How do these book choices sound for a lit. class?

[Homemama2]

I'm teaching a literature/book club type class at co-op and would love some opinions on my choices.  I have 6th-8th graders, and I only know the reading level of a couple of them.  I'm trying to pick books that won't be too easy or too challenging, and will be able to have some good socratic discussions.  This class is not replacing literature at home. I also need a variety of genres.  I have some easier books chosen, but need some more challenging books, I think.

 

Here are the books I've chosen so far:

 

Tuck Everlasting 

Where the Red Fern Grows

Westing Game

Adventures of Huck Finn OR Little Women

Rifles for Watie OR Carry On Mr. Bowditch

The Book of Three OR The Dark is Rising OR _________(fantasy)

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM

 

 

How do those sound?

What are some longer/harder books I could include? 

Last semester their favorite book was the Giver.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Homemama2

[Kfamily]

Here are a few suggestions:

 

Fantasy

A Wrinkle in Time

The Neverending Story

The Hobbit

 

Something more advanced....maybe...

Beowulf...it's not too long for a first introduction to epic poetry

David Copperfield

The Hound of the Baskervilles

something by C. S. Lewis (not Chronicles of Narnia)

something by Tolkien (not the Hobbit) ...LOTR, etc.

 

 

Also

The Chestry Oak or The Good Master by Kate Seredy

something by Rosemary Sutcliff or Elizabeth George Speare

 

Similar to The Giver...hmmmm, maybe....

The City of Ember

Among the Hidden

 

:)

 

Edited January 20, 2017 by Kfamily

[cintinative]

Personally I did not like the Dark is Rising. I would go with the Book of Three.

[Ali in OR]

I wouldn't do Huck Finn at that age. That said, I did do it when my own kids were that age, but we did it as a read-aloud. I don't think they would have been able to get through the dialect on their own, and there are heavier themes that I thought really needed discussion. I think it's more of a high school pick in public schools and there are some good reasons for that. We did Little Women as a read aloud, and I remember reading it in elementary school myself, so I think that would work. I think of that as more of a "girl" book and Huck as more of a "boy" book though of course both genders can do both.

 

Carry on Mr. Bowditch is one of my all time favorites. I just love Nathaniel Bowditch as a model for life.

 

Where the Red Fern Grows packs a huge emotional wallop and may be too much for some kids (eg tender-hearted animal lovers).

[LMD]

Looks pretty good, I agree that Bowditch was wonderful. Dd and I just did little women (now doing little men) and they are as fantastic as I remember.

What about something like Gulliver's travels or the time machine?

[Lori D.]

Very fun! :) You have a nice variety of genres and the reading level/interest level looks like it will fit grade 6-8 students very nicely. The only one I would suggest waiting for high school for Huck Finn. It is typically done in high school, not middle school, and I honestly think the thematic content of Huck Finn would be way beyond most 6th-8th graders. You could substitute Tom Sawyer (also by Twain), which is typically done in middle school, and is appropriate for that age.

 

And there are some nice suggestions by previous posters. :)

 

Some more titles that fit in nicely with that age range:

- Below the Root (Snyder) -- utopia/dystopia

- Enchantress from the Stars (Engdahl) -- fantasy AND sci-fi

- The Rumpelstiltskin Problem (Velde) -- fairytale, humor -- and point of view

- Maniac Magee (Spinnelli) -- realistic

- Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry (Taylor) -- realistic

- Eagle of the Ninth (Sutcliff) -- historical fiction

- Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell) -- historical / realistic / survival

- The King's Fifth (O'Dell) or Walk The World's Rim (Baker) -- more gritty/grim historical fiction

 

Ideas for a few longer/harder books:

- The Hobbit (Tolkien)* -- fantasy

- A Christmas Carol (Dickens) -- classic

- Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Twain) -- realistic

- Treasure Island (Stevenson) -- adventure

- All Creatures Great and Small -- animal

- Kon Tiki (Heyersdahl) -- non-fiction

- And Then There Were None -- or -- Murder on the Orient Express (Christie) -- mystery

- The Invisible Man (Wells)** -- sci-fi/ethics

- The Book Thief (Zusack) -- PREVIEW, some more mature topics; may not be a good choice for the younger students

 

 

* = The Hobbit, rather than Lord of the Rings; I just did the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a year-long class, one with gr. 6-8, and one with gr. 9-12. A number of the middle schoolers really struggled in parts of LotR (quite a few parts of The Two Towers, and a few parts of The Return of the King), so unless you have all strong and advanced readers, or readers who are really into it, I'm not sure that's the best option. Plus, it would take all semester to do all three books, even at a brisk clip... ;) In the high school class, we also did several works of Medieval Lit. along with LotR, including Beowulf (Seamus Heaney translation), and it was TOUGH for a number of the high schoolers; if you go with Beowulf, I'd strongly recommend going with one of the prose re-tellings designed for middle school ages -- just my experiences with my Lit. classes :)

 

** = probably his most accessible and discussable novel/novella; The Time Machine (Wells) turned out to not be as easy or as interesting/engaging for my gr. 7-12 co-op students 2 years ago :( , and War of the Worlds just feels long and dull to me personally, BUT you might like trying out the first of the Tripod series (When the Tripods Came) by Christopher -- he took the idea of the Wells' War of the World aliens and updated it

Edited January 26, 2017 by Lori D.

[freelylearned]

I would suggest Tom Sawyer rather than Huck Finn for that age rage, mainly because the themes are more age appropriate, especially for the 6th graders. Tom Sawyer is just an all around fun read, too.

 

Also, Huck Finn has a lot of dialect which makes for more more challenging reading. Unless you have a class full of superstar readers, you would probably have to either do a lot of coaching on reading the dialects or read those parts out loud to them.

[Farrar]

Well, I'll toss in a critique. The most recent of those books was published in 1978 and all the authors and primary subjects are white (unless you do Huck Finn, in which case it's still mostly true, though it's a book about race... but I agree with others that you probably shouldn't do Huck Finn for a variety of reasons - dialect being one of them and the themes being another). While I think it's a good list, they just feel all older to me. It's something to think about.

 

I'll second Roll of Thunder, Hear My Call as a possible adding diversity to the list book. Sounder is a much shorter, easier option that would also add some diversity to the list and be discussion worthy. Brown Girl Dreaming would also do that and it's much more recent. American Born Chinese might be an interesting one to add in - it's a graphic novel, lots of deeper issues in there, Asian American author and it tackles the issue of stereotypes very well. The Thing About Luck could be a good more recent one that would add diversity as well. The Crossover could be an interesting one to add diversity to the list - and it's a novel in verse, which could be interesting. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson is an historical fiction novel that would be a more recent book that has an African American central character.

 

And I'll second something by Jerry Spinelli as a good slightly more recent author that often resonates with middle schoolers and who writes discussion worthy contemporary books. Holes could be another more recent option. Or even more recent, we really loved The War that Saved My Life.

 

A Long Walk to Water could be a good choice - very short, but meaty.

 

Since you have 6th graders in there, I honestly think Where the Red Fern Grows, Rifles for Watie, Carry On Mr Bowditch, Little Women... are slightly longer stretch books for that age. Even The Book of Three and The Dark is Rising are shorter, but they have some stretch writing for most 11 yos. Which is not to say you have to go with those options... just that I think your list already has some easier (Tuck, Westing Game) and some slightly harder books. If I were teaching a lit class where kids had to get the books read, I'd honestly aim for more shorter but meaty books, just because you want the reading to happen. If there's a kid who is a slower reader, that way it's more likely to get done, but the advanced kids still have good things to discuss.

 

 

 

 

[Homemama2]

 

 

Since you have 6th graders in there, I honestly think Where the Red Fern Grows, Rifles for Watie, Carry On Mr Bowditch, Little Women... are slightly longer stretch books for that age. Even The Book of Three and The Dark is Rising are shorter, but they have some stretch writing for most 11 yos. Which is not to say you have to go with those options... just that I think your list already has some easier (Tuck, Westing Game) and some slightly harder books. If I were teaching a lit class where kids had to get the books read, I'd honestly aim for more shorter but meaty books, just because you want the reading to happen. If there's a kid who is a slower reader, that way it's more likely to get done, but the advanced kids still have good things to discuss.

Good to know!  Thanks everyone for helping me with Huck Finn.  I was really second guessing this one.  In fact the main reason I had chosen it was because the group last semester had all read Tom Sawyer and loved that.  But as I've been reading it, I wasn't sure the younger ones would be able to handle the dialect.  I had Roll of Thunder as my replacement for that, so that will work well.  

 

I guess I kept thinking this list looked rather easy for the 8th graders.  It's just hard not knowing their reading level. But if we are having good discussions that should help it all balance out.

 

And thanks everyone for the other book suggestions!I'm going to look into each of them.  I'm trying to find books they can get from the library, rather than buying...which has really limited my choices. Next time I don't think I'll do that necessarily. 

[Homemama2]

Well, I'll toss in a critique. The most recent of those books was published in 1978 and all the authors and primary subjects are white (unless you do Huck Finn, in which case it's still mostly true, though it's a book about race... but I agree with others that you probably shouldn't do Huck Finn for a variety of reasons - dialect being one of them and the themes being another). While I think it's a good list, they just feel all older to me. It's something to think about.

 

 

 

I did not realize that!  Thanks for pointing it out.  I actually had some more racially diverse ones on my list to start with (Call it Courage, the Cay, Sounder and some others)  but was thinking they were too easy of reads for that age, so I took them off.  The Long Walk to Water looks good too.  I had just heard about that one earlier this week.  And I hadn't heard of those others, so that will be helpful.

Edited January 26, 2017 by Homemama2

[Lori D.]

Good to know!  Thanks everyone for helping me with Huck Finn.  I was really second guessing this one.  In fact the main reason I had chosen it was because the group last semester had all read Tom Sawyer and loved that.  But as I've been reading it, I wasn't sure the younger ones would be able to handle the dialect.  I had Roll of Thunder as my replacement for that, so that will work well.  

 

I guess I kept thinking this list looked rather easy for the 8th graders.  It's just hard not knowing their reading level. But if we are having good discussions that should help it all balance out.

 

And thanks everyone for the other book suggestions!I'm going to look into each of them.  I'm trying to find books they can get from the library, rather than buying...which has really limited my choices. Next time I don't think I'll do that necessarily. 

 

Grades 6-8 -- That's a really tough age range to meet everyone's needs, but your plan sounds good -- books that are at a grade 6 reading level, but with enough depth for 8th graders to "chew on". Also, preparing a list of questions in advance to have a range of questions at different levels might help discussion, too. :)

 

I've been running middle school/high school Lit. & Comp. co-op classes for several years now, some of them for wide age ranges (gr. 7-12), and that can be really tough to bridge that range, so I feel you pain. There's often a big difference in my gr. 9-12 classes between 9th and 12th in just understanding the Literature, much less being able to discuss it.

 

Also, I totally get being limited by the library, but I think it's perfectly reasonable for you to also include some books on the list that have to be purchased. When that happens for my classes, for those books, I point families towards online used book sellers, Amazon and Abe.com, and local used book stores, to help them save a few dollars.

 

What a great service you're offering to families! Hope it's an enjoyable semester, and BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

 

 

ETA: PS -- I was just re-reading your original post, and 7+ books sure sounds like a LOT for one semester! I would think no more than 1 book per month would be needed so you can actually talk about it... Or did I misunderstand and this is a list for a full year?

Edited January 26, 2017 by Lori D.

[Homemama2]

Grades 6-8 -- That's a really tough age range to meet everyone's needs, but you plan sounds good -- books that are at a grade 6 reading level, but with enough depth for 8th graders to "chew on". Also, preparing a list of questions in advance to have a range of questions at different levels might help discussion, too. :)

 

I've been running middle school/high school Lit. & Comp. co-op classes for several years now, some of them for wide age ranges (gr. 7-12), and that can be really tough to bridge that range, so I feel you pain. There's often a big difference in my gr. 9-12 classes between 9th and 12th in just understanding the Literature, much less being able to discuss it.

 

Also, I totally get being limited by the library, but I think it's perfectly reasonable for you to also include some books on the list that have to be purchased. When that happens for my classes, for those books, I point families towards online used book sellers, Amazon and Abe.com, and local used book stores, to help them save a few dollars.

 

What a great service you're offering to families! Hope it's an enjoyable semester, and BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

 

 

ETA: PS -- I was just re-reading your original post, and 7+ books sure sounds like a LOT for one semester! I would think no more than 1 book per month would be needed so you can actually talk about it... Or did I misunderstand and this is a list for a full year?

 

Thanks Lori!  That's a great idea about the used books online.  For some reason, I didn't think of that even though I buy used all the time.   I agree that 7 is a lot for 1 semester.  Mainly I'm just trying to be overly prepared because last semester the kids were all reading at very advanced levels and sped through everything I had prepared so I was scrambling to come up with another book.  (They read books in one week that I had planned to take 3 on.)  I'm not letting them set the pace this time, but if this group reads as well I just want to have enough.  :)

[Lori D.]

Thanks Lori!  That's a great idea about the used books online.  For some reason, I didn't think of that even though I buy used all the time.   I agree that 7 is a lot for 1 semester.  Mainly I'm just trying to be overly prepared because last semester the kids were all reading at very advanced levels and sped through everything I had prepared so I was scrambling to come up with another book.  (They read books in one week that I had planned to take 3 on.)  I'm not letting them set the pace this time, but if this group reads as well I just want to have enough.   :)

 

Gotcha. :)

 

Although, I personally would have no problems discussing for 2 more weeks, even if they all finished the book for week 1. I have had fast readers and "read-aheaders" before, and I tell them it's a GREAT idea to read ahead for plot and to find out what happens, because then they can go back and re-read the section we'll be covering in class and dig deeper and see more. And I DO mean that honestly, and let them know that it's normal to want to read ahead to find out what happens, but that we will also be talking about a lot more in class than just the plot details of what happens.

 

I'm very interested in your experiences and esp. what books you have found worked well for this age/grade range, as I will very likely be running a grade 6-8 Lit. & Comp. co-op class next year. My plan has been to do 4 books per semester (3 weeks/book), and to divide the 90 minute class into thirds, so roughly 30 minutes each week on:

- teaching writing

- teaching & practicing literary elements, and Literature topics

- discussion

 

That's what I've done in the past with the gr. 7/8 classes, the gr. 9-12 classes, and the mixed classes of gr. 7-12. I'm just hoping it will also work with those wonderful, out-of-the-box thinking, sometimes squirrel-y younger middle schoolers. ;)

Edited January 26, 2017 by Lori D.

[cintinative]

 FYI. You can get free electronic copies of these online. These are from your original post.

 

Westing Game  https://archive.org/details/TheWestingGame-English

 

Adventures of Huck Finn https://ia601507.us.archive.org/4/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.136050/2015.136050.Huckleberry-Finn.pdf

 

Little Women https://archive.org/details/littlewomen00514gut

 

Rifles for Watie  https://archive.org/details/RiflesForWatie-English

 

Edited January 26, 2017 by cintinative

[sassenach]

Thanks Lori! That's a great idea about the used books online. For some reason, I didn't think of that even though I buy used all the time. I agree that 7 is a lot for 1 semester. Mainly I'm just trying to be overly prepared because last semester the kids were all reading at very advanced levels and sped through everything I had prepared so I was scrambling to come up with another book. (They read books in one week that I had planned to take 3 on.) I'm not letting them set the pace this time, but if this group reads as well I just want to have enough. :)

What was last semester's list? And what were your hits and misses?

 

That might help us advise you better.

[freelylearned]

If your students liked Tom Sawyer, a collection of Mark Twain's short stories may fit the bill. The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and What Stumped the Blue Jays come to mind as stories that would be good for your age bracket. 

[mom31257]

I've lead a book club for over 5 years, and they have included watching the movie of the book or unit study activities. This year I have 6th-8th, but I've had wider age spans. I don't choose based on book length. I'd rather focus on the themes and discussions I see coming out of the book.

 

 

Some of the books that my groups have enjoyed (and not on your list) are not all longer and harder but produced great discussions.

 

City of Ember

Around the World in 80 Days

Chose several stories from Sherlock Holmes

My Side of the Mountain

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

The Railway Children

 

We're about to do The Cay. I loved it and look forward to our discussion. 

 

One meeting last semester, we had a Poetry Tea. Each student brought a favorite poem to share. We then read through The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere together and focused on figurative language in it. 

 

This semester, at one book club meeting I'm going to set up literary element stations and have them rotate through doing hands-on activities. Then we're going to read a short story together and apply it all. I haven't chosen the story yet. 

 

For our last meeting, I'm having them each choose a book to do on their own. They are to prepare some kind of presentation  (oral or visual) to share with the group. 

 

 

Edited January 27, 2017 by mom31257

[Tanaqui]

I actually had some more racially diverse ones on my list to start with (Call it Courage, the Cay, Sounder and some others)  but was thinking they were too easy of reads for that age, so I took them off.

 

I would not consider The Cay to be a "racially diverse book". The viewpoint character is a white boy, and the role of the black character is really just to take care of him, not to be a fully-realized individual. The author, I believe, is also white. It is not a bad book, per se, but it is not racial diversity. We are not seeing a different point of view from the long list of white authors and protagonists we usually see. How about Bud, Not Buddy, As Brave as You, or The Only Road?

 

If you like, I can later dig up my list of diverse award winners. (Okay, I don't have this list yet, but I was planning to make one anyway.)

Edited January 27, 2017 by Tanaqui

[mom31257]

This website is where I found the idea for the stations.

 

http://www.literacystationinspiration.com/p/crafting-and-interactive-stations.html