Wooster School - John D. Verdery Library

  Lower School Summer Reading

Grades K – 3

Over the summer, in preparation for the new school year, students are strongly encouraged to read, read, and still read some more! Given the wide range of reading abilities in kindergarten through third grade, the teachers are not designating one book for the whole grade. We expect students to use what they know about themselves as readers and employ the strategies practiced in class to choose ‘just right’ texts for their summer enjoyment.  If parents would like some suggestions for their particular young reader, the classroom teachers would be happy to help provide some appropriate titles.

In addition to students reading independently, we encourage families to continue the practice of reading aloud to children.  This shared experience teaches much about reading; that reading is an enjoyable experience, that the text is the same each time the story is read aloud, and that the pictures and the text work together to tell the story. As many children become emergent readers, parents often wonder if those special shared moments of reading together are now at an end.  Reading aloud to children continues to be vitally important long after the child has grown into fluency. Reading aloud fosters special together time with your child, and as a result it promotes the idea that learning to read is worth the effort.  Research has shown that this shared experience, especially with familiar text, is rich in literacy learning for young children.   For recommended read alouds – as Nancy Woodward would say, “Ask a Librarian.

Grade 4

Incoming fourth grade students are expected to read:

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Grade 5

Incoming fifth grade students are expected to read one of the following books:

Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse

Dragonwings by Laurence Yep

A Place for Joey by Carol Flynn Harris

Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff