Fiction

An updated and expanded guide of fiction to engage your students in an imaginative exploration of the climate crisis.

English teacher Sarah Outterson-Murphy provides brief descriptions of a range of short stories and novels exploring a changing climate, with questions for discussion. (Updated August 2021) See the updated and expanded guide.

Reading and discussing fiction gave my students time and space to respond creatively to the climate crisis—and consider how to use their own power to address it. 

This lesson plan encourages high school students to explore the impact of racism as a central theme of Toni Morrison’s 1970 debut novel, The Bluest Eye. It includes suggestions for engaging students before, during, and after they read the book.

Parent and TM contributor Jinnie Spiegler argues that literature should stay at the center of the ELA curriculum.

'This is a hot topic among parents of the upper elementary set - and it's gotten even hotter since the movie version of Hunger Games came out. For me the decision wasn't hard...'