Dear Families,

As we enter the summer months, the staff at Carl Sandburg Middle School remains committed to helping every one of our students establish the skills, strategies, and habits of a lifelong reader. Just like with any skill, kids need to practice reading consistently in order to maintain and improve their capabilities. As students move through the summer, they often experience some level of reading “loss” if they are not actively reading on a regular basis. Research has shown that this loss of reading skill can be prevented by reading for at least 15-20 minutes a day, or around two hours per week.

It is with this knowledge that we have created the CSMS Summer Reading Program to help students maintain strong reading habits during the months out of school. Both the staff and students are required to read at least one book from the summer reading list but are always welcome to read more. All incoming 6th-grade students are asked to select a book from their grade-level list, read it, and then develop one question about the plot, theme, or author’s message. Once school is back in session, we will discuss the books during our Summer Reading Celebration and have a small battle of the books between classes using student developed questions.

Please review the book list and talk with your child about their choice. If you would like your child to read a different novel from the list, please have them do so. The 2022 Summer Reading List is included with this letter for you and your student to review. For more information on engaging students in learning over the summer and Sandburg’s Summer Reading Program, visit the Sandburg Library Learning Lab Website at https://sites.google.com/d75.org/librarylab/home

To support your child’s reading development, here are a few things you can do:

• Visit the Fremont Public Library! Library cards are free, they are a fine-free facility, and they offer many resources and materials for your whole family.
• Read the book at the same time as your child and talk about what is happening in the story.
• Read the book out loud with your child. You can take turns reading paragraphs or chapters.
• Listen to your child read the book out loud. Be patient!
• Praise your child when you see them reading.

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to continuing to grow a strong reading community at Sandburg!

Live the CODE!

Sincerely,
CSMS Staff & Mark Pilut

View Reading List