Middle School
At Read Side by Side, we pride ourselves in providing sustainable, cost-effective resources for teachers. All of our resources are low-tech, eliminating the cost of yearly subscriptions! Here you will find free downloadable tools and fillable forms for you and your students!
New units for middle school!
Volume 1 & 2 are now available!
The Read Side by Side Reading Program for middle school equips your students with the confidence to tackle longer, more complex texts. Each fifty-day unit invites them to explore timeless classics and popular favorites while sharpening their analytical reading skills. Your students will learn to "read like a professor" as they investigate plot development, character arcs, symbolism, and make literary connections.
Every unit features a memorable character archetype and opens doors to new genres, authors, and text types. You will introduce the archetype during the read-aloud instruction; then students will apply new learning to their choice of book club title from three selections (below, on, and above-grade level).
Choose from a variety of unit archetypes - the orphan, time traveler, rescuer, and more - to design a flexible 7th- or 8th-grade scope and sequence. Watch engagement soar as your students master grade-level standards and develop lifelong reading habits. Take your students from disengaged, reluctant readers to active, purposeful binge readers who find joy in reading great literature!

Volume 1
Orphan Archetype

V1 Read-Aloud
Volume 2
Time Traveler Archetype

V1 Read-Aloud
Day 1 - Seven Basic Novel Types & Bingo
Day 1 - Text-Dependent Questions
Day 1 - The Life of Charles Dickens, Champion for the Poor
Day 1 - (Video) The Story of the Christmas Carol
Day 2 - The Time Traveler Archetype
Day 4 - (Video) Dickens Museum Animated Video: Pea Souper
Day 6 - Warning from Marley's Ghost
Day 7 - Analytical Essay Frames
Day 8 - Twelve Most Common Genres
Day 14 - Original Illustrations A Christmas Carol, 1843
Day 17 - Complex Sentence Stems
Day 17 - Editing & Revision Checklist
Days 18 - Book-to-Movie Analysis
Day 18 - A Christmas Carol Animated Movie, Prime Video
V1 Book Club
Day 20 - Seven Basic Novel Types
Day 21 - Text Dependent Questions
Day 23 - The Devil's Arithmetic
Day 23 - The Last Musketeer
Day 23 - Sent
Day 27 - Twelve Most Common Genres
Day 27 - Genre Charts
Day 29 - Analytical Essay Frames
Day 45 - Writing Resources
Day 47: Who, Why, When, Where, What, and How Graphic Organizer

Online Support
Support Center
Online articles and FAQ to teach you about the program and guide your implementation!
Training Center
Self-guided training to teach you about the program and guide your implementation!
Research Articles
Print-ready research articles to support the Read Side by Side Reading Program.


"I love these middle school units! My students are so engaged in what they are reading. I am pleased to see them developing analytical thinking skills."
7th/8th Grade Teacher

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