Literature for 5th grade

[Lexylou]

Hello,

New to WTM and homeschooling. My daughter is studying Ancients for 5th grade history. I’m having trouble selecting a fiction book for her to read to begin her Reading notebook.  Any suggestions? I’ve seen the list from the WTM but I’m wondering if people have other suggestions - like a great book to start the year. We’re currently studying Egypt. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[Gil]

My kid loved the Bartimeus books. It's a fiction/fantasy book about a magical spirit that has served great sorcerers through the ages and I think that at least two of them have something to do with Egypt, but I'm not certain that they're really centered around Egypt.

Note: I have never read the books myself, but their Young Adult fantasy so I assume they are free of crudeness.

[Lori D.]

Welcome to homeschooling! And I see by your post count you are new to the boards, so welcome here as well!

You might consider having two "tracks" of literature books -- one "track" of some books to match up with your history, and a second track of "don't miss" titles that are perfect for this age. Check out these past threads for wonderful 5th grade book ideas:
"Fun sweet literature rich experience for my 5th grader" (girl)
"Help rounding out 5th grade lit" (for a girl)
"Please help me narrow down my 5th grade read aloud list" (unspecified as to girl or boy)

And below are Ancient Egypt historical fiction ideas. It is easier to suggest a few specific titles if you can let us know how strong or weak of a reader your DD is, if she likes to read, and what she likes to read about. : )  BEST wishes for a wonderful and enjoyable homeschooling journey with your DD! Warmest regards, Lori D.

(picture books, ancient Egyptian folktales)
The Egyptian Cinderella (Climo)
The Shipwrecked Sailor (Bower)
Muti's Necklace (Hawes)

(gr. 3-5)
A Place in the Sun (Rubalcaba)

(gr. 4-6)
Egyptian Diary: The Journal of Nakht, Young Scribe (Platt)
Kid Detective Zet series (Peters)
Casting the Gods Adrift (McCaughrean)

(gr. 5-7)
God King (Williamson)
Princess Diaries: Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile (Gregory)

(gr. 6-9)
The Golden Goblet (McGraw)
Mara, Daughter of the Nile (McGraw)
Tales of Ancient Egypt (Green)
Shadow Hawk (Norton)

NON-FICTION
Cleopatra (Stanley) -- gr. 4-6
Riddle of the Rosetta Stone (Goblin) -- gr. 4-6
The Great Pyramid (Mann) -- gr. 5-7

Edited October 7, 2018 by Lori D.

[Melissa in Australia]

 All my kids loved the golden goblet. We did it as a read aloud 

 

 We did the reading lists in TWTM.  Some  of the books the kids read and some I read aloud to them

?

what I also did was look at other reading lists from Sonlite, veritas press etc and found some extra reading books to add to the ancients stack. we did a LOT of read alouds

Edited October 8, 2018 by Melissa in Australia

[Farrar]

The Theodosia books are fun and are archaeology and Egypt  themed.

I would be careful about trying to make everything line up too closely. There are SO MANY great 5th grade books. There are - honestly - so few ancient lit middle grades books that are truly standout. I mean, there are a few. And there are some great retellings of epics and myths. But mostly... I'd skip the ancient themed lit. Next year, for the medieval period, there are so many amazing options that you'll feel inundated. 

[Lori D.]

4 hours ago, Farrar said:

I would be careful about trying to make everything line up too closely. There are SO MANY great 5th grade books. There are - honestly - so few ancient lit middle grades books that are truly standout. I mean, there are a few. And there are some great retellings of epics and myths. But mostly... I'd skip the ancient themed lit. Next year, for the medieval period, there are so many amazing options that you'll feel inundated. 

This is always my thought as well, esp. for the gr. 4-8 years. SOOO many great upper elementary and YA titles that if you *only* stick to a time period, you can find that you're missing the window of opportunity when those books would be such a perfect fit and special treasure to a student.
 

On 10/6/2018 at 4:36 PM, Lexylou said:

...I’ve seen the list from the WTM but I’m wondering if people have other suggestions - like a great book to start the year. We’re currently studying Egypt. Thanks for any suggestions!

Original Poster -- as far as recommendations for the Ancients on the Well-Trained Mind (WTM) list...

I'm looking at the WTM list of ideas for Ancients for the Logic stage from this page of the Well-Trained Mind website. It is all adaptations of Greek & Roman classics, plus myths/folktales from around the world -- none from Ancient Egypt. I personally am not fond of Roger Lancelyn Green's writing style (dry), Padric Colum's writing style is a bit formal and old-fashioned, and Rosemary Sutcliffe's versions, while beautifully illustrated, may be a bit advanced for a 5th grader and better suited for a 7th/8th grader.

JMO: from that list, unless you have a strong/advanced 5th grade reader, I'd say enjoy some gentle versions of Greek myths (even picture book versions can be great for a 5th grade reader). And try some easier/more engaging retellings of classics (perhaps Geraldine McCaughrean). And enjoy lots of the myths/folktales/fairytales from around the world -- look for nicely illustrated versions, and especially for authors whose writing style and retellings "click" with YOUR student.

The "supplemental reading books" on that list are all fine.

Also, at this age, a few "fluff" books like kid-detectives in the history period being studied can be a fun solo read supplements -- and don't forget feature films set in the time period.

And then be sure to include lots of those wonderful 5th/6th grade books that have nothing to do with your time period for a lovely year of literature! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited October 8, 2018 by Lori D.

[Momto6inIN]

My 5th grader is doing Ancients this year and her literature list includes:
Casting the Gods Adrift
D'Aulaire's Greek Myths (she's read it twice so far ?
Black Ships Before Troy
The Wanderings of Odysseus
In Search of a Homeland
Percy Jackson series
Jataka Tales (India)
Magical Monkey King (China)
Tales from Africa
The Bronze Bow

We might do The Golden Goblet as a read aloud. She's not big on fiction, she prefers non fiction, but the above titles are no problem for her as an average reader.

Edited October 12, 2018 by Momto5inIN
hit save too soon

[LLucy]

The Egypt Game was well loved at our house and hasn't been mentioned yet I believe.

 

[Sherry in OH]

My oldest was on a Rick Riordan kick when he was in fifth grade, he read all of the Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicle books that year. He also loved Peter Lerangis' Seven Wonders series.  Kane Chronicles and at least one of the Seven Wonders books relate to ancient Egypt.

Other books relating to ancient history that he liked:

• Anubis Speaks, by Vicky Alvear Shecter
• Arash the Archer: A Story from Ancient Persia, by Shahriar Bourbour
• Jamshid and the Lost Mountain of Light, by Howard Lee
• Hades Speaks, by Vicky Alvear Shecter
• Black Ships before Troy, by Rosemary Sutcliff
• Odyssey, by Gillian Cross
• Our Little Spartan Cousin of Long Ago, Julia D. Cowles 
• In Search of a Homeland: The Story of the Aeneid, by Penelope Lively
• Shapeshifters: Tales from Ovid's Metamorphoses, by Adrian Mitchell and Alan Lee
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Grace Lin

He read Detectives in Togas, by Henry Winterfeld but did not care for it.

 

[Rasa]

Great thread.  My sweet 5th grade girl reads well, but strongly prefers large-print, well-spaced, illustrated editions for independent reading.  Read-aloud editions usually work well, if we can find them.  Any recommendations (as well as suggestions how to alleviate the transition to "normal" books)?  Our library system doesn't have a good way to search for "unabridged, illustrated, large print". And regular large print editions tend to be awfully crowded with non-existent margins...

[Lori D.]

2 hours ago, Rasa said:

Great thread.  My sweet 5th grade girl reads well, but strongly prefers large-print, well-spaced, illustrated editions for independent reading.  Read-aloud editions usually work well, if we can find them.  Any recommendations (as well as suggestions how to alleviate the transition to "normal" books)?  Our library system doesn't have a good way to search for "unabridged, illustrated, large print". And regular large print editions tend to be awfully crowded with non-existent margins...

While I don't have ideas about large-print books, I do have 2 suggestions in response to your post (unfortunately, unrelated to your specific question (:D ?

First, I'll just suggest that you might want to get your student checked for vision convergence issues with a COVD trained eye doctor, to rule out the possibility that she needs vision therapy. Still needing large print/well-spaced type suggests a vision issue. Or possibly even stealth dyslexia, as still wanting/needing illustrations suggests that the student might be relying on overall context + visual clues to "guess" at longer words rather than sound out -- multi-syllable words are tough for students with dyslexia or stealth dyslexia to slow down and keep all the letters and syllables in order, so they have a tendency to "guess" based on the first letters of the word + visual clues such as illustrations. 5th grade is a good age for catching and addressing issues.

And second, for your sweet 5th grade girl, again linking those 2 past threads (from my post up-thread) that have specific book title ideas with female protagonists and that are sweet books for sweet 5th grade girls:
"Fun sweet literature rich experience for my 5th grader [girl]?"
"Help rounding out 5th grade lit [for a girl]?"

If it's just a matter of transitioning into longer books with more type, you might try something like reading on a Kindle so she can adjust type size and appearance on page. And she can use the Whisper sync option, for auditory prompts while reading. Or, try listening to an audio version while following along in the print book. Or try using a blank sheet of paper or 4"x6" index card to block the text above the line currently being read, to reduce visual input. (Covering the text above keeps the student's eye moving across and down into the "new" yet-to-be-read words and lines of text, and reduces the visual "clutter" of the words and lines already read.)

BEST of luck in finding what works best, or in solving the "root problem" if there is one! Warmly, Lori D.

Edited October 17, 2018 by Lori D.

[ScoutTN]

Ancients books my kids enjoyed:

The Children's Homer, Black Ships Before Troy, The Aeneid for Boys and Girls, The Golden Goblet, Hittite Warrior, Tirzah, Detectives in Togas, The Bronze Bow, and The Eagle of the Ninth. Oh, and  Percy Jackson for fun. My kids have read/listened to D'Auliare's many times.

Books on my current 5th grader's Literature shelf: The Black Arrow, The Cay, White Fang, The Secret Garden, The Wheel on the School, Wonder, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, War Horse, Tom Sawyer, The Pushcart War, Five Children and It, Magic by The Lake, The Black Stallion, The King of Ireland's Son, 100 Cupboards, The Family Under the Bridge. He chooses and reads at his own pace. All of these are not required. Just some structure to keep him from defaulting to Keeper of the Lost Cities or comics!

Edited October 19, 2018 by ScoutTN

[Melissa in Australia]

14 hours ago, Rasa said:

Great thread.  My sweet 5th grade girl reads well, but strongly prefers large-print, well-spaced, illustrated editions for independent reading.  Read-aloud editions usually work well, if we can find them.  Any recommendations (as well as suggestions how to alleviate the transition to "normal" books)?  Our library system doesn't have a good way to search for "unabridged, illustrated, large print". And regular large print editions tend to be awfully crowded with non-existent margins...

For my ds now 15 who has profound dyslexia I needed to find largish print, a particular font, and page texture, with illustrations. after buying various books  that he could not read we stumbled across Usborne young reading series. It fitted the need exactly and there are so many different titles that it was great for fitting into our history literature needs.