Group Description:

8- 7th graders
Low reading level
Boys and Girls
Want to read in pairs or small groups
English Language Learners

Reading Needs:
Low Lexile/Reading Level
Historical Fiction
High Interest
Short

Book Suggestions
Title Lexile Extent

Milkweed 510 208

Fever,1793 580 304

Catch a Tiger by its Toe 540 200

Between Shades of Grey 490 344

The Trap 700 247

A Million Shades of Grey 700 216

My Own Revolution 610 174

March 1 760 121

Results
Two girls selected ​Fever, 1793​ after hearing about the differences between current medicine and
medicine practiced hundreds of years ago and the connection to the cold currently going around the
school
Three girls, interested in animals, selected ​A Million Shades of Grey. T ​ hough their initial interest
was the “cute elephant”, through our discussion, the girls related to the young boy’s tough decision to
seek safety or save his animals.
The 3 boys in the group decided to read ​Milkweed​ because they had prior knowledge of the
Holocaust and felt comfortable knowing the history in which the book took place. Prior knowledge and low
lexile made this book a good fit for these three boys.
The last two boys chose to read ​March.​ This book was added to the list even though it was not
fiction. The book was added because of the format and the content. The two boys have been participating
in a Black Student Union and have been studying Civil Rights in another club. This book met the teacher’s
​ y Kekla Magoon
criteria and caught their interest. If they will allow it, I will suggest ​Fire in the Streets b
which deals with the aftermath of Dr. King’s assassination or ​The Silence of our Friends​ by Mark Long
and Jim Demonakos which shows stories of both a black family and a white family from Houston as they
cross paths to fight for justice.