Homeschool Reading Guides

Great books make great curriculum: guides to teaching every book in the Chalky library — grades, skills, aligned standards, and open-and-go units.

New to this? Start with what reading comprehension is, what progress looks like at each grade, and how to teach it at home.

• The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss — K–grade 1, 100L, 1 modules on Chalky
• The Little Red Hen by Amy Helfer — Grade 1, 200L, 1 modules on Chalky
• Precipitation by Stephen Schutz — Grades 1–2, 80L, 4 modules on Chalky
• Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel — Grades 1–2, 300L, 1 modules on Chalky
• Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña — Grades 1–2, 400L, 7 modules on Chalky
• Henry and Mudge: The First Book by Cynthia Rylant — Grades 1–2, 450L, 33 modules on Chalky
• The Velveteen Rabbit & Other Stories by Margery Williams — Grades 2–3, 400L, 11 modules on Chalky
• The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi — Grades 2–3, 400L, 14 modules on Chalky
• The Nutcracker Story by E. T. A. Hoffmann — Grades 2–3, 420L, 3 modules on Chalky
• Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary — Grades 2–3, 500L, 25 modules on Chalky
• Mrs. Peter Rabbit by Thornton W. Burgess — Grades 2–3, 500L, 31 modules on Chalky
• Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo — Grades 2–4, 520L, 26 modules on Chalky
• Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar — Grades 3–4, 460L, 31 modules on Chalky
• Charlotte's Web by E. B. White — Grades 3–4, 680L, 35 modules on Chalky
• When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne — Grades 3–4, 650L, 44 modules on Chalky
• Journey to the West 1 by Wu Cheng'en — Grades 3–5, 700L, 5 modules on Chalky
• The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Grades 3–4, 600L, 45 modules on Chalky
• Who Was Marie Curie? by Megan Stine — Grades 3–4, 600L, 11 modules on Chalky
• Front Desk by Kelly Yang — Grades 3–5, 520L, 67 modules on Chalky
• Holes by Louis Sachar — Grades 4–5, 660L, 3 modules on Chalky
• The Wild Robot by Peter Brown — Grades 4–5, 600L, 80 modules on Chalky
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett — Grades 4–6, 700L, 26 modules on Chalky
• The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning — Grades 4–5, 780L, 15 modules on Chalky
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin — Grades 4–5, 700L, 48 modules on Chalky
• The Burgess Seashore Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess — Grades 4–5, 700L, 40 modules on Chalky
• Who Was Joan of Arc? by Pam Pollack — Grades 4–5, 600L, 12 modules on Chalky
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry — Grades 4–6, 670L, 19 modules on Chalky
• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt — Grades 4–6, 770L, 26 modules on Chalky
• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart — Grades 5–6, 700L, 39 modules on Chalky
• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder — Grades 3–5, 720L, 13 modules on Chalky
• The Crossover by Kwame Alexander — Grades 5–7, 750L, 142 modules on Chalky
• Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne — Grades 5–7, 900L, 7 modules on Chalky
• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George — Grades 5–6, 810L, 21 modules on Chalky
• I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb — Grades 5–7, 900L, 31 modules on Chalky
• Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai — Grades 5–6, 700L, 4 modules on Chalky
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson — Grades 5–7, 800L, 35 modules on Chalky
• Island of Fire by Lisa McMann — Grades 5–7, 810L, 71 modules on Chalky
• The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien — Grades 6–8, 800L, 19 modules on Chalky
• The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang — Grades 6–7, 850L, 37 modules on Chalky
• Bomb: The Race to Build — and Steal — the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin — Grades 6–8, 920L, 7 modules on Chalky
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer — Grades 6–8, 860L, 15 modules on Chalky
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor — Grades 6–8, 800L, 12 modules on Chalky
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis — Grades 6–7, 940L, 17 modules on Chalky
• Brisingr by Christopher Paolini — Grades 7–9, 1000L, 58 modules on Chalky
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain — Grades 7–9, 930L, 36 modules on Chalky
• The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang — Grades 7–8, 900L, 37 modules on Chalky
• Elementary Geography by Charlotte Mason — Grades 7–8, 880L, 41 modules on Chalky
• The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown — Grades 7–10, 950L, 28 modules on Chalky
• Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis — Grades 6–8, 950L, 19 modules on Chalky
• Hatchet (Brian's Saga #1) by Gary Paulsen — Grades 7–9, 1020L, 44 modules on Chalky
• Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell — Grades 7–9, 1000L, 29 modules on Chalky
• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery — Grades 7–9, 970L, 38 modules on Chalky
• A Wonder Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne — Grades 7–9, 900L, 18 modules on Chalky
• The Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty — Grades 6–8, 900L, 34 modules on Chalky
• I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven — Grades 8–10, 900L, 4 modules on Chalky
• Animal Farm by George Orwell — Grades 8–10, 1170L, 10 modules on Chalky
• The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack & Kurt Wiese — Grades 1–2, 420L, 2 modules on Chalky
• Curious George's First Day of School by Margret & H. A. Rey — K–grade 1, 200L, 1 modules on Chalky
• Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne — Grades 1–2, 200L, 1 modules on Chalky
• Insect or Spider? How Do You Know? by Melissa Stewart — Grades 1–2, 490L, 10 modules on Chalky
• Henry and Mudge in the Sparkle Days by Cynthia Rylant — Grades 1–2, 480L, 11 modules on Chalky
• Ivy and Bean by Annie Barrows — Grades 1–3, 580L, 10 modules on Chalky
• Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola — Grades 1–2, 400L, 1 modules on Chalky
• Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes — Grades 1–2, 500L, 1 modules on Chalky
• The Chalk Box Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla — Grades 2–3, 500L, 9 modules on Chalky
• The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh — Grades 2–3, 560L, 11 modules on Chalky
• Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan — Grades 2–3, 560L, 9 modules on Chalky
• Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace — Grades 3–4, 600L, 14 modules on Chalky
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume — Grades 3–4, 500L, 10 modules on Chalky
• The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney — Grades 3–4, 700L, 15 modules on Chalky
• Frindle by Andrew Clements — Grades 3–4, 600L, 15 modules on Chalky
• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate — Grades 3–4, 570L, 29 modules on Chalky
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo — Grades 3–5, 700L, 28 modules on Chalky
• The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden — Grades 3–5, 700L, 15 modules on Chalky
• Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers — Grades 3–5, 700L, 12 modules on Chalky
• The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown — Grades 4–5, 600L, 91 modules on Chalky
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry — Grades 3–5, 710L, 27 modules on Chalky
• Wonder by R. J. Palacio — Grades 3–5, 700L, 42 modules on Chalky
• Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan — Grades 3–5, 750L, 16 modules on Chalky
• Stuart Little by E. B. White — Grades 4–6, 920L, 15 modules on Chalky
• Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater — Grades 4–6, 910L, 20 modules on Chalky
• The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White — Grades 4–6, 750L, 21 modules on Chalky
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll — Grades 4–6, 790L, 12 modules on Chalky
• The Borrowers by Mary Norton — Grades 4–6, 770L, 20 modules on Chalky
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien — Grades 4–6, 600L, 28 modules on Chalky
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg — Grades 4–6, 700L, 10 modules on Chalky
• Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie — Grades 4–6, 900L, 49 modules on Chalky
• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett — Grades 4–6, 870L, 12 modules on Chalky
• The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau — Grades 4–6, 680L, 20 modules on Chalky
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster — Grades 5–7, 1000L, 43 modules on Chalky
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum — Grades 5–7, 1030L, 24 modules on Chalky
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle — Grades 5–7, 740L, 12 modules on Chalky
• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls — Grades 5–7, 700L, 20 modules on Chalky
• Black Beauty by Anna Sewell — Grades 5–7, 840L, 49 modules on Chalky
• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame — Grades 5–7, 1140L, 12 modules on Chalky
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott — Grades 7–9, 1300L, 23 modules on Chalky