Classroom Novels | Imamother

amother

Indigo ↓

Sun, Jul 15 2018, 11:29 pm

Hi! I’m trying to see which novels would be good to incorporate into my elementary schools curriculum. Anyone could share which novel/ novels you or any of you children did in any grade throughout elementary school?
- if you could the school would be helpful as well.

amother

Hotpink

Sun, Jul 15 2018, 11:47 pm

(Tongue in cheek) anything with the gold medal on the front should be awful enough and horrible enough to make it a school book.

My children all had to read The Giver, ( Time out

) in 8th Grade. The most twisted sickening horror story that makes a point of psychology & maybe sociology . It can give anyone nightmares.

Some read The Cay in 4th or 5th grade. About a blind boy in the tropics. Wasn't too bad, but was boring, I think there was sad parts.

They all read Flat Stanley in around 2nd grade. No medal that I remember, great book. And the BFG in 3rd or 4rth.

I can ask them tomorrow, I don't remember others right now.

amother

↑ Indigo ↓

Sun, Jul 15 2018, 11:51 pm

Your post made me laugh.
Guess I should add on - if there interesting - extra points.

Yes- please ask.
Thank you!!

keym

Mon, Jul 16 2018, 12:13 am

One of my kids read Number the Stars in maybe 4th or 5th.
Frindle in 3rd.
Charlottes Web in 3rd.
Way back in upper elementary we read historical fiction. Roll of Thunder, Cross Five Aprils, Animal Farm.

trixx

Mon, Jul 16 2018, 12:18 am

amother wrote:

(Tongue in cheek) anything with the gold medal on the front should be awful enough and horrible enough to make it a school book.

My children all had to read The Giver, ( Time out

I read the giver in 4th grade (on my own) and loved it

seeker ↓

Mon, Jul 16 2018, 1:08 am

You found The Cay boring? It had my 6th graders on the edge of their seats last year. I think the worst thing I had to read in elementary was Of Mice and Men (8th).

Beyond that, the question is way too open-ended for me.

DrMom

Mon, Jul 16 2018, 1:11 am

amother wrote:

(Tongue in cheek) anything with the gold medal on the front should be awful enough and horrible enough to make it a school book.

My children all had to read The Giver, ( Time out

LOL. We had to read The Cay in grade school. Boring, preachy. Perfect schoolbook.

John Steinbeck is always popular, as the vocabulary and sentence stricture is simple, even when the themes are more mature.

↑ seeker ↓

Mon, Jul 16 2018, 1:12 am

Wait, no. The Cay was good but the one that had them gripping their seats was Call it Courage. I really don't think they found The Cay boring, though. Maybe it's just that they had a great teacher. He wasn't a fun-and-games teacher, either, just the kind who appreciates literature enough to convey the appreciation to the kids.

PinkFridge ↓

Mon, Jul 16 2018, 8:07 am

I loved Call it Courage! I found it on my own, not class. I don't know if I'd like it now.
Another idea: Running Out of Time.

ETA: I am so curious why this got a hug!

Last edited by PinkFridge on Mon, Jul 16 2018, 7:28 pm; edited 2 times in total

sushilover

Mon, Jul 16 2018, 10:51 am

Most of the classroom novels are historical fiction as they are a great way to incorporate it into both history and reading lessons. They are also a bit heavier than what the child would read on her own.

2nd grade: Flat Stanley
3rd grade: A Gift for Mama, Little House in the Big Woods
4th grade: Stone Fox, Number the Stars, Charlotte's Web
5th grade: Trouble River (a bit boring), A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt, The Giver (I disagree with the poster who thought it was terrible. I think it was fantastic)
6th grade: Running Out of Time, Bud Not Buddy, A Long Way From Chicago, From Anna (wonderful book!)
7th Grade: Johnny Tremain, Island of the Blue Dolphin
8th grade: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Around the World in Eighty Days

Other ideas : Thimble Summer, Strawberry Girl (4th grade) The sign of the Beaver, Caddie Woodlawn (5th or 6th grade),

all is good

Mon, Jul 16 2018, 11:59 am

Following, as I'll be teaching next yr iyH & looking into novels too now. So far, I'm probably gonna do A Family Apart (from the orphan train series) for 7th grade. Still looking for a 2nd novel for them...someone recommened Mockingbird (not to kill a mocmingbird, plain mockingbird) & I really like it. I hope to use it for 8th grade. The Breadwinner is also pretty good.

rzab

Mon, Jul 16 2018, 12:10 pm

amother wrote:

(Tongue in cheek) anything with the gold medal on the front should be awful enough and horrible enough to make it a school book.

My children all had to read The Giver, ( Time out

I loved teaching the Giver to my eight grade. They were very disturbed, but there is so much to discuss. We spent a lot of time talking about the importance of bechira chofshi and how it fits into our lives. We even read rav dessler on bechira.

Frummommy138

Mon, Jul 16 2018, 12:56 pm

3rd grade recommendations that my daughter loved:
Mailing May
Day of the Blizzard

Ill never forget The Little Princess, a true classic. My teacher read it to us in the 4th grade.

↑ seeker

Mon, Jul 16 2018, 2:01 pm

I think a lot depends on the age appropriateness. Even if kids can technically comprehend a book at a younger age, if you give it to them before they can really appreciate it then it will be boring or painful. Like The Giver. Great 8th grade book, horrible 5th grade book.

amother

↑ Indigo

Tue, Jul 17 2018, 10:35 am

I just read through all the posts again - put together a list of potential books - so thank you very much!!!!

other ideas are still welcome!

bigsis144 ↓

Tue, Jul 17 2018, 10:55 am

I taught 5th grade and read The Phantom Tollbooth aloud at the end of classes from spring onwards. I love that book so much!!

All the students enjoyed it, but some “got it” better than others, usually depending on how many of the idioms they were familiar with, or if they could recognize and appreciate grammar or math-based puns.

-

The school I went to for elementary kept secular books mostly out of the curriculum until 7th/8th grade (when they got the Medorah/Artscroll-brand literature books with censored Around the World in 80 Days, Rikki Tikki Tavi, etc.). So in middle school we were writing book reports on A Light for Greytowers or BY Times books (even though I totally read secular books at home and my mother took me to the public library on the down-low. I was very good at compartmentalizing home vs school behavior)

amother

Brunette

Tue, Jul 17 2018, 11:51 am

My daughter read The Giver on her own when she was about 11 or 12 and liked it so much that she read the rest of the quartet.

I would also recommend Wonder by RJ Palacio. Besides being a great read, it qualifies as a classic in that a beloved pet dies.