There are some old favorite books I have taught so many times that I feel as though I have them memorized. Over the years, they have become like friends to me. I never tire of watching my students’ faces as they discover plot developments and challenging conflicts. I adore revisiting the stories that always have something new to offer, even after reading them as many times as I have. Just when I think I have reached peak enjoyment of a novel with a particular class, the following year’s group always shows me something else that can be understood from a close reading of the same old, beautiful words.
Join me for a glimpse into each of my literature classes as we dive into some of these trusty old titles during this, the first week of school in 2026.
A still life which gives you a glimpse of why my job is so enjoyable.
3rd Grade - The Sign of the Beaver
This week, we began reading Elizabeth George-Speare’s The Sign of the Beaver. I adore this book; it has so much to teach children about friendship, and about how we are not all that different from one another. The story is about a young boy, Matt, who is left alone to take care of his family’s cabin in the woods for seven weeks. Before long, he loses his father’s prized rifle, all of his cooking supplies are destroyed by a bear, and he is attacked by a swarm of bees. When Matt is left with nothing, he becomes friends with a a native American boy, and to him, their connection becomes everything.
Today, we discussed the chapter when Matt attempts to teach Attean, the young native American, how to read English, or “white man signs.” Between my students’ giggles at the comedic dialogue in the scene, there was also an understanding of something important. It was articulated beautifully by one of my students:
“Matt thinks of Attean as a ‘savage’ because he is so different… But it seems like Attean thinks the exact same thing about Matt!”
Little did that child know, he just hit upon the first part of what is central to this story: these boys, different as they are, are the same in every way that really matters.
4th Grade - From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
This week, we started the hilarious novel, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Goodness it is so funny. It is about two siblings who run away from the “injustices” of home life (they have to make their beds in the morning—ew) to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Claudia, the luxury-loving drama queen, dragoons her little brother Jamie, the “tightwad of the year” and lover of complications, into coming with her on this absurd journey. But, what they find in the Met turns out to be a lot more meaningful than they were expecting.
The best thing about teaching this book is the laughter. I wish I could post a video or a recording of a whole class period so you can hear just how often this story evokes a shameless belly laugh from the entire classroom. I never tire of the ceaseless mirth of my students when we read this book.
5th Grade - The Call of the Wild
We started reading The Call of the Wild by Jack London this week, and I am already impressed by how my students have risen to the challenges it presents. It has more complex vocabulary (Jack London must have been a champion at Scrabble), it is brutal, and its themes are more abstract than anything they have read in school thus far. They show me they are up for the challenge very regularly, though.
For example, today we were discussing the shocking transition Buck faces when he is stolen from his perfect life in Santa Clara and shipped up to the brutal Yukon to be used for labor for the men seeking gold there. One of my students surprised me by connecting this transition to A Little Princess of all things—”This is like Sara. She was a little princess when she had all of her dad’s wealth, and then she basically became a prisoner in the attic. Buck lived like royalty too until he was thrown in a cage.” She was right. That transition is just as abrupt and disturbing.
They just never stop impressing me!
Click the image to buy The Call of the Wild from Pressed Rose Classics!
6th Grade - The Count of Monte Cristo
It is time, once again, for the most ambitious thing I do every school year, which is read the unabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo with my 6th grade students.
To be honest, I do abridge the book after a fashion. I plan out ahead of time which chapters we are going to skip, and then instead of requiring the students to read those chapters, I set up a slideshow of relevant pictures on the projector and I perform dramatic summaries of those chapters. And, I am proud to say that every year I have a number of students who do elect to read the entire book with me. I have those students help me perform the summaries, and we have a grand old time. I’m very happy that once we finish, all of my students have an understanding of the entire story, rather than a version of it that has been abridged by leaving things completely out.
This year I have a record number of students who are attempting to read the entire book with me. Out of seventeen students, twelve of them are taking on this challenge. It is a ton of work, and this has been explained to them in detail, but they are eager to try. I hope you’ll join me in crossing your fingers and toes for all of them.
Although I have taught each of these works many times, and I can imagine a teacher worrying about the novelty wearing off and lessons becoming stale, I cannot even fathom that concern for myself. What is old for me is brand new for them. And besides, who would ever tire of handing out rubies and emeralds?