Read the top middle school novels of all time from a Christian perspective and fall in love with characters, settings, and cultures.

The Bucket List Book Club: The Top 100 Middle School Novels for Advanced Readers

$19.00

Learners read the top middle school novels of all time from a Christian perspective and fall in love with characters, settings, and cultures different from their own. This class meets every other week, and you are not charged on off weeks.

SKU: Bucket Categories: ,

Description

? Welcome to the Bucket List, where learners discover the top 100 middle-grade books of all time. These books have captured readers’ hearts for generations. It’s a chance for middle school students to discover classic novels filled with unique worlds, unforgettable characters, and timeless adventures. As their parents and grandparents were before them, middle school learners will be delighted by the top 100 novels on our bucket list!

? To put this list together, we scoured multiple “best of” lists from organizations, magazines, newspapers, Good Reads, Amazon, homeschool bloggers, colleges, private schools, Lemons-Aid teachers, and our own parents’ and learners’ requests. We worked to curate a mix of classics, historical fiction, modern favorites, poetry, and even a couple of cookbooks! From Shakespeare and Homer to Rick Riordan and Suzanne Collins, the list of books is eclectic. The idea is for students to explore multiple genres, topics, themes, characters, places, and cultures so that they grow in knowledge.

? Please note: the books on this list are for advanced middle school readers who can handle the heavy literature on their own. Other readers will benefit from adding the audiobook or reading with a parent.

CLASS EXPERIENCE:
Students will learn reading strategies, how to analyze who they are as readers, and how to communicate about literature and life! They will begin to develop their criteria for evaluating the books they read, and they will begin to understand the type of readers they are. To do this, each student takes a turn in talking about the book, and the teacher will probe a bit to get each learner to do deeper thinking. Because it’s a discussion class, we encourage students to leave their cameras on, to use the chatbox to expand the discussion and to think about what they want to say before class begins.

Feel free to join us for all the books or just the ones you want. Pop in and out of the class as you wish, or transfer to different sections if your schedule changes. Sometimes students don’t quite finish the book, but they are still welcome to attend–they can tell their teacher they would like to pass on the discussion and just want to listen; however, we also ask questions that apply to reading in general, and these topics can be discussed whether they read the book or not.

?TEACHER BIOS & INTRO VIDEOS:
To see teacher introduction videos, go to the Lemons-Aid profile page where you can view the video and also read bios.
https://outschool.com/teachers/Karen-Lemons?usid=0BAnv5zn&signup=true&authTrigger=follow_teacher&follow=true&utm_campaign=share_leader_link

**Students in Asian time zones** Your Sunday morning classes are U.S. Saturday evening classes.

? ???? ????????: We discuss the book on the date listed, so students should finish the book before class.

13–Mar 24-30: Whittington by Alan Armstrong
Mar 31-Apr 6: NO CLASS
14–Apr 7-13: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Apr 14-20: NO CLASS
15–Apr 21-27: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Apr 28-May 4: NO CLASS
16–May 5-11: The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
May 12-18: NO CLASS
17–May 19-25: Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
May 26-June 1: NO CLASS
18–Jun 2-8: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Jun 9-15: NO CLASS
19–Jun 16-22: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Jun 23-29: NO CLASS
20–Jun 30-July 6: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Jul 7-13: NO CLASS
21–Jul 14-20: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Jul 21-27: NO CLASS
22–Jul 28-Aug 3: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Aug 4-10: NO CLASS
23–Aug 11-17: America and Vietnam: The Elephant and the Tiger by Albert Marrin
Aug 18-24: NO CLASS
24–Aug 25-31: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Sep 1-7: NO CLASS
25–Sep 8-14: Anne of Green Gables by L.H. Montgomery
Sep 15-21: NO CLASS
26–Sep 22-28: Around the World In Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Sep 29-Oct 5: NO CLASS
27–Oct 6-12: Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney
Oct 13-19: NO CLASS
28–Oct 20-26: By Right of Conquest: With Cortez in Mexico by George A Henty
Oct 27-Nov 2: NO CLASS
29–Nov 3-9: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Nov 10-16: NO CLASS
30–Nov 17-23: Deathwatch by Robb White
Nov 24-30: NO CLASS
Dec 1-7: NO CLASS
31–Dec 8-14: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes and Gerald J. Davis
Dec 15-21: NO CLASS
Dec 22-28: NO CLASS
Dec 29-Jan 4: NO CLASS
Jan 5-11: NO CLASS
32–Jan 12-18: Dragon’s Gate by Laurence Yep
Jan 19-25: NO CLASS
33–Jan 26-Feb 1: Emma by Jane Austen
Feb 2-8: NO CLASS
34–Feb 9-15: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

**Dates coming soon
35–Gregor the Overlander: Underland Chronicles book 1 by Suzanne Collins
NO CLASS
36–Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
NO CLASS
37–Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
NO CLASS
38–Hiroshima by John Hersey
NO CLASS
39–Hitler by Albert Marrin
NO CLASS
40–The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
NO CLASS
41–Little Leaders by Vashti Harrison
NO CLASS
42–Lord of the Flies by William Golding
NO CLASS
43–Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif
NO CLASS
44–Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
NO CLASS
45–My Antonia by Willa Cather
NO CLASS
46–My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier
NO CLASS
47–Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
NO CLASS
48–Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
NO CLASS
49–Night by Elie Wiesel
NO CLASS
50–Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
NO CLASS
51–Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
NO CLASS
52–Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
NO CLASS
53–Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
NO CLASS
54–Poems by George Herbert
NO CLASS
55–Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
NO CLASS
56–Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
NO CLASS
57–Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
NO CLASS
58–Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
NO CLASS
59–Sonnets by William Shakespeare
NO CLASS
60–Spencer’s Mountain by Earl Hammer
NO CLASS
61–Stalin: Russia’s Man of Steel by Albert Marrin
NO CLASS
62–Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
NO CLASS
63–The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
NO CLASS
64–The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
NO CLASS
65–The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs by America’s Test Kitchen Kids
NO CLASS
66–The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs by America’s Test Kitchen Kids
NO CLASS
67–The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
NO CLASS
68–The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
NO CLASS
69–The Giver by Lois Lowry
NO CLASS
70–The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
NO CLASS
71–The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
NO CLASS
72–The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
NO CLASS
73–The Iliad by Homer
NO CLASS
74–The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
NO CLASS
75–The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
NO CLASS
76–The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
NO CLASS
77–The Light in the Forest by Condrad Richter
NO CLASS
78–The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
NO CLASS
79–The Odyssey by Homer
NO CLASS
80–The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
NO CLASS
81–The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
NO CLASS
82–The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
NO CLASS
83–The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
NO CLASS
84–The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria A Trapp
NO CLASS
85–The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan
NO CLASS
86–The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White
NO CLASS
87–The Tempest by Shakespeare
NO CLASS
88–The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
NO CLASS
89–The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
NO CLASS
90–Heidi by Johanna Spyri
NO CLASS
91–The Wise Woman and Other Stories by George MacDonald
NO CLASS
92–The Yanks are Coming by Albert Marrin
NO CLASS
93–This Dreamer by Sara Watterson
NO CLASS
94–To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
NO CLASS
95–Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
NO CLASS
96–Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
NO CLASS
97–Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
NO CLASS
98–War of the Worlds by Jules Verne
NO CLASS
99–White Fang by Jack London
NO CLASS
100–Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

??? ??? ?????:
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
America and Vietnam: The Elephant and the Tiger by Albert Marrin
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Anne of Green Gables by L.H. Montgomery
Around the World In Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney
By Right of Conquest: With Cortez in Mexico by George A Henty
Call of the Wild by Jack London
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Deathwatch by Robb White
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes and Gerald J. Davis
Dragon’s Gate by Laurence Yep
Emma by Jane Austen
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Gregor the Overlander: Underland Chronicles book 1 by Suzanne Collins
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Hiroshima by John Hersey
Hitler by Albert Marrin
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green
Little Leaders by Vashti Harrison
Little Women by Louise May Alcott
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
My Antonia by Willa Cather
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
Night by Elie Wiesel
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
Poems by George Herbert
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Sonnets by William Shakespeare
Spencer’s Mountain by Earl Hammer
Stalin: Russia’s Man of Steel by Albert Marrin
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs by America’s Test Kitchen Kids
The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs by America’s Test Kitchen Kids
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Iliad by Homer
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The Light in the Forest by Condrad Richter
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Odyssey by Homer
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria A Trapp
The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan
The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White
The Tempest by Shakespeare
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
The Wise Woman and Other Stories by George MacDonald
The Yanks are Coming by Albert Marrin
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
This Dreamer by Sara Watterson
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
War of the Worlds by Jules Verne
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Where the Red Fern Grows
White Fang by Jack London
Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

Course Syllabus

coming soon…

Class Introduction Video

Coming soon…

Taught From a Christian Perspective

Our mission is to equip learners’ minds and shepherd their hearts. We want them to have saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and then develop a biblical worldview. This means they view their world, themselves, and God in a way that aligns with what the Bible teaches. This brings great peace and understanding to the believer because we serve a good, sovereign God. This course is taught with these goals in mind. In class, we may pray, read scripture, and discuss how to view the content from a Christian perspective.

We have adopted The Master’s Seminary Doctrinal Statement.

Learners Need Explicit Instruction!

Explicit teaching is a method of instruction students desperately need! It is the opposite of a constructivist philosophy whereby students try to construct meaning themselves.

Well…

Instead of leaving students to magically figure out how to write an essay or read or do a geometry proof, we teach explicitly, which is backed by a large body of evidence, and it’s how Mrs. Lemons teaches her undergraduate and graduate teacher candidates in college to teach! We do it this way because it’s how kids learn.

Explicit instruction is “a structured, systematic, and effective methodology for teaching academic skills. It is called explicit because it is an unambiguous and direct approach to teaching that includes both instructional design and delivery procedures. Explicit instruction is characterized by a series of supports or scaffolds, whereby students are guided through the learning process with clear statements about the purpose and rationale for learning the new skill, clear explanations and demonstrations of the instructional target, and supported practice with feedback until independent mastery has been achieved.”
-Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching by Anita L. Archer and Charles A. Hughes.

Anita Archer trained Mrs. Lemons in workshops, and it changed her teaching. Read a little more about the research behind explicit teaching here and here.

To read more about your teaching and learning methods, read Mrs. Lemons’ blog.

 

The Lemons-Aid Team

Lemons-Aid teachers have a few things in common.
❤️ They love their students and value each of their unique strengths and personalities that make our classes special. Our classes can be described as fun, personal, academic, challenging, and supportive.
? We work to keep learners engaged, so there is always a degree of student accountability for their attention and focus, whether that be through asking them direct questions or by using the chatbox.
? We know all kids can learn, but sometimes things are hard! To support students, we teach them how to develop effective thinking and learning habits that will bring them success in class and in life.
? Building relationships with students so they know we care about them helps us balance the high expectations we have for them regarding their effort, work quality, and behavior. Our students are encouraged, cared for, and they achieve!

????? ??????: English Language Arts
#High-Energy #Skilled #Experienced #Relational #Fun
Karen is the Founder of Lemons-Aid. She has a bachelor’s degree in English, a minor in Education, and a master’s degree in Education Administration from Liberty University. With a teaching certificate and a principal’s license in both Washington and Colorado, she has many years of experience teaching English Language Arts and History / Social Studies at the middle school and high school levels. Additionally, she is TESOL and TEFL certified and enjoys teaching English Language Learners from all over the world. She has worked in private and public schools at every level and is currently an affiliate faculty member at Colorado Christian University, supervising teacher candidates in their undergraduate and graduate teacher education programs. She is a teacher of teachers. A homeschool mom herself, she admits that teaching other people’s kids is easier than teaching her own teenage boys! She lives in the Denver, Colorado area where she cheers on the Broncos, Avs, and the Rockies, but her favorite athletes are her own kids who play hockey and baseball!
? Karen’s Intro Video

 

???? ?????: English Language Arts
#Experienced #Knowledgeable #Empowering #Patient #Rises Above the Ordinary.
As a certified English teacher, Jenn has taught in some capacity over the course of the past twenty-five years. She has taught middle school and high school English classes in both private and public school settings, tutored international ESL students online, developed and taught literature and public speaking classes for a local homeschool co-op, and homeschooled her own two children. Jenn has a bachelor’s degree in English Education. A strong believer in lifelong learning, Jenn has also taken several graduate-level courses related to teaching. Jenn enjoys spending time with her husband, Mark, and their two teenagers. She enjoys taking day trips close to where they live in upstate New York. In her spare time, Jenn enjoys singing and performing in plays. Additionally, she enjoys curling up on the sofa to read a good book. More than likely, one of her four cats will be curled up at her feet.
? Jenn’s Intro Video

??????? ???????: Elementary
#Fun #Inspiring #LoveForLearning
Kristen has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education with a minor in child psychology from Liberty University. For nearly a decade, she has worked in elementary school classrooms, as a private tutor, and as an online ELL teacher. While passionate about education in general, her favorite subjects to both study and teach are reading, grammar, and writing. She and her husband are actively involved in a church where she works as a Sunday School teacher and Children’s Ministry teacher to ages 4-6. No matter where she is teaching, Kristen tries to find ways to connect with her students and to create an exciting classroom that builds a passion for education. It is her desire to not only teach a subject but also to foster a love of learning which inspires students to want to learn more even once the class is completed. Kristen lives in Virginia with her husband, daughter, and their new baby boy! In her spare time, Kristen loves to create teaching content such as interactive lesson plans, worksheets, and more! She also enjoys doing family outings and crafting.
? Kristen’s Intro Video

???. ???:
Elementary
#Engaging #Fun #Patient #Kind #Encouraging
Ali has a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and has worked with children over the last 11 years. She taught for 6 years in public school, 2 years in Kindergarten and 4 years in First Grade. She has worked as a reading tutor and ESL teacher online for the last 4 years; she has also tutored children in-person in reading, writing, and STEM. Ali believes that every child is a natural learner; she believes that an educator’s goal is to engage each child in the way that they learn best! She is passionate about creating a safe and FUN environment that teaches the whole child. Each time she enters a classroom, whether it is in-person or online, you can find her singing, playing games, and making learning fun. Ali lives in Missouri, near St. Louis with her husband and fur-child (an 80 lb. German Shepherd who doesn’t know how big he is). In her free time she loves reading, writing, crafts, hiking, working out, and spending time with my family.
? Ali’s Intro Video

???????? ????????: English
#Energetic #Kind #Encouraging #Authentic #Enthusiastic #Guide
Kim loves life, loves people, and loves learning! She views each student as a team member with his or her own unique talents, skills and life experience to bring to the group. She loves helping students expand their knowledge and sharpen their skills to reach their greatest potential. Kim has a Bachelor’s degree from Cairn University in secondary Education with certification in English (NY and PA) and endorsement in music. Her classroom experience has focused on English, PE and Bible education, but she has tutored in a variety of areas including ESL, special ed, math, history, science and music (piano and voice). She lives in northeast PA with her wonderful family. She has homeschooled all of her seven children. The youngest five are still in school and ensure that every day is an adventure. Kim also coaches intramural and competitive sports throughout the year. She loves music, sports, reading and taking long walks up her dirt road admiring wildflowers, listening to birds and reflecting on what she is learning in life!
? Kim’s Intro Video

Christian Teachers on Outschool

We want to serve you on Lemons-Aid! For first-time learners on Lemons-Aid, you can use the coupon code Newbie20 to get $20 off your first class.

However, if the schedule doesn’t work for you, we will happily teach you on Outschool, but we can’t talk about Jesus.

Use this referral code and get $20 off your first class on Outschool: LEMONSA2020

Christian Outschool Classes

Request a New Section

Want to see this class offered at another time? Send a request, and we’ll see what we can do!

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