Teacher Recommendations:
Books for Teachers
Films/Videos
Books for Students
Shades of Gray, by Carolyn Reeder
Reading level 5.3.
Red Badge of Courage, by Crane/Vogel—Great Illustrated Classics
Reading level 5.3.
Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane (original)
Reading level 8.0.
The Cabin Faced West, by Jean Fritz
Reading level 5.3; this is an easy read inspite of the reading level.
Across Five Aprils, by Irene Hunt
Reading level 6.6; for higher level readers—a heavy read, but good!
Thunder on the Tennessee, by G. Clifton Wisler
Pink and Say, by Patricia Polacco
Reading level 3.8.
Saving Shiloh, by Phyllis R. Naylor
Reading level 4.9.
George Washington's Socks, by Elvira Woodruff
Charley Skedaddle, by Patricia Beatty
(out of print, but copies are available on Ebay)
The River Between Us, by Richard Peck
Reading level 4.9.
After the Rain—Virginia's Civil War Diary, by Mary Pope Osborne
Reading level 4.6.
Willie McLean and the Civil War, by Candice Ransom
Reading level 3.5.
My America Series:
Flying Free—Corey's Underground Railroad Diary
Our Strange New Land—Elizabeth's Jamestown Colony Diary
The Starving Time—Elizabeth's Jamestown Colony Diary
Seasons of Promise—Elizabeth's Jamestown Colony Diary
Black Heroes of the American Revolution, by Burke Davis
Portraits and other primary sources noted in book.
Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan
Reading Level 3.4.
Caleb's Story, by Patricia MacLachlan
Reading level 2.9; this book continues the story of Sarah, Plain and Tall.
Joshua's Song, by Joan Hiatt Harlow
Reading level 4.2—5.0; take place in Boston in 1919.
Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis
Reading level 5.0; good as a read aloud, so you can skip a few words.
The Colonial Leaders Series
There are usually five to six chapters. These are for stronger 4th grade readers. You could do a John Smith
biography.
A Lion to Guard Us
These children are on the ship trying to meet their father who's in Jamestown and they get shipwrecked in the Bahamas in 1609.