Summer is for Reading: Middle School Students ‘Get Hooked on a Series’
May 27, 2025
by English faculty Sarah Hancock and Kristen Downey
Summer months are for reading.
What better way to spend summer than getting lost in a fun new novel? As middle school English teachers, we care deeply about helping students discover or rediscover the joy of reading. That’s why we’re wrapping up the year with our annual Get Hooked on a Series for the Summer reading unit, designed to launch students into summer with a series they can’t put down.
In this end-of-year experience, 7th and 8th graders dive into a high-interest novel that is the first in an exciting series. After browsing a collection of titles, students selected a book that sparked their interest and joined a small literature circle with peers reading the same one. The choices reflect a range of tastes: some chose dystopian adventures like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, or Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Others opted for realistic fiction like The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser, or a gripping mystery such as One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus.
Over five class sessions, students meet in their book groups to talk plot, character motivations, favorite scenes, and burning questions, which builds not only reading comprehension, but also connection and excitement around their books (essential for motivation). Students ask every day if they can meet with their groups. With built-in time to read and discuss, students are developing confidence as readers while getting truly hooked on a story… and hopefully its sequel.
The goal? To send students into summer excited to keep reading.