To Kill a Mockingbird

[Brittany1116]

What grade do you introduce this? I have seen recs from 4th to 12th. Interested in reasoning. 

[El...]

We just read it (and watched the Gregory Peck version) in 9th as part of American literature. It was DD15s favorite so far this year. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I said 8th, but 9th would work too. The student needs to be old enough and mature enough to discuss rape charges and racism. 

[freesia]

3 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I said 8th, but 9th would work too. The student needs to be old enough and mature enough to discuss rape charges and racism. 

This exactly. It is a powerful book. I think it’s best to wait until at least 13 because waiting allows for richer discussion and understanding.  My present eighth grader just started it Thursday and she is eager to get to it each day—even if she was 35 pages in when she realized Scout was a girl 🙄

[WhitneyS]

7 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I said 8th, but 9th would work too. The student needs to be old enough and mature enough to discuss rape charges and racism. 

This was my reasoning for choosing 9th. I think some 8th graders are mature enough, but others wouldn’t be until 9th. 

[EKS]

8th or 9th. 

[Not_a_Number]

I think I did it in 8th grade in school. I was in the gifted program, so we may have been early as a result? 

[EKS]

3 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

I think I did it in 8th grade in school. I was in the gifted program, so we may have been early as a result? 

I did it in 7th in school--it was a private girls' school for bright/gifted kids.  The (well regarded) high school here does it in 9th.  I think now, after having read it several times since then, and having done it with two kids, that 7th is a bit early.  Of course it depends on the kid.

[Not_a_Number]

1 minute ago, EKS said:

I did it in 7th in school--it was a private girls' school for bright/gifted kids.  The (well regarded) high school here does it in 9th.  I think now, after having read it several times since then, and having done it with two kids, that 7th is a bit early.  Of course it depends on the kid.

I don't remember if it was 7th or 8th. It might have been 7th. I remember really liking it but not the exact grade. 

[Sneezyone]

For me it was 6th/GT class. Racism was something I was familiar with and this book provided context. For my kids, we didn't use the book. We used real life/news and started in 5th/6th. By 8th it was a formal area of language arts inquiry.

Edited March 26, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Clarita]

I definitely read it in middle school, average student English. I don't actually remember much of that book except that my big revelation in it was "Scout is a GIRL!?!" I don't remember rape in that book and vaguely remember the teacher saying something about racism. I vote later than that because now I totally feel like I missed the meat of that book.

[EKS]

10 hours ago, Clarita said:

I definitely read it in middle school, average student English. I don't actually remember much of that book except that my big revelation in it was "Scout is a GIRL!?!" I don't remember rape in that book and vaguely remember the teacher saying something about racism. I vote later than that because now I totally feel like I missed the meat of that book.

I didn't get anything out of it except for the parts about Boo Radley.  And even that was iffy.  I was astonished when I read it again as an adult and discovered the stuff about the rape and the trial and the racism.

In addition to being young, I was a poor reader and had attention problems.  I chose to read it aloud to my kids just to make sure they got more out of it than I did.

[ScoutTN]

Dd read it twice, once in our regular English course and once in a Lit as Film elective. 9th and 12th.

Edited March 26, 2023 by ScoutTN

[J-rap]

I would wait until at least 9th grade.  Sure you could read it earlier and get something out of it, but you get so much more out of it the older you are.  I just saw the Broadway play and was surprised at how much more the story impacted me even now!  That said, you don't need to wait until you're adult to see it either.  It's one of those stories that has many layers and you'll probably get more out of it each time you read it at different ages.

[wisdomandtreasures]

Wait, 4th grade for TKAM?! It's an excellent book, but pushing it that early reminds me of this that I read and have been mulling over for the last couple of months:

"Even if a young child were able to decode the words on the page and have a vague sense of what the selection meant, they may not be developmentally ready to grapple with some of the ideas, and it's almost certain they haven't read enough other great books to catch allusions. It would be a pity for them to imagine they have read and understood something they are not truly ready for, because not only do they miss the joy of engaging with great writers and thinkers, but they may assume that having "covered" the material, they don't need to re-read when it's age-appropriate to do so." (From https://everydayeducation.com/blogs/news/mcguffey-reader-faq?_pos=2&_sid=09aaea691&_ss=r )

[Brittany1116]

2 hours ago, wisdomandtreasures said:

Wait, 4th grade for TKAM?! It's an excellent book, but pushing it that early reminds me of this that I read and have been mulling over for the last couple of months:

"Even if a young child were able to decode the words on the page and have a vague sense of what the selection meant, they may not be developmentally ready to grapple with some of the ideas, and it's almost certain they haven't read enough other great books to catch allusions. It would be a pity for them to imagine they have read and understood something they are not truly ready for, because not only do they miss the joy of engaging with great writers and thinkers, but they may assume that having "covered" the material, they don't need to re-read when it's age-appropriate to do so." (From https://everydayeducation.com/blogs/news/mcguffey-reader-faq?_pos=2&_sid=09aaea691&_ss=r )

That was my reaction, as well.

[freesia]

Yes, I cannot imagine having a fourth grader read it. They would miss so much. 

[Not_a_Number]

7 hours ago, J-rap said:

I would wait until at least 9th grade.  Sure you could read it earlier and get something out of it, but you get so much more out of it the older you are.  I just saw the Broadway play and was surprised at how much more the story impacted me even now!  That said, you don't need to wait until you're adult to see it either.  It's one of those stories that has many layers and you'll probably get more out of it each time you read it at different ages.

I do think it depends on the kid. I absolutely loved it in middle school and I think got the things I needed to get -- or at least, I don't remember feeling like there was stuff I missed on reread. I'm sure some things were more abstract the first time I read it, that's all. 

[Ellie]

I didn't read it in school; I read it on my own. I don't remember how old I was, probably at least 13yo.

[ScoutTN]

2 hours ago, Ellie said:

I didn't read it in school; I read it on my own. I don't remember how old I was, probably at least 13yo.

I read it on my own too. My mom was a high school English and American History teacher, so our bookshelves were well stocked. If I couldn’t get to the library, I just raided mom’s bookcases! 

[HomeAgain]

DS13 began reading it in 2nd.  I didn't dissuade him or encourage him.  We went to see the movie a few months in, and I don't think he ever finished the book.

This is one that I think kids get a lot more out of in high school, when they're weighing social injustices and historical events within context of relationships. The mature content requires them to think about everything from how the news portrays events to mental health.

I think it takes a lot more maturity, though, to wrestle with Go Set A Watchman and realize that a childhood perspective gives way to the complicated thoughts and feelings of adults.  I don't think I would have been okay with my view of Atticus changing before I was ready for it and I wouldn't want to do that to a kid.

[Xahm]

I picked it up in fifth grade, read the first few pages, and quit because it takes a lot about Jem and football, and I didn't want to read another sports book. When I finally read it some time during high school, I was surprised to find very little football in the book, haha.

I wouldn't want to introduce it before about age 13, even for advanced or mature readers because I think readers need to be able to see Scout as a little girl, not a peer, to understand the point of the narrative. Of course, they need to also be able to handle racism and violence. 

[ByGrace3]

We did it in 10th because that was the first year of high school we did American Literature. I would think 8th or 9th would be fine depending on the kid, but I wouldn't go much younger or I think you risk missing all that makes it so great. 

[SilverMoon]

My kids read it in 8th, along with a Black authored book to compare/contrast. 

[Momto6inIN]

We do it in 12th, because there's just so much meat and depth to it that I want to be able to do it justice.

I was assigned to read it in 9th or 10th and I remember being mystified about what/who Boo Radley was. The rape and the racism part went over my head completely that first time too. I wasn't all that impressed. So when I became an adult and realized it was on everybody's "great books" list I figured I must have missed something as a teen. I was right 😉 

[Brittany1116]

Thanks for all of the input. I was considering 8th, but think I will wait until high school. I read it in middle school and misunderstood a good bit. Then I reread in college for the same reason as above- everyone talked about it and I figured I missed a lot. 9/10 sounds like a good place to start.

[Lori D.]

@Brittany1116 -- I'll throw in the idea of using the Discovering Literature Challenger Level guide to go with it. They don't put out many guides, but their challenger level guides are meaty!

[Junie]

Dd16 is reading it now in 11th grade in her American Lit class.

[LMD]

I think 8th+ is a decent guideline 

My older kids read it as part of a class during covid, I think they were 8th & 10th and both loved it. My current 7th is a little more immature and I will probably wait until at least 9th grade.