SUMMER READING PROGRAM
Dear Parents:
James Madison High School maintains high standards for its students. Our Summer Reading Programs are part of our high standards. We expect every student to read for their English and Social Studies classes and to return to school prepared to demonstrate their reading through tests and/or essays written during the first 5 – 10 days of class. The marks on the Summer Reading tests count on the report cards.
Educational research shows that reading and vocabulary are the two best predictors of success in school and in the business world. You, as parents, should do everything you can to support Summer Reading and make sure your child completes his or her Summer Reading assignment from this past summer and next summer.
In the spring we give our students a list of books for summer reading appropriate to their new grade levels. Most students have a choice of books to read. All of the books must be obtained by the students. We even hold a book fair at which the Summer Reading books are available. All Summer Reading materials are posted on the Madison website, www.madisonhs.org.
Summer Reading will be required again this summer (July and August, 2008) and will be tested in September, 2008.
Teachers permit students to make up summer reading they neglected, but with a lateness penalty and a deadline. Please make sure your youngster has completed the required Summer Reading. Your support for summer reading will help your youngster succeed.
If you have any questions about Summer Reading for the English Department, please feel free to call me at 718-758-7321.
Sincerely,
Michael N. Edelman
Assistant Principal
English Department
IMPORTANT FACTS
ALL MATERIALS FOR SUMMER READING SHOULD BE PRINTED FROM THE SCHOOL WEBSITE: WWW.MADISONHS.ORG
1. Choose your title from the list belonging to the program you will be in in September (usually the same program you are in now; you know if you have made a change).
2. You will be tested on the books you read. The test will be in the form of multiple choice questions and an essay. The fall semester begins with instruction in the essay and small group discussions about the books, including their literary elements..
Possibly by the end of the first week, but certainly by the end of the
second week, current Madison students will write a full-length essay about your book.
The essay will count as your first test.
3. It would probably be helpful to take some notes this summer. Some teachers will even give you extra credit for handing in your notes. To help, we are providing an optional Record of Summer Reading form on the website.
4. We are also providing on the website a sample list of critical lenses. The critical lens is a type of essay that is very popular and may be chosen for your class by your teacher. The list will help you get a feeling for that kind of essay.
5. Read for enjoyment, understanding and appreciation. You don't have to stop with the required book. It is always a good idea to look up words you don't know and find the meaning that fits the context of your book. A good reader gets in the habit of looking up words, but a good reader also finds the right balance for herself or himself between stopping to look up every word, on the one hand, and going back later to look them up, on the other hand. Usually it is best to keep the flow of your reading going, only stopping to look up the words you must learn in order to make sense of what you've read.
6. You may call our Parent Liaison, Mrs. Laraine Izzo, at 718-758-7359, with any questions about the summer reading program. All the branches of the Brooklyn Public Library will be notified about our Summer Reading Program, and also Barnes & Noble and Walden bookstores.
7. It is not necessary to buy the summer reading book, but it could be very helpful to buy it.
SPECIAL NOTE FOR ENTERING 9TH GRADERS
Welcome to Madison. Please read all of the material above and below. The summer reading program for entering 9th graders is the same as for all other Madison students except that your test and essay on your summer reading will be during the third week of the fall semester.
The Seven Habits of Proficient Readers
Read for entertainment, for information, for understanding. Whatever their purpose, really good readers are actively thinking about what they read, making meaning and asking questions. They naturally use the strategies described below.
Proficient Readers:
CREATE MENTAL IMAGES
picture people, places and events in their minds as they read
DETERMINE IMPORTANCE
think about why events and dialogue in the book are important
ASK QUESTIONS
wonder about what happened in the book: why, how, what will come next, etc.
MONITOR FOR MEANING
relate their ideas about the book to the new information they get as they
read further; confirm or modify their ideas as they read
MAKE INFERENCES
figure things out and come to conclusions from the evidence in the book; use
what they have read so far as a springboard to their own ideas about the
people and events in the book
SYNTHESIZE
pull together separate pieces of information or separate ideas to build a
bigger picture
ACTIVATE SCHEMA
use their knowledge to make connections from the book they are reading to:
other books, their own experiences, the world.