The PACS reading program is designed to promote the love of reading while maintaining or advancing the student’s current reading level and cognitive skills. Assignments are meant to be academic in nature, developmentally appropriate, and student-manageable.
High School AP and Dual Enrollment Summer Assignments
Lower School 2019 Summer Reading List
Middle School 2019 Summer Reading List
High School 2019 Summer Reading List
About PACS Summer Reading
Research proves students who read during the summer break period will increase fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. According to one three-year study “children who do not read in the summer lose two to three months of reading development while kids who do read tend to gain a month of reading proficiency. This creates a three to four-month gap every year. Every two or three years the kids who don’t read in the summer fall a year behind the kids who do” (“Summer” 1).
Book lists are provided as a compilation of engaging and well-written stories that represent a variety of genres. Many of the selections complement the PACS history curriculum. While we endeavor to choose books that are representative of appropriate content, age level, and maturity, teachers recommend each family research the suggested selections. You may find sites such as www.squeakycleanreviews.com, www.commonsensemedia.org, or www.thrivingfamily.com helpful as you discern the best publication for your student.
Assignments are based on the revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy called A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing, a classification system used to define and distinguish different levels of human cognition; this revised version classifies cognitive skills as Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating, in that order. One way PACS addresses the development of increased cognitive skills is through written expression. Beginning in third grade, students are assigned a writing component through which they demonstrate understanding and analysis of the text.
One key to student success is ensuring the student’s reading level, comprehension ability, and the difficulty level of the text are aligned. One quick way to assess whether a book is at the appropriate level is to use the “five finger rule.” The student should choose a book that he or she wants to read. Open to any page and begin reading. As the child comes to words he can’t pronounce or doesn’t understand, put up a finger. If the reader puts up five fingers, put the book back. It’s too hard.
“How to Make Summer Reading Effective.” National Summer Learning Association. 14 Nov. 2014. Web 4 Feb. 2015. http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.summerlearning.org/resource/collection/CB94AEC5-9C97-496F-B230-1BECDFC2DF8B/Research_Brief_03_-_Kim.pdf
Lower School Grade (Specific Objectives)
In 1st and 2nd grades, students are required to read at least twenty books over the summer break. The goal for these students is to read frequently, thus increasing familiarity with words and increasing comprehension skills. The goal of the summer reading program for first and second graders is to maintain or increase the student’s end-of-year reading level. Students and parents will complete a chart in which they record at least twenty books from the school list.
By 3rd grade, students have mastered basic reading skills and can read independently. These students have also become more proficient in writing skills, and that proficiency is demonstrated in the summer reading assessment. Rising 3rd-grade students will read two books from the summer list over the summer break. Students will write a paragraph about each book. Each response is considered an individual writing assignment, and each response will receive a separate grade.
Rising 4th and 5th-grade students will read two books from the summer list over the summer break. Students will write a paragraph about each book. Each response is considered an individual writing assignment, and each response will receive a separate grade.
Middle School Grade (Specific Objectives)
As students transition from elementary school to middle school, they read increasingly difficult texts and begin to analyze those texts through personal connections and relationships. Students recognize important textual passages and articulate connections as they quote texts then chose a response based on giving prompts such as “This character reminds me of…” or “I agree with this character’s decision because…” Many middle school texts are listed to complement the history curriculum.