What are Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students reading? See the lists.
Across the country and in Charlotte, some parents are lodging complaints about select required reading in schools.
In Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, parents (and high school students) can request through their principal an individual change of a required book. The Charlotte Observer obtained from the school district its reading lists for students for the 2021-22 school year.
Required Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools reading lists
Sixth grade
▪ Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
▪ The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Young Readers’ Edition) by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
▪ Two Roads by Joseph Bruchac
▪ Hidden Figures (Young Readers’ Edition) by Margot Lee Shetterly
Seventh grade
▪ A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
▪ Patient Zero by Marilee Peters
▪ One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes,
▪ A Plastic Ocean by Craig Leeson
▪ Trash Vortex by Danielle Smith-Llera
Eighth grade
▪ Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
▪ The Omnivore’s Dilemma (Young Readers Edition) by Michael Pollan
▪ Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman
▪ Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston
Ninth grade
Principals and teachers choose between:
▪ The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow
▪ If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson
Optional reading list 9th grade
The list below shows optional or recommend, but not required texts for English 1 students in CMS.
Optional reading for grades 6 to 8
Also viewable online here.
K-5 reading material
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools use EL Education learning modules developed for readers in kindergarten through fifth grade. Lists and lesson plans are available online at curriculum.eleducation.org.
