English Language Arts - Methods and Madness

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Short Story Suggestions for 7th Graders

Every Friday my CT and I do a read aloud with our 7th graders, and we're running out of short story ideas. We're focusing on memoirs right now because we're doing a unit on non-fiction. We find ourselves in a Catch 22 situation because we need material that isn't too racy (our first read aloud was "First French Kiss" and, while they loved it, they could barely contain themselves) but is still more literarily sophisticated than they could read themselves (which is why we're not reading "Chicken Soup for the Soul" and the like). I've looked through the previous posts and I don't think I would feel comfortable reading about things like sexual abuse when we (purposely) don't really allow time for discussion or written reflection. I guess what I'm asking for are memoir texts at a high school reading level that are age-appropriate for middle schoolers. Suggestions? Anyone? Anyone?

--Cheryl