Last year, I read Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson with my 7th Grade Book Club. I chose the book because it is a work of narrative non-fiction, perfect for easing students into Common Core aligned texts. The book is 304 pages/ 1040 Lexile Level and includes an abundance of primary sources from the era of the ship’s sinking. This is particularly useful when teaching Common Core Informational Texts standards. The book includes a seamless balance of narratives from passengers and historical information about the ship.
This guide includes challenging vocabulary named and defined, a summary of each page of the book, important inferences students need to glean from the text, and content students may confuse or misunderstand. I use this as I’m teaching the book to plan questions and create reading assignments for students.
For more information about using this book study, click here!
Middle School Writer 