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Home » Brave Writer Language Arts Book-Based Lesson Plans by Lexile® Level

Brave Writer Language Arts Book-Based Lesson Plans by Lexile® Level

Looking for a language arts program that uses quality literature at your child’s Lexile® level?

Brave Writer Arrows are lesson plans geared to ages 8–11 that help you teach language arts as you read high-quality children’s literature with your kids. Each Arrow includes copywork/dictation passages, notes to enhance the study of the passage (grammar, spelling, punctuation, and literary device, and a featured literary element! Click on a link below for more information about the specific title that interests you.

Each Arrow is designed to last about a month. Ten Arrows would be a full year of language arts.

How to use your MAP® Growth™ results to select Arrows:

Using the list below as an example, select books with Lexile levels within or slightly below your child’s Lexile range. Then, choose titles based on your child’s interests and the learning goals you’ve set (guided by their subscores and learning statements).

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means that if you click the link and make a purchase, we will receive a commission at no additional cost to you.

Title Lexile Arrow Focus
How to Train Your Dragon 420L Brave Writer Arrow for How to Train Your Dragon Punctuation
The Earth Dragon Awakes 510L Brave Writer Arrow for The Earth Dragon Awakes Analogies
Flora and Ulysses 520L Brave Writer Arrow for Flora and Ulysses Free Verse
Galen and the Gateway to Medicine 560L Brave Writer Arrow for Galen and the Gateway to Medicine Updating History
How to Eat Fried Worms 560L Brave Writer Arrow for How to Eat Fried Worms Surprise
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch 570L Brave Writer Arrow for Carry On, Mr. Bowditch Writer’s Voice
The One and Only Ivan 570L Brave Writer Arrow for The One and Only Ivan Parallelism
Poppy 580L Brave Writer Arrow for Poppy Musical Language
Rascal 600L Brave Writer Arrow for Rascal Consonance
Homesick 610L Brave Writer Arrow for Homesick Autobiographical Narrative
Turtle in Paradise 610L Brave Writer Arrow for Turtle in Paradise Hook and Return
Love, Ruby Lavender 630L Brave Writer Arrow for Love, Ruby Lavender Letter Writing
The Lemonade War 630L Brave Writer Arrow for The Lemonade War Narrative Writing
The Girl Who Drank the Moon 640L Brave Writer Arrow for The Girl Who Drank the Moon Anaphora
The Dreamer 650L Brave Writer Arrow for The Dreamer Poetry
Sarah, Plain and Tall 660L Brave Writer Arrow for Sarah, Plain and Tall Confusing Word Pairs
Because of Winn-Dixie 670L Brave Writer Arrow for Because of Winn-Dixie Collage
Henry Huggins 670L Brave Writer Arrow for Henry Huggins Names
The Tale of Despereaux 670L Brave Writer Arrow for The Tale of Despereaux Personification
*Free Quiver Sample: Charlotte’s Web 680L Brave Writer Arrow for “Charlotte’s Web” Alliteration
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes 690L Brave Writer Arrow for Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Fictionalizing History
Detectives in Togas 700L Brave Writer Arrow for Detectives in Togas Clichés
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler 700L Brave Writer Arrow for From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Musical Language
Out of My Mind 700L Brave Writer Arrow for Out of My Mind Synesthesia
The Great Turkey Walk 700L Brave Writer Arrow for The Great Turkey Walk Setting and Journey
Where the Red Fern Grows 700L Brave Writer Arrow for Where the Red Fern Grows Rhyme
Secret of the Andes 710L Brave Writer Arrow for Secret of the Andes Dialog
Shadow Spinner 710L Brave Writer Arrow for Shadow Spinner Story
The Secret Garden* 710L Brave Writer Arrow for The Secret Garden* Surprise
Wheel on the School 710L Brave Writer Arrow for Wheel on the School Assonance
A Long Walk to Water 720L Brave Writer Arrow for A Long Walk to Water Multiple Narrators
On the Banks of Plum Creek 720L Brave Writer Arrow for On the Banks of Plum Creek Mood
By the Great Horn Spoon! 730L Brave Writer Arrow for By the Great Horn Spoon! Dialect
Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam 730L Brave Writer Arrow for Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam Varieties of Languages
Free Baseball 730L Brave Writer Arrow for Free Baseball Diamante
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson 730L Brave Writer Arrow for In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson Personification
The Green Ember 730L Brave Writer Arrow for The Green Ember The Cliffhanger
Freedom Train 740L Brave Writer Arrow for Freedom Train Clichés
Soup 740L Brave Writer Arrow for Soup Metaphor
The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn 740L Brave Writer Arrow for The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn Personification
A Long Way from Chicago 750L Brave Writer Arrow for A Long Way from Chicago Historical Context
All-of-a-Kind Family 750L Brave Writer Arrow for All-of-a-Kind Family Religious Traditions
Esperanza Rising 750L Brave Writer Arrow for Esperanza Rising Foreign Language
One Crazy Summer 750L Brave Writer Arrow for One Crazy Summer Naming
Trumpet of the Swan 750L Brave Writer Arrow for Trumpet of the Swan Appeal to Known Experience
Harriet the Spy 760L Brave Writer Arrow for Harriet the Spy Hyperbole
Hoot 760L Brave Writer Arrow for Hoot One Sentence
Journey to Jo’burg 760L Brave Writer Arrow for Journey to Jo’burg Cinquain
Little House on the Prairie 760L Brave Writer Arrow for Little House on the Prairie Confusing Word Pairs
Om-Kas-Toe of the Blackfeet 760L Brave Writer Arrow for Om-Kas-Toe of the Blackfeet Amplification
Danny, the Champion of the World 770L Brave Writer Arrow for Danny, the Champion of the World Character Interview
Keeping Score 770L Brave Writer Arrow for Keeping Score Metaphor
The Sign of the Beaver 770L Brave Writer Arrow for The Sign of the Beaver Descriptive Detail
Mossflower 780L Brave Writer Arrow for Mossflower Onomatopoeia
The Borrowers 780L Brave Writer Arrow for The Borrowers Topics
The Cricket in Times Square 780L Brave Writer Arrow for The Cricket in Times Square Rhyme
The Liberation of Gabriel King 780L Brave Writer Arrow for The Liberation of Gabriel King Journaling
Navigating Early 790L Brave Writer Arrow for Navigating Early Story within a Story
The Big Wave 790L Brave Writer Arrow for The Big Wave Theme
The Long Winter 790L Brave Writer Arrow for The Long Winter Amplification
Wonder 790L Brave Writer Arrow for Wonder Precepts
How Tia Lola Came to Stay 800L Brave Writer Arrow for How Tia Lola Came to Stay Apostrophe
Inside Out and Back Again 800L Brave Writer Arrow for Inside Out and Back Again Free Verse
Redwall 800L Brave Writer Arrow for Redwall Onomatopoeia
The Penderwicks 800L Brave Writer Arrow for The Penderwicks Dialog
My Side of the Mountain 810L Brave Writer Arrow for My Side of the Mountain Setting
Thimble Summer 810L Brave Writer Arrow for Thimble Summer Simile
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 810L Brave Writer Arrow for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Journey
By the Shores of Silver Lake 820L Brave Writer Arrow for By the Shores of Silver Lake Antonyms
Farmer Boy 820L Brave Writer Arrow for Farmer Boy Descriptive Detail
Call It Courage 830L Brave Writer Arrow for Call It Courage Imagery
Frindle 830L Brave Writer Arrow for Frindle Compound Words
Half Magic 830L Brave Writer Arrow for Half Magic Dialog
Mary Poppins 830L Brave Writer Arrow for Mary Poppins Rhyme
The House at Pooh Corner 830L Brave Writer Arrow for The House at Pooh Corner Synonyms
Turn Homeward, Hannalee 830L Brave Writer Arrow for Turn Homeward, Hannalee Writing Letters
Johnny Tremain 840L Brave Writer Arrow for Johnny Tremain Onomatopoeia
These Happy Golden Years 840L Brave Writer Arrow for These Happy Golden Years Mood
Little Town on the Prairie 850L Brave Writer Arrow for Little Town on the Prairie Recitation, Narration, Oral Exams, Free Writing
The Cabin Faced West 860L Brave Writer Arrow for The Cabin Faced West Consonance
The Mouse and the Motorcycle 860L Brave Writer Arrow for The Mouse and the Motorcycle Viewpoint
*Free Sample: James and the Giant Peach 870L Brave Writer Arrow for “James and the Giant Peach” Stylish Synonyms
In the Beginning 870L Brave Writer Arrow for In the Beginning Repetition of Key Terms
Pippi Longstocking 870L Brave Writer Arrow for Pippi Longstocking Onomatopoeia
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 880L Brave Writer Arrow for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Names
The Prairie Thief 880L Brave Writer Arrow for The Prairie Thief Simile
Caddie Woodlawn 890L Brave Writer Arrow for Caddie Woodlawn Conclusions
Same Sun Here 890L Brave Writer Arrow for Same Sun Here Illustrations
The Mysterious Benedict Society 890L Brave Writer Arrow for The Mysterious Benedict Society Simile/Metaphor
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze 890L Brave Writer Arrow for Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze Viewpoint
Ida B 900L Brave Writer Arrow for Ida B Grammar Games
Mr. Popper’s Penguins 910L Brave Writer Arrow for Mr. Popper’s Penguins Feeling Words
A Single Shard 920L Brave Writer Arrow for A Single Shard Historical Fiction
Stuart Little 920L Brave Writer Arrow for Stuart Little Descriptive Detail
The Door in the Wall 920L Brave Writer Arrow for The Door in the Wall Biography
A Tugging String 930L Brave Writer Arrow for A Tugging String Narrator
Little House in the Big Woods 930L Brave Writer Arrow for Little House in the Big Woods Protagonist
Nim’s Island 930L Brave Writer Arrow for Nim’s Island Similes and Metaphors
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 940L Brave Writer Arrow for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Powerful Verbs
Bud, Not Buddy 950L Brave Writer Arrow for Bud, Not Buddy Onomatopoeia
Moccasin Trail 960L Brave Writer Arrow for Moccasin Trail Alliteration
The Birchbark House 970L Brave Writer Arrow for The Birchbark House Sensory Similes
The Horse and His Boy 970L Brave Writer Arrow for The Horse and His Boy Writing Projects
Elijah of Buxton 980L Brave Writer Arrow for Elijah of Buxton Hyperbole
Ginger Pye 990L Brave Writer Arrow for Ginger Pye Personification
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling 1000L Brave Writer Arrow for The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling Teaser
The Phantom Tollbooth 1000L Brave Writer Arrow for The Phantom Tollbooth Literal Meaning
Understood Betsy 1000L Brave Writer Arrow for Understood Betsy Characterization
Ben and Me 1010L Brave Writer Arrow for Ben and Me Historical Setting
Love That Dog 1010L Brave Writer Arrow for Love That Dog Dictation Passages
The Bad Beginning 1010L Brave Writer Arrow for The Bad Beginning Idioms
Hatchet 1020L Brave Writer Arrow for Hatchet Personification
The Hero and the Crown 1050L Brave Writer Arrow for The Hero and the Crown Homonym/Homophone
The Wind in the Willows 1070L Brave Writer Arrow for The Wind in the Willows Imagery
Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles 1090L Brave Writer Arrow for Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles Non-fiction
The Midwife’s Apprentice 1150L Brave Writer Arrow for The Midwife’s Apprentice Gritty Realism
Math Curse and Science Verse 560/NPL Brave Writer Arrow for Math Curse and Science Verse Word Problems and Science Poetry
Little Britches AD600L Brave Writer Arrow for Little Britches Figurative Language
Finn Family Moomintroll AD770L Brave Writer Arrow for Finn Family Moomintroll Cast of Characters
Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword GN380L Brave Writer Arrow for Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword Graphic Novel
Blood and Guts IG910L Brave Writer Arrow for Blood and Guts Titles
Just So Stories NC1060L Brave Writer Arrow for Just So Stories Invented Language
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang NC1370L Brave Writer Arrow for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Parenthetical Aside
Encyclopedia Brown Brave Writer Arrow for Encyclopedia Brown Analogies
Star of Light Brave Writer Arrow for Star of Light Metaphor
The People at Pineapple Place Brave Writer Arrow for The People at Pineapple Place Fantasy

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