Summer Reading List for incoming 6th Graders
	Dear Incoming Sixth Graders, Have a wonderful summer! I’m eagerly anticipating a wonderful year with you this coming school year in English. In order to keep your reading skills and interest revved up over the summer, you are required to read one novel. You are expected to come to the first day of class with the book thoroughly read and with literary notes (see below) completed. I do not collect the notes; however, these notes will be of great value during class discussions and in learning new literary terms and concepts. The required book, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, can be purchased at your local bookstore, ordered online, or checked-out from the local library. If you do not buy them, please remember you are expected to have them in class for the first two months of school. Thank you, and enjoy the literary journey! Warmly, Mrs. Hansen Summer Reading List The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi (female protagonist) CHARACTERS Please take notes on the following:  A)For the novel, identify/describe the protagonist (the main character that faces the major conflicts and growth) by name, age (if known), personality, challenges faced, changes/growth in his or her life over the course of the novel.    B)For the novel also identify/describe the antagonist (This is the person or thing causing the major problems or conflicts for the protagonist). As you will soon learn, the antagonist is not always a person.    SETTING For the novel, take notes on the setting, including the time and place (country, town, city, village, etc.). If the time period isn’t specific, but seems to be present or modern-day, you may call it “present/modern day.” However, if the year is known, please include it. Be sure to notice how/if the setting influences the plot. (The weather, the time of day, the time period, people’s beliefs, customs, laws, etc.)   PLOT For the novel, take notes on the beginning, middle, and the end of the story, noting the most exciting part(s) of the plot. When school begins, we will study the plot structure in detail (exposition, inciting incident, rising action, turning point, climax, falling action, denouement). Please bring all of your work with you the first day of school.    A Note about Notes: Also, if you buy the book, and your parents allow it, writing notes within the margins of the book, underlining words, circling passages, etc. is recommended. This will help you easily recall details as we re-visit the novels in the fall. We will be using this method with some of our in-class novels later in the year.   Remember, taking notes is not about doing extra work. It’s about helping you to learn the material and avoid doing extra work in the end.