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Monday, June 16, 2008
 

Our Summer Reading Program


Our family loves to read, but one thing that is lacking in our reading repertoire is a good dose of classic literature. I’m busy reviewing popular YA and children’s fiction and curriculum for our website, and my boys tend to gravitate to book series and fantasies So, to stretch our literary experience, I’ve put together a classy list of books for the boys (and me) to read over the summer. As no reading program is complete without an incentive, I am paying them a penny a page. They can’t collect any money until they have written a brief book report and have passed an informal oral quiz on the book’s content. And, they can collect an extra 75 cents if they list and define ten unfamiliar words from the book. I also set up a cute “book nook” area for them with a basket chock full of some of the books on their list. And, they were given a $10 gift card to Barnes and Noble to help them kick things off (which they spent within hours of receiving).

If they tackle a good portion of the reading list, they will have accumulated about $100 each, but most importantly, will have gained a priceless addition to their education.

See below for our 2008 Homeschoolbuzz.com summer reading list.


Book report guidelines


Title read:
Author:
Pages read:
Date completed:

Book report: Include basic plot summary, interesting characters, morals or things learned, and overall impressions of the book. Should be between 25-75 words.

Rate book: 0-5 stars (0=bad, 5=outstanding)

Also, list 10 words you read that were new to you, include the definition (brief) worth an extra 75 cents.

You should write daily in your journal, include progress or notes on your reading (or a word definition, or write about ideas, feelings, special events, etc.

Homeschoolbuzz.com Summer reading list for advanced 6th grade readers and up


*
Hamlet By Shakespeare*,
Romeo and Juliet
Count of Monte Cristo*
Poems
Tales of Mystery and Imagination
Across Five Aprils
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights
Treasure Island
The Hound of the Baskervilles
A Boy’s War
Calico Captive
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl*
Number the Stars
Good-Bye, Mr. Chips,
The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day
How Green Was My Valley*
In His Steps
The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1)
The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, Book 2)
The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, Book 3)
Rascal
The Miracle Worker
The Moonstone*
An American Plague
Lincoln: A Photo-biography
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Onion John
The Last of the Mohicans*(or other selections)
Gulliver’s Travels* by Swift, Jonathon (314 pages)
And Then There Were None*
Watership Down*
Profiles in Courage*
Hunchback of Notre-Dame* by Hugo, Victor 
Les Misérables*
Ivanhoe*
The Once and Future King*
To Kill a Mockingbird*
King Solomon's Mines*
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (The Wolves Chronicles)
Old Yeller
Gentle Ben

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Comments:
Those are some great books. And a great reading program! My mom would let us earn rides at amusement parks for the number of books we read. I only have a newborn, but I'm excited to do these kinds of things when she is older.
 
The guys just might use some of the money they earn at the amusement park! (I'm encouraging them to save too.) We finished week one, and between the three of them, they earned just under $10. Not a bad start!
 
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