These sites and resources are specifically geared to help teachers to select books and plan activities. They could also be useful for homeschooling families or summer classes. These are just thoughts and advice, and actual lesson plans and choices may rely on the requirements of your school system or educational program.
My site is always a work in progress, so there will be more here later.
Current Events and Issues in Education
Back to School, Back Together: Classroom Resources for Teachers and Students
“A new school year is upon us, and students are returning to the classroom—some for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic was declared in March 2020. How can educators and families navigate an uncertain landscape? To help everyone get off to a great start, the Yale Child Study Center + Scholastic Collaborative have created “Back to School, Back Together,” an online hub with SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) resources, stories of resilience, and expert insights.”
Bringing a Trauma-Informed Lens to Early Childhood Education
“Being mindful of the many difficulties the youngest students may be experiencing is one way teachers can help them weather the pandemic.”
Controversial Books in the Classroom
This has become a hot topic issue in recent years, so I decided to include a section with some information about this. I’m not a teacher, but I am a reader, and I have encountered a number of books that have content that I would consider difficult and controversial, so I have some thoughts on the issue myself. Based on my own memories of the books that were the hardest for me to read, I think that emotional understanding and emotional management are major issues in this area. Books are meant to immerse readers in the story and characters and to evoke emotions, and frankly, there are some books that immerse readers in some really uncomfortable circumstances and evoke some truly painful emotions. It’s not that everyone should avoid books that make them uncomfortable, but there’s no denying that there will be some books that are more painful to some people than to others and will cause some readers to pull away. Those books are often among the ones labeled “controversial”, and they require some forethought and probably preparation of readers’ expectations. Personally, I think there’s no substitute for understanding where people are emotionally (or at least giving them the chance to consider their own starting emotions), giving them a sense of where books are likely to take them emotionally, and making sure that they are prepared to navigate that journey. Some of the resources below address similar concepts and tactics, and they come from professionals.
These resources also discuss the reasons for including these types of books in the curriculum, which is something that I think is important to discuss with students themselves as well as with any questioning parents. If a book is being read for educational purposes, I think the readers should have an idea of what they’re expected to get out of it when they enter into it. Knowing that there are important goals and a real purpose behind the reading may help students to get through the more difficult parts of the reading because they’ll at least know that there is something beyond the depressing or stressful parts. If you’ve read many of my book reviews, you may have encountered some books that I’ve read where I explained that I went into the story knowing what it was and that I was going to find it stressful. When I graduated years ago, part of me was relieved that I wouldn’t have to read stressful books if I didn’t want to ever again because I was controlling my own reading material. However, there have been times when I have deliberately sought out books of this nature because there was something about each of them that I wanted to explore. I didn’t pick these books because I had any obligation to do so but because there was something in particular I wanted from them and from the reading experience.
The fact that there is a deeper purpose behind the reading is the reason why these books are necessary in the first place. Being controversial just for the sake of being controversial is something people do when they want to be “edgy” and no other real purpose. On the other hand, addressing and discussing topics that are mentally and emotionally difficult to handle for the purpose of understanding the issues involved and building mental abilities is being educated, and it’s more worth the time and emotional investment. This is an important distinction. (Although, for some, if they can be “edgy” while being “educated”, it’s a plus.) “Controversial” books are often books that relatively few people would pick purely for fun, but they are for intellectual fulfillment or emotional development. If you’re going to focus on something that might be controversial, it helps to know your own purpose and be able to explain it to others up front.
One last personal thought I have on this topic is that the lessons people take from particular books may not always be the same as each other, depending on how they interpret parts of the story and what parts of the story remind them of incidents from their own lives. Parts that might go past some people or seem inconsequential may stand out sharply to someone else. The teacher may want to use a particular book to illustrate certain concepts, but they may have to address other aspects of the story along the way as they come up in classroom discussions. Being familiar with the story yourself is important because it will help you to address questions and concerns that might arise, but it’s okay to acknowledge that even a “good” book for one particular topic might have imperfections in the way it addresses other issues. The only advice I can offer for these issues is to acknowledge that there may be better ways to explain things other than the way the author did it and to invite readers to consider how they might have explained it if they were the author.
Similarly, characters in the book may not be people we would want as role models because they are also imperfect. They can be useful for character analysis or character study, while teachers and readers can draw distinctions between characters that are interesting to read about but who would be difficult to deal with as humans in real life and why that is. Just because a character is well-written for their role in the story doesn’t mean that we can’t acknowledge that aspects of their behavior would be difficult or unacceptable in real life or certain settings. Readers can discuss things that characters say and do and explain how they might have done things differently or what the characters’ choices explain about the characters themselves, how they’re clues to the characters’ inner thoughts, and whether or not they make sense for the way the characters are described in the story or if there are inconsistencies. Most of this is pretty standard for book discussions anyway, but you can prime readers from the beginning to consider these aspects of the book for the purpose of discussion. They don’t need to expect characters to be perfect or even likeable if the goal is to see if they’re understandable or well-explained.
After everything I’ve said, realistically, there is probably no perfect approach to controversial books. Although some tactics may help, handling rough topics that evoke strong emotions is likely to be rough and emotional, to some degree, just because that’s the nature of the situation. Probably, that’s the most important thing for everyone involved to understand and adjust their expectations accordingly. It’s not about things being smooth and easy so much as how we handle it when things are difficult and whether or not it’s ultimately worth it.
Bringing Controversial Books into the Classroom
“How teachers can successfully navigate the tricky territory of introducing books with challenging content into the curriculum” from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Using “Controversial” Texts: Why We Need Them and How to Use Them
Discusses what kinds of books could be considered “controversial” and the purposes behind including them in educational settings. It also includes tips on allowing students some flexibility in their reading choices.
Lesson Plans
Penguin School & Library Teacher and Librarian Resources
Offers free downloads of discussion guides for specific books. Also offers changing selection of webinars, virtual events, and contests where teachers can win prizes like books, supplies, and gift cards.
Buy lesson plans from other teachers on a variety of subjects, including activities and discussions related to books. Prices are fairly low but vary depending on the lesson plan or activity. If you have a particular book in mind, you can search for activities specifically related to that book.
Offers “Free classroom resources, inspiration, and support.” Includes free printables! At the top, you can select a grade range to view to customize your site experience, “Grades K-5”, “Grades K-5”, or “School Leaders.”
General Advice for Books and Discussions
I’ve been making my own page of books that I think would be good for class discussions and activities, but I’m not a teacher, just a book enthusiast, so I’ve included information from sites by professional teachers. My list of Books for Class Discussions deliberately ignores some of the more popular and typical books that are often read in school, like Sarah, Plain and Tall and From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, not because I don’t like them (I really do), but because other people have already covered those books very well, most teachers already know them and use them, and there are plenty of existing lesson plans based around them. I wanted to bring up some lesser-known books for a change of pace.
Below are resources from other sites about how to choose books and hold discussions.
10 Tips Experienced Teachers Have on Read-Alouds for New Teachers
Advice for reading aloud to students. From Scholastic’s The Teacher Store.
Reading Comprehension Strategy Series: How To Teach Students to Ask Questions When They Read
This site offers tips for helping students to ask questions about what they’re reading so they can better understand what they’re reading and become more engaged with it.
101 Chapter Books to Read (or Hear) Before You Grow Up
This list can be used to help teachers with selections of books to read, but I quibble with parts of the list because it doesn’t make any distinctions for age level and the person who assembled the list included many generally well-known titles without actually reading the books. The suggestions aren’t bad, but I think that knowing whether or not to introduce them to a class involves more in-depth knowledge of the books and a sense of their age-appropriateness. Some books can be really great and have fascinating themes, but if they’re too complicated for the kids to understand at their age and are unrelatable, they’re not going to be much help. On the one hand, I felt like some of the suggestions were kind of generic award-winners that weren’t really suggested for reasons other than that, but on the other, the writer does bring up a few lesser-known titles that I can tell were recommended because the writer actually knows them and loves them. Those are the suggestions that I think are the most worth taking, especially for kids who are old enough to understand them.
Guided Reading Book Lists for Every Level
Organized by both grade level (K-6) and guided reading level (A-Z). From Scholastic’s The Teacher Store.
How to Pick the Perfect Nonfiction Books
Advice for helping students to develop their curiosity and discover new interests. From Scholastic’s The Teacher Store.
Students with Disabilities
Books For Students with Disabilities
18 of the Best Books for Autistic Children
From Book Riot.
Best Books for Students who are DHH
A list of books for children who are deaf or hard of hearing, spanning a range of ages. These are books to read or have read to them. Some are about the subject of being deaf or hard of hearing itself, but not all.
Low Vision, High Contrast: Books for Kids That Need Contrasting Colors
Picture books with illustrations that include highly contrasting colors help children with low vision and other visual conditions. This page also cites Recommending Books for Kids with Low Vision from the ALSC Blog.
Speech and Language Children’s Books
Books about issues with speech, language, communication, and speech therapy, divided into categories, such as stammering, speech delay, selective mutism, and emotional well-being.
Books About People with Disabilities
Disability in YA & Middle Grade Historical Fiction
A list of historical fiction books with characters who have disabilities of various kinds. They are not specifically geared to be read by students with disabilities, but they offer insight into disabilities of different kinds, how they would have been viewed in different time periods, and how people may have coped with them in the past.
Disabilities are a natural part of the human condition and have existed all throughout human history. Human beings are imperfect and have limits, and some have conditions that impose more limits or challenges than others. We know that human beings of the past were sometimes blind or deaf, were unable to walk unaided, or suffered from various health conditions. Over time, we have come to understand many of these conditions better and have developed new ways to handle them, but acknowledging that disabilities and imperfections are timeless and that the humans of the past were just as human as the humans of the present may give students perspective and a greater sense of empathy, whether they have disabilities themselves or not.
Mystery Genre
Good for demonstrating the use of critical thinking skills.
The 100 Best Children’s and YA Mysteries of the Past 10 Years
Because my site is geared specifically for nostalgic books that are at least 10 years old, it’s going to be awhile before some of these end up on this site. The article was written in 2015. If you’re looking for a relatively recent mystery, you might try here.
Has descriptions of recommended mystery books of all levels, fiction and nonfiction (some of them are also covered on this site) plus suggestions for related activities.
Historical Genre
Some of these articles do not provide a list of suggested books, but I have my own list of Historical Fiction by Period (which also has some sections of additional resources about each time period, some associated non-fiction books, and some related subjects and activities).
About Using Historical Fiction
Common Core and the Challenge of Historical Fiction in the Classroom
Reasons to use historical fiction in the classroom.
Vitamins in Chocolate Cake: Why Use Historical Fiction in the Classroom?
Thoughts about supplementing lessons with historical fiction.
Historical Fiction Books
Some sites also have related non-fiction books.
Children’s historical fiction and non-fiction, listed by topic. These lists were created by teachers.
Disability in YA & Middle Grade Historical Fiction
A list of historical fiction books with characters who have disabilities of various kinds. They are not specifically geared to be read by students with disabilities, but they offer insight into disabilities of different kinds, how they would have been viewed in different time periods, and how people may have coped with them in the past.
Disabilities are a natural part of the human condition and have existed all throughout human history. Human beings are imperfect and have limits, and some have conditions that impose more limits or challenges than others. We know that human beings of the past were sometimes blind or deaf, were unable to walk unaided, or suffered from various health conditions. Over time, we have come to understand many of these conditions better and have developed new ways to handle them, but acknowledging that disabilities and imperfections are timeless and that the humans of the past were just as human as the humans of the present may give students perspective and a greater sense of empathy, whether they have disabilities themselves or not.
Books and Movies
I have lists of books with movie versions on my site, including Disney movies, Studio Ghibli movies, and others (including some that are short films) for people who like to both read the book and watch the movie to compare them. My lists are more general interest rather than oriented to school and educational setting, but they could provide some inspiration.
Below are other lists and sources of information on books and movies.
You can browse this list by age group.
Teachable movies for elementary and middle school classrooms
This is a book on Internet Archive. You would need an account on Internet Archive to borrow and read the book, but accounts on Internet Archive are completely free and easy to set up. You can read the basic description and contents list without an account. The movies described in the book are popular classics and many of them are based on books, which is why I mention the book here. Each movie in the book has a brief description and notes about themes for classroom discussions and activities. None of the sections are very long because about half the space is dedicated to leaving room for teachers to make their own notes in the book. Part of the introduction to the book is out of date because the book is from the 1990s and talks about VHS cassettes, but there are some helpful tips for previewing a movie and planning lessons and discussions around it.
Books Related to Other School Subjects
People often think of books as just reading books, but some fiction books can also be used to teach other subjects, illustrating concepts found in science and mathematics.
The Best Children’s Books for Early Math Learning
Picture books that can be used to emphasize mathematical concepts for young children and beginning readers. The books are organized by mathematical concept, including counting, operations, measurement, pattern recognition, shapes, and spatial relationships. From the Erikson Institute.
Reading Books Online
There are a few places where you or your students can read books for free online. This is helpful both for providing a variety of reading books, particularly ones that can be difficult to find any other way, and for allowing you to try books you’re considering before using them with your students. If you’re a homeschooling parent or just helping a small number of children with online classes, it’s even possible that these resources could take care of your book needs by themselves. Some of these resources also include audio versions, which can be helpful if you’re working with a visually-impaired student.
“Bookshare makes reading easier. People with dyslexia, blindness, cerebral palsy, and other reading barriers can customize their experience to suit their learning style and find virtually any book they need for school, work, or the joy of reading.”
Bookshare requires signing up for an account to access books. Schools and students in the United States can sign up for the service for free. Other individuals in the United States and other countries can also use the service for a fee, varying by location.
“A non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.” It’s free to use, but it requires you to sign up for an account. It has more than just public domain books. Various organizations, such as libraries and book-selling companies, have donated scanned copies of many books and also various audio recordings, some software (such as old computer games), and other materials. There is even help for users with print disabilities. Patrons may borrow up to 5 items at a time, and books can be borrowed for up to 14 days, with the option to renew. Recently, they made a change where they have books that you only borrow for an hour at a time because they figured out that’s about how long people spend read these books, and it helps keep them in circulation. However, if you borrow a book for only an hour, you can re-borrow it when your hour is up if you want to keep reading. When your time is up, the book simply disappears from your list of loans, so there are no late fees. You can also turn in books early if you’re done with them and want to get something else. Patrons can also place holds on books which are currently being loaned. There are multiple copies of many popular books. Most of the books in the library are in English because this library is based in California, but there are also copies of books in different languages.
An online collection of public domain works by the University of South Florida. The description on the main page states:
“Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. An abstract, citation, playing time, and word count are given for each of the passages. Many of the passages also have a related reading strategy identified. Each reading passage can also be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along or as supplemental reading material for your classroom. “
The collection contains more than children’s literature and is free for the public to use. You can listen to the audio version of a book while reading the text version of a book in your browser at the same time. You can search for books by author, title, genre (broad categories such as mystery, adventure, fantasy, and horror), collection (shows specific topics such as African-American Literature, The Princess Collection for stories about princesses, or specific series such as the Oz books or the Lang Fairy Books), or reading difficulty according to the Flesch-Kincaid grade level system. If you are looking for older children’s books or books from classic literature, like Sherlock Holmes stories, Dracula, A Christmas Carol, or Black Beauty, you can find them here! The site has works by Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and other famous authors.
Provides free e-books of books that are in the public domain. This site is useful for finding older books, like ones from the 1920s and earlier. Some of the older vintage series described on my site are here. There is no need to sign up for an account. There is no limit on the number of people who can read the same books at one time. E-books are available in multiple formats.
Funding Resources
Raise Funds for Your Classroom or Support a Teacher With ClassroomsCount™
“Teachers can start a campaign to get books, magazines, and products in students’ hands.”
From Scholastic.
Jestress's Forgotten Books and Stories 