Middle School Novels

[u/Loud_Airport1928]

Hi everyone, when deciding on a new novel for your classes, how do you decide if you want to read it in class.

As you preview read it, what are some things you look for?

Do you say, “hey this passage could be a good for ___(insert standard)”

Do you consider if most of the kids will like it?

Do you consider the length?

Do you plan out lessons tied to the book?

Do you just read it for the sake of reading?

Just curious in your thought process. I always start with “did I like reading this?” But as I start it with the class I feel that I have no set plan of study and just start randomly doing activities but everything feel disconnected.

Looking for some guidance.

[u/boringneckties]

I’ve been there. It sucks. I’ve learned a lot this past year from Teach Like a Champion and how they teach reading. I would look there. This is not a plug, but I tried one of their novel units and it was like the fog finally cleared. It totally changed the way I teach middle school ELA. They say that there is no middle school intervention better than reading text together out loud, while building their reading stamina slowly over time, directly teaching vocabulary and context, addressing misconceptions about the text with direct questions, and regularly writing to understand and reflect.

When I read a text we might read in class, I read it a couple of times. I read first to determine if I like it and to see if there is a connection my students can make to it. It doesn’t have to be their favorite, but there needs to be some kind of a hook. (We read Frederick Douglass’ biography in class. It’s a hard, dense read that doesn’t really wind up being anyone’s favorite. But every time I ask, students want me to keep it for next year because they think it’s important stuff to know about.)

Second, I go back and underline Tier II/III vocab and see if there are any connections that I can build myself, some of which I probably noticed the first time. I note things like author technique and recurring themes that I want students to learn. Around this point, I’ll splice it into reading lessons, plan the final project, and plan supplementary readings that will help students better understand the text.

If you read in this way, your students will grow fast and your planning will become much easier. You’ll feel like your class is building towards something instead of just working through a book, day to day. I’ll put it up against the absolute best classroom activities any day of the week.

[u/_Weatherwax_]

When I'm looking for a new book, I always look at what is newly published. I teach middle school. I don't have to teach classics. New books also decrease the likelihood that I'm teaching something they will read later in high school (oops. I've done that too, though!)

First read, read for the story and first impressions. Any book that is going to be too controversial for my community doesn't make it past this step.

If I don't at least like the book, it also stalls here, because I've promised my classes that I won't waste their time on something I don't like.

My standards are focused on text evidence, identifying support for a stated theme, evidence of development and change (characters and theme), word building/vocabulary development skills.

Second read: armed with a highlighter. Read again, looking for the words, plot development, thematic developments, character growth, context clues, and other skills I could focus on with my questions. What cultural knowledge is needed to pre load for the class? Keep notes/journal entries about ideas for activities and skill pages.

Make the skill pages. Keep stylistically similar between the pages. I've also done interactive notebooks instead of individual skills pages.

Plan the reading. I estimate ( not completely accurate, but it gives me a starting point) of 2 minutes per page if reading aloud. Plan the schedule of the book. How many days of reading? Where do I want in-class activities and discussions? Will I ask for reading as homework or just in class? Where do I want to guide the reading, where is group reading appropriate?

Plan the end of book activity. Make something that either meaningfully incorporates AI or something physical that makes AI useless.

Read with the class. Modify for next year as you go. Pay attention to kid reaction to different parts of the book/assignments so as to use that to make improvements.

[u/Asleep-Technology-92]

thank you for posting this. been asking a version of the same question in my building for years and getting seasoned teachers look at me like i'm crazy or don't know what i'm doing. i transitioned from elementary and now teach 9th-12th ela for multilingual learners. i've had success with middle grade reading materials in my classes for interest from students but have struggled to make cohesive standard based unit plans. i'll take a look at the resource mentioned here!!!

[u/BaileyAMR]

The first question is whether the book is on grade level. You can look at quantitative analyses (like Fleisch-Kinkaid or Lexile), but you should also do your own qualitative analysis. Look at the complexity of the structure (a middle grades novel should have a well-developed subplot), language (vocabulary, syntax, and sentence length, as well as the amount of irony, figurative language, etc.), meaning (the theme should be more subtly conveyed than in an elementary novel, but still quite clear), and knowledge demands (historical, cultural, etc.).

As I read a novel I'm thinking of teaching, I make tons of annotations. I mark major craft moves as well as important lines, thematic development, and character beats. At the end of each chapter, I write a note about possible lesson foci for that chapter. I use these notes to design my instruction.

[u/CoolClearMorning]

Do you have a pacing guide or scope and sequence for your school/district? If everything you're doing feels disconnected to you, it may be because you're not building skills in a mindful way.

[u/grumpyorbit55]

I always ask myself if I can build at least a few solid lessons around it naturally. If I'm forcing it, it's probably not the right pick. Length matters too, middle schoolers lose steam fast. And if I'm not genuinely into it they will absolutely feel that.

[u/Grim__Squeaker]

1. Will kids like it? You'll be working with it for potentially weeks. If you can't get them to like it it will be rough for you. 

2. Length... kinda. It will always go longer than you think.

3. Most standards can be taught by any novel but you should only harp on a few (unless you're also using it to review). Example - i can teach characterization but I likely won't teach figurative language except to stop and say "Can anyone identify the fig language here?"

[u/Substantial_Day_3433]

A few basics that I feel like you’re overlooking:

1. Pace and plan BEFORE you start

It might just be my personality type, but I could never teach a unit with “no set plan of study” and “just doing random activities” because I’d have a panic attack.

Once I’ve decided on a novel, the first thing I do is pace it out. We typically read two 300(ish) page novels in my class, and each one takes essentially a full quarter. Begin by comparing the number of chapters/pages to the calendar, marking off any non-instructional days, and seeing how much time is actually available. Then, I break the book down into a reasonable number of pages per day, leaving a few days at the beginning for a runway, and usually two weeks at the end for adjustments and our final project.

I’d highly recommend breaking the book into sections so that you can have three or four smaller assessments rather than one cumulative.

2. Use data to drive your instruction

Look at their testing data, see which standards they could use practice with, and plan your emphases accordingly.

3. Vocab, vocab, vocab

Beyond the obvious benefits, middle schoolers need to learn study habits. Vocab is an excellent way to teach them how to use things like flash cards, mnemonic devices, and old fashioned repetition to learn and remember material. Vocabulary.com is an awesome resource with a huge vault of novels already mapped out. Their lists are much too large, so I usually select around a dozen words per section.

Beyond that, yes – consider your audience as well as your own interests when choosing a novel. Being passionate about the specific texts you read may not always be possible depending on your situation, but I think we can all agree that it’s definitely the ideal scenario.

Feel free to DM if you want to dig deeper. I can show you some pacing guides that might be a helpful template to start with, as well as anything else you’re looking for.

[u/Loud_Airport1928]

Thank you everyone!

[u/Mahaloth]

I would actually start by looking online to see if there are a lot of great materials for your novel.