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S U M M E R
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R E A D I N G
GRADE VII: CLUE
In anticipation of studying Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of
the Baskervilles and selections from Edgar Allan Poe in class, rising
seventh graders are required to read a mystery over the summer.
The sixth grade English teachers invite librarian Dorothea Black to
review the 35 mystery and suspense titles on the summer reading
list. “I have to remind them that not all mysteries are bloody,”
Dorothea explains. “That is a relief for some kids!”
On the first day of class in the fall, seventh graders receive this
assignment:
Your homework tonight requires that you dust off your
MYSTERY book you read over the summer. Take some time
to flip through and remind yourself of the (following) details.
Write the information in note form.
Check your spelling!
Title, Author, Sleuth, Who Done It, Crime Scene,
Significant Object
Kyra Fries, who helped design this assignment, explains, “We wanted
to get students thinking about all the elements of a mystery story, and
who doesn’t like playing Clue” On the second day, students create
six clue cards about their mysteries with these instructions:
• Make them colorful and bold
• Spell correctly
• Make sure it’s legible
• Do NOT write your name on it
• Make each one significantly different—in other words,
it should not look like it belongs with the others. Change
colors, handwriting, etc… try to be mysterious! Add designs
if you want!
What’s different about reading in the summer
is that I am constantly outdoors playing sports,
so I don’t read during the day.
Whenever I get a chance to read before bed, I do,
and since it’s summer, I can stay up late and read.
—Oliver Kendall (Grade VII)
R E A D I N G L I S T S
GRADE VI
The lists on the Park School
library website
(www.parkschool.org/library)
—far too long to reprint
here —allow students and
their parents to browse titles
appropriate for grade levels
V–IX. The comprehensive
booklists, which suggest
hundreds of titles, are created
with different kinds of
readers in mind. A few
samples, based on the genre
required by grade, follow:
Summer Reading Choices:
Any book from this list and one
book from any source (including
this list, which features popular
favorites, classics, and books that
will enliven and extend your school
studies. (Grade levels are suggestions,
not limits).
Crispin: The Cross of Lead
by Avi (Historical Fiction)
For Grades V and VI
In this adventure story set in the
Middle Ages, an orphaned boy flees
his tiny village when he is accused of
a crime he didn’t commit. As he is
leaving, he discovers his real name
and some mysterious information
about his parents.
George Washington, Spymaster
by Thomas B. Allen (Non-Fiction)
For Grades V and VI
George Washington was the secret
spymaster of the Revolutionary War
and delighted in espionage tricks such
as planting false information for the
enemy to discover. Read about spies,
counter spies, double agents, codes
and ciphers, and other tools and tricks
of the trade.
Helen’s Eyes: A Photobiography
of Annie Sullivan, Helen Keller’s
Teacher by Marfe Ferguson Delano
(Autobiography/Biography)
For Grades V, VI, and VII
Annie Sullivan’s early life gave no
indication that she would become
famous. She was wild tempered and
almost blind. Her father abandoned
her when her mother died, and she
spent much of her childhood in a grim
institute for the poor. Determined to
get an education, she eventually found
a place at the prestigious Perkins
Institute. At the age of twenty, she
took on the almost impossible
challenge of teaching Helen Keller,
then six years old.
Into the Volcano by Don Wood
(Graphic Novel)
For Grades VI, VII, VIII, and IX
Two brothers travel to the island of
Kocalaha to visit family and end up on
a harrowing adventure inside an
erupting volcano.
Last Shot by John Feinstein
(Mystery/Suspense)
For Grades VI, VII, and VIII
Aspiring journalists Steven and Carol
discover a conspiracy to “fix” the last
game of the NCAA Final Four men’s
basketball tournament.
26 The Park Bulletin | Fall 2009