8th Grade Novels

[Yolanda Davis]

Question: Which novels are you teaching this year in 8th grade English?

[Laura Bradley]

I place a heavy emphasis on free-choice reading (ala Nancie Atwell, Kelly Gallagher, "The Book Whisperer"), but I also do two whole-class novels: The Pigman, by Paul Zindel, and The Pearl, by Steinbeck.

 

P.S. I don't teach novels; I teach 8th graders. ;-)

[Anna J. Small Roseboro]

Ditto, Laura!  Using novels to teach students, rather than teaching novels to students.  Subtle difference, but it's the key to success with young adolescents.

You may be interested inthe reading lists in my book TEACHING MIDDLE SCHOOL LANGUAGE ARTS: Incorporating Twenty-First Ce... and some of the strategies to enhance the reading experiences for middle school students found on the companion website TEACHING LANGUAGE ARTS.

Among my new favorites are COMMANDER CHRIS and the MYSTICAL ORB by Mark Mattison and TROUBLE by Gary D. Schmidt, both of which have male protagonists.

 

Enjoy!