Teaching a Books and Movies Class in Middle School

So today, I’m finally breaking it all down — how the class is structured, what we read, how I balance the reading and movie-watching, and how I still sneak in standards without sucking the fun out of it.

Fair warning: I don’t have any earth-shattering secrets here. But I do have a system that works, keeps kids engaged, and helps them fall in love with reading again.

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How the Class Was Created

Spoiler alert: I didn’t create it!
I teach at a public charter school where every middle schooler (6th–8th grade) takes an elective during seventh period. While our SPED, RTI, and Gifted students go to Academic Support and Enrichment, the rest take classes like STEM, Creative Writing, or, you guessed it — Books and Movies.

Lucky for me, I landed this one!

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Who Takes the Class

When I first started, 6th–8th graders could choose their electives. It sounded great in theory, but in practice… not so much.

8th graders didn’t love sharing space with 6th graders (shocking, I know), and the groups were often unbalanced. So now it’s a 6th-grade elective only, and the electives rotate by grade level.

That change has made a huge difference. Sixth graders are so enthusiastic about taking a books and movies class, and it gives them the perfect intro to literary analysis — without feeling like an “ELA class.”

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The Schedule

We run an A/B schedule, which means I see my A group Monday/Wednesday/Friday one week, and Tuesday/Thursday the next. I see each group all year long, which helps us build strong routines and community.

For context, 7th graders take Applied Math & Science or Health, and 8th graders have STEM and Creative Writing.

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How We Read the Books

When I first inherited this class, the teacher before me let students choose how much they wanted to read each day. That… didn’t work for me.

The elementary teacher in me needed a little more structure, and I also knew that read-alouds become rare in middle school. So I decided to read aloud or use audiobooks for most of our novels.

It’s simple, predictable, and surprisingly calming — even for middle schoolers. Some kids choose to read ahead, which I encourage. When they finish, they usually pick up the next book in the series or grab another from our shelves. It keeps everyone moving without pressure.

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How I Choose the Books

This took some trial and error. I learned quickly that 6th graders pick books based on what sounds cool, not necessarily what’s a good fit for this class.

For example — every year, they beg for The Maze Runner… and every year, I regret it halfway through. It’s a great book, but it’s long, and it takes forever to get to the good stuff for read-aloud purposes. Same goes for The Hunger Games.

Now I stick to high-interest books between 100–250 pages so we can finish them and still have time to enjoy the movie.

Here’s what’s worked (and what hasn’t):

Our Hits

• Holes – Always a favorite. Great pacing, and the movie is solid.

• Freak the Mighty – Quick, engaging, emotional. The movie (The Mighty) sparks awesome discussions.

• Number the Stars – Short, powerful, and kids love the historical connection.

• Bridge to Terabithia – Emotional but accessible.

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – Long, but worth it. My enthusiasm makes it fun.

• The Lorax – Surprisingly deep for a picture book.

• Horton Hears a Who – Great for end-of-year filler days.

The Misses

• The BFG – Too young for 6th grade.

• The Maze Runner – Too long.

• The Hunger Games – Same issue, though they love the movie.

• The Polar Express – Cute, but doesn’t land with 6th graders.

• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty – Weird short story, fun movie. (Don’t come for me, English teachers.)

Future Options

• The Giver – I’m dying to add this next year.

• The Outsiders – Love it, but it’s better for 8th grade.

• Akeelah and the Bee – The movie-first angle could be interesting.

• Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life – So much better than people expect. It’s hilarious and heartfelt.

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What Class Looks Like

My goal is simple: help students see that the book is almost always better, and get them to enjoy reading without turning it into another ELA assignment.

Our schedule stays the same most days. We do quick bell ringers (I reuse my 6th-grade set from my ELA class), then dive into reading. After we finish the book, we spend 2–3 class periods watching the movie.

I don’t hand out a packet or a Venn diagram. I don’t quiz them on “movie accuracy.”

After the movie, we just talk.
The conversations that come out of it are real, unfiltered, and thoughtful — exactly the kind of analysis you want from middle schoolers without forcing it.

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Resources I Use

I keep things ridiculously simple.

I don’t use novel studies or packets. I use my standards-based reading units as the foundation. These units were built to teach reading skills through authentic books, not to “teach the book.”

Here’s the general flow:

• We read the book together.

• I ask one or two comprehension or interpretive questions during reading.

• When we finish, we discuss one big interpretive question as a class.

• Students write a short reflection or response based on our discussion (and yes, I grade it right then as their ticket out the door).

If you want something more structured or need to align to standards, these are the units that pair perfectly with this class:

• Freak the Mighty – Freak the Mighty Movie Socratic Seminar

• The Giver – Dystopian Socratic Seminar Unit

• Holes – Fiction Reading & Analysis Unit

All of these are part of my larger Middle School Reading Curriculum inside The Hungry Teacher’s Hub.

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Final Thoughts

If you’ve ever dreamed of teaching a class like this — do it.

Keep it simple. Don’t overthink the “lesson planning.” The magic comes from the reading itself and the conversations that follow.

Your students will remember those discussions about why the book was better or how the director changed the story far more than they’ll remember a test grade.

And honestly? So will you.