Social Justice Novels for Middle School
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated April 08, 2024
As a middle school teacher, I know the importance of teaching my students all about the social justice issues going on in the world. However, I often struggle with finding ways to incorporate these topics into our curriculum in ways that were both authentic and meaningful. I solved this issue by incorporating a variety of different social justice novels into our existing curriculum.
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Social Justice Novels – Creative Activities
Check out some engaging ways to use social justice themed novels below!
Read Alouds
One way I incorporate the discussion of social justice issues into our daily classroom routine is through read alouds. When choosing a class novel to read aloud, I worked to purposely choose titles that targeted specific social justice topics. Through reading these social justice novels aloud, and the class discussion that followed, I was able to incorporate these important topics in ways that were both seamless and authentic.
For additional information on incorporating read alouds into your classroom curriculum, check out our Interactive Read Aloud Guide!
Literature Circles
Another easy way to incorporate social justice novels into your curriculum is through Literature Circles. When choosing books for my groups, I work to find novels that feature important social justice issues. These are readily available on a lot of different topics. As these novels are also available at a variety of reading levels, it is a great way to differentiate our learning while still tackling important issues.
To help our group meeting discussions, I have the kids use these fun Literature Circle Discussion Prompt Cards. These are a great way to get the conversation going. They really help when students struggle with finding things to talk about.
For a big list of engaging novels that make great literature circle choices, check out our list of favorite novel studies for upper elementary and middle school!
Choosing the Right Books
Below I have included some of my favorite social justice novels for middle school learners. Any of these books would make a great Social Justice themed read aloud, novel study, or literature circle addition.
As always, I strongly suggest that you independently read the novel before using it with your students. This will ensure you choose a book with content appropriate for the grades you teach, help you assess reading levels, and enable you to fully optimize and engage in group discussions. Some of the books have content that is quite realistic and heavy – by previewing the book before hand, you can make sure it is suitable for the grade you teach.
If doing Social Justice themed literature circle groups, the descriptions below can help you describe the books to your students during a book talk.
Boys Without Names by Kashmira Seth
In this story, eleven-year-old Gopal and his family flee their rural Indian village and head to the big city of Mumbai. Their goal is to find work and a brighter future. Eager to help support his struggling family, Gopal jumps at the opportunity to work at a factory.
His dreams are crushed when he discovers the job is at a stuffy sweatshop, where he is forced to work alongside five other young boys for little food and no money. To make life bearable, Gopal begin to tell stories, and soon learns that his ability to bring people together through his tales may just be his key to survival and escape.
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
This gripping novel is another great one to add to your list of social justice novels. It tells the story of two eleven-year-olds in Sudan. One character is a girl in 2008, and the other is a boy in 1985.
In the story, young Nya, the female main character, fetches water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home. In order to have enough water, she must make two trips to the pond a day.
Salva, the male main character, is one of Sudan’s “Lost Boys”. Salva faces many hardships throughout the novel, including attack by armed rebels and an encounter with killer lions and crocodiles. As the novel progresses, Nya and Salva’s stories intersect in ways that are both astonishing and moving.
The Breadwinner by Deborah Sue Ellis
In The Breadwinner, young Parvana lives with her family in a bombed-out apartment building in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul. One day, Parvana’s father is arrested for the crime of having a foreign education. Parvana’s family in thrown into upheaval, as there is now no one who can earn money or even shop for food.
Parvana’s situation becomes more dire as they days go on. As females are forbidden to work on Kabul, Parvana is forced to transform herself into a boy and become the breadwinner of her family.
For a complete list of social justice themed novels with detailed descriptions that you can use with your learners, click here.
For more information on teaching specific novels, you won’t want to miss our posts on teaching Wonder, The Hunger Games, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Outsiders!
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Looking for Previous Posts about Social Justice?
Click on the following link to go to another great post featuring social justice teaching ideas.
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