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I honestly cannot remember a single book that I read for class in middle school. I have been thinking about it all morning (surely, there must have been one!) but I can only recall the big, fat anthology that we used in sixth grade. What did we do in middle school English??

If there's one thing I do know, the middle school kiddos at my school should have absolutely no trouble recalling what they've read... because we read some fabulous books! I've already mentioned my affinity for historical fiction in class (love it!). Here are a few of the other books that our 6th-8th graders read in Humanities:

The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake - An intense and moving story about a young girl coming to terms with herself. I have yet to meet a single student (male or female) who didn't love this book.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Best Book Ever. Truly.


The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan - Such a great compliment to our unit on ancient Greece.

Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes - Alternating prose and poetry, this is the story of a diverse group of students who come together through weekly poetry slams. Again, I have not yet met a student who didn't love this book.

Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipovic - For whatever reason, students just seem to love diaries and epistolary novels. Zlata's Diary is a vivid look at war-time Sarajevo through the eyes of a middle school-age student.

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Whether we are reading it or writing it ourselves, historical fiction is an amazing classroom tool. Rather than slogging through page after a page of a textbook (although textbooks have their place!), historical fiction allows students to absorb the facts, faces, nuances, and varied perspectives of the past from characters who they can relate to. The books below are just a few of the ones that my students have particularly enjoyed (and learned from!).

Copper Sun by Sharon Draper is one of my all-time favorite books, and I have yet to find a student - male or female - who hasn't also been drawn in by its magic. Copper Sun is the story of Amari, a fifteen-year-old girl growing up in a small village in Africa. But then one day the "milk-faced visitors" arrive, and shatter the only world Amari has ever known. The pale-faced men kill many of Amari's friends and family as she watches. Then the survivors are chained together, forced to walk through miles of jungle, shipped across the ocean to America, and sold to the highest bidder.

After Amari is bought as a birthday present for a wealthy farmer's son, she meets Polly, an indentured servant. From that point on, Amari and Polly take turns narrating the rest of the story. Through their voices, the horrors of life on a southern plantation are given a human face. Although there is no shortage of cruel, white stereotypes, Amari and Polly learn that nothing is completely black and white. After a failed attempt to help cover up their mistress's scandalous secret, the two girls must work together to find their way to freedom.

I honestly cannot say enough good things about Copper Sun. Sharon Draper is an incredible storyteller, and as the granddaughter of a former slave, her depiction of the past is something that no reader will soon forget.


47 by Walter Mosley is a very, very different kind of story about slavery in the south, blending together both historical and science fiction. Fourteen-year-old 47 is a slave on the Corinthian Planation, going through the motions of every-day life, believing Mama Flore when she says, "White peoples gots as many ages as you can count, but slaves on'y gots four ages. That's babychile, boy or girl, old boy or old girl, an dead." But all of that changes the day he meets Tall John, a man who portrays himself to the master as a runaway slave. To 47, Tall John reveals that he can "read dreams, fly between galaxies, and make friends with any animal no matter how wild." He explains that he has come to the planet to defeat the evils of the Calabash, who have manifested themselves through 47's master and others like him. In order to win against them, he needs 47.

As he prepares for the ultimate war against the Calabash, Tall John works to re-train 47's mind, to show him that all people are meant to be equal, frequently repeating the refrain, "Neither nigger nor master be." I love the way this passage reveals how the young boy's perceptions were slowly transformed:

"...back th

1 Comments on Teaching with Historical Fiction, last added: 5/1/2010

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Chelle said, on 4/30/2010 10:34:00 PM

I read this last fall for a "teaching YA" class. While we who read it loved it we wondered if students would like it. Thanks for the review including a classroom reaction. As a future librarian I appreciate it! I recently read Esperaza Rising. Have you ever read/taught it? I loved The Book Thief, too.

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