Feb 29, 2020

What to Read Next in Your Middle School Classroom – and Why It’s So Important

How do you create connection with your students? What strategies do you use to get to know them as individuals, figure out who they are, see where they are struggling or shining – not just with your curriculum, but in life.

Kids need to know you’re invested in them.

I’ve found, books are the best way to connect with your students. Not just for humanities classes, like English and social studies – it works across the curriculum.

I’m not talking about the same tired list of classroom novels – I’m talking about the new, cutting edge YA fiction that’s out there right now.

Here’s what reading current YA tells your students:

• I’m paying attention to who you are
• I find value in the things you like
• I’m interested in knowing more about you
• I can relate to what’s going on in this book, therefore I can relate to you
• I respect your opinion
• I’m willing to spend time on the things you like

Ways to incorporate books into your classroom:

• Have students choose what to read individually and tie it to a classroom project
• Use it as the carrot in your classroom management system – they can “earn” reading time for Fridays or end of class, and you read aloud from a book you’ve chosen together (you can have them make suggestions, then vote, or YOU give the suggestion)
• Invite your school librarian what to read. Then, invite her into your class to do a book talk – sharing about the 5-10 newest/best YA books out there
• Have students recommend a book for YOU to read, then read it, and talk to them about it between classes, during tutorial time, during lunch, advisory/homeroom period etc.
• If you’re on a team, can use one book across the curriculum and do interdisciplinary projects (even pairing with one other teacher is powerful)

Why Read in Your Classroom?

Books are also a great way to discuss sticky topics in a neutral way. You can tackle subjects like:

• Social Media
• Family Relationships
• Friendships
• Addiction
• Eating Disorders

What to Read – or Not

If you’re not up for reading the YA greats, you can catch some of them as movies:

• To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
• All the Bright Places
• Locke & Key
• The Umbrella Academy
• The Shadowhunters

How Do You Find Books to Read?

Current YA fiction books are also a great way to connect the world to your own curriculum. You might be thinking, how could I possibly find current YA novels that fit my subject area? What to read? Well, I’m a step ahead, because truthfully, I worried about that too.

So, here’s what I did. I scanned some of my favorite lists to see what I could find. Here’s what I came up with. (And don’t worry, I’m sharing links to those lists in my show notes.)

SCIENCE

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful. By Arwen Elys Dayton.

Six short stories are connected by a world where the possibilities of body and genetic modification become darker and more advanced with each tale.

A Conspiracy of Stars. By Olivia A. Cole 

Octavia dreams of the day she joins her parents as a whitecoat, an elite N’Terra scientist who studies the wondrous natural world of their adopted planet, Faloiv. However, her surprising early internship in the secret labs reveals some scientists’ experiments have sinister motives threatening their tenuous peace with the Faloii.

MATH

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

In a perfect world with no hunger, no disease, no war, and no death, scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control. Cita and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the "art" of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer.
Rob and Maegan connect romantically after peeling back the layers of hurt they and their families have experienced. Rob’s dad embezzled money and is now incapacitated after a failed suicide attempt, while Maegan’s label as a cheater leaves her ostracized. Paired on a calculus project, they bond through shared struggles.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Internment by Samira Ahmed.

In America’s not-so-distant future, Muslim citizens are forced into internment camps, including 17-year-old Layla and her parents. Once there, Layla, with the help of fellow internees and an unlikely alliance with a guard, leads a resistance movement inside the camp.

The House of One Thousand Eyes by Michelle Barker

When Lena’s subversive uncle disappears without a trace in Communist East Berlin, she risks everything to find out what happened to him in this immersive historical mystery. Rife with well-crafted suspense and chilling period detail, this thrilling story will appeal to fans of dystopias and historical fiction alike.

ELA

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia.

After Dani’s graduation from the Medio School for Girls, where she trained to become a politician’s wife, a stranger opens her eyes to the privilege, oppressiveness, and excess of the ruling class, and she must decide whether to live forever in a gilded cage or take a stand.

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Almost American Girl by Robin Ha

Born in Korea to a single mother, Chuna Ha aged fourteen is suddenly wrenched from her happy existence in Seoul. Her mother has decided without any warning to uproot both their lives and start over in America. They land in Huntsville, Alabama where Chuna finds she has a new step family, a new school, and absolutely no friends. She picks a new name for herself, Robin, and struggles to fit in. Her command of the English language is poor, she’s bullied at school, and her step family is not too happy to have her. Then one day Robin’s mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined.

MUSIC

Spin by Lamar Giles.

After aspiring DJ Paris Secord is found murdered, two of her estranged friends, Fuse and Kya, must work together to figure out who killed Paris before her underground fandom, Dark Nation, ends them.

THEATER

Dramarama by E. Lockhart

Sarah, a.k.a. Sadye, and Demi know they are meant for lights brighter than their tiny Ohio town. When they make it to a musical theater and performing camp called Wildewood, Sadye has a rude awakening about where her talents lie. Although Sadye is obviously talented and hardworking, the camp is full of talented, hardworking, hungry young actors. Even with all of the jealousy and bad feelings, Sadye and her friends still find the time for joy. With Demi flying high, Sadye has to recognize her own shortcomings and understand what it means to work in an ensemble.

ART

What I Want You to See by Catherine Linka

Winning a scholarship to California’s most prestigious art school seems like a fairy tale to Sabine Reye’s, but the cutthroat world of visual arts is nothing like what she’d imagined. The teacher she hoped would be her mentor seems to take merciless delight in tearing down her best work-and warns her that she’ll lose the merit-based award if she doesn’t improve. Desperate, Sabine must decide how – and if – she can win her teacher’s approval. But what should she do when she accidentally becomes party to a crime so well-plotted that no one knows about it but her?

Building a Unique Connection

Engaging in conversations about the books your students are already reading brings a fresh dynamic to your classroom and builds connection in a unique way.

If you’re a beginning middle school teacher who is looking for strategies to help you streamline your classroom and have a deeper impact on your students, and you’d like support of a community who has those same goals and values, make sure you tune in over the next couple of weeks – I’m about to roll out an amazing opportunity. So, stay tuned, and make sure you’re keeping up with me on FaceBook and Instagram!

For links to the resources mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes.