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What grade/level do you think these books are appropriate for?


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I'm trying to decide about a class for one of my kids. These are the books that they will be reading;

 

The Hobbit

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Jane Eyre

Out of the Silent Planet

Animal Farm

Fahrenheit 451

Pygmalion

 

What age or grade do you think these are appropriate for?

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I'm trying to decide about a class for one of my kids. These are the books that they will be reading;

 

The Hobbit

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Jane Eyre

Out of the Silent Planet

Animal Farm

Fahrenheit 451

Pygmalion

 

What age or grade do you think these are appropriate for?

 

Animal Farm, Pygmalion, and Fahrenheit 451 are better for older dc, IMHO. Probably Jane Eyre, too, maybe 13ish. The Hobbit and Out of the Silent Planet would be fine for any age child. The Holmes books don't have anything objectionable, but it's British, in the Victorian Era, and so there may be references to cultural things that are puzzling, but a child of any age could read them. I think I was 13ish when I first started reading them. I was about that age when I read Tom Sawyer, too.

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The Hobbit

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Jane Eyre

Animal Farm

 

I'd say these are good for 6th-8th grades depending on maturing and ability of the student.

 

 

Out of the Silent Planet

Fahrenheit 451

Pygmalion

 

I've never heard of or read these so no help.

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We read The Hobbit in 8th grade, but for a highly motivated student who enjoys that genre, I could see earlier. I know DH read it to our kids when they were 4 and 7; the 7yo soaked it up, and DH spent a lot of time explaining it to the 4yo. I think my 9yo could read it if he were motivated to do so, but I would probably wait until about 6th-8th for it.

 

We also read Animal Farm the summer before 8th grade, and I think it would have been okay if we'd had more modern history before it. It wasn't difficult to read, IIRC, but I think I didn't really "get it." It's on the History Odyssey Modern Level 2 list, so I expect DD will read it next year or the year after (7th or 8th), and that sounds about right.

 

History Odyssey Modern Level 1 has Sherlock Holmes on its list, so my 9yo should read that next year (4th grade). I'm questioning that, though; it seems like a lot for 4th grade, but it will depend on him -- he can get motivated and decide to push himself through something slightly above him.

 

I think most of those sound like 6th-8th.

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I think it depends on what you want to DO with these works. Just read them? Book club style of discussion? Dig into them with analysis?

 

Below, I listed in parenthesis my opinion of lowest grade level, based on vocabulary/sentence structure, natural interest-level of middle schoolers vs. high schoolers, and amount of analysis to get out of the work.  I also included (when available) the Scholastic reading level (RL) and interest level (IL).

 

And if you have advanced students, or students who love reading, then toss this out the window.  ;)

 

The Hobbit (grade 6-7+) -- RL = gr. 6.0 / IL = gr. 6-12

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (grade 6-7+) -- vocabulary  RL = gr. 8.1 / IL = gr. 9-12

 

Adventures of Tom Sawyer (grade 7+) -- vocabulary RL = gr. 5.9 / IL = gr. 6-8

Animal Farm (grade 7+) -- easy to read, BUT big themes/ideas RL = gr. 9.0 / IL = gr. 9-12

 

Out of the Silent Planet (grade 8-9+) -- vocabulary, themes/ideas RL = gr. 8.1 / IL = gr. 9-12

Fahrenheit 451 (grade 8-9+) -- themes/ideas RL = 10.0 / IL = 9-12


Pygmalion (grade 9+) -- interest -- RL = gr. 8.1 / IL = gr. 9-12
(could drop this back into middle school if you WATCH the film of the play, and then watch the movie My Fair Lady, the musical version of the play)

 

Jane Eyre (grade 10+) -- interest, vocabulary, sentence structure, themes/ideas RL = gr. 3.9 / IL = gr. 9-12

(JMO: I think that has to be a misprint by the Scholastic website -- able to read at end of 3rd grade??!!)

 

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I was going to write EXACTLY what Lori did, including the all caps DO. It matters what they are going to DO with the books.

 

I will sometimes push, push, push some of what some people call the Great Books earlier and earlier, but I rarely push modern "classics" with adult characters below grade 9. Because I can't come up with a good reason to. And then it depends even more on what will be DONE with the books.

 

Even more than history, I think our worldviews shape our literature choices. My worldview is very minimalist and cynical. I think it's very hard to use curriculum by an author with an entirely different worldview.

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We read the Hobbit, some of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Tom Sawyer as family read alouds, switching off "popcorn style" last year when dds were in 4th and 5th. They both read Animal Farm and Pygmalion this year (5th/6th) independently.  However, they had already finished with SOTW 4 and I explained what the general premise behind Animal Farm was before they read it.  They had also seen My Fair Lady before reading Pygmalion. 

 

We are currently reading "The Giver" aloud, which is their introduction to the dystopian genre, and after that, I will let them read Farenheit 451 at their leisure. 

 

I'm thinking Jane Eyre will be next year (6th/7th) or the year after.  Out of the Silent Planet is one I hadn't heard of before, so off to look on Amazon! 

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I'm trying to decide about a class for one of my kids. These are the books that they will be reading;

 

The Hobbit - we'll be doing that in 7th grade. She could have enjoyed it this year, too.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - I read these aloud to her in 5th grade, she reads them on her own now as a 6th grader.  She loves them.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - She read this in 5th grade and again in 6th grade

Jane Eyre - we won't do this till high school

Out of the Silent Planet - I haven't read it

Animal Farm - 6th grade

Fahrenheit 451 - this seems like a high school book to me.  A lot of people read it earlier, but I don't think my dd would enjoy it at all at the point

Pygmalion - planned for 8th grade, i think.  Anytime in jr. high would be fine.

 

What age or grade do you think these are appropriate for?

 

Here's my 2 cents, based on experience with my current 6th grader.

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I think it depends on what you want to DO with these works. Just read them? Book club style of discussion? Dig into them with analysis?

Below, I listed in parenthesis my opinion of lowest grade level, based on vocabulary/sentence structure, natural interest-level of middle schoolers vs. high schoolers, and amount of analysis to get out of the work. I also included (when available) the Scholastic reading level (RL) and interest level (IL).

And if you have advanced students, or students who love reading, then toss this out the window. ;)

The Hobbit (grade 6-7+) -- RL = gr. 6.0 / IL = gr. 6-12

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (grade 6-7+) -- vocabulary RL = gr. 8.1 / IL = gr. 9-12

Adventures of Tom Sawyer (grade 7+) -- vocabulary RL = gr. 5.9 / IL = gr. 6-8

Animal Farm (grade 7+) -- easy to read, BUT big themes/ideas RL = gr. 9.0 / IL = gr. 9-12

Out of the Silent Planet (grade 8-9+) -- vocabulary, themes/ideas RL = gr. 8.1 / IL = gr. 9-12

Fahrenheit 451 (grade 8-9+) -- themes/ideas RL = 10.0 / IL = 9-12

 

Pygmalion (grade 9+) -- interest -- RL = gr. 8.1 / IL = gr. 9-12

(could drop this back into middle school if you WATCH the film of the play, and then watch the movie My Fair Lady, the musical version of the play)

Jane Eyre (grade 10+) -- interest, vocabulary, sentence structure, themes/ideas RL = gr. 3.9 / IL = gr. 9-12

(JMO: I think that has to be a misprint -- able to read at end of 3rd grade??!!)

I agree completely
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Thank you so much for all the input! This reading list is from a homeschool jr high honors course for grades 6-8 that my gf is teaching. I'll be honest, I was kind of disappointed by the choices. Some of them seem very mature to me. My 9th grader is reading Fahrenheit 451 right now and I think Jayne Eyre for a 7th grader would be brutal. I also thought Fahrenheit 451, had some s*xual content. My daughter will be 7th grade next year. I want to say yes to the class, but I just don't think she could handle this reading list.

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Yeah, that seems a little low.  Now I want to re-read it and see. :)

A few different opinions on the reading level of Jane Eyre.

9.49

http://www.searchlit.org/novels/496.php

9.0

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/jane-eyre-0#cart/cleanup

This one says it is 10.3

http://www.elkin.k12.nc.us/ees/ARLevel7.12Level.htm

 

I'm guessing the previous one posted meant to say 9.3. I can not imagine a 3rd grader reading Jane Eyre. :lol:

 

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...This reading list is from a homeschool jr high honors course for grades 6-8 that my gf is teaching. I'll be honest, I was kind of disappointed by the choices. Some of them seem very mature to me. My 9th grader is reading Fahrenheit 451 right now and I think Jayne Eyre for a 7th grader would be brutal. I also thought Fahrenheit 451, had some s*xual content. My daughter will be 7th grade next year. I want to say yes to the class, but I just don't think she could handle this reading list.

 

Can you be frank with your friend and say just that: "I want to say yes, but I just don't think my 7th grader could handle all of the works on this reading list. Would you be open to a few alternatives to the more mature works?"

 

From your friend's list that you posted, I think The Hobbit, Sherlock Holmes, Tom Sawyer, and possible Animal Farm could all work well for an honors middle school Lit. course. There is such a HUGE jump in ability and maturity between 6th graders and 8th graders! Just me from my own experience with teaching Lit. in a co-op setting: I prefer to err on the side of gentler works so as not to overwhelm or frustrate 6th graders, BUT, make all of the books ones that we can really dig in with deep discussion for the 8th graders...

 

See this concurrent thread for more ideas for your friend: Book ideas for lit. analysis co-op class for middle schoolers. Here are ideas for alternative titles with "meat" for discussion and looking at literary elements for an honors-level middle school Lit. class that wouldn't overwhelm a 6th grader:

 

- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll)

- Below the Root (Snyder)

- Bridge to Terebithia (Paterson)

- Bronze Bow (Speare)

- Call of the Wild (London)

- A Christmas Carol (Dickens) ** more advanced vocabulary

- The Great and Terrible Quest (Lovett)

- Maniac McGee (Spinnelli)

- The Martian Chronicles (Bradbury)

- The Pushcart War (Merrill)

- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Taylor)

- Sounder (Armstrong)

- Treasure Island (Stevenson) ** more advanced vocabulary

- Tuck Everlasting (Babbitt)

- The Wednesday Wars (Schmidt)

- White Fang (London)

- A Wrinkle in Time (L'Engle)

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I can't imagine all of those being appropriate for one grade level.

 

The Hobbit - sixth

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes -sixth

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - sixth

Jane Eyre - we did this in ninth I think?

Out of the Silent Planet - don't know it

Animal Farm - readable quite young, grade four to six, but difficult subject matter

Fahrenheit 451 - typically a middle school book where I live

Pygmalion - we did this in eighth

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IIRC there is some s*xual content in the Bradbury novel. Not as bad as Brave New World but enough that I would say high school.

There is no sexual content whatsoever in Fahrenheit. TONS in Huxley's Brave New World, and a bit in Orwell's 1984. The point in Fahrenheit is that people are so disconnected the main character's marriage isn't even intact. There is attempted suicide. There is longing, but not of the sexual variety. One guy gets set on fire as well. The book is middle school appropriate with how it is written.

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There is no sexual content whatsoever in Fahrenheit. TONS in Huxley's Brave New World, and a bit in Orwell's 1984. The point in Fahrenheit is that people are so disconnected the main character's marriage isn't even intact. There is attempted suicide. There is longing, but not of the sexual variety. One guy gets set on fire as well. The book is middle school appropriate with how it is written.

 

It's been a while since I've read the novel, but I when I Googled, I did find mentions being made of s*x machines and gang s*xual assaults.

 

That's odd. I don't remember mentions of those things at all. I read it less than a year ago, and I agree with EndOfOrdinary's assessment. Of course it's possible I simply forgot something that was simply mentioned in passing, but I also see several reviews that describe it as having no sexual content at all. (Facts on Fiction, Shmoop, The Literate Mother, and Common Sense Media)

 

But I also don't consider Fahrenheit 451 a "great book" that everyone must read. It was a good fit for my ds in 7th grade, and I think a lot of kids that age are excited to grapple with the kind of ideas that it presents.

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Tom Sawyer generally gets labeled as a book for 6th-7th graders, but my 7th grader got REALLY frustrated with it. He's a good reader and would have no trouble with anything else on that list, but the written dialect and regional language in Tom Sawyer made it a more difficult read than anything else I've given him this year. He could READ it, but couldn't really understand what was going on.

 

I agree with the statement that there is no sexual content in Fahrenheit 451. I suspect people are confusing it with other dystopian novels, like _Brave New World_ and _1984_, that do have considerable sexual content.

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I think, for a 7th grader, the only two books on that list that are debatable are Jane Eyre and Farenheit 451.  The others seem like wonderful choices for the age group.  Maybe you could suggest a couple alternatives for those two books?  

 

On the other hand, it is an honors course, and 8th graders are in the mix.  I could see those books being fine for 8th grade honors students.  Perhaps your friend intends some books for the older, more advanced students in the group, while the others are for the younger, less advanced students?

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It's been a while since I've read the novel, but I when I Googled, I did find mentions being made of s*x machines and gang s*xual assaults.

I can tell you with complete confidence these subjects are not in the book. I have read it over thirty times, taught it at the high school level (in a public school) and my husband still uses it with his dystopian literature unit (also In a public school.)

 

Group sex and sexual machines occur in Brave New World by Huxley. In that book society uses group and promiscuous, casual sex to eliminate close relationships and discourage the nuclear family. Sex is used to keep people from the idea of how unhappy they are. In Fahrenheit technology is used this way. Books have been removed, instant gratification with television, and false relationships with technology undermine society.

 

If someone is concerned, they should just read the book. It can be ready an adult in less than three days. It is less than 200 very fast, engaging pages.

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That list is everywhere! I am going to vary from the norm and say I probably would not want a child to read animal farm until 10th or 11th, due to the content, and the politics behind it. I would dislike it being read as a story, I think they NEED the historical and political background to do it justice.

 

Jane Eyre is another book I would leave for mid high school. Firstly, the language is challenging, I for one struggled reading it, and secondly, the content seems a bit beyond a middle schooler. I personally prefer a child not to read a book until they are capable of full comprehension, I don't want to introduce a book which will be remembered one way by a child, and then appear completely different when re-read as an adult, and it gives them a poor basis on which to discuss the classics. Better to say 'i haven't read it' than to try and talk about it while missing major concepts due to age.

 

On the other hand, I find the hobbit something I would recommend as soon as a child is capable of reading it, 4th upward I suppose, though likely more 6th

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On the other hand, it is an honors course, and 8th graders are in the mix.  I could see those books being fine for 8th grade honors students.  Perhaps your friend intends some books for the older, more advanced students in the group, while the others are for the younger, less advanced students?

 

Yes, I think you are probably right. I have an average 7th grader, so I just can't see her comprehending Animal Farm KWIM? I guess we will just pass on the class for this year. Thanks for the input everyone.

 

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Can you be frank with your friend and say just that: "I want to say yes, but I just don't think my 7th grader could handle all of the works on this reading list. Would you be open to a few alternatives to the more mature works?"

 

From your friend's list that you posted, I think The Hobbit, Sherlock Holmes, Tom Sawyer, and possible Animal Farm could all work well for an honors middle school Lit. course. There is such a HUGE jump in ability and maturity between 6th graders and 8th graders! Just me from my own experience with teaching Lit. in a co-op setting: I prefer to err on the side of gentler works so as not to overwhelm or frustrate 6th graders, BUT, make all of the books ones that we can really dig in with deep discussion for the 8th graders...

 

See this concurrent thread for more ideas for your friend: Book ideas for lit. analysis co-op class for middle schoolers. Here are ideas for alternative titles with "meat" for discussion and looking at literary elements for an honors-level middle school Lit. class that wouldn't overwhelm a 6th grader:

 

- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll)

- Below the Root (Snyder)

- Bridge to Terebithia (Paterson)

- Bronze Bow (Speare)

- Call of the Wild (London)

- A Christmas Carol (Dickens) ** more advanced vocabulary

- The Great and Terrible Quest (Lovett)

- Maniac McGee (Spinnelli)

- The Martian Chronicles (Bradbury)

- The Pushcart War (Merrill)

- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Taylor)

- Sounder (Armstrong)

- Treasure Island (Stevenson) ** more advanced vocabulary

- Tuck Everlasting (Babbitt)

- The Wednesday Wars (Schmidt)

- White Fang (London)

- A Wrinkle in Time (L'Engle)

 

Aside from The Great and Terrible Quest, and Maniac McGee my boys read these all by 4th grade. If I were going to have my gt son or my 2e son do a group study and any of these were on the list I would be highly skeptical of the gifted or honors title.

 

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When I look at this list I don't thing Honors Reading list aside from 451, Jane Eyre and Pygmalion these all seem like good books for average middle school not honors.

The Hobbit -  8-10 yrs

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes -  7-12yrs

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - 7-10yrs

Jane Eyre - 13-16yrs

Out of the Silent Planet - 10-16yrs

Animal Farm - 8-11yrs

Fahrenheit 451 - 8-12yrs

Pygmalion - 13-16yrs

 

That said... my son is attending a PS English Festival for honors 7th and 8th grade students tomorrow and your friends list is a much more aggressive academic choice then the PS honors list my son read. Though all 6 books were good reads I wouldn't consider any one terribly difficult in content or vocabulary.

Fahrenheit 451 Graphic Novel

I Am David

Monster Call

My Name is Not Easy

Ink Heart

Divergent

I would not call any of these books especially difficult or strong on discussion points compared to your list. So if you are comparing between PS and HS you will have a big disparity.

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