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How Tía Lola Came to Stay ties into themes of identity, family, love, and change. This text is wonderful for a read aloud in younger grades, and literature discussions in 5th and 6th grades. This literature guide aligns with common core standards for fifth and sixth grade and includes: • 19 reader response pages with comprehension questions and a longer reader response question that requires students to write an extended response. • An assessment rubric for the reader response and discussion

Students who enjoy fantasy, ghost stories, and supernatural stories will enjoy Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, which is a good read aloud, small group discussion text, or independent study for an advanced reader. This guide includes: • 14 menu-style reading response guides that include vocabulary words for students to define while reading, space to summarize the reading, three "required" questions to answer and between six and nine other questions to answer regarding the text.

Salsa Stories, a collection of short stories by Lulu Delacre, is a great text to use to study short stories, reinforce various reading strategies with students, and study the themes of tradition, family, and heritage. This guide includes: o An introduction and review of the family tree o Discussion sheets with vocabulary and comprehension questions for all 7 short stores. o Multiple-choice comprehension quizzes for 5 of the stories. o 7 final assessment ideas o A teacher�s guide with

The Incorrigibles are three children found in the woods outside Ashton Place and when Penelope Lumley arrives to be there governess the mysteries begin. This text is a great one for building vocabulary and for students who enjoy reading mystery stories. This literature guide addresses Common Core standards RL 1, 3 and 5 and includes: • 15 literature response sheets with vocabulary words and comprehension questions. • 9 final project ideas, and • 4 final short answer questions.

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen is the story of a young relationship that is constantly changing. This story, wonderful for small group discussion, addresses text structure, point of view, and tone and voice. Students will discuss character development, how plot events shape character understandings, and the theme of identity. This guide is appropriate for students in grades 6-8, with content objectives from the 6th and 7th grade common core ELA standards. This literature guide includes: • Qu

Replay by Sharon Creech is the story of a spunky young boy who learns about his family and himself through a school play. Students will discuss change, character development, and how we develop our identity as they read and discuss this novel. This literature guide includes: 16 reader response pages with text-specific questions, 10 final essay prompts, 4 final project ideas, questions aligned with common core standards RL.6.1, RL.6.3, RL.6.5, and SL.6.5. This literature guide was written for 6

Ginger Pye is the classic story of a dog, the children who love him, and the mystery that ensues when he disappears on Thanksgiving Day. In reading and discussing this text, students will explore major and minor story conflicts, how to piece clues together to solve a mystery, and how characters express various character traits throughout a story. This literature guide includes: • 16 Reader Response menus that incorporate questions related to figurative language, comprehension, inference, and a

Listening for Lions is the story of Rachel Sheridan, a girl whose missionary parents die of the influenza, leaving Rachel adrift and at the mercy of the Pritchards, a couple who are only interested in using her for their own gain. Throughout the story, Rachel must navigate a complex world, while forming her identity and trying to return to the land she loves. Students will enjoy Rachel’s adventures, and discuss themes of family, perseverance, and identity. This literature guide includes: • 14

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is a funny, quirky, suspenseful, thought-provoking novel about a boy whose childhood is defined by trying to escape a man who is trying to kill him. This is a great fall read aloud, or novel study for literature circle discussions. In this novel study, students will build vocabulary skills, analyze quotes and dialogue, answer comprehension questions, and respond in writing to a variety of topics and ideas. This guide is based on the common core standards (an

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is a great read aloud for fourth or fifth grade, or literature circle book for fifth, sixth, or seventh graders. Students will enjoy discussing the character development, the conflict between Delphine and her mother, and the setting of 1968 Oakland California. Finally, students will enjoy researching and discovering more about the Civil Rights Movement and African American history with projects based off of the history embedded in the narrative. This li

What happens when a mysterious library card lands in the hands of four very different characters? That’s the premise of Jerry Spinelli’s The Library Card. Each story within this book lends itself to a discussion of plot events, character development, and writing techniques. This literature guide includes: • 16 Reader Response Journal sheets with questions about language and vocabulary, text structure, and analysis. • 10 final project ideas. This literature guide is written for 5th grade co

Any Small Goodness by Tony Johnston tells the story of Turo, an eleven-year-old growing up in the barrio of Los Angeles. With humor and wit, Turo tells the story of life in the barrio, from his grandmother’s cooking to dealing with gang violence. This text will engage early middle-schoolers in either read aloud or literature discussions about everything from identity to morality. This literature guide includes: • 15 reader response sheets that incorporate vocabulary, reading comprehension, an

Junebug by Alice Mead is the story of a nine-year-old growing up in the project, is one of hope and optimism in the face of challenge and conflict. This literature guide includes 9 reader response journal pages, and five final assessment ideas. This literature guide was written for students in 6th grade, but could be used with students in grades 4-7 depending on their reading level and interests.

Holes, the story of a boy sent to juvenile detention facility, is a modern classic. This literature guide provides two sets of questions. One focuses on comprehension (set A), while the other focuses on higher order thinking (set B). In addition, this guide includes 10 final assessment ideas. This literature guide primarily addresses Common Core Standards RL.5.1, RL.5.2, and SL.5.1.

Picture of Hollis Woods tells the story of how one young girl shapes her understanding of family and her identity. As students read and discuss this text, they will talk about how conflict shapes identity, how authors develop a story using a variety of techniques, and how a character navigates complex relationships. This literature guide includes: • 13 reader response sheets that include summarizing, text-driven questions, and space for students to take notes during discussion. • 5 final ess

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is an engaging, challenging text for middle school and high school readers. The narrative, about a spry, thoughtful young girl growing up in 1899 in Texas, who struggles to understand nature, the theory of evolution, her place in the world, and her future. As a read aloud or literature discussion, this text will challenge high-level middle school readers and engage high school readers. Incoporate a reader response journal with this literature guide, which includ

The story of Jason’s trek through the mountains of northwest Canada to the Klondike is the story of grit, perseverance, and a lot of luck. Students will enjoy reading about the peril of Jason’s journey, while learning about the Klondike gold rush. This literature guide includes: • 14 Reader Response pages that include vocabulary and figurative language analysis, comprehension and discussion questions, and some research prompts. • 2 assessments, one for Part I and one for Parts II and III. •

Loser is the story of misfit Donald Zinkoff who doesn’t realize just how different he is. Through reading and discussing this story, students will discuss the importance of perspective and point of view in fiction, the development of a character and the topic of how experiences shape us. This literature guide includes: • 13 Reader Response Sheets • 9 Final Assessment ideas including 5 essay questions and 4 project ideas. This literature guide was developed for 5th grade Common Core standard

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson, captures the middle school experience through the lens of Frannie, an African American girl growing up in the early 1970s. This novel is great for a read aloud, or literature circle novel. This literature guide includes: • Comprehension and analysis questions based on the Common Core Standards for every reading section of 1-2 chapters each. • 10 Emily Dickinson poems taken from http://www.bartleby.com/113/index1.html. • 3 short answer and multiple choice assessm

Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan tells the story of Naomi Soledad León Outlaw, a spunky, thoughtful young girl growing up with her grandmother and brother in Avocado Acres Trailer Rancho. But, Naomi’s life is turned upside down when her mother returns and she is off on an adventure to keep the family she loves together. Through reading and discussing this novel, students will explore language, character development, plot structure, and discuss themes of family, love, and change. This Lite