Protected Reading List FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers:

Why do we need a Protected Reading List? As an extension of the Baseline Literacy Module
trainings, a need was found to eliminate the widespread duplication of reading materials
across the grade spans. Students were being asked to read the same pieces of literature
within two and sometimes three grades.

Who decided and how did they decide which grades would receive which pieces of literature? A
committee was formed of ELA teachers representing each grade and each school. Each teacher
was asked to collect information from their respective ELA teachers on which title they were
currently teaching and which title they though should be taught in their grade. The committee
met and discussed the titles according to Lexile levels, age-appropriate subject matter, and
purchased resources to decide fairly where the titles belonged.

What if teachers are still using old literature books and the title is in different grade levels
depending on the edition or name of literature book? The newest literature book adopted and
purchased by the district dictates which textbook titles are protected for that grade. If the
title is in the newest adopted literature book, Holt Literature series, then the title “belongs” to
that grade level.

Will AP and Dual Credit courses be required to abide by the Protected Reading List? AP and Dual
Credit courses will be exempt from the Protected Reading List since those courses are
governed by the regulations of the AP Board, or in the case of Dual Credit, or governed by the
Higher Education agency for which it counts as an adjunct course.

Will the Protected Reading List only be for English and Reading teachers? Many of the social
studies courses draw upon some of the same novels for outside reading as well. At this time, the
Protected Reading List only contains the information submitted by ELA teachers, but Social
studies teachers should be made aware of this list and should be included in the use of the
Protected Reading List discussions.

Will teachers be allowed to survey their students at the beginning of a school year to find out
what has and has not been read and then choose texts from lower grade to read based on
survey results? Yes, since all teachers are not going to teach all of the Protected Titles listed for
their grade, if a teachers surveys an incoming class and finds a title that was not taught prior
to the class then that title can be taught by that teacher as far as this initiative is concerned.
6th grade
Hatchet by Gary Paulsette
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine
L'Engle
Middle School Protected Reading List Titles 2016-2017
Lexile
7th grade
Lexile 8th grade
The House of Dies Drear by
1020L The Giver by Maniac McGhee
760L
Virginia Hamilton
740L
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 810L
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
670L
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 820L
The Complete Stories of Flannery
O'Conner
N/A
690L
Mievelle or Coraline by Neil Gaiman)
930L
730L
740L
750L
*Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
900L
900L
Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling
800L
*The Golden Compass by Phillip
Pullman (alternates: Railsea by China
Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
When You Reached me by
Rebecca Stead
A Christmas Carol by Charles
Dickens
Moon Over Manifest by Clare
Vanderpool
800L
Amos Fortune by Elizabeth Yates 1090L
Watsons Going to Birmingham
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher
Paul Curtis
660L
1000L
950L
Maze Runner by James Dashner
HL770L
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie
Babbitt
860L
790L
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Bridge to Terabithia by
Katherine Paterson
Lexile
670L
750L
810L
Animal Farm by George Orwell 1370L
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 730L
The Diary of a Young Girl by
Anne Frank
1080L
The Dark is Rising by Susan
Cooper
920L
Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton
Travels with Charley by John
Steinbeck
680L
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Red Badge of Courage by
Stephen Crane
Summer of my German Soldier
by Bette Greene
Where the Red Fern Grows by
Wilson Rawls
730L
770L
*denotes a title whose content has been challenged due to a variety of reasons
1010L
HL680L
800L
700L
9th grade
The Blindside by Michael
Lewis
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue
Monk Kidd
*The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn by Mark
Twain
The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer by Mark Twain
Maus I: My Father Bleeds
History by Spiegelman
Hound of the Baskervilles by
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
*Lord of the Flies by William
Golding
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi
Picoult
The City of Ember by Jeanne
DuPrau
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
To Kill a Mockingbird by
Harper Lee
High School Protected Reading List Titles
Lexile 10th grade
Lexile 11th grade
A Separate Peace by John
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott
980L Knowles
1110L Fitzgerald
*Their Eyes were Watching
840L Mythology by Edith Hamilton
1040L God by Zora Neale Hurston
980L
Uglies by Scott Westerfielde
770L Night by Elie Weisel
The Scarlet Letter by
950L Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 890L Nathaniel Hawthorne
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson
All Over but the Shoutin' by
NP
Story by Ben Carson
950L Rick Bragg
Of Mice and Men by John
1090L
Steinbeck
*Speak by Laurie Halse
770L
Anderson
*I Know why the Caged Bird
840L
Sings by Maya Angelou
Lexile
12th grade
Lexile
Frankenstein by Mary
1070L Shelley
810L
1984 by George
1080L Orwell
1090L
Wuthering Heights by
570L Emily Bronte
Jane Erye by
1340L Charlotte Bronte
Pride and Prejudice
1160L by Jane Austen
Catch 22 by Joseph
HL580L Heller
880L
780L
1100L
1140L
690L
1070L
680L
740L
790L
Drama/Major Work
Romeo and Juliet by
Shakespeare
Drama/Major Work
NP
The Odyseey by Homer
NP
Julius Ceasar
Drama/Major Work
NP
The Crucible by Henry Miller
*denotes a title whose content has been challenged due to a variety of reasons
Drama/Major Work
NP
Beowulf by N/A
Macbeth by
Shakespeare
Hamlet by
Shakespeare
NP
NP
NP
Suggested Guidelines for Parent Objections to Literary Assignments:
Guiding Rule: Any student whose parent objects to the approved and assigned literature
will be given an alternate piece of approved literature, equal in approximated length and
complexity as possible, to read in its place.
National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) recommends: Schools should ensure
that the following principles are followed when a person files a complaint:

Complaints must be made in writing;

Complainants should identify themselves both by name/address, and by their
interest in the material (i.e., as a parent, student, religious leader, etc.)

Complainants must have read/seen the entire work to which (s)he objects;

The complaint must be specific about the reasons for the objection (i.e. calls upon
a broader knowledge or range of experience than students typically possess);

Complaints should request a specific remedy (i.e., an alternative assignment for
an individual, or removal/exclusion affecting the entire school community);

Complaints, standing alone, should never provide grounds for disciplining
teachers or librarians.
Would we want to post this for parents along with the other information on the site?
Five guidelines for evaluating whether or not a book in their child’s school warrants challenging:
1. Age appropriateness
2. Good taste
3. What are the educational goals/objectives and does the book achieve
them?
4. Is the book relevant to curriculum, standards of learning and programs
of instruction?
5. Is this book necessary?