The Top 10 Books in my 5th grade Classroom (August 2020-December 2020)

Reading. Oh, it is such a magical experience. It transports us to different worlds, allows us into someone else's world, and grows our world experience. Rudine Sims Bishop wrote about this in 1990 when she said books act as mirror, windows, and sliding glass doors. 

Reading is the foundation of my classroom. Every day my students spend time reading books that they choose from our classroom library. Allowing students to choose what they read and providing time for students to read allows them to fall in love with reading and become lifelong readers. Below are the most popular books in my 5th grade classroom for the first half of the year (August 2020-December 2020). 

1. Falling Towers by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Falling Towers became one of the most popular books after the anniversary of 9/11. I think it shows that our students have questions and want to understand what happened on September 11th, 2001. Falling Towers is a great book for students who want to learn more about this event and the way it changed our country in dramatic ways. Falling Towers tells the story of fifth-grader Deja who enters a new school where the teacher spends time discussing community, home and the two towers that used to be visible outside of the classroom window. Deja sets out to understand what her teacher is talking about with her friends Ben and Sabeen but as she gets closer to the answers she develops more questions about her family and her country. This is truly a remarkable book and I can't recommend it enough. I also think it would make a superb read aloud. 

2. Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick

Wildfire is an adventure story that keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Wildfire tells the story of Sam Castine a 12 year old who is away at summer camp, well, that is until a wildfire breaks through the camp and Sam is left behind. Sam has to run for his life in the hopes that he will make it out alive. 

3. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Most of my students read this book in elementary school during a read aloud but with the release of The One and Only Ivan movie it has become one of the most requested books in my classroom. I actually had to purchase additional copies to keep up with the demand. The One and Only Ivan is about an unexpected friendship between Ivan, a gorilla, and Ruby, an elephant. 

4. Blended by Sharon Draper

I love Sharon Draper. I have read almost all of her books and I think she is one of the best middle grade authors. Her description is phenomenal and it is no wonder my students love this book. Blended tells the story of Isabella an 11 year old girl who is dealing with the hardship of having divorced parents. Isabella is getting used to a different schedule and more importantly the fact that she has to take on different identities at each parent's house. A wonderful coming of age story that deals with identity, race, and family. 

5. The Baby-Sitter's Club Graphix Series by Ann M. Martin and Adapted by Gale Galligan and Raina Telgemeier

My students love any and all graphic novels! They particularly love The Baby-Sitter's Club Graphix series. They love the characters and the images and they are all watching the new Netflix show so it's the perfect recipe to get kids to fall in love with books! In case you are not familiar with The Baby-Sitter's Club series it tells the story of Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey and their adventures running a babysitter's club as well as their experiences of adolescents. 

6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid Meltdown by Jeff Kinney

I mean it is Diary of a Wimpy Kid so the kids love it (LOL).

7. I Survived Series by Lauren Tarshis

My students love the I Survived series. They love learning about history and enjoy the fast pace of these books. 

8. Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Smile tells the story of 6th grader Raina who just wants a normal life until one day she trips and falls during Girl Scouts and injures her two front teeth. The rest of the story deals with the ramifications of her falling and how she deals with it. 

9. The Gossip File by Anna Staniszewski

I'm going to be honest, I've never read this book. I bought it at half price books when it was in the clearance section because it looked like something a 10 or 11 year old would like and I was right. I can't keep this book in the library even if I wanted to read it, maybe I'll get my hands on it this summer. The story deals with Rachel who is visiting her dad in Florida for two weeks. During the two weeks Rachel begins helping her stepmom in the cafe and when she does that she decides to take on a new identity to impress the older girls who work there. This goes well until they ask Ava to participate in gossiping. This story follows Rachel as she learns about the consequences of gossiping. 

10. Wonder by RJ Palacio

I think we can now consider Wonder to be a classic. Most of my students have read this book in the past during a read aloud but come back to it out of comfort and I am totally fine with that because it is truly a remarkable book. Wonder is about August Pullman a boy born with facial differences that prevented him from going to mainstream school until 5th grade. When August enters his new school he wants to fit in but his classmates can't get over his extraordinary face. A story about empathy, compassion and kindness that everyone should read. 

What are some of your student's favorite books? 

Happy Reading!

-Emily

@the.savidge.teacher