Summer Reading for Rising Fifth Graders

Fifth Grade Summer Reading Project

“Book in A …”

Choose one book from the attached list of fiction and nonfiction selections. Follow the directions below to create a project that you will share during the first days of school.

1. Choose any container for your project. It could be an envelope, paper bag, box, Pringles can, oatmeal can, mailing tube, etc. Decorate the outside of your container to portray your book. Be creative! Use details appropriate to the book (characters, setting, favorite scene, etc.). Be sure your name and title of the book are labeled.
2. The inside of your container should include the following activities pertaining to your book:
1. Write ten questions that could be answered by reading the book or create a ten-word glossary of unfamiliar words from the book and a short definition of each word. These should be written on note cards with the answers or definitions on the back.
2. Choose five items that depict the story in some way. These may be actual items or picture drawings of the items. For example in the book, Charlotte’s Web, you may have included a barn constructed from legos, a stuffed pig, a plastic spider or a drawn picture of one of the spider webs that Charlotte created to save Wilbur, the pig.
3. Upon your return from summer vacation, you will present the project to your reading class.

Summer Reading List

Fiction Selections

1. Among the Hidden by Margaret Petterson Haddiy – In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear on his family’s farm, until another “third child” convinces him that the government is wrong. This is the first book in a series of books about “hidden children”.
2. Big House by Carolyn Coman – When the judge declares their parents guilty of embezzlement, sending them to the big house for twenty-five years, Ivy and Ray are sent to live with Marietta and Lionel Noland, their parents’ accusers. As soon as they arrive at the Noland mansion, Ivy becomes suspicious and begins planning their escape…and trying to find a way to free their parents.
3. Blood on the River: James Town 1607 by Elisa Lynn Carbone – An important book for every fifth grader but especially those fortunate enough to live so close to Jamestown, this is the story of a boy who serves as John Smith’s page aboard the Susan Constant, bound for a New World. Beginning with the stormy journey and his first contact with the native people, he realizes that the New World is nothing like he had ever imagined.
4. Chasing the Falconers by Gordon Korman – Chasing the Falconers is a series book and was very popular with my current fifth graders. Aiden and Meg Falconers’ parents were accused and found guilty of treason. Their parents thought they were assisting their country in the war on terror, only to have themselves accused of aiding the terrorists. In the novel the children try to clear their parents’ names and gain their freedom. It’s a race against the odds, and every step is thrilling.
5. Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis – It is 1860, and eleven year old Elijah is a first-generation freeborn child. His Canadian town of Buxton, located just across the border from Detroit, serves as a haven for runaway slaves and their children. Elijah’s adventures begin as he sets out to right a wrong venturing into Detroit where he encounters a group of captured runaway slaves. Will he be able to save them? Winner of the 2008 Coretta Scott King Author Award and a Newberry Honor Book, this is a powerful story of boy who made a difference.
6. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Seiznick – Winner of the 2008 Caldecott medal, this is the story of a boy named Hugo who lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station. His world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a biter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A wonderful mystery, beautifully illustrated and masterfully written.
7. Island by Gordon Korman – This book is the first in a series of three. It was a favorite of many fifth graders this past year. It begins with seven children who in some way have all gotten into trouble. Their punishment is to sail aboard a ship with a captain and his fist mate to learn team work and discipline. Tragedy strikes when the ship starts to sink. You will enjoy this so much you will want to read the second and third books.
8. Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville –When the marble egg that Jeremy buys at Mr. Elives’ Magic Shop hatches into a dragon, Jeremy’s life changes drastically. Jeremy learns responsibility and the power of love.
9. Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo – This is a Virginia’s Young Reader book. When Michael is swept off his family’s yacht, he washes up on a desert island, where he struggles to survive, until he finds he is not alone.
10. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli – After his parents die, Jefferey Lionel Magee’s life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats, which awe his friends. If you like sports, this may be one for you.
11. Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo – If you are a Harry Potter fan, you will enjoy this one. It is an easy book to read, but is long in pages. Ten year old Charlie Bone doesn’t realize he’s inherited the family’s magical power until one day he finds that he’s able to hear the conversations of people in photographs.
12. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry – I loved this book! Ten year old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend, Ellen Rosen often think about what life was like prior to the war. The year is 1943, and their lives in Copenhagen are filled with school, food shortages, and Nazis. One night terror comes to the Johansen family as the Nazis knocked on their door searching for hidden Jewish families. The novel is about a family’s struggles to save the lives of their friends who are Jewish.
13. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall – Winner of the 2005 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, this is a story of the Penderwick sisters’ summer vacation on the grounds of a beautiful estate called Arundel. The fun begins when they meet Jeffrey Tifton, son of the Arundel’s owner, who proves to be the perfect companion for their many adventures. This is the perfect book for the long hot days of summer!
14. Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park – This was one of the favorites of many of my students this past year! Written by Newberry Medal author, Linda Sue Park, this is the story of friendship and teamwork as two friends work together to earn a ribbon at the state fair.
15. Rascal by Sterling North – Eleven year old Robby North and his friend Oscar live in Wisconsin. While they are fishing, they hear a gun. A raccoon mother was shot and killed. The friends discover a baby raccoon and realize it too will die because it can not care for itself. Robby decides to take the baby home. Thus, begins the love story between a boy and his pet raccoon.
16. Replay by Sharon Creech – Leo has big dreams, even though he has been given the smallest part in the school play, Leo dreams he is the biggest star on Broadway! Leo’s big noisy family makes him feel like a sardine squashed in a tin, but in his fantasy he gets all the attention he wants. Leo is always dreaming, always replaying things in his brain. He fantasizes about who he is in order to discover who he will become.
17. Steal Away Home by Lois Ruby – When Dana Shannon starts to strip away wallpaper in her family’s old house, she’s unprepared for the surprise that awaits her. A hidden room containing a human skeleton! How did such a thing get there? Why was the tiny room sealed up? With the help of a diary found in the room, Dana learns her house was once a station on the Underground Railroad. Who was the skeleton and how did the person die?
18. Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson – The door between our world and the Enchanted Island is only open for nine days every nine years. Unfortunately, in the last minutes before it closed in 1983, the baby prince of the Island is kidnapped by a woman named Trottle. For nine long years, the king and queen plan for his rescue. An unlikely team of creatures are chosen to rescue their beloved child. This fantasy story is a great read.
19. Three Good Deeds by Vivian Vande Veide – When Howard tries to steal the eggs that were just laid near Goose Pond; he old woman who protects them catches him. She is rumored to be a witch, but Howard has no reason to believe this is true until she turns him into a goose in order to teach him a lesson. The only way in which he can reverse the curse is to perform three good deeds, which is much harder than he first suspects.
20. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt – Doomed or blessed with eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten year old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less a blessing that it might seem. Complications arise when a stranger enters the story.

Nonfiction Selections

1. The Bone Detectives by Donna Jackson – This book is based on forensic medicine. If you love the CSI television program, you’ll love this book.
2. Black Whiteness by Robert Burleigh – The story of Admiral Richard Byrd’s trip to Antarctica. This one is difficult to put down!
3. Don’t Know Much About Planet Earth by Kenneth C. Davis – For a head start on an important part of your fifth grade science curriculum, follow best-selling author Kenneth C. Davis as he leads a trek across the globe. If you want to know about the world’s longest river, coldest desert, tallest waterfall, and much more, this is the book for you!
4. Olympics (Eyewitness Book Series) by Chris Oxlade, David Ballheimer, Doring Kindersley Publishing Staff – Surveys the history and traditions of the Olympics, highlighting memorable events from ancient Greece to the present day.
5. Poetry Speaks to Children edited by Elise Paschen – An anthology of popular poems for children.
6. Presidents (Eyewitness Books Series) by DK Publishing Staff – Explore the history of America’s presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush. Perfect for the upcoming election year.
7. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World by Jennifer Armstrong – An extraordinary true story of Ernest Shackelton and the twenty-seven men who followed him to Antarctica. He was hoping to become the first team of explorers to cross Antarctica from one side to the other.
8. So You Want to Be President by Judith St. George – A light hearted, collection of facts about the qualifications and characteristics of U.S. Presidents.
9. Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipovic – The diary of young girl living during the time of war in Sarajevo.
10. Select any biography in the In Their Own Words series, published by Scholastic Reference. Choose from famous Americans such as Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, Abraham Lincoln, Sojourner Truth, Paul Revere and Benjamin Franklin. Learn about the important contributions these famous Americans made for their country.

Download in PDF format

Summer Olympics Books