Mr. Chaffin’s
Summer Reading List
Incoming Sixth Graders
2009-2010
Welcome to the
incoming sixth grade class! To prepare
you for your studies at Classen School of Advanced Studies starting this fall,
be sure to read the following works during the course of this summer.
(HONORS AND VPA)
A classic tale of
adventure, this novel follows the adventures of the young Jim Hawkins as he
embarks on a treasure hunt on the high seas.
You will meet colorful characters such as Ben Gunn, Pew, the Captain,
and Long John Silver. Fans of the popular Pirates of the
Animal Farm by George Orwell
(HONORS AND VPA)
One of two great
novels by George Orwell, this work explores the nature of society and the place
of those within it through many animal characters: the stolid Boxer, the cynical Benjamin, the
sinister Napoleon, and many others. It
is full of hope, struggle, betrayal, and disillusion.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
(HONORS ENGLISH ONLY)
Often considered a
prequel to The Lord of the Rings,
this story stands by itself as a complete work.
In it you will meet a wizard, a dragon, dwarves, elves, goblins, trolls,
and many other figures of myth and fantasy.
The hobbit Bilbo Baggins is swept into an epic adventure to recover the
stolen treasure of the dwarves. In the
process he overcomes great dangers, finds a store of personal courage he never
knew he possessed, and finds a magical ring, a ring of infinitely greater
significance than he could possibly imagine.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
(VPA ONLY)
Alice is bored as
she sits by the river bank and is just about to pick some flowers when a White
Rabbit comes hurrying by. She doesn’t
think much about it until the creature pulls a watch out of his waistcoat
pocket. Most unusual!
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
(HONORS AND VPA)
There are few other
literary characters as well-known as Ebenezer Scrooge. This most famous of
Christmas stories centers around the reclamation of a man whose sole aim was
money and who made himself and all around him miserable. The cast of characters include the sickly and
crippled-but kind and charitable-Tiny Tim, his oppressed father Bob Cratchit, the unsettling ghost of Jacob Marley, and the
three spirits of Christmas: Christmas
Past, Christmas Present, and the terrifying Christmas Yet to Come.
POETRY
(HONORS AND VPA)
“The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes
“Sara Sylvia Cynthia Stout” by Shel
Silverstein
“The Bells” by
Edgar Allan Poe
SHORT STORIES
(HONORS AND VPA)
Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry
To Build a Fire by Jack London
By the Waters of
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by
SPEECHES
(HONORS AND VPA)
“I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The
It is important for
students to read as many of these works as they can over the course of the
summer. Feel free to use supplementary
materials-published guides and notes, movies, etc.-to make these works more
enjoyable and understandable. These are
all well-known works and should be readily available. It is
important that VPA students NOT READ The Hobbit, as it will be used in class.
EVALUATION:
Students will be
tested over the works during the first week of school. They will be given a choice of testing over
any two from each category: books, poetry, short stories, and speeches.