[CALIBK12] Middle school lit. that aligns with To Kill a Mockingbird?

[KZNadalin at aol.com]

Hello, everyone!

A few months ago, I saw a post where someone found some short stories that 
were good companion pieces to To Kill a Mockingbird.   I have a similar query.   
Our middle school is transitioning this next year from a two period 
reading/language arts block of instruction to a single period of English for all 
students.    (Never mind what some of us think about that!)   ...One of our 8th 
grade teachers has used To Kill a Mockingbird for years as an effective piece for 
her advanced GATE and AVID students.   However, she doesn't think she will 
have time with a single instructional period to use that story and also cover the 
district-mandated standards. Does anyone have suggestions for novels that are 
shorter than TKAM but have similar themes?   If it helps, our population is 
about 65% Latino, 20% white, and the remaining 15% a combination of African 
Americans, Asian students (including 2 Pacific Islanders) and Native Americans.   
85% of our students live in poverty, qualifying for free or reduced lunch, 
FWIW.

I appreciate any suggestions, especially if you have ideas or experiences 
with using specific titles in a classroom and connected teachings.

Thanks,
Karen


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