These resources won’t cover everything a kid should know. I consider this list supplemental to a comprehensive text on these periods. It’s also a work in progress. Prior to Georgia’s request, I had never considered whether what I read would work for the middle grades, and I did not want to recommend anything I had not read myself. Check back for updates as I plow through my newly enhanced reading list!

Also, since Georgia’s class is not specifically about women’s history, I have a lot on here that is more general. But I have placed asterisks (***) by those that are about or by women, if that’s what you’re here for.

Mesopotamia

Nonfiction

• DK Eyewitness Books: Mesopotamia

Contemporary Literature and Documents

• Epic of Gilgamesh
  • There are many versions of this, but the link goes to the version my daughter used in middle school.
• ***”Lament to the Spirit of War” by Enheduanna, the first named poet in history

Egypt

Nonfiction 

• DK Eyewitness Books: Ancient Egypt
• DK Eyewitness Books: Pyramid

Contemporary Literature and Documents

• Rosetta Stone.
  • The link above goes to the full text, but it is admittedly pretty dry. This article about it from the British Museum is more interesting.
  • Students might find it interesting to know it was written for a 13-year-old Pharoah.
• Mummy Cases
  • This site from the Denver Art Museum has a lot of closeups and explanations of details on one particular mummy.

Greece

Nonfiction

• DK Eyewitness Greece

Contemporary Literature and Documents

• Aesop’s Fables
  • There have been many, many publications of these, but here is one website I found with the fables and some information about Aesop himself.
• The Odyssey
  • Once again, so many versions, but here is one recommended and illustrated version. I haven’t read this one myself.
• ***”It’s No Use, Mother Dear” a poem by Sappho
  • A very short poem that may resonate very well with modern middle schoolers.

Rome

Nonfiction

• DK Eyewitness Rome

Contemporary Literature and Documents

• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
  • Many editions but this one has been recommended as the most accessible.
• Preface to Livy’s History of Rome
  • Good for a discussion on what history is for. Also for a discussion of how Rome started as a republic but ended as an empire

Historical Fiction

• The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliffe
  • Excellent novel about a young Roman legionnaire serving in Britain
• The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
  • Beautiful book about a brother and sister living in Judea at the time of Christ. Plenty about their relationship with the Roman empire.

China

Nonfiction

• DK Eyewitness Books: Ancient China

Contemporary Literature and Documents

• The Analects of Confucius
  • There are many ways you could go here, but here is a one-page document with some excerpts for discussion.
• “Quiet Night Thought” by Li Bai
• Excerpts from The Art of War by Sun-Tzu

Middle Ages

Nonfiction

• DK Eyewitness Books: Medieval Life
• Castle by David Macauley

Contemporary Literature and Documents

• Beowulf
  • There are many versions of this, but here is an accessible age-appropriate version.
  • If any of the students are into J.R.R. Tolkien, it is also very interesting to compare Beowulf with The Hobbit.
• The Nun’s Priest’s Tale by Chaucer
  • The full text is here, but it is probably too intimidating for middle school.
  • Barbara Cooney has a far more accessible version here.
  • If you have done Aesop’s Fables, it is also interesting to compare Chaucer with Aesop.

Historical Fiction

• ***Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
  • A beautiful, heart-felt and well researched look into what it was like to be a young teenage English girl of the lower aristocracy in 1290. It’s witty. It’s funny. It’s educational. Everything that historical fiction should be.
• ***The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz
  • A tale of three children in medieval France, including one that is clearly based on Joan of Arc.
  • ***Here is an article on Joan of Arc that could be used in conjunction with the novel.

Renaissance and Globalization

Nonfiction

• DK Eyewitness Books: Renaissance
• DK Eyewitness Books: Leonardo & His Times
• DK Eyewitness Books: Aztec, Inca & Maya

Contemporary Literature and Documents

• Aztec Account of the Massacre of the Temple
  • The link above is only the text. There is more context here.
• Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks
• Gutenberg Bible

Historical Fiction

• The Second Mrs. Gioconda by E.L.Konigsberg

18^th and 19^th Centuries

Contemporary Literature and Documents

• French Declaration of the Rights of Man
• Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
  • The actual book is far too long and dense for most readers (adults included), but there is a delightful essay called “I, Pencil” by Leonard E. Read which presents economic concepts in a much more accessible way, though it was not written in this time period.

World War I

Nonfiction

• DK Eyewitness Books: World War I

Contemporary Literature and Documents

• Treaty of Versailles.
  • The actual treaty makes dry reading, but there is a website on it here.
• “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae

World War II

Nonfiction

• Bomb : the race to build–and steal–the world’s most dangerous weapon Steve Scheinkin
• DK Eyewitness Books: World War II

Contemporary Literature and Documents

• Night, by Elie Wiesel
• Diary of Anne Frank, by Anne Frank
• “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” by Winston Churchill

Historical Fiction

• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
  • One of my favorite books ever. About a Danish girl helping her Jewish friends’ family flee the country.

20^th Century

Nonfiction

• DK Millennium: Children’s History of the 20th Century

Contemporary Literature and Documents

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Mahatma Gandhi “Quit India“

Other Cultures

• DK Eyewitness Books: Africa
• DK Eyewitness Books: India

Contemporary Literature and Documents

• Website on African Artifacts
  • Africa has many cultures, not all of which left documents, but the website above shows several artifacts to study.
• The Dresden Codex (Mayan)
  • Most Mayan records were destroyed by the Spanish, but a few remain.
• The world is big, and many places do not have many surviving documents, but you can still explore the physical remains through the UNESCO World Heritage sites.