1980s books assigned in 6th grade
US schools assign 57 books written in the 1980s to 6th grade students, across 30 states, spanning 550L–1020L. Every title below is cited from a state ELA standard, district reading list, or AP/IB syllabus.
- Titles
- 57
- Written
- 1980–1989
- Lexile range
- 550L–1020L
- States assigning
- 30
The list — 1980s, 6th grade
Reading the whole 1980s 6th grade reading list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.
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Try it on audio — free. Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.
Listen free on Audiblestarts instantlyNew members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.
A Little FearPatricia Wrightson
A Long Hard JourneyPat McKissack
A Visit to William Blake's InnNancy Willard
Abraham Lincoln and Frederick DouglassRussell Freedman
After the Dancing DaysMargaret Rostkowski
All About SamLois Lowry
Anthony BurnsVirginia Hamilton
Auks, Rocks, and the Odd DinosaurPeggy Thomson
Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous JobWillo Davis Roberts
Be a Perfect Person in Just Three DaysStephen Manes
Behind Barbed WireDaniel S. Davis
Charley SkedaddlePatricia Beatty
Chimney SweepsJames Cross Giblin
Conrad's WarAndrew Davies
Dear Mr. HenshawBeverly Cleary
Dicey's SongCynthia Voigt
Do Bananas Chew Gum?Jamie Gilson
Everett Anderson's GoodbyeLucille Clifton
Fallen AngelsWalter Dean Myers
FudgeCharlotte Towner Graeber
Hail, Hail, Camp TimberwoodEllen Conford
HatchetGary Paulsen · 1020L
Jacob Have I LovedKatherine Paterson
Jelly BellyRobert Kimmel Smith
Show all 57 titles
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- Joyful Noise · Paul Fleischman · Buy →
- Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World · Mildred Walter · Buy →
- Karen Kepplewhite is the World's Best Kisser · Eve Bunting · Buy →
- Let the Circle Be Unbroken · Mildred D. Taylor · Buy →
- Matilda · Roald Dahl · Buy →
- Motown and Didi · Walter Dean Myers · Buy →
- My Horrible Secret · Stephen Roos · Buy →
- My Teacher Is an Alien · Bruce Coville · Buy →
- Night of the Twisters · Ivy Ruckman · Buy →
- Nightmare Mountain · Peg Kehret · Buy →
- Number the Stars · Lois Lowry · Buy →
- Panama Canal · Judith St. George · Buy →
- Playing Beatie Bow · Ruth Park · Buy →
- Poverty in America · Milton Meltzer · Buy →
- Sarah, Plain and Tall · Patricia MacLachlan · Buy →
- Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You · Barthe DeClements · Buy →
- Stone Fox · John Reynolds Gardiner · Buy →
- Streams to the River, River to the Sea · Scott O'Dell · Buy →
- Tancy · Belinda Hurmence · Buy →
- The BFG · Roald Dahl · Buy →
- The Computer Nut · Betsy Cromer Byars · Buy →
- The Cybil War · Betsy Byars · Buy →
- The Dollhouse Murders · Betty Ren Wright · Buy →
- The Hero and the Crown · Robin McKinley · Buy →
- The Illustrated Dinosaur Dictionary · Helen Roney Sattler · Buy →
- The Moves Make the Man · Bruce Brooks · Buy →
- The People Could Fly · Virginia Hamilton · Buy →
- The Sign of the Beaver · Elizabeth George Speare · Buy →
- The Weaver's Gift · Kathryn Lasky · Buy →
- The Whipping Boy · Sid Fleischman · Buy →
- Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub · Jamie Gilson · Buy →
- When the Boys Ran the House · Joan Davenport Carris · Buy →
- You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbye · Patricia Hermes · Buy →
Most-assigned 1980s authors in 6th grade
Lois Lowry (2) · Virginia Hamilton (2) · Jamie Gilson (2) · Walter Dean Myers (2) · Roald Dahl (2) · Pat McKissack
Common questions
- How many 1980s books are assigned in 6th grade?
- 57 books written between 1980 and 1989 appear on 6th grade reading lists tracked by ReadingList. Each one is cited from a state department of education, district list, or AP/IB syllabus.
- What Lexile range do these 1980s books cover?
- Lexile measures for the 1980s titles assigned in 6th grade run from 550L to 1020L. Poetry, drama, and graphic novels without a published Lexile measure are not counted in that range.
- Are these assigned nationally or in a few states?
- 30 states assign at least one 1980s title at 6th grade in the lists tracked here, so this is a broad pattern rather than a single state's canon. Per-state lists are on each state page.