Novel Studies
Here are some of my favorite middle school novel and short story studies. As a rule, I tend to let student read what they want to read in my class and we learn and work on skills using their own texts or work with small groups in a book club format. However, there are times when a whole class text is necessary. Here are few of the novel studies that we have accomplished in the past couple of years.
The Diary of Anne Frank by Albert Hackett and Francis Goodrich
Still one of my favorite texts to teach, this play is such a moving and personal interpretation of a really dark time in history. Anne’s perspective is one that we can all learn from.
“Even after everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
Find my Anne Frank Unit here.
12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose
I started teaching 12 Angry Men when I moved to 7th grade and wanted to continue reading a play in the second semester. This one was a perfect addition to our curriculum. It deals with some very heavy material but is told in a way that allows for lots of discussion and discovery.
Give it a try with your middle schoolers. You’ll be surprised how much they grasp.
You can find all of the resources that I use here.
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
This text is so often read in middle school classrooms that it seems everyone has some ideas for teaching it. I am not unique in that respect.
For a little information about how I use mentor sentences to teach grammar during our Outsiders unit, you can check out this blog post though.
