Summer Reading 2023

The summer reading can be found below. There is also a PDF version available.

Artwork by Mary Margaret Murphy
Artwork by: Mary Margaret Murphy

Resource Page

Scan the QR code to access a website that has links to this booklet, free PDFs of each mandatory title, audio of the books on Youtube, other resources for finding books, and recommended reading lists from the American Library Association.

Scan the QR code
 

Auburn Middle School

Summer Reading 2023

Summer Reading

It’s been another extraordinary school year, and students are eager for some well-deserved rest and relaxation this summer. It is important, however, to remember that children of all ages need to read during the summer months. On average, students lose two months of reading skills over the summer. It is our focus to motivate students to create and support their own reading culture, thereby offering them greater opportunities for success in their lives. Students should read for about 30 minutes daily year-round. Research studies show that children who read on an almost daily basis develop much higher academic success rates than those who do not, leading to increased potential for personal choice and success as they grow.

This booklet outlines the requirements for each grade level along with expectations of what is required of students at the start of the school year. Every student will be required to read only ONE book—a mandatory title per grade level. We are providing a list of recommended titles by grade level for students who wish to go beyond the required reading, but they are not mandatory. We believe this list will appeal to our students in terms of genre, interest, and reading level. All novels on this list are deemed grade-level appropriate. However, students are not limited to this list if they wish to read more than one book.

Both Amazon and Barnes and Noble have a variety of paperback, ebook, and audiobook versions of the required titles for sale and delivery. If you or your child has a library card, you can borrow ebooks and audiobooks for free on any device through the Libby app.

Students are also encouraged to practice keyboarding skills over the summer to ensure they can effectively type on their iPads during the school year. Being able to type the recommended words per minute will also help students during the computer-based MCAS testing in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and 8th-grade Science.

Recommended Typing Speed and Accuracy:
Grade     WPM     Accuracy
6             30          90%
7             35          90%
8             40          90%

The following website is a great resource for practice: www.typingclub.com

Happy Summer Reading!

Students Entering Grade 6

* All 6th-grade students MUST read a total of ONE book for summer reading.

Mandatory 6th Grade Title (all students entering sixth grade are required to read)
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

  • You will take a multiple-choice quiz on Out of My Mind during the first month of school.
  • You may use any notes you took or the novel itself. Notes are not required and will not be graded, but may be helpful.

Recommended Titles For Enjoyment (Not required reading):
If you want to challenge yourself or if you’re looking for other great books to read, the 6th-grade teachers suggest the titles below.

Nonfiction:

  1. Little Monsters: The Creatures That Live On Us and In Us by Albert Marrin
  2. Stealing Home: The Story of Jackie Robinson by Barry Denenberg
  3. Lincoln’s Grave Robbers by Steve Sheinkin
  4. Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Roslyn Schanzer
  5. DK Life Stories: Gandhi by Diane Bailey
     

Realistic Fiction:

  1. I Funny: A Middle School Story by James Patterson
  2. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
  3. Ungifted by Gordon Korman
  4. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos
  5. Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
     

Fantasy Fiction:

  1. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
  2. The Last Kids on Earth (Last Kids on Earth Series #1) by Max Brallier
  3. The Unwanteds (Unwanteds Series #1) by Lisa McCann
  4. The Secret of Zoom by Lynne Jonell
  5. The Prisoner of Cell 25 (Michael Vey Series #1) by Richard Paul Evans
     

Students Entering Grade 7

*All 7th-grade students MUST read a total of ONE book.

Mandatory 7th Grade Title (all students entering seventh grade are required to read)
The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

  • You will take an open-book and note multiple-choice quiz on ….when you return to school in August.
  • You must be able to participate in a class discussion of the novel (book club-style) during the first full week of the year. You will be assessed on your participation. You may use any notes you took and/or the novel itself. Notes are not required and will not be graded, but may be helpful.

Recommended Titles For Enjoyment (Not required reading):
If you want to challenge yourself or if you’re looking for other great books to read, the 7th-grade teachers suggest the titles below.

  1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
  2. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
  3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
  4. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein
  5. Hero by Mike Lupica
  6. Outcasts United by Warren St. John
  7. The Greatest: Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Myers
  8. Counting by 7’s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
  9. I Never Had It Made (an autobiography) by Jackie Robinson with Alfred Duckett
  10. The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander (or any Kwame Alexander novel)
  11. Frankie & Bug by Gayle Forman
  12. Race to the Bottom of the Earth by Rebeca E. F. Barone
  13. Freestyle by Gale Galligan

Students Entering Grade 8

*All 8th-grade students MUST read a total of ONE book.

Mandatory 8th Grade Title (all students entering grade eight are required to read)
The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall

  • You will take an open-book and note multiple-choice quiz on The Seventh Most Important Thing when you return to school in August.
  • You must be able to participate in a class discussion of the novel (book club-style) during the first full week of the year. You will be assessed on your participation. You may use any notes you took or the novel itself. Notes are not required and will not be graded, but may be helpful.

Recommended Titles For Enjoyment (Not required reading):
If you want to challenge yourself or if you’re looking for other great books to read, the 8th-grade teachers suggest the titles below.

Fiction

  1. The Giver by Lois Lowry
  2. Scythe (Arc of a Scythe Series #1) by Neil Shusterman
  3. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
  4. The Kate in Between by Claire Swinarski
  5. The Chronicles of Deltovia by Olivia Jaimes
  6. The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat
  7. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  8. Killing Time by Matthew Watson (also includes history!)
  9. Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes
  10. Worser by Jennifer Ziegler
  11. The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K Garrity and Christopher Baldwin
  12. Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriela Epstein

    Nonfiction
  13. March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
  14. Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
  15. Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steve Sheinkin
  16. The Woman All Spies Fear by Amy Butler Greenfield

Audio Stories
Gen Z Media makes engaging podcasts for children and young adults. Visit https://gzmshows.com/shows/ to listen to any of the innovative shows they provide.

Suggestions for Note-Taking
“If I read the books in June, I won’t remember what I read…”
We hear this every year, so take notes! Notes will NOT be collected and graded, HOWEVER, you can use them on the quiz and class discussions. You may also want to wait until closer to the end of the summer to read the book so it is fresh in your mind. You can take notes any way that you want, but two-column note format will work well for the suggestions below:

  • Write down each character’s name as he/she is introduced and describe each one. As you read, indicate the importance of each character in the book.
  • Identify main ideas by chapter.
  • Identify story elements of the novel—genre, setting, characters, conflict, climax, resolution, theme, etc.
  • Summarize what happens in the book. What are the important conflicts? Note a few statements or ideas that are noteworthy or meaningful. Include page numbers.
  • Annotate (highlight and make notes) if you own the book. Look for passages that are surprising, important, confusing, main ideas, or anything you think would be a good talking point. Write your reactions in the margin.


Artwork by: Saoirse Nee

See you next year!


Artwork by: Aislinn O'Donnell