11 Novels (and 1 Collection of Poems) Recommended for Social Studies Classrooms

How many times have you come across a book that really inspires you and you automatically think, "I NEED to share this with my students, it ties in with everything we're learning right now!"?  I know this has happened to me several times and it's a great way to encourage cross-curricular projects or novel studies in your school.  I have come across many teachers in both the Social Studies and English departments of various schools that work in sync with one another to create excellent cross-curricular units for their students.  I hope to be able to incorporate some of the novels I have read into my future classrooms and find myself constantly searching for new books to read that relate to different grade levels, curriculum outcomes and that are relevant to the students.  Social studies does not have to come straight from textbooks.  Using the resources that are already out there, such as novels, are excellent ways to engage students in reading and  provides historical background and significance (while increasing their literacy). Here are some suggestions of eleven novels (and one collection of poems) you can use in your classroom: 

1. Night by Elie Wiesel

2. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

4. The Wars by Timothy Findley

5. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

6. Millions of Souls: The Philip Riteman Story, as told to Mireille Baula-MacWillie (Philip Riteman now resides in Bedford, Nova Scotia and I had the extreme privilege of seeing him speak when I was in grade 12; absolutely heart wrenching.) 

7. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

8. Shake Hands with the Devil by Roméo Dallaire

9. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (as a Maritimer, I can't help but include Anne!)

10. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill 

11. George and Rue or "Execution Poems" by George Elliott Clarke 

I will stop there before I go overboard!  These are all great resources to use within your Social Studies classroom, and coincide very well with English curriculum outcomes.  If you have the opportunity to do a cross-curricular unit with another teacher in your school, take advantage of it!  Or if you have the time, a novel study in social studies class never hurt anyone.  Books are your friends, use them!

Do you have any examples of using novels in the clasroom, or any other suggestions for reading?