Discover multipurpose middle school books.

 

Cross-curricular teaching, otherwise known as interdisciplinary teaching, is the integration of multiple academic disciplines. Naturally, books are the perfect media for interdisciplinary lesson plans because stories can cover an array of different topics and themes. Here are 5 middle school books that are perfect for cross-curricular teaching:

 1. Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan

From the author of Esperansa Rising, this new release poetically intertwines the lives of three different children across three different time periods in history. Each child possesses a musical talent that will ultimately determine their fate.

Related academic disciplines include music and history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak

In the middle of Nazi journey lives a young foster girl with a thriving passion for reading and preserving books. Her risk-taking generosity and defiance is hard for any reader to ignore.

Related academic disciplines include history and literature.

 

3. Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story about Brain Science by John Fleischman

Phineas Gage lived for 11 years with a massive hole in his skull. In 1848 Gage survived a death-defying injury in which a thirteen-pound rod was shot through his brain. Doctors are still trying to find out how he survived and how this injury affected his brain and consequently, his actions.

Related academic disciplines include history, science and psychology.

 

4. The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

Hannah is tired of remembering and embarrassed by her grandfather who rants and raves at any mention of the Nazis. But during a Passover Seder, she is transported to a village in Poland in the 1940s where she then faces the horrors her grandfather has spoken of. Yolen's most famous title, this book explores the value of history, culture and math.

Related academic disciplines include history and math.

 

5. The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magus Enzensberger

A Number Devil leads Robert, a boy who hates math, to discover the amazing world of numbers: infinite numbers, prime numbers, Fibanacci numbers and numbers that magically appear in triangles. Readers will marvel with Robert as he discovers the magic of mathematical theory and numbers.

Related academic disciplines include math and logic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more middle school books and classroom novel sets, browse our Literacy & Education Bookshelf for more book suggestions.