Lexile Level: 1020L

In this book, the popular children's author Roald Dahl describes his own childhood in a whimsical, descriptive style. Teachers could introduce this book as an example of autobiography. Students could enjoy learning about the author of so many popular and imaginative stories. Students could read this book as a class, responding to different elements of the story while reading, before they begin writing their own narratives. They could use this text as an exceptional example of narrative to guide their writing. Students could also use their knowledge of the author gained from this reading this book to help them analyze and respond to Roald Dahl's other works. 

Lexile Level: 1010L

This book by Lemony Snicket is the first in an imaginative and whimsical series featuring three orphans who encounter several conflicts or 'unfortunate events'. The series features the villian Count Olaf who the children must fight against using their own specific gifts or skills. The book has several messages that would be great to introduce to students. The young characters' determination would be a great subject of discussion that could lead to written reading responses. This series would be perfect for upper elementary students to read independently or as part of literature circles. Students would enjoy discussing the books with their peers. The book features many vocabulary words which students could discuss together in their groups. The series also gives students examples of highly descriptive writing which could be used to inspire them to make their own writing more expressive. 

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: 940L 

This series by C.S. Lewis would be wonderful to introduce to upper elementary students. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe introduces four siblings named Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy and details their discovery of the magical world of Narnia which they enter through a wardrobe. This book contains many moral lessons that would be great class discussions. C.S. Lewis creates a fascinating magical universe that is very enjoyable to students and can inspire their imaginations. Teachers could suggest this book to students who read and enjoyed the Harry Potter series as it would be a great way to get them interested in high quality classic literature. Teachers could read this book aloud to their class and teach several reading strategies through the text. Students could use the book to learn how to acquire meaning from unknown words using context clues or could write summaries and identify key events while utilizing graphic organizers. 

I would suggest this book for upper elementary grades as it deals with death and has violence. This book is about a young homeless orphan named Tree-Ear and how he longs to be a potter. He secretly watches his mentor Min sculpt. Tree- Ear is faced with many decision that weigh heavily on his conscious. He has many people counting on him and must face a long journey to prove himself and his mentor worthy of a royal commission. 

I would use this as a way to explore Korean culture. Students would locate North and South Korea on a map and research fun facts about Korea. Students would write about their findings and make a short power point presentation about their research. 

Lextile Level : 920L