6th Grade Extension Texts

Module 1: Hero's Journey

Grade 6-8 Texts (Lexile 925-1185)

• The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman
• The Wanderings of Odysseus: The Story of the Odyssey, Rosemary Sutcliff
• The Neverending Story, Michael Ende
• The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
• So You Want to Be a Wizard, Diane Duane
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum
• The Monsters and Creatures of Greek Mythology, Don Nardo
• The Heroes and Mortals of Greek Mythology, Don Nardo
• Greek Gods and Heroes, Robert Graves
• The Blue Sword, Robin McKinley
• Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, Edith Hamilton
• The Mythology Handbook: A Course in Ancient Greek Myths, Lady Hestia Evans
• The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley
• The Odyssey, Homer

Lexile above 1185

• Black Ships Before Troy, Rosemary Sutcliff
• The Hobbitt, J.R.R. Tolkien
• Heroes in Greek Mythology Rock!, Karen Bornemann Spies
• The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy, Padraic Colum
• Greek Mythology for Teens: Classic Myths in Today's World, Zachary Hamby
• Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece, Gustav Schwab
• 100 Characters from Classical Mythology: Discover the Fascinating Stories of the Green and Roman Deities, Malcolm Day
• D'Aulaires' Book of Green Myths, Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire

Module 2: Adversity Now and Then

Grade 6-8 Texts (925-1185)

• Timeline of the Middle Ages, Charlie Samuels
• Joan of Arc, Diane Stanley
• Under the Mesquite, Guadalupe Garcia McCall
• DK Eyewitness Books: Medieval Life, Andre Langley
• Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess, Page, Richard Platt
• The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History, Barbara Hanawalt
• Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck, Margarita Engle

Texts Above Lexile 1185

• Outcast, Rosemary Sutcliff
• Men of Iron, Howard Pyle
• Requiem: Poems of Terezin Ghetto, Paul Janeczko
• Aleutian Sparrow, Karen Hesse
• Becoming Billie Holiday, Carole Boston Weatherford
• Home of the Brave, Katherine Applegate
• Keisha's House, Helen Frost
• Locomotion, Jacqueline Woodson
• Partly Cloudy, Gary Soto
• The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano, Margarita Engle
• Poetry Speaks Who I Am, Elise Paschen
• Ringside, 1925: Views from the Scopes Trial: A Novel, Jennifer Bryant
• Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poems, Kristine O'Connell George
• Worlds Afire, Paul Janeczko

Module 3: World's Oceans

Grades 6-8 Texts (Lexile 925-1185)

• Endangered Planet, David Burnie
• Going Blue: A Teen Guide to Saving Our Oceans, Lakes, Rivers, & Wetlands, Cathryn Berger Kaye and Phillipe Cousteau
• Overfishing (Habitat Havoc), Therese Shea

Texts Above Lexile 1185

• Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Motion, Loree Griffin Burns
• The River Cottage Fish Book: The Definitive Guide to Sourcing and Cooking Sustainable Fish and Shellfish, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Nick Fisher

Module 4: Pesticides

Grade 6-8 Texts (Lexile 925-1185)

• None

Texts Above Lexile 1185

• Silent Spring at 50: The False Crises of Rachel Carson, Roger Meiners, Pierre Desrochers, and Andrew Morriss
• The War on Bugs, Will Allen