Classroom novels - 6,7,8th grade level...

23 years ago

Hi!

First, I am so thankful that posting to at least some of these forums are still FREE! ;o)Yippeeee!!!

Now, for anyone with a 6th - 8th grader, what novels were read/studied in class by your kids?

Please name names. :O)

OR if you have 11-14 year old kids at home would you ask them for their favorite reads, Please?

We're looking for an interesting novel to read and discuss this year in language arts...

Thanks anyone!

V :O)

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Comments (17)

londondi
23 years ago
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn--my daughter read this when she was 11 and LOVED it. Agatha Christie mysteries are good.
This is a good age to get them started with short stories -- O'Henry, etc. To Kill a Mockingbird for the older ones. It isn't a hard read. A Christmas Carol.

There are tons more. I think that we somewhat baby our kids. If we start to give them harder books, but discuss them as they went along, I think it would be so much better for them. At this age, you can really start working on increasing their vocabulary. They can't learn the "600 words" that they need to know for the SAT's in a weekend. They need to encounter them early and they do that best by reading. My high school English teacher had us write down every word we didn't know and look up the meaning and write a new sentence using that word. It really helped with the SAT's.
Vienne
Original Author
23 years ago
THank you!

They will be reading short stories and funny you should mention it, they will also read A Christmas Carol...we are looking for another book or two...
The Giver is one possibility
and A Wrinkle In Time is another.

Any more suggestions, anyone?

:o) V
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sheilajoyce_gw
23 years ago
Where the Red Fern Grows was popular with my son; can't remember what grade.
sha_lyn
23 years ago
check out the Good books listed by grade level at www.greatbooksacademy.org (click on the book store then go to the grade level you are looking for.)
One book I have heard great things about is The Case Of the Missing Cut throats (the Cut throat is a type of fish). It is an eco-mystery.
heather74
23 years ago
I read A Wrinkle in Time in college and although literature/writing was my major, I found this book a little difficult to read.

how about the Harry Potter series? kids and adults all seem to love them!

Julie of The Wolves by Jean Craighead-George is a great book for 6th graders. It deals with family love, loss, independence/dependency, nature/animals, self-esteem and survival. It won an award a few years back, but I can't remember which award off the top of my head.

For older grades, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (spelling?) is a little more intense as I think it is set in a time just before slavery was abolished. Unfortunately I don't remember much of the story other than the main character's husband contracts rabies...

My favorite read that I can't remember if it was 6,7 or 8th grade was A View From A Cherry Tree. I can't remember the author, and I know it might be a little old, but I remember really enjoying the book.

good luck and good reading!
Carlotta_Bull
23 years ago
My daugher's in 7th now. They just finished The Hobbit & are reading Treasure Island now.

PLEASE, don't have the kids read Danny Champion of the World or Cold Sassy. She read those last year & I considered them a waste. I don't think the kids enjoyed them, either.
Online_in_WV
23 years ago
To Kill a Mocking Bird was one of my child's favorites - she read it somewhere between 6th and 7th grade.
duckie
23 years ago
A Day No Pigs Would Die is a good one.
sheilajoyce_gw
23 years ago
Be careful with the Harry Potter books. Some parents STRONGLY object to this series on religious grounds.
nksmom
23 years ago
With the Harry Potter series, I think you have to know your kid. We're a strong Christian family and I debated about the Harry Potter series for quite some time. I finally allowed my 9 year old to read them and he didn't stop reading until he finished all 4 books. He's got a strong Christian background and can easily distinguish between fantasy/reality and right/wrong. To him it was a book about good winning over evil. If you aren't sure, read the book first and then make your decision.
chelone
23 years ago
I was thinking that "A Wrinkle In Time" was too young! I read that in 5th. grade and loved it!

I LOATHED "The Hobbit" (hated all the others in the Trilogy, too; I am probably the only one to say that publically). I loved Mark Twain (we read several of them in 7th./8th. grade) and I loved Charles Dickens and Nathaniel Hawthorne (they were harder to read).

I agree completely that we do not (generally) require our kids to apply themselves and LEARN how to read classics written in time when the vocabulary and day to day speech was vastly different that it is today. "Classics" are NOT boring, they require the pupil to apply themselves.
whazzup
23 years ago
Highly recommend Night by Elie Wiesel. This was required reading in my son's English class in the 8th grade. It is about the Holocaust and as powerful as Anne Frank. And A Day No Pigs Would Die is also a good one as mentioned above.
cinnamonstick
23 years ago
I am homeschooled right now and in 8th grade. I absolutely LOVE the Harry Potter Series and Ann Rinaldi's books, which are historical fiction. A couple of her best ones are "A Break with Charity" about the Salem Witch Trials and "The Fifth of MArch" about the Boston Massacre. And I am just beginning to read "An Acquaintance with Darkness" about the Civil War.

Some other good books are the Golden Compass, Amber Spyglass, and Doomsday Book (by Connie willis).
lil_lillian
23 years ago
Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta ( themes of growing up, courage, multiculturalism --- a great novel
To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee ( classic)
Maus by Art Speigelman ( looks at themes of poverty, war, loss- easy to read format with challenging issues that can be interpreted in groups)
The Wave - a facinating look at " following the crowd"
The island of the blue dolphin - an easy read
Danielle_Hawkesbury
23 years ago
HI Vienne,
please be aware that Looking for Alibrandi covers the issue of youth suicide. My 13 year old step-daughter read it and loved it, but you might want to read it yourself first. Its a great book and explodes lots of myths about fitting in, etc.

I second the recommendation for "Night". Its very powerful. I think I first read it when I was about 14.

What about " The Secret Garden" by Francis Hodgeson(?sp) Burnet for the younger readers. Its a beautiful story. I think I read it about 12 times. Or the Narnia Chronicles by CS Lewis? A forerunner for Harry Potter.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado about Nothing, and Twelfth Night are all fairly easy reads. I started studying them when I was 13 with an inspiring teacher. If you can debunk the mystery of Shakespeare early on, you will give your kids a huge confidence boost, and reading and interpretation skills that will set them up for years. I agree that we seem to be 'dumbing down' our kids, but I'm quite inspired by the suggestions here.

Cinnamonstick, thanks for those titles. I hope I can get them in Australia!

Cheers
Danielle
nanieflower
23 years ago
The chronicles of Narnia series, but read them from the first to the last. I had the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe read to me and also had read it to students as a teacher and wasn't too impressed. Last year I read all of the books from the first to the last and LOVED it as did my students. BTW I was teacher in a one roomed school and had 2 each of 6,7,8th graders, mostly boys.
goalballchamp1_gmail_com
15 years ago
Hi, I love Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, so does my little brother, he has many great books, check them out.

Classroom novels - 6,7,8th grade level...

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londondi

Vienne
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Classroom novels - 6,7,8th grade level...

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VienneOriginal Author

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Vienne
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