Emergency! | Litsy

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So I got a call Wednesday morning that due to budget cuts our county can not keep the Elementary Gifted Students program in its current form. I am being moved into an open middle school English position in less than a month, for which I have no training and no experience and I am freaking out.

Friends and #TeachersOfLitsy please let me know some quality reads for 8th graders.

Share in the comments or tag me and #8thGradeReads in your posts.

Samplergal I can be of little help with recs but once a list is going, I‘d be happy to donate some copies for you. 5y

Libby1 I like the Chains/Forge/Ashes series. I didn‘t read them with that age in mind but think they would work. Good luck! 💕

Chains

SenatorMothma I read this one in 8th grade and it is a fave. Not sure how well it's aged though.

Invitation to the Game

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ElishaLovesBooks I‘ve taught middle school for years (inclusion sped teacher) and would be happy to help you in any way I can. Some beginning suggestions: Maus, To Kill A Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men (7th and 8th), any Kwame Alexander books, The True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (can be controversial). I‘m sure I have tons more ideas- these are just off the top of my head. 5y

ElishaLovesBooks Hey, Kiddo is a great graphic novel. Scythe and Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman are dystopian/future and really great. The House of the Scorpion is sci-fi. Someday We Will Fly-WWII historical fiction. Flygirls- also historical fiction I think. So much great YA literature right now! I hope this helps! (edited) 5y

ElishaLovesBooks Oh, and I agree with @Libby1- Chains series is great but really I think anything by Laurie Halse Anderson is phenomenal but she does deal with very serious and emotional topics. 5y

llwheeler No suggestions from me, just want to say I'm sorry to hear that. Both for the stress and change for you, and that a gifted program is being cut. I was in a gifted program in elementary and I think they're valuable. 5y

Tamra

Hatchet

julesG I'm from Germany, hence I'm not sure what exactly 8th grade English level in the US means. Kids here read the following this year, in grade 7 (which is 12/13 year Olds)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

saresmoore Holy crap. That‘s such a whirlwind of a life change and I am so sorry you have to deal with that! 5y

Billypar Good luck with such an abrupt transition! The tagged book was my favorite from that time (7th or 8th grade). On the plus side, there should be a lot of existing teaching materials for it, but I like the examples you mentioned (unfortunately not a part of my 1990s education).

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Billypar Graphic novels would be great....are Persepolis or Maus age appropriate? (I'm not a teacher, FYI). I had Maus assigned in a college contemporary lit class, but I feel like there could be 8th grade-adapted lessons. 5y

Jas16 I am so sorry that you being thrust into such a major change. This must be so stressful. 5y

SW-T Good luck! 5y

madamereadsalot1 My son's favorites in junior high were Freak the Mighty, Milkweed, and The Watson's go to Birmingham. 5y

batsy That must be stressful! All the best with the change 🍀 5y

EyesOnly34 The outsiders 5y

Alyson_reads Instead of books I'll give you authors: Kwayme Alexander, Elizabeth Acevedo, Jason Reynolds, Dan Gemeinhart, Angie Thomas, Laurie Halse Anderson, Alam Gratz... Also. Look up Project Lit - their book list is amazing. 5y

Alyson_reads Alan* Gratz 5y

Lucy_Anywhere Eeek, what a change! I'm from the UK, but kids in Y8 typically read Dracula, Frankenstein, Holes, The Jungle Book, Maus, A Christmas Carol (we're mad for Dickens!), The Boy in the Striped Pajamas... 5y

mabell I‘m sorry - what a change and so little notice. 😕 But I‘m sure your sense of humor will help get you through! 🤪 Best of luck in the transition! 5y

TobeyTheScavengerMonk @Samplergal @llwheeler @saresmoore @Jas16 @SW-T @batsy @mabell Thanks very much for the well wishes. Right now I am 25% You can do this! and 75% gut-churning anxiety but that balance is slowly shifting. 5y

TobeyTheScavengerMonk @Libby1 @Tamra @Alyson_reads @julesG @madamereadsalot1 @EyesOnly34 Thanks so much for the recs! Planning a classroom library is my way to destress right now. 5y

TobeyTheScavengerMonk @xicanti Any good coming-of-age manga recs? Or really anything that might suit an early teen? @rretzler Any suggestions of 8th grade appropriate books your boys love/loved? 5y

TobeyTheScavengerMonk @SenatorMothma Good call! I read that one around that age too. 5y

TobeyTheScavengerMonk @ElishaLovesBooks Thanks so much for the recs! I pretty much read no YA so this is a totally new area for me. 5y

TobeyTheScavengerMonk @Billypar @Lucy_Anywhere Thank you for the input! I only have a vague idea of what‘s appropriate for that age. My brother and I have been debating Maus (he thinks it‘s more for older teens). 5y

xicanti I didn‘t comment before because I mostly read adult stuff when I WAS 14 and I don‘t know if I‘ve got a good grasp on what the Youth Of Today like, but now I‘ve realized SILVER SPOON is probably a good fit! It‘s about a city kid who enters an agricultural high school in northern Japan and experiences culture shock as he learns where food actually comes from. He‘s a bit older than your students, but I think they‘ll still connect with him. 5y

xicanti Most of my other manga faves skew maybe too young (like YOTSUBA&!, an all-ages story about a 5-year-old who has everyday adventures) or feature older kids dealing with darker topics (A SILENT VOICE, about bullying and suicide; ORANGE, about depression and suicide; SKIP BEAT!, which is cute but also often dark). For western comics, I think Faith Erin Hicks‘s THE NAMELESS CITY could fit, and SQUIRREL GIRL‘s great (but set at university). 5y

Alyson_reads I teach 7th ELA and have a classroom library of over 2,500 books. It's my favorite thing ever. 5y

rretzler I can and would love to give you a list of books that my boys have loved - problem is they are both gifted and thus I have no idea what is actually age appropriate for an 8th grader 🤣 (plus the younger is mildly dyslexic and hates to read!). If you would email me: robin@retzlerfamily.com, I would be happy to give you an idea of what books they have loved. I‘m sorry to hear of your change - both for you and the gifted kids who will not be served☹️ 5y

rretzler Just to get started - Raina Telgemeier and Kazu Kibuishi are favorite graphic novelists. Kabuishi has the Amulet series which might be a little young, but Keegan loved it. Jeff Smith‘s Bone series is good. Noelle Stevenson‘s Nimona. Gene Leun Yang is another age appropriate graphic novelist. I think Maus would be fine for the advanced 8th grader but you may want to read it through first. Frank Miller‘s The Dark Knight Returns (edited) 5y

rretzler There are tons of classic and recent middle-grade books that have been turned into graphic novels. Jeanne duPrau‘s Ember series, Miss Peregrine‘s Home for Peculiar Children series - both of which are good as books as well. Plenty of others. On the non graphic side, Keegan has read and enjoyed John Green; Beckham loved Rick Riordan. 5y

rretzler Lots of good dystopian series - Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, Divergent, Uglies, The Giver (probably on the young side), Ender‘s Game (more SciFi but one of my favorites), Life As We Knew It, The Testing. A couple that we haven‘t read that we‘ve heard good things about - Legend, The Selection, Matched. 5y

rretzler Ernest Cline‘s Ready Player One and Armada - these are probably more high school-ish, but gamers would appreciate them. Code Name Verity series has a female protagonist but is very good. To me, it seems difficult to find good books in that age group with a male protagonist. More female protagonists - When by Victoria Laurie, The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner. 5y

rretzler I‘ve read The Orphan Band of Springdale by Anne Nesbet and really liked it - it might be a little young, maybe not but she has another called Cloud and Wallfish which is Berlin Wall related. I bought it for Keegan but neither of us has read it yet. Authors we‘ve read and liked that I‘ve not yet mentioned - Jason Reynolds, Kwame Alexander, Stephen Chbosky. Perks of Being a Wallflower is a wonderful YA book, but may not be welcome in all classrooms 5y

Centique My daughter is year 10 but some favourites from 2 years ago include Uglies, It Ain‘t So Awful Falafel, I Am Malala, To All The Boy‘s I‘ve Loved Before, Fangirl, books by Rebecca Stead, Pam Munoz Ryan. Hope that helps! There are some good diverse lists on Common Sense Media and amightygirl.com too 5y

rretzler I saw several mention The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - it‘s very good - IMO it may be a little young but again, what do I know - my boys read it in elementary school. I don‘t think I saw anyone mention The Book Thief and Markus Zusak has another book out now as well but I don‘t think it was as well received. One of Beckham‘s friends enjoyed Rainbow Rowell‘s books. Once by Morris Gleitzman caught my eye recently 5y

rretzler @Centique We loved books by Rebecca Stead - When You Reach Me is one of my favorites. (I read it with both boys and once on my own!) 5y

Aswenson I know my school‘s 8th grade English teacher can‘t keep any Kasie West books on her shelves. Variant is another favorite title, and A Child Called It. 5y

EyesOnly34 @TobeyTheScavengerMonk Glad to help!! 5y

TobeyTheScavengerMonk @xicanti Yeah, that‘s my big issue too. I was reading adult novels at that age! Thanks for the ideas. Silver Spoon is the kind of thing I‘m looking for and Faith Erin Hicks seems to have a lot of great stuff I can add to my ever growing list. Squirrel Girl would be great! Went and bought the first Ms. Marvel trade for my classroom today too! 5y

TobeyTheScavengerMonk @Alyson_reads I‘ve only worked with grades 3-5 students for years so I am freaking out! Hearing from 6-8 teachers that love it makes me feel so much better. 5y

TobeyTheScavengerMonk @Centique @Aswenson Thanks so much for the recs and I‘ll check out that site. (edited) 5y

TobeyTheScavengerMonk @rretzler Thank you for all of the great ideas. I‘m compiling a massive list of suggestion and I‘m planning to chip away at them and build my library as I get to know the kids and what they‘re into. This really gives me an idea of where to start! 5y

rretzler Glad to help. I do have some other ideas - I compiled a list for Keegan this summer of about 30 books with mostly male protagonists, so if you‘re interested just email me. My 8th grade English teacher was one of my favorites (she was a friend of the family) but we read great books - Macbeth, the play Twelve Angry Men and lots of others. Like you, i had switched to adult books by that time, actually I switched in 4th grade. Good luck and what fun! 5y

rretzler I forgot that my older son wanted me to mention Counting by 7s - it was a whole school read when he was in 7th grade and he loved it, and both wanted me to mention The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games), but I think it might be too young. 5y

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