1980s books assigned in 6th grade
US schools assign 98 books written in the 1980s to 6th grade students, across 36 states, spanning 550L–1020L. Every title below is cited from a state ELA standard, district reading list, or AP/IB syllabus.
Most widely assigned from the 1980s
There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom
Louis Sachar · on 16 reading lists
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- Titles
- 98
- Written
- 1980–1989
- Lexile range
- 550L–1020L
- States assigning
- 36
The list — 1980s, 6th grade
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A Deadly Game of MagicJoan Lowery Nixon
A Dog Called KittyWallace, Bill
A Family ApartJoan Lowery Nixon
A Light in the AtticShel Silverstein
A Little FearPatricia Wrightson
A Long Hard JourneyPat McKissack
A Visit to William Blake's InnNancy Willard
After the Dancing DaysMargaret Rostkowski
Aliens for BreakfastJonathan Etra
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
Christina's GhostBetty Ren Wright
Conrad's WarAndrew Davies
Cracker JacksonBetsy Cromer Byars
Daphne's BookMary Downing Hahn
Dear Mr. HenshawBeverly Cleary
December StillnessMary Downing Hahn
Dicey's SongCynthia Voigt
Show all 98 books (tap a title to open its page)
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- Do Bananas Chew Gum?
- Don't Look Behind You
- Everett Anderson's Goodbye
- Fallen Angels
- Freak the Mighty
- Fudge
- Ghost in My Soup
- Good Night, Mr. Tom
- Hail, Hail, Camp Timberwood
- Harry's Mad
- Hatchet
- Jacob Have I Loved
- Jelly Belly
- Joyful Noise
- Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World
- Karen Kepplewhite is the World's Best Kisser
- Let the Circle Be Unbroken
- Lincoln: A Photobiography
- Matilda
- Motown and Didi
- My Horrible Secret
- My Teacher Is an Alien
- Night of the Twisters
- Nightmare Mountain
- Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade
- Number the Stars
- Panama Canal
- Peppermints in the Parlor
- Playing Beatie Bow
- Poverty in America
- Sarah, Plain and Tall
- Shades of Gray
- Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You
- Skinnybones
- Something Upstairs
- Stone Fox
- Stranger with My Face
- Streams to the River, River to the Sea
- Strider
- Superfudge
- Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush
- Taking Terri Mueller
- Tancy
- Ten Kids, No Pets
- The BFG
- The Computer Nut
- The Curse of the Blue Figurine
- The Cybil War
- The Dark and Deadly Pool
- The Dollhouse Murders
- The Fighting Ground
- The Friendship
- The Hero and the Crown
- The Honorable Prison
- The Hot and Cold Summer
- The Illustrated Dinosaur Dictionary
- The Indian in the Cupboard
- The Magic of the Glits
- The Moves Make the Man
- The Other Side of Dark
- The People Could Fly
- The Root Cellar
- The Sign of the Beaver
- The Stalker
- The Third Eye
- The Weaver's Gift
- The Whipping Boy
- There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom
- Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub
- Wait Till Helen Comes
- When
- When the Boys Ran the House
- Whispers from the Dead
- You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbye
Most-assigned 1980s authors in 6th grade
Joan Lowery Nixon (6) · Virginia Hamilton (3) · Mary Downing Hahn (3) · Lois Duncan (3) · Lois Lowry (2) · Betty Ren Wright (2)
Common questions
- How many 1980s books are assigned in 6th grade?
- 98 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?
- 36 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.