middle school summer reading assignment

Summer Reading

NEST+m is a community of readers. Each summer, our students receive grade-specific reading assignments. Please see the information below for Lower, Middle and Upper Grades summer reading assignments. All books have been carefully chosen by our ELA teachers.

Before starting your assignment, please read the important information below:

“Books are sometimes windows , offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. Readers have only to [look] through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created and recreated by the author . 

[A book] can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience . 

Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation , and readers often seek their mirrors in books… 

[We] need books that will help them understand the multicultural nature of the world they live in, and their place as a member of just one group, as well as their connections to all other humans.”  

“ Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors ” (1990)

Upper Grades 9-12

Summer 2024 Assignment is still to be announced!

Last year's assignment:

Please see the Grades 9-12 Summer Reading Assignment

• Grade 9 reading list
• Grade 10 reading list
• Grades 11 & 12 reading list

Middle Grades 6-8

Please see the Summer Reading assignments for 2023 :

• 7th & 8th Grade

Summer reading assignments are due during the first week of ELA class. 

Lower Grades K-5

Please see our Summer 2023 Reading Assignments :

• Kindergarten does not have a Summer Reading assignment
• Grades 1 & 2
• Grades 3, 4 & 5

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• Resources / Summer Reading & Learning

Cool Summer Reading and Learning for Kids

by Susan Curtis · Published 03/31/2024 · Updated 05/07/2024

►At MiddleWeb check out Kasey Short’s 27 Tips to Boost Kids’ Reading This Summer which suggests you communicate with families, increase access to books, link students to public library summer programs, and more.

►Literacy mavens Brenda Krupp, Lynne Dorfman and Aileen Hower are more than excited about the possibilities of summer reading. Check out their many ideas for choice-based summer programs, including book swaps, virtual author visits, online clubs and more in their MiddleWeb article, Help Students Become Super Summer Readers.

►Also at MiddleWeb, Katie Durkin’s year-round practices for Planting the Seeds of Reading Enthusiasm are especially helpful as you prep kids for summer. Have you tried Instagram?

►The Horn Book’s intermediate and middle school summer reading lists of recent books for 2024 can take kids places both real and fictional.

►Librarians and teachers – and students – share what works and what doesn’t in summer reading in Carly Okyle’s SLJ post. Also see SLJ’s 2021 collection of lists.

Here’s  some excellent advice from a middle grades student, shared in an article at the What Kids Can Do website:

I think that if teachers are going to assign us books to read over the Summer… they should at least take the time to make it somewhat oh what’s the word yeah, FUN!! If they don’t it leaves kids with a feeling of not liking to read which I don’t agree with because I love to read, but all you need is an exciting or good book to really get you going! All I’m saying is READING SHOULD BE FUN FOR EVERYONE!!!” – by Mepride

Teachers have labored to  enliven summer reading  for decades. In a 1997 NCTE journal article, Florida middle school ELA teacher Gloria Pipkin, who later wrote books for Heinemann and edited for Scholastic in the 2000’s, noted the challenges (quoted in ReadWriteThink ):

Of course we want our students to read over the summer, but I’ve yet to be convinced that the typical summer reading assignment does much to extend love of reading or increase literary competence. There may be a handful of students who can’t wait to tackle our scintillating assignments on their summer vacation, but for the most part, summer reading assignments are regarded as a plague and a pox, even by avid readers, who much prefer choosing their own books.”

Building on Pipkin’s words, above, Franki Sibberson shares how to create that opportunity, describing her students’ book shares, the visits from public librarians, and the time provided during class for students to consider what types of books they would like to read over summer. She also invites students to write about their reading plans (and includes a link to the questions she offers them). Celebrating summer reading takes the form of kids snapping photos of their reading and sharing thoughts about it for bulletin board displays. No candy or stickers needed! Visit her Choice Literacy post for even more ideas.

Books They’ll Go For

For reading recommendations for younger kids , visit Reading Rockets , a project of WETA, and its Start with a Book collection of posts about summer reading .The site’s brief, lively write-ups feature fiction , nonfiction and poetry. Reading Rockets is also a great place to check for lists of award winning children’s books as well as themed book lists and Book Finder . Students who want to get a look at their favorite authors can visit Reading Rockets’ brief video interviews . This is a super site to recommend to parents and families, too.

Writing at Edutopia, Judy Willis MD shares some stealth tactics for parents to encourage summer reading. Here at MiddleWeb, Mike Fisher, a middle grades teacher turned literacy and tech integration consultant, suggests ways parents can involve their kids in reading and writing throughout the summer months – on their own and with family members. At his house, it’s Harry Potter time!

Students who are hankering for  online classics , written in English or in English translation, can visit the Library of Congress here .

Even More Lists!

For an easy handout or website feature, check the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) 2024 Summer Reading List for K-8. The list features books predominately published in the 2000’s. ALSC’s 2024 Dia List includes includes books in English and in Spanish. YALSA offers graphic novel lists in this 2023 list .

Want  more lists of award winning books ? Don’t miss the Cybils selected by KidLitosphere Central: The Society of Bloggers in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. The 2023 winners and nominees , announced in early 2024, join lists going back to 2006 (they’re arranged by genre and age).

Online Student Reading Challenges

Middle school and high school students may submit comments of up to 1500 characters on favorite NYT reads. Teachers are also allowed to submit student writing.

Students can access New York Times content through the Learning Network links – and there are lots of them – at no cost. Winners are featured at the Learning Network and its social media. The Learning Network includes lots of helpful guidance for teachers and parents.

Like some public library opportunities, such as those based on the  Collaborative Summer Library Program , this year called Adventure Begins at Your Library ,   Scholastic encourages kids to spent time reading as part of its summer challenge. Scholastic offers “a fun, safe, and completely free online destination where kids can create their own avatar, interact with their favorite Scholastic characters and authors, play games, and read books” as part of its Home Base summer.

Beyond Reading

Kids with computer access and/or lots of household clutter will find lots of anti-slide options this summer. Here’s a quick sampling.

The final bell of the year will soon ring, but teachers still have the opportunity to provide students with encouragement, tools, and an expectation to play, explore, and discover the world outside school. Curtis Chandler’s Prep Your Students Now for STEM Summer Fun overflows with STEM resources to do just that.

MiddleWeb STEM by Design blogger Anne Jolly knows summer time can be productive learning time. In Reinvent Summer Learning: Make It Up! , a letter to parents and caregivers, she shares fun ideas about Maker projects that encourage curiosity, creativity, persistence and teamwork. Resource links included.

Also kids can find a wide range of deep-dive answers to their “wonders” at the National Center for Families Learning’s Wonderopolis .

Kids can visit PBS LearningMedia for online learning across content areas and searchable by grade level.

Students who enjoy space and astronomy can browse the NASA page for 5th through 8th grade (and younger kids here ).

If you have found or created other resources that can help get kids reading and learning in Summer 2024, please share the links in the comments area on this page!

Photo credit above: Bogart the Cat by Elaine Vigneault Feature image by  Bente Jønsson  from  Pixabay  

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Tags: middle grades middle school summer learning summer reading summer slide

Susan Curtis

Susan Curtis is co-editor of MiddleWeb.com. In a long career, she has taught middle grades students, worked in human services, edited a variety of publications and wrangled the reference desk in libraries.

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For more information on summer reading and independent reading, check out the “Independent Reading” page on The Literacy Cookbook Website: http://www.literacycookbook.com/page.php?id=139

What a wonderful list! Sharing this widely!

Try some listening, not just reading, this summer. Listen Current is offering free summer access to their curated library of public radio stories. http://listencurrent.com/summer_listening We’ve also posted a summer listening list, great for middle and high school. http://blog.listencurrent.com/2015/06/summer-listening-list-2015/

Another helpful list of booklists is at http://successinthemiddle.org/reading-lists/

Listenwise posted another summer listening list for 2016 . Good for any time of year!

What a good compilation, Susan! Kids books by Carolyn DeCristofano are also “cool” reads. I particularly like”A Black Hole Is Not a Hole” and “Big Bang!” – well illustrated and understandable. Her website is http://www.carolyndecristofano.com

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Summer Reading 2024

• All students entering grades 6, 7, & 8 are expected to complete the appropriate summer reading assignment for their grade level. Summer reading is designed to keep students engaged and connected to school during the summer months. The assignment sets a minimum expectation for a student's reading. We certainly encourage and hope that students read many more books during the summer months. Teachers utilize the summer reading assignments and activities as a starting point in each student's language arts course. Students must meet the expectations in order to be prepared for in-class work and learning.   All summer reading assignments are listed below by grade level and can be found within the instructions. If you have difficulty accessing it, click "Print the activity."   As part of the summer reading assignment, all students will read one book in common. In addition to language arts, this book will be utilized in conjunction with our Advisory program. This year's choice is Unfriended by Rachel Vail.       

One School, One Book

What is one book, one school.

One book is selected, and the entire school community -- students, teachers, and parents (if they wish) -- reads that book. This year, SLMS is creating a shared reading experience across grades 6, 7, and 8 by reading Unfriended by Rachel Vail.

How will One School, One Book be used in the curriculum?

Throughout the school year, students will use this book in their Advisory groups to support lessons on acceptance, compassion, understanding, and the impact of our choices on ourselves and others. This novel centers around the themes of anti-bullying, forgiveness,unlikely friendships, and cybersafety.

What is our school’s One School, One Book selection?

Unfriended by Rachel Vail 

When Truly is invited to sit at the Popular Table with the group she has dreamed of joining, she can hardly believe her luck. Everyone seems so nice, so kind to one another. But all is not as it seems with her new friends, and soon she's caught in a storm of lies, misunderstandings, accusations and counter-accusations, all happening very publicly in the relentless, hyperconnected social media world from which there is no escape.

Incoming Eighth Grade

Read the instructions, print the activity (pdf), incoming seventh grade, incoming sixth grade.

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Westbury Middle School Summer Reading

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Reading Enhances Achievement During the Summer

Reading is so important - ALL of the time, especially during the Summer !

All students are required to read at LEAST 2 books during the summer. After reading - choose one book to complete an assignment to be submitted in September 2022. You can choose ANYTHING on your reading level or recommended by the public librarians or teachers. You are not limited to what is listed here - read what you love!

Use this website for the assignment, book recommendations, and information regarding the required reading.

What You Have to Read:

Incoming 6th grade will read One and Only Ivan and another book of your choice...

Incoming 7th grade will read Crossover and another book of your choice...

Incoming 8th grade will read Bronx Masquerade and another book of your choice...

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Summer Reading Assignments

Summer reading announcement march 22 - world water day.

Book Exchange during all lunches May 10 and 16 on the patio! Bring last summer's book and get this summer's book! If we don't have enough to trade, we will take your name and get the next book turned in to you!    

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