To help in choosing books that can promote reading growth, this year each child’s 2009 English SOL score will include a Lexile Level. The Lexile Level is based on a student’s SOL score on the English portion of the SOL and approximates his/her reading level. This means a child should be able to read and understand books in a Lexile range of approximately 100 points below to 50 points above the designated score.

 

Knowing a child’s Lexile range can help to locate books that he/she might enjoy reading. Student interest and motivation for reading books that are age appropriate are critical factors to consider as book choices are made. Remember that nothing replaces conversation with the student, his teachers, and librarians in making great choices.

 

It is important to note that the Lexile measure does not address the content or quality of the book. Many other factors affect the relationship between a reader and a book, including its content, the age and interests of the reader, and the design of the actual book. The Lexile measure is a good starting point in the book-selection process, but parents should always consider these other factors when making a decision about which book to choose.

 

 

The purpose of the PWCS Summer Reading Program is to encourage students to enjoy quality literature and to continue developing their independent reading skills. Student participation in the program is voluntary. Students who choose to participate in the program are required to complete a minimum number of readings over the summer.

Students participating in the program will complete a list of books read. The documentation is to include the name of the author, the title of the book, and a parent or guardian statement that the student has completed the reading.  

For students who participate in Prince William County Public Library's Summer Reading Program, the Public Library documentation will apply.

 

Students in Kindergarten-second grade will receive an extra S+ for each book completed, for a total of five.  Students in grades 3-5 will receive 3 A’s for the minimum of three books read.

Completion of the summer reading will be recorded for students by the end of the second week of school.

 

The following titles are suggestions for summer reading. Other books selected by the student with guidance from a parent/guardian and/or librarian are also acceptable. Participation in the PWC Public Library Summer Reading Program and its documentation are also acceptable.

 

Here are a few annotations for some books suggested for our Summer Reading Program. Please do not feel that these books are preferred or required simply because they are annotated. Students should feel free to read books by the suggested authors or in the genres or content areas that interest them.

 

 

Choose any book by Norman Bridwell such as:

Clifford : the Big Red Dog: 170 Lexile. Emily Elizabeth tells the pros and cons of having a big red dog like Clifford for a pet. Clifford the Small Red Puppy:300 Lexile. Emily Elizabeth tells how Clifford, a small red puppy grows up to be a big, red dog. Clifford’s First School Day: 440 Lexile. As a small puppy, Clifford the red dog goes to school with Emily Elizabeth and gets into trouble during the events of the day.

 

Choose any book by Pat Hutchins such as:

Ten Red Apples: 290 Lexile. In rhyming verse, animals neigh, moo, oink, and quack as each eats a red apple from the farmer’s tree. Titch: Lexile 340 Lexile. Titch feels less left out as the smaller sibling when he plants a tiny seed that out grows his brother’s and sister’s plants.

 

Choose any book by Jan Brett such as:

The Hat: 440 Lexile. Lisa hangs her woolen clothes in the sun to get them ready for winter and a curious hedgehog gets a sock stuck on his head to the great amusement of the other forest animals. Gingerbread Baby: 430 Lexile. A boy and his mother bake a gingerbread baby that escapes from their oven and leads a crowd, hoping to eat it, on a wild chase.

 

Read any book by Donald Crews such as:

Freight Train: NP Lexile The story of a colorful train as it journeys over the land. School Bus: BR Lexile Records the day of a school bus as it brings students to school and home again.

 

Choose any story by Leo Lionni such as:

Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse: 490 Lexile. Alexander, a real mouse, makes friends with Willy, a toy mouse and wants to be exactly like Willy until he discovers some important news. Frederick: 500 Lexile What Frederick, the mouse poet, stores up for winter is just as important as the food the other mice have gathered. 

 

Choose any book by Ann Cameron such as:

The Stories Julian Tells: 520 Lexile. The story of seven year old Julius as he plants a garden, tries to grow taller, loses a tooth and gets in trouble with Huey, his younger brother. The Stories Huey Tells: 470 Lexile Related episodes where Huey creates banana spaghetti, tracks animals and leaves on a trip to Africa.

 

 

Read any book by Cynthia Rylant such as:

The Henry and Mudge series, 300-400 Lexiles,depending on the book, where Henry and his dog Mudge have interesting adventures; the High-Rise Private Eyes series,150-250 Lexile, where animal detectives solve mysterious cases; or the Mr. Putter and Tabby series,400-500 Lexile, where Mr. Tabby and his cat Tabby have adventures in their neighborhood.

 

Select any book by Kevin Henkes such as:

Sheila Rae the Brave: 440 Lexile, Sheila thinks she is braver than her little sister until the day they get lost. Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse: 540 Lexile Lily loves her purse and her teacher until one day when the quarters in her purse cause her teacher to become upset.

 

Choose any book by Mary Pope Osborne such as:

The Magic Tree House series where Jack and Annie take a magic tree house on dangerous adventures back in time or to far away places. 300-500 Lexile

 

Select any book by Steven Kellogg such as:

The Pinkerton series where Pinkerton, a large dog, gets into more than his share of trouble.300 Lexile

 

Choose any book by Suzy Kline such as:

The Horrible Harry series which follows the adventures of second grader Horrible Harry as he gets into and out of trouble in Ms Mackie’s classroom. 400-500 Lexile.

Choose any book by Beverly Cleary such as:

Muggie Maggie: 730 Lexile. Maggie refuses to learn cursive writing in the third grade until she realizes the benefits of this new skill. Beezus and Ramona:  780 Lexile.Four year-old Ramona has an imagination that tries the patience of everyone around her, especially her older sister, Beezus.

Select any book by Paula Danzinger such as:

I, Amber Brown: 600 Lexile. Amber Brown feels like a piece of property jointly owned by her divorced parents. Amber Brown is Not a Crayon:720 Lexile. Third grade is a sad year for Amber because her best friend Justin is moving to another state.

 

Choose any book by Dan Gutman such as:

My Weird School series 600-700 Lexile where A. J. and his friends encounter strange teachers and principals.

 

Read any book by Emily Rodda such as the Deltora Quest series,650-750 Lexile, where Lief and Barda search for the seven lost stones of the Belt of Deltora, hoping to rid their land of the evil Shadow Lord, who has enslaved Deltora's people and hidden the stones in the most dangerous places in the kingdom.

Select any book by Andrew Clements such as:

The Landry News: a Brand New School Story: 950 Lexile. A fifth grade student starts a newspaper with an editorial that inspires her burnt-out teacher to really begin teaching again. Room One: a Mystery or Two:840 Lexile. Tom Hammond, the only sixth grader in his small Nebraska town’s one-room school house, tries to help a homeless family in distress. The Report Card 700 Lexile. Fifth-grader Nora Rowley has always hidden the fact that she is a genius from everyone because all she wants is to be normal, but when she comes up with a plan to prove that grades are not important, things begin to get out of control.

 

Select any book by Roald Dahl such as:

Matilda: 840 Lexile.  Matilda uses her mental powers to rid her school of the evil, child-hating headmistress and restore her sweet teacher, Miss Honey, to financial security. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:810 Lexile. Five children, lucky enough to hold a winning ticket, spend the day in the mysterious Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory with varying degrees of success.

 

 Read any book from the series How to Train your Dragon 980-1050 Lexile by Cressida Cowell which relay the hilarious adventures and misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third as he tries to pass the important initiation test of his Viking clan, the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, by catching and training a dragon.