Core Literature Units of Study for the Meaning of Life Themes and Symbolism

A back-to-back unit of study that we love to teach with our students is a unit that focuses on literary response and analysis for theme and symbolism. First, we read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry which is a classic story that reflects upon childhood, imagination and the inevitability of growing up. Perfect for middle school students! You can get the books for a dollar each from Scholastic. Our students also love the recap each morning using the popup copy of the book. So magical!

After we finish the week long study of The Little Prince, we then like to have our students read The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse. This is a book about celebrating understanding, acceptance, kindness, and that it is okay to ask for help. We read this book for the first time with our students last school year during online teaching, and it was a big hit! Word has it that they will be making this lovely, timeless book into a short film. We, for one, can’t wait for that to happen!