Summer Enrichment

All students at OCS in grades 1-12 have summer reading assignments. Below is  the reading lists per grade level for the 2023-24 school year.

Summer Reading 2023

We have revamped some of our summer reading this year, to allow for contemporary novels that interest our students as well as some classics. In addition, we have added selections that appeal to those who like action adventure and others that appeal to those who like history and drama. All of the books have been read by teachers and administrators and are age-appropriate and on Lexile level for average students.

As always, we encourage parents to also read the book. If you are uncomfortable with a selection, contact the teacher for an alternate assignment – but please do so during June to allow the student time to finish the new book.

Grades 1-4 – no particular book is required for students in grades 1-4 but they may read a book of their choice (one that has not been assigned or read in class) and report on the book in class the first week of school for an extra grade in reading. Teachers will provide information on the assignment on the first day of school.

Grades 5-7 – students will read the book assigned for their class and will take a comprehension test on the book the first week of school. Comprehension tests are multiple choice, true/false, or matching and focus on characters and the plot. The book will also be discussed in class after the initial test and an additional in-class writing assignment will be administered.

• 5th grade – The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
• 6th grade – Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
• 7th grade – Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

Grade 8 – students in 8th grade may choose either Mapping the Bones by Jane Yolen or the Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The testing procedures are the same as grades 5-7. These books both deal with the Holocaust.

Grades 9-12 – students in regular English classes may choose one book from the grade-level selections but honors/DE students must read two books. Again, a comprehension test will be given the first week of school on each book with a written assignment in class after discussion. Please note that there are movies for some of the books and those movies do NOT follow the storyline of the novels. Note that there is a contemporary novel and a literary classic choice at each grade level.

• Grade 9 – Lord of the Flies by William Golding and The Maze Runner by James Dashner
• Grade 10 – Animal Farm by George Orwell and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Grade 11 – Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• Grade 12 – Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (mature themes), Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, or 1984 by George Orwell