Grades 6-8

Math Talk

Book cover: Math Talk
Author(s): 
Theoni Pappas
Sherman K. Stein

I have long been a fan of the poems for two voices books by Paul Fleischman. This book puts a twist on the idea by covering math topics in poems. It's a really unique and engaging way to memorize a math concept, reciting it as a poem.

Lingua Mater

Book cover: 'Lingua Mater'
Author(s): 
Margot Davidson

This is a complete English program written for 7th grade, but can easily be adapted for 6th and 8th graders as well. Although it is written to be used in one year, the author has given details of how it can be broken down into a two year program.

Enemy Brothers Audio Drama

Book cover: 'Enemy Brothers Audio Drama'
Author(s): 
Constance Savery
Kidnapped as a baby, Tony, now age 12, was raised as a German. In fact, as he grew up with an entirely different identity as "Max", he never had any reason to believe that he was anything but German. Suddenly, through a strange twist of fate, he is returned to his rightful home in England and his true identity, but on the "wrong" side of the war.

Big John's Secret

Book cover: 'Big John's Secret'
Author(s): 
Eleanore M. Jewett
"Big John" is a 12-year-old boy living as a serf in 13th century England, but with a mysterious past understood only by "Old Marm", who has raised him as a son and teaches him lessons and courtly behavior in secret. He is finally recognized by a knight and learns that his father was betrayed long-ago by a fellow nobleman and his nurse rescued him along with a few precious family heirlooms. After training at a castle under this knight, he sets out on the 5th Crusade (starting in the year 1218 - he is now 16 years old) as a squire - largely in hopes of finding his lost father.

The Global Puzzle

Book cover: 'The Global Puzzle'
This inexpensive (approximately $15) jigsaw puzzle provides an easy and fun way to learn World Geography. Pieces are cut along country borders (although larger countries are split into pieces). Colors are simple and continents, oceans, countries and capitals are clearly marked. A few of the smaller countries are joined together in one piece. Canada is broken up into pieces cut along the province borders. The United States is broken up into pieces composed of one or two states each.

Gettysburg

Book cover: 'Gettysburg'
Author(s): 
MacKinlay Kantor
The Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (July 1 - 3, 1863) is a complex, multi-faceted piece of history that would be difficult to understand after reading just one book. If you ever find yourself in the South-Central Pennsylvania, I would recommend a visit. I've been there twice and it's very a moving, historically interesting site.

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