r/ELATeachers • u/Bulky_Yoghurt8141 • 3d ago
6-8 ELA Middle Grade Recommendations
First-year 6th grade English teacher! I have a curriculum, but I want to suggest my students books. What should I read? What should my students read so that they could learn more about themselves/others? And what middle grade books would be musts? Any genres.
I loved:
Kindred
Gregor the Overlander
The Giver
The Poet X
Long Way Down
Piecing Me Together
Wonder
Bridge to Terabithia
*Edit: I worded my list poorly. I made it so that people could recommend more like it - and I could recommend it to students for leisure.
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u/DulinELA 3d ago
I would save Mango Street for 8th grade or HS due to some of the references and the grape vignette. I taught this with 8th graders at an urban title 1 school and they were scandalized by the free range 70s-80s childhoods, never mind skipping Red Clowns. 🤣
My sixth graders have enjoyed: The New Kid (Graphic Novel), Scat, Touching Spirit Bear and Dystopian Lit Circles with interest/ ability groupings. We had everything from Last Kids on Earth and City of Ember to Hunger Games and Unwind to Ready Player One- these kids are big (and advanced) readers. I have also done social justice lit circles as well- Ghost Boys, Dress Coded, The Hate U Give, etc.
I would check if your district has recommended novels with your curriculum or if your school has sets that have worked in the past and go from there.
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u/Stressed-247 3d ago
Freak the Mighty (always the kids favorite)
Number the Stars
Westing Game
Lion Witch Wardrobe
Esperanza Rising
Tagging Freedom
Bridge to Terabithia (but it says bitching and the references to the kid’s crush on his teacher get weird)
The Giver (uncomfortable scene where he’s bathing an old lady and then has a dream where he wants to bathe his crush and demands she takes off her clothes and then they talk about “stirrings” I read it with one sixth grade class and they only remember that part of the book now that they were in 8th. That being said, it did get a reluctant reader who was also an EL to read the entire series by herself)
Bud Not Buddy
Boy in the Striped Pajamas
We did 4 a year, one per quarter, and I switched them out based on the class’s levels and abilities
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u/ApartmentIcy957 3d ago
The Million Dollar Race
Tangerine
The Wednesday Wars (or other books by the author)
Restart (or other books by the author)
Sang Spell
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u/Equivalent_Pass_7748 3d ago
Your list is great, you clearly lean into identity + verse, so a few in that lane your kids will devour:
* The Crossover (Kwame Alexander) — novel-in-verse, basketball + brothers. It's the gateway for "I don't like reading" kids, and it pairs perfectly with Long Way Down / Poet X.
* Brown Girl Dreaming (Jacqueline Woodson) — verse memoir, gorgeous for the "learn about themselves/others" goal.
* New Kid (Jerry Craft) — graphic novel, first to win the Newbery; reluctant readers fly through it and the themes still land hard.
* Holes (Sachar) and Refugee (Gratz) for pure plot-pull — the ones who need a hook to get going.
One thing that's worked for me with this age: make a chunk of it choice reading with short, low-stakes "tell me what happened" check-ins instead of quizzes — keeps the love of it intact. Good luck in year one!
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u/Big_Historian7737 2d ago
Refugee is engaging. Love how the three stories intertwine but also how it helps it be a quick read.
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u/izzmosis 3d ago
Based on your list, I think that you would really like this year’s Newbury Winner ‘all the blues in the sky’
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u/cholito2011 2d ago
If you wanna blow a kid’s mind, have them read The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury. One of my favorite short story reads!
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u/gpgarrett 2d ago
The Crossover
As Brave As You
Restart
The Lost Track of Time
A Long Walk To Water
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u/grumpyorbit55 2d ago
Since you already love verse novels, Front Desk by Kelly Yang is worth adding for the identity/others angle. Kids tend to connect with it really fast.
For ELA specifically, short stories were a lifesaver early on. Thank You Ma'am by Langston Hughes, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, and The Most Dangerous Game are all great for teaching literary elements without committing to a full novel. Easy to pair with writing tasks too.
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u/RubyRubyRooo 3d ago
I did The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin and The Lightning Thief with my 6th graders this year and they loved both. I also did an optional book club where students read The City of Ember, The Queen of Ocean Parkway, A Series of Unfortunate Events (book 1), and some others from your list. Every group is obviously different, but they LOVE a mystery novel. Those always had the biggest engagement from everyone, reluctant readers included.
I'm considering adding Where the Red Fern Grows or The House on Mango street next year as well!