It’s curriculum-adjustment season, so here are five literature resources for struggling readers in high school.
Five Literature Resources for Struggling Readers in High School
God did not make all high school students alike. Some like to read. Others hate it. Some struggle with it.
Of course, the kids who like to read can blast through a reading list with Pilgrim’s Progress and Les Miserables. But some high schoolers would never survive.
How can a student who struggles get through classics and the large number of books that a valid high school English/Language Arts credit needs?
Here are Five Literature Resources for Struggling Readers in High School:
It is okay to start your readers at a remedial level. Here’s a post to explain levels on the transcript. After all, you want to start at a level that is right for YOUR teen. When they are ready, you can level up to more challenging books.
Before we even start the list, remember that 7Sisters Literature Study Guides are levelable. You can adapt them to any learning ability (bby discussing questions out loud to develop critical thinking, comprehension, and inferential skills). You can skip parts that may be too difficult (if vocabulary is too difficult, you can skip it).
Audio books help struggling readers enjoy the content without stumbling over the reading process. Feel free to include some audiobooks in your teens’ reading lists. You can use 7Sisters literature study guides to accompany audio versions of the books for better learning experiences.
As you go, notice how your teens are progressing. You can level up the reading levels as time goes on to best meet your students’ needs and abilities.
Here are our five favorite resources:
7Sisters Literature Study Guides
The nice thing about 7Sisters Literature Study Guides is that are level-able. This means that you can adapt them to different learners’ abilities and goals, while still giving them the literature analysis skills they need in high school. Struggling readers can work through these study guides at Level One. This level is for students who are needing some remedial work. At Level One, teens can read the books with or without audiobook accompaniment (or just use the audiobook). The questions in the guide can be discussed out loud with a parent.
Here are some 7Sisters literature study guides that teens who don’t love to read, tell us they liked:
- Anne of Green Gables This is a guide that can be done out loud with the whole family. This version is for families in states that reimburse for curriculum.
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn A sweet historical novel. This version is for families in states that reimburse for curriculum.
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn A non-secular version.
- Esperanza Rising The moving story of that tells of the plight of Mexican workers during the Great Depression.
- God’s Smuggler The biography of Brother Andrew, the Bible smuggler during the Cold War.
- Joni The memoir of the beloved Joni Eareckson Tada.
- Little Women The classic novel by Louisa May Alcott.
- Misty of Chincoteague Sweet historical novel about the Chincoteague pony swim.
- Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats A delightful collection of silly poems about cats. This version is for families in states that reimburse for curriculum.
- Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats A non-secular version.
- Snow Treasure Based on a true story of the courage of a group of school children in World War II Norway.
- The Boy on the Wooden Box This is an moving story about the Polish Jews during World War II.
- The Boy that Harnessed the Wing The inspiring, true story of a young man who made his world a better place.
- The Hiding Place The inspiring memoir of Corey Ten Boom’s life during World War II in a concentration camp.
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe The study guide is for high schoolers, so covers symbolism and other concepts. Some struggling readers will need to complete the questions with an adult’s help.
- The Phantom Tollbooth The classic favorite for many young people.
- The Watsons Go to Birmingham This classic story introduces students plight of Mexican migrant workers during the time of the Great Depression.
- To Kill a Mockingbird The classic novel. This version is for families in states that reimburse for curriculum.
- To Kill a Mockingbird A non-secular version.
One of my favorite series is Edcon’s Back to the Basics.
This is a series of 6 levels of readers. Each level contains about 6 workbooks. While each workbook contains a classic such as The Time Machine or Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. The cool thing is that each chapter has been condensed to one page, with read-for-information-and-comprehension illustrations and questions. At the end of each chapter are questions and some of which target inferential skills.
Start at Level 1 if you have a severely struggling reader.
Another terrific resource is Great Illustrated Classics series by Baronet Books.
Hard cover books with Reader’s Digest style condensations of great books like King Arthur and War of the Worlds. With over 66 books printed you can select books based on topics like historical fiction, fairy tales, and/or family favorites. For visual learners they will enjoy the illustrations.
Saddleback Classics
The Saddleback Classic collection of classics are condensed to about eighty pages each. It includes titles like White Fang, The Three Musketeers, The Swiss Family Robinson and more.
Remember, it is really good idea is to listen to some audio versions unabridged classics, non-fiction and other good books.
It is good for a student to listen to books above his/her reading level. Remember you don’t need to do this for all the books, but works great for a few each year.
Bonus!
Books of the Bible can be included on your book list!
Find one of the contemporary versions that you like, and encourage your student to have devotions daily. (You can add some free Apologetics videos to create an elective credit, if your teens are interested.)
In the meantime, you can also join our Facebook group! Ask all the other 7Sisters what books they are reading with their struggling readers. You are not alone! We are here to help you along this homeschooling high school journey.
BONUS: Movie for literature studies.
Try something completely new to you and your teens. You can count some movies as books if you do literature analysis guides for those movies. Take a look at 7Sisters Cinema Studies for Literature Learning for literature guides. Or for an entire ELA credit, check out a Full Year of High School English/Language Arts: Cinema Studies for Literature Learning and Composition.
You are NOT a slacker mom if choosing some of these options is what is best for your student!
If you need other resources to help your struggling readers in high school we suggest:
- High Interest Books for Struggling Readers
- We also love the support and encouragement from our friend and Cousin, Dr. Rochelle Matthews-Somerville. She is an educational consultant for struggling learners who offers several digital services for homeschooling families at EFM Education.
- Read more here, Resources for Struggling Students.
- Plus you will love our silly and wise advice about handling tough homeschool times (or tough anytime) with this episode on homeschool mindset…not platypus!
