I know very little about what interest middle school boys in the material in which they read. I am looking for topics, stories, books, articles, autobiographies etc. of things that might pull in their interest. As a teacher I do not want to exclude them in our choices of reading. Does anyone have any ideas?

I like The Watsons go to Birmingham - 1963. It's a story about a ten year old boy from the North who travels to the segrated South. It's relatively short and funny enough to make you laugh out loud.

Start by making a simple list of things the boys would like to learn more about and go from there. Ask and I'm sure they will tell you.

There are three novels based on the Halo video games that my son and his friends were really into this year. Although it may not be on the curriculum, you could probably do an alternate assignment for some of the boys with these books. I will try to find out the names of them for you.

Books that have to deal with the woods is a popular theme. Hatchet, and My Side of the Mountain are two great books. My nephew has read and reread the Harry Potter series. Most middle school boys do not like romance type books.