This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Great Books and Literature Guides for Middle Schoolers.

Great Books and Literature Guides for Middle Schoolers

Our middle schoolers will be high schoolers before we know it. So, we want to invest well and make the most out of middle school.

One of the things we 7Sisters wanted to think about when we were homeschooling our tweens was: how do we make middle school useful, but not take all the joy out of learning? Middle school years are the last years when kids can just have fun with education without having to earn credits. Therefore, we want to invest well, prepare them for high school, and have some fun.

The 7Sisters story

There is a group of six of us moms who homeschooled our 20-some-odd kids in co-ops for years. (That would be Sabrina, Kym, Vicki, Marilyn, Allison, and Sara.) After a few years, we started an umbrella school, as well. We enjoyed functioning together in educating our kids.

As we saw the end of our homeschooling with our own kids coming to an end, we decided to start sharing the curriculum that we created with other homeschool families. We wanted others to know that there is no-busywork curriculum out there!

We had created lots of no-busywork curriculum because our teens had told us that many textbooks are boring because each chapter has a uniform number of pages, whether there is anything to say necessary to say or not.

Our teens loved doing Language Arts and electives together. There were lots of kinds of learners so, we made sure the curriculum was adaptable to different levels of rigor. If they were interested in the topic or wanted to add rigor, there were meaningful activities to earn honors credits.

So, we started publishing the curriculum online. We like the name 7Sisters, because we realized that’s because we’re all in this homeschooling thing together. Everyone who was part of the homeschool community is our seventh sister, so, or a seventh sibling for all those dads out there.

Let’s talk about literature for middle schoolers

There are lots of wonderful books for middle schoolers to read! Remember: there’s not ONE right way to homeschool middle school, so choose books that fit your tween’s needs and interests, such as:

Books for fun (lighthearted books with no need to do a study guide for them)
Classic and excellent modern books at their age demographic
We also suggest introducing literature study guides by doing four to nine guides per year

7Sisters literature study guides provide an introduction to literature analysis skills. These guides are not supposed to be exhaustive because that’s exhausting. Instead, the guides cover one or two literature analysis skills in each guide. Over the year, young people develop literature analysis skills, and still enjoy reading.

7Sisters Literature Study Guides for Middle School

We 7Sisters like to create no-busywork literature study guides that do not take the fun out of the book. Here are our favorites:

Esperanza Rising

Esperanza Rising is the story of a young girl who comes from Mexico and is working on a farm. It is a gentle, attention-catching, and precious book.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

This is an empowering, true story of a young man in Africa who builds a windmill for his village.

Misty of Chincoteague

This is one of 7Sister Vicki’s favorite stories of all time! It is a fabulous, classic book to cover if your middle schooler is learning American geography. Students learn about the wild pony roundups on the Outerbanks of North Carolina.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

This is a good read-aloud for the whole family! If you wish, your middle schooler can listen and then do the literature study guide.

The Boy on the Wooden Box

The true story of a Jewish boy and Oskar Schindler during World War II. It is compelling but not overwhelming for young people.

The Phantom Toll Booth

Isn’t this a wonderful story? This classic is another good read-aloud for the whole family. If you wish, your middle schooler can listen and then do the literature study guide.

The Watsons go to Birmingham

This is a very important book that is very gently and wisely presented. It is a great addition to American history studies.

Snow Treasure

This classic book is based on the true story of the Nazi occupation of Norway and the legends about the children saving the national gold.

Let’s talk about middle school writing guides

Every homeschooler is unique! We want to introduce writing skills that will prepare them for high school, but not take the joy out of learning. We 7Sisters created writing guides that give middle schoolers the basics without overwhelming them.

Essay writing

The Middle School Guide to Essay Writing covers the topic over a series of weeks: step by step. Middle schoolers learn the basics of writing the five-paragraph essay that they will be doing a lot of in high school. It is a gentle, user-friendly, success-oriented, but not cheesy guide.

Fairy tale writing

It is wise to make sure that every year, there are some fun writing assignments. In middle school, this is a great time to just have some fun writing a fairytale. This guide will take you step by step, week by week for several weeks, one little assignment at a time, to write an absolutely delightful fairytale.

Report writing, if you have a reluctant writer

This is a freebie for homeschool parents. If you have young people who have not written a report, this can get you started. It is instructions on working together as a parent and middle schooler on writing that first report, so that your young person feels encouraged.

Research Readiness

If your middle schooler likes to explore interests, they would like a step-by-step guide to help them understand the process of writing a research paper. This is a good guide to get them started on the research-paper writing adventure.

Homeschooling middle school is so rewarding! Enjoy these years.

Join Vicki for a discussion of good books and guides.