literature for 6th grade

[angelmama1209]

What have you/will you/do you read aloud to your 6th grader? What do you assign them to read independently? I've perused many book lists- MANY- as well as looked up reading levels for books and am having a hard time. A book will be listed for 6th grade on one list, 3rd grade on another, and has a reading level of 5.1. It's so confusing, so I'm coming to the experts. Please share your lists. :)

[Tanaqui]

Well, my philosophy is "I'm too lazy to plan, so here, take this book and read it! Of course it's a good book, it was on our shelf, wasn't it?" but if you'll accept that as a guiding principle I'm happy to share what we've read over the past two years.

[J&JMom]

My lists are on my blog (link in siggie).Check last year for 6th grade.  I group read aloud books referenced in their literature books, tie into their content areas, holidays, or just for fun. Novel studies are from Memoria Press and I read with the student.  Independent reading is whatever they choose in their reading level (I use Accelerated Reader book find site to determine) with a quarterly goal. 

[mom31257]

Each year I try to choose books in the following categories.

 

Historical fiction to go with time period being studied

 

Classic, older fiction to experience language and writing styles

 

Good but popular, recent fiction, at least one made into a movie so we can discuss the differences

 

At least one biography to go with science or history

[rutheart]

Currently I only read aloud SOTW chapters. My 5th grader is a prolific reader, so she reads independently for literature. I am reading aloud literature for her younger sister and the 5th grader is welcome to listen as well, but she's already read a lot of those books.

 

For 6th grade next year, I have already bought:

Beauty by Robin McKinley

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

The Princess Curse

The Castle in the Attic

On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Sign of the Beaver

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

The Time Machine

Where the Red Fern Grows

 

I still am wanting to buy:

Fahrenheit 451

The Odyssey (probably an adaptation)

Much Ado About Nothing

The Phantom Tollbooth

Corrie Ten Boom

 

My lit list is more scifi/fantasy heavy because our family has that preference. If my kid preferred historical fiction, the list would be about 50% different. My list doesn't include books for history, science, or any other subjects. If my kid didn't devour books, my list would be shorter. That's why there is so much variance in lists. It's okay to tailor it to your child.

 

Ruth

[ScoutTN]

Looking forward to planning my rising 6th grader's literature list. No time right now, though.

 

Like others, I try to include a variety of styles and genres. Lori D always has great suggestions. :)

 

My list is usually about 7-8 lit books and 2-4 for history. My rising 6th grader reads very well and very fast, so these will not be anywhere near all of her free reading. I read aloud at lunch on school days and we often listen to audiobooks in the car.

 

We will be doing MARR for history next year, so that will inform my choices.

[fairy4tmama]

It really can be hard to figure out whether book is a good fit or at least it was until I discovered Lexile scores to determine whether I will use a book as a read aloud or a reader, and if a book will be an easy read, right on target or stretch my kid's reading ability. This has really made choosing books SO much easier! HTH

[angelmama1209]

thanks so much everyone! She is a prolific reader. she loves historical fiction, biographies, history, and science. She's read every junior classic the Target $ section sells, some multiple times. But she also reads a lot of twaddle. I'm ok with some (I read a primarily twaddle growing up and find myself embarrassingly literature illiterate now), but i want to start assigning her some books to read- ones she wouldn't normally choose. I read aloud a book to everyone and I read aloud one to just her. We've read all of Little House, Anne of Green Gables, Caddie Woodlawn, Because of Winn Dixie, Little Pilgrim's Progress, and are currently halfway through Sign of the Beaver. I pulled all the books off our shelf, looked up their reading level and attempted to sort them into independent reading for her, read aloud for her, and group read aloud. Our annual used curriculum sale is coming up next month so now i can add more books to my list. :)

[2_girls_mommy]

For 6th grade this year mine has read:

 

Johnny Tremain

a library biography of Frederick Douglass, couldn't tell you which

Little Women

assigned by me.

I believe on her own she is reading Harry Potter right now too.

 

Together we read:

Shakespeare's play As You Like It

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Several non fictions on our history studies of Am. Wars

 

I'd like to get

Number the Stars

in before the summer is over.

 

[Peaceful Isle]

What I always do, is I look at reading programs, and use their grade level books for my kiddo. Right now, my kids are reading the books in Calverts discoveries in reading sets for their level. Other lists can come from sonlight, Bookshark, and many other lists for readers and read a louds.

You can easily get the books from the library.