Summer Reading for Rising Middle School Students

FYI: the following is a message from ARMS 
Below is the ARMS Summer Reading List for 2016.  You can also access it through this link: ARMS Summer Reading List 2016 Link   It is also available at the ARMS website at arms.arps.org
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ARMS Summer Reading List 2016
Dear families of rising 7th and 8^th grade students,

The Amherst Regional Middle School English Department and Library are excited and pleased to announce this summer’s summer reading expectations!
During the school year Independent Reading is a major and much-loved part of the English Language Arts curriculum. We believe that Independent Reading:

• Develops good, regular reading habits.
• Nurtures stamina.  Staying with a book requires concentration, something increasingly lacking in our high-tech culture.
• Is a way to pull back from the (at times) social craziness of middle school.
• Escaping into the world of a book builds empathy when you see beyond yourself and beyond the present moment (so important for our preadolescents).  
• Allows students to see that there is power for seeing oneself in literature—you are not alone.
• Builds community by sharing good reads and talking about books together.
• Helps you solve problems with exposure to characters and situations that are new and different.
• Builds vocabulary.
• Creates better readers.  Better readers make better writers, speakers, thinkers and communicators.

It seems natural to extend Independent Reading into the summertime; research shows that students’ skills can regress when they do not read over the summer.  
We, your ARMS English teachers and librarian, cannot wait to get started on our lists of summer books and encourage you to read all summer!  Bring a book to read with you wherever you go this summer: Puffer’s Pond, Mill River, downtown, camp, or on vacation.  For the reasons above, we expect all rising 7th and 8^th grade students to read at least the equivalent of 2 books over the summer.   Of course, as people who love books, we encourage students to read MORE than two books. These can be:

• 2 books or more you are interested in reading
• In place of two books, read many magazines, newspapers, stories, and poems

If you are looking for great reading suggestions, our ARMS librarian, Peter Riedel, has compiled and attached a list of excellent, current adolescent literature as well as some classic titles.
This summer reading letter and the list of book ideas with short synopses can be found on the ARMS website.  Local libraries, too, are ready to help you discover great summer reads.
In the fall, your 7th or 8th grade English teacher will be asking you about the best books you read this summer to kick off the new year’s Independent Reading. Happy reading!
Any questions? 
Contact English Curriculum Leader Heather Sullivan-Flynn at Sullivan-FlynnH@arps.org
You are free to choose any 2 books you want to fulfill Amherst Regional Middle School's summer reading expectation, but here is a list of recommended and popular titles to help you make a choice.
Award Winners for Middle School Readers from 2016
(John Newbery Medal, Michael L. Printz Award, Pura Belpre Award, Coretta Scott King Book Award, Stonewall Book Awards, Schneider Family Book Award, Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award)

• All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
• The Boy in the Black Suit, by Jason Reynolds
• The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club, by Phillip Hoose
• Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans, written and illustrated by Don Brown
• Echo, by Pam Muñoz Ryan
• Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir, by Margarita Engle
• George, by Alex Gino
• The Ghosts of Heaven, by Marcus Sedgwick
• Gone Crazy in Alabama, by Rita Williams-Garcia
• Hoodoo, by Ronald L. Smith
• Roller Girl, written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson
• Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March, by Lynda Blackmon Lowery
• The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
• X: A Novel, by Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon

Most-Read Titles at Amherst Regional Middle School

• Cherub Series, by Robert Muchamore
• The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series, by Jeff Kinney
• Divergent Series, by Veronica Roth
• I'll Give You the Sun, by Jandy Nelson
• The Iron Trial, by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
• Keep Holding On, by Susane Colasanti
• Leviathan Series by Scott Westerfeld
• Matched Series, by Ally Condie
• Maximum Ride : The Manga Series, by James Patterson and NaRae Lee
• The Maze Runner Series, by James Dashner
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
• Morality Doctrine Series, by James Dashner
• The Ranger’s Apprentice Series by John Flanagan
• Sisters, by Raina Telgemeier
• Smile, by Raina Telgemeier
• This One Summer, by Mariko Tamaki
• Wonder, by R.J. Palacio

New and Old “Classics” for Middle School Readers

• 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
• Call of the Wild, by Jack London
• The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
• Dune, by Frank Herbert
• Emma, by Jane Austen
• Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolien
• Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne
• White Fang, by Jack London
• The Red Pony, by John Steinbeck

Poets and Poetry

• Maya Angelou (1928 -2014 ) Maya Angelou: Poetry for Young People, Carlson, Lori M. (editor)
• Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States
• Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) Emily Dickinson: Poetry for Young People
• Robert Frost (1874-1963) You Come Too: Favorite Poems for Young Readers
• Nikki Giovanni (1943- )Vacation Time
• J. Patrick Lewis ( 1942 - )When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders
• Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry for Young People
• Joyce Sidman (1956 - ) What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms & Blessings

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ARMS Lectura de Verano 2016 
Estimados familias de ascendente estudiantes de 7º y 8º grado,
El Departamento de Inglés y Biblioteca de la Escuela Intermedia Regional de Amherst-Pelham  están emocionados y contentos de anunciar las expectativas de lectura de verano de este verano!
Durante el año escolar lectura independiente es una parte importante y un amado plan de estudios de Artes del Idioma Inglés. Creemos que la lectura independiente:

▪ Desarrolla buenos hábitos de lectura, regulares.

▪ Nutre resistencia. Permanecer con un libro requiere concentración, algo que falta en nuestra cultura cada vez más alta en tecnología.

▪ Es una manera de retirarse de la (a veces) la locura social de la escuela intermedia.

▪ Escapar en el mundo de un libro genera empatía cuando se ve a sí mismo más allá y más allá del momento presente (tan importante para nuestros preadolescentes).

▪ Permite a los estudiantes ver que hay energía para verse a sí mismo en la literatura, que no están solos.

▪ Construye comunidad compartiendo buenas lecturas y hablando de libros juntos.

▪ Les ayuda a resolver problemas con la exposición a personajes y situaciones que son nuevas y diferentes.

▪ Construye vocabulario.

▪ Crea mejores lectores. Mejores lectores hacen mejores escritores, oradores, pensadores y comunicadores.

Parece natural extender lectura independiente en el verano; las investigaciones muestran que las habilidades de los estudiantes pueden remitir cuando no leen durante el verano.
Nosotros, los profesores de inglés y bibliotecario de ARMS, no podemos esperar para empezar a trabajar en nuestras listas de libros de verano y le animamos a leer todo el verano. Lleve un libro para leer con usted dondequiera que vaya este verano: charca de Puffer, Mill River, en el centro del pueblo, campamento, o de vacaciones. Por las razones anteriores, esperamos que todo ascendente estudiantes de 7o y 8º grado a leer al menos el equivalente a 2 libros durante el verano. Por supuesto, como personas que aman los libros, animamos a los estudiantes a leer más de dos libros. Estos pueden ser:

▪ 2 o más libros que usted está interesado en leer

▪ En lugar de dos libros, leer muchas revistas, periódicos, historias, y poemas

Si usted está buscando grandes propuestas de lectura, nuestro bibliotecario de ARMS, Peter Riedel, ha compilado y se adjunta una lista de excelente literatura para el adolescente actual, así como algunos títulos clásicos.
Esta carta de lectura de verano y la lista de ideas para libros con sinopsis cortas se pueden encontrar en la página web de ARMS. Las bibliotecas locales, también, están listas para ayudarle a descubrir grandes lecturas de verano.
En el otoño, el 7º u 8º grado maestro de Inglés estará haciendo preguntas acerca de los mejores libros que leyó este verano para dar inicio a la lectura independiente del nuevo año escolar. ¡Feliz lectura!
¿Alguna pregunta?
Contacte a  Heather Sullivan-Flynn, Líder del Currículo de Inglés a Sullivan-FlynnH@arps.org
Usted es libre de elegir cualquiera de los 2 libros que desea para cumplir con las expectativas de lectura de verano de Escuela Intermedia Regional de Amherst-Pelham, pero aquí hay una lista de títulos recomendados y populares para ayudarle a tomar una decisión.
Ganadores del Premio de Lectores de Intermedia del 2016
(Medalla Newbery, Premio Michael L. Printz, Premio Pura Belpre, Premio libro Coretta Scott King, Stonewall Book Award, Premio Libro de Familia Schneider, Premio Robert F. Sibert libro Informativo)

• All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
• The Boy in the Black Suit, by Jason Reynolds
• The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club, by Phillip Hoose
• Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans, written and illustrated by Don Brown
• Echo, by Pam Muñoz Ryan
• Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir, by Margarita Engle
• George, by Alex Gino
• The Ghosts of Heaven, by Marcus Sedgwick
• Gone Crazy in Alabama, by Rita Williams-Garcia
• Hoodoo, by Ronald L. Smith
• Roller Girl, written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson
• Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March, by Lynda Blackmon Lowery
• The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
• X: A Novel, by Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon

Los títulos más leídos en la Escuela Intermedia Regional de Amherst

• Cherub Series, by Robert Muchamore
• The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series, by Jeff Kinney
• Divergent Series, by Veronica Roth
• I'll Give You the Sun, by Jandy Nelson
• The Iron Trial, by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
• Keep Holding On, by Susane Colasanti
• Leviathan Series by Scott Westerfeld
• Matched Series, by Ally Condie
• Maximum Ride : The Manga Series, by James Patterson and NaRae Lee
• The Maze Runner Series, by James Dashner
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
• Morality Doctrine Series, by James Dashner
• The Ranger’s Apprentice Series by John Flanagan
• Sisters, by Raina Telgemeier
• Smile, by Raina Telgemeier
• This One Summer, by Mariko Tamaki
• Wonder, by R.J. Palacio

Nuevos y viejos "clásicos" para los lectores de la Escuela Intermedia

• 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
• Call of the Wild, by Jack London
• The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
• Dune, by Frank Herbert
• Emma, by Jane Austen
• Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolien
• Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne
• White Fang, by Jack London
• The Red Pony, by John Steinbeck

Poetas y Poesía

• Maya Angelou (1928 -2014 ) Maya Angelou: Poetry for Young People, Carlson, Lori M. (editor)
• Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States
• Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) Emily Dickinson: Poetry for Young People
• Robert Frost (1874-1963) You Come Too: Favorite Poems for Young Readers
• Nikki Giovanni (1943- )Vacation Time
• J. Patrick Lewis ( 1942 - )When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders
• Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry for Young People
• Joyce Sidman (1956 - ) What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms & Blessings