Lexile Level: 760 L 

This classic coming of age story by L.M. Montgomery tells the story of an orphan named Anne with a strong personality and a huge imagination. Anne stands out from her peers because of her uncontrollable imagination and her expansive vocabulary. Anne makes a great role model for students because of her individuality and her love of reading. Students could connect to her as she struggles through several conflicts. This book could be introduced to upper elementary students and could be used to teach reading comprehension skills. The book contains a large amount of advanced vocabulary and therefore would be perfect for teaching students to use context clues to infer the meanings of unfamiliar words. Students who need more challenging literature to read independently could benefit from reading this book. 

Lexile Level: 670L

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo is a wonderful chapter book about a mouse named Desperaux who lives in a castle. Desperaux has several traits that make him different from the other mice in the castle. He loves to read and has a curious nature that leads to conflicts with the other mice. Students would enjoy the exciting plot of this book and may identify with the misunderstood  protagonist. The Tale of Despereaux could be used to teach several different reading concepts as it features many well developed characters and literary themes. This book would be a great chapter book for upper elementary students to read independently as it is such an enjoyable story and so full of adventure. This book could also be used in guided reading exercises as it could provide students with opportunities to learn many vocabulary words in context and to explore literary themes and symbolism.

Lexile Level: 760L

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder is a classic book that details a girl's life living on the prairie of Kansas during the late 1800s. The book could be introduced to students who are naturally interested in American history and who may want to know what life was like during this time. This would be a great book for upper elementary students to read independently as it belongs to a series of books.Teachers could also introduce this book during history lessons to give students a personal connection to the content. This book could be read aloud to teach vocabulary in context or to teach students how to use context clues to make inferences about to meanings of unknown words or phrases. 

Lexile Level: 840L

Matilda by Roald Dahl tells the story of a girl with many hardships who has particular attributes that make her unique, including her high intelligence and her special 'powers'. It is a great story in which the young main character has a strong sense of morals that enables her to stand up against the unpleasant adult characters. The book also features a dedicated teacher who recognizes Matilda's strengths and also uses a sense of right and wrong to guide her actions. As with all Roald Dahl stories, this novel is highly imaginative and has a captivating plot. The book would be wonderful to introduce to students as it illustrates how Matilda's love of reading and learning empower her. This book also would provide students with an opportunity to learn vocabulary in context as Roald Dahl's works all feature descriptive and figurative writing. 

Lexile Level: 530L

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is a powerful children's book that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. The book tells the story of a tree that gives everything it can to a boy and finds joy through the act of giving. This would be a wonderful book to read aloud in an elementary classroom because of its message about giving. Students could easily relate the story to their lives and would be able to use their connection to the text to inform their writing responses. This would be a great book to use during a literature circle exercise in which each student could have a role that involved analyzing the book in some way and having discussions about the text.