinew
		wallow		waver

ACROSS FIVE APRILS
by Irene Hunt

Read and enjoy this book as you get to know the characters. The first few weeks of seventh grade literature will be centered around this book.

VOCABULARY

Use a dictionary to look up the definitions of all the words on the vocabulary list (below). If there is more than one definition for a word, select the one that seems most likely to fit the story. After you read section I of the book, you'll be familiar with the themes and characters of the book, so this will be easier to do. Write these definitions in a spiral-bound notebook. Bring this notebook with you the first day of school. You will use this same notebook for literature throughout the school year. REMEMBER to write your definitions so that you understand them! Do NOT use the root word as part of your definition.

PLEASE skip a line between each definition. LABEL each new section of definitions. This will make it much easier for you to do your first few homework assignments in literature.

VOCABULARY

Chaps. 1 - 2	Chaps. 3 - 4	Chaps. 5 - 6	Chap. 7 - 8	Chaps. 9 - 10	Chaps. 11 - 12
burlap	tedium	appalled	tenacious	forays	chaotic
monotonous	Armistice	quagmire	revile	credence	clemency
vanity	emancipator	desolate	ebb	grimace	amnesty
vehement	eloquence	stoic	tenacity	besieged	deluded
tariffs	secession	ominous	futile	maneuvered	atrocities
provisions	chafing			convey	irreparable
inclination	admonitions
pious	abolitionists

Literary Terms

Historical fiction: a story set in the past that has its action, setting, and characters drawn from records of actual events.

Setting: the time and place of the action.

Characterization: creating and developing a character/characters.

Theme: the central message, concern, or purpose of a literary work. Although the theme may be state directly in a literary work, it is usually presented indirectly.

Alive! The Story of the Andes Survivors
by Piers Paul Read

Their plane crashed high In the Andes. Their only shelter was the plane's shattered fuselage; their only supplies a little wine and some bits of candy. In the beginning, there were thirty-two survivors. Then, only twenty-seven; then, nineteen ... and, in the end, sixteen.

This is their story -- the greatest modem epic of catastrophe and human endurance.
VOCABULARY
Use a dictionary to look up the definitions of all the words on the vocabulary list (below). If there is more than one definition for a word, select the one that seems most likely to fit the story. After you read section I of the book, you'll be familiar with the themes and characters of the book, so this will be easier to do. Write these definitions in a spiral-bound notebook. Bring this notebook with you the first day of school. You will use this same notebook for literature throughout the school year.
PLEASE skip a line between each definition. Please also LABEL each new section of definitions. This will make it much easier for you to do your first few homework assignments in literature.
Do one section of vocabulary at a time. I highly recommend that you look up the words for each section before you begin reading the book. This will better help you understand the reading.

cordillera irregularity fuselage

lethargy undulation stagnation

omnidirectional parapsychology paradoxical

ineffable fastidious ominous

strategically incontrovertible illuminate

phenomenon clairvoyant plausible

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